Forecast: Saturday 1 March 2014

Saturday 1 March 2014

Sun in Pisces; Moon in Pisces; Foci in 1, Identity and 12, Confinement or Research or Meditation

Moon on course

~Light on the Path~

Gruff people who have little refinement may cross your path. Even if uncouth in some ways, they may be sincere and honest.

When walking in darkness, the Scriptures give light one can get nowhere else. By Scriptures I mean, in the Judaeo-Christian tradition, the Psalms and the Gospels primarily, or whatever one is led deeply to ponder or treasure as a saving balm.

Attempts to get finances and records in order could settle into level of solid practicality.

Unflagging courage will keep your mood up and allow you to rise toward greater proficiency in job or career or a personal project.

The slowness of things remains with us, even though Mercury is technically "direct" but hardly moving at all. I noted on Friday, after Mercury's station, that things were still getting bollixed up--delays, confusions, difficulties, annoyances. I am not saying that this must be our lot until March 20 when the Bright Epoch begins, but we may experience a lot of it recurrently until then. The best solution is to keep one's mind on what is really essential rather than deviate into pointless side paths. 

Talents are not conditioned, but are gifts. That is, one can use them as one sees fit, in a spontaneous lively manner.

There is danger of laziness when small or modest efforts would be far more conducive to success and happiness.

Exaggerated qualities in people reflect the emphasis of Uranus at point focus in the planetary arrangement. Some of them seem ridiculous but they are the attempts of each to find his or her note, melody or harmony in the universal symphony. Before that is discovered, there is discord.

When some part of one's career or success is cut off prematurely, one can recover, or find some path closer to one's heart's needs, remaining content with what G*d has given.

People tumble or stumble against one another while Mars and Venus remain in a square (through March 12). Love is not impossible but is harder than usual because personal characteristics of the loved one seem harder to encompass or tolerate. It can be done, or a distance can be maintained when that is best.

Realism does not seem depressing because the reality is that things are not as bad as they have seemed for the past few weeks. We are finding our paths within a forest of receding obstacles.

{Saturday} ~Light on the Path~

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Friday 28 February 2014

Friday 28 February 2014

Sun in Pisces; Moon in Pisces; Foci in 12, Confinement or Seclusion and 1, Identity

Mercury turns direct at 6:01a PT | 9:01a ET | 2:01p UT

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week ends at 8:14p PT | 11:14p ET | 4:14a(Sa) UT

~Delays Seen as Restful Preparation~

One reason some dismiss astrology is that although they have seen that things are very hard for them during a Mercury Retrograde period, and start to believe; than when it turns direct, and things do not get better in a day or two, they think that the whole thing was a delusion.  "Oh well, things are just bad; Mercury had nothing to do with it." I saw this repeatedly decades ago and discovered the Hermetic Epochs. The Dark one (which might have been called Slow) goes on for two to three weeks after Mercury turns direct, while that planet is gradually (very slowly) recovering speed. I am sorry if this seems like bad news. But really it is good, because it gives you a chance to recover your poise slowly and get things moving without hurry. You have from today until March 20 to do that; then the Bright Hermetic Epoch begins and lasts until May 23. It may seem then that you can run instead of crawl.

Meanwhile, which seems strange, tomorrow (March 1) Mars turns retrograde! And will be so until May 20. I have not made as detailed a study of the Mars-retrograde periods as of the Mercurial ones; they occur less often, about every 2.5 years. We can discuss what this one might mean as we go along.

There is an inner trend, perhaps reclusive or withdrawing, on Friday, so you may be more inclined to ponder fresh plans than to set them in motion; it could be too early for that, since the moon is "dying" just before the New Moon Saturday. 

You appreciate people who are not artificial but genuine, sincere, rugged, maybe rustic or unpolished. 

Some are inclined to want to set up target practice, as it were, feeling strong and competent, even though they can't do much definitely or outwardly to set anything realistic in motion. Venus square Mars brings out a military or militant trend in some.

An emphasis on business and accounts continues and could go well--perhaps beginning to set up tax return materials, or something else if that does not apply to your situation. You start to see how to get accounts, money details and records in order.

The world is friendly and encouraging to those who are able to be friendly and encouraging to others. This is true even though some things drag or seem snared in delays. You can rest for a time, when that happens, and recover poise.

Disciplining yourself to demonstrate excellence along some line--whether appearance, clothing, a skill, a duty or responsibility--is strengthening and heartening. It is much better than resting too long on your oars, which could cause unexpected problems.

The ridiculous in people could be funny to you and others, but not to themselves, so they are unlikely to appreciate the joke if their craziness is pointed out. Still, one can rise above imbroglios through gentle humor. 

There can be a mood of daring; of wanting to leap over barriers and just do what seems nearest to one's heart or most gainful. Previous paragraphs suggest that this would be premature if carried out too far, to some unfeasible extreme. A preliminary sort of daring adventure, testing the waters, could be natural and safe.

Honesty is good; hurtfulness is not. People may be blunt beyond what is wise. Yet a rugged, frank attitude could be appealing in some, if basically kind. We sometimes help one another onward through subtle humorous critiques at which the critiqued one is able to smile.

{Friday} ~Delays Seen as Restful Preparation~

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Thursday 27 February 2014

Thursday 27 February 2014

Sun in Pisces; Moon in Aquarius; Foci in 12, Confinement or Inner Life and 1, Identity

|Karmically intense or sobering third| of this week continues

Moon on course

Mercury turns direct tomorrow, Friday, at 6:01a PT | 9:01a ET | 2:01p UT

}Worries Understood in Order to be Dismissed{

My own experience of the Mercury cycle is that things do not get immediately better when Mercury turns direct. That realization led me directly to the discovery of the larger Mercury cycle, in 1978-79, which I named the Hermetic Epoch. The Dark (slow-and-retrograde Mercury) Hermetic Epoch will not end until March 20. 

However, I do experience that an inner, inchoate, subtle change does occur when Mercury turns direct. You might prepare for it by collecting yourself in meditation and prayer this evening so that whether you are awake before or after it turns direct you will be attuned to the "motionless Mercury" (from geocentric perspective) which is called in astrology the planet's Station (time given above). 

On Thursday there may be a feeling that much is being settled calmly, even though we are in the |difficult third|. It's a matter of being resigned to what must be done and feeling that while doing it one is making definite, smooth progress in a desired direction.

You might feel reclusive at times, pulling back from outward involvements in order to be settled within yourself for meditation or prayer and deep pondering. 

Another facet of things is finance and accounting, which you could handle peaceably although I would suggest waiting for Mercury to turn around before making any unusual or large-scale financial decision (or even until the Bright Epoch after March 19). There could be preparation for that today, or handling other minor money matters.

We press on trusting the world and the solar system to "straighten out and fly right." They shall.

Meanwhile the places of delay on which we are sandbagged can be opportunities for preparing something better. 

Disappointments are temporary; they may be partly disillusionment, that is, losing false hopes about something or someone. This is likely in the romantic department with Venus squaring Mars. Yet of course all is not lost in a relationship, but something which, when understood for what it is, can make the relationship even better because on a more realistic, firmer footing.

One does not have to be careless in order to get appropriate rest. It is possible to finish really essential duties and leave some others for a time when they can be performed more efficiently.

The characteristics of people can become galling when one is so familiar with them that their usual peccadilloes or faults seem overwhelming. Then is the time to make a grimace and joke and trust that they will come to their senses in time. 

The highest possibilities of the day are transcendental, psychic, uplifting, yet not likely to be comprehended by our "lower minds" which cannot wrap themselves around what is beyond their boxed-in categories. 

Well-being is wonderful, making one perhaps a little complacent, but isn't that a relief from constant anxiety? Tranquil manners and a sunny nature are irresistible. Either you display them or someone you like does. People are slowly getting the drift of what will be best for them in coming weeks.

{Thursday} {Worries Understood in Order to be Dismissed}

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Wednesday 26 February 2014

Wednesday 26 February 2014

Sun in Pisces; Moon in Aquarius; Foci in 11, Friendship and 2, Possessions

/moon goes void-of-course at 2:52a PT | 5:52a ET | 10:52a UT

until it enters Aquarius at 6:57a PT | 9:57a ET | 2:57p UT

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week begins at 8:14p PT | 11:14p ET | 4:14a(Th) UT

}Mystery Drama with Comedy yet Deep Concern{

The "light fantastic" is fun, even thrilling, but if one "trips" it one might "trip up." Or not, but many could be deceived by their imaginations, and deceive others. 

Many will be ill-tempered, or suffering so much from the travails of this difficult period (for at least the past month) that they will not want to put up with anything from you or anyone, and could fly into a rage unexpectedly. 

Yet there are uplifting influences all around if one can tune in to them. Even then, one might find outward affairs stymied, slowed down or stopped for a while, over and over again. At best this gives one a chance for inward contemplation and slow life-renewal on the inner planes, which takes a long time to sift down into the outer ones. 

Everything is a mystery, or a mystery play. Your friends and associates are more than they seem. They represent more than can be detected on the surface. They are all there to show you something, if you can "get" the meaning of the show. This is either a daunting or a delightful challenge, depending on one's attitude, yet a wonderful display of G*d's showmanship.

There are warnings that one could lose out by not keeping up with things. We know this is hard while Mercury is retrograde, but sometimes one has to fight the tendency to imprudence or carelessness and get on with things rather than be lazy.

Within the play, the ridiculous and the bizarre sometimes take center stage. They reveal the inimitable qualities of your associates and friends, not always wonderful or uplifting but even if amusing they are part of the drama with its hidden teaching for those alert to it.

Passions, sexual appetites, and intense desires are likely to flare up. Where do they lead? One is not likely to want to think of that at the crucial moment, yet once again Prudence should lift her watchful head and warn against anything which could be hurtful or dangerous.

Life is a series of bubbles floating in the air. Or is it? Only in seeming, at times, when we choose to "take it light" or imagine what we wish. We can enjoy that vision of the drama or the comedy, when feasible, so long as we take care that we are not losing out by letting serious tasks slide too far too long.

{Wednesday} {Mystery Drama with Comedy yet Deep Concern}

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Tuesday 24 February 2014

Tuesday 24 February 2014

Sun in Pisces; Moon in Capricorn; Foci in 11, Friendship and 2, Possessions

Moon on course

\Appropriate Care; Uplifting Influences/

If you feel you are fumbling through life, you are not alone. People ought to know about the Mercury cycles and use them; that would eliminate so much worry and anguish. When they don't know, they think "I am failing totally; my life is a mess; nothing is fitting together; I may as well give up." If they only knew that this is connected with Mercury's backward motion and that they can wait it out and work through it, it would be so much easier to bear. And, I am convinced, many suicides would be prevented. 

That backward motion comes to a slow stop, and gradually turns to forward motion, on Friday the 28th; but not so fast! In fact, Mercury remains very slow in its motion after that and the Bright Hermetic Epoch does not begin until March 20 (always from two to three weeks after Mercury turns direct). A calm slow surveillance of everything crucial in your life is the best course, coupled with a refusal to make any drastic changes and a willingness to do necessary backtracking and reconnoitering.

Sincerity, sympathy, and spiritual truth emanate from people. This is wonderful to experience.

Some will be teaching or guiding others or ferrying them from one place to another in reality or in consciousness. 

At another level, business and accounting are important even if there are delays or numbers seem hard to crunch. As for taxes, I have already suggested that if they seem daunting, it could be well to wait until early or even mid-March or the end of March to finish them or to double-check them before filing. The work will probably go much more quickly and faultlessly then.

The influences surrounding you, from males as well as females, are largely beneficent and illuminating, making your path smoother, no matter how complex or peculiar. The sandbanks you hit can give you a chance to recover while learning something in a casual, unhurried manner.

Some pass on a torch to someone else, to someone considered fit to carry it in the race. One rests while the other carries on. If the one to whom the torch is passed sits down to relax, one can only wonder what is in his mind. Yet this is more likely to happen at a time like this. It is well to be vigilant.

A bit of humor here and there is appropriate. Capricorn where the moon floats can be ironically funny. Yet it is good to be serious about what is serious, and refuse to attempt more than is possible at present. We all tend to be or seem more incompetent, outwardly, while Mercury is retrograde or slow, even if our inner thoughts are sublime. Dangers should be avoided.

People are basically good and usually want to be frank, relaxed and uplifting with one another, supporting one another's struggles. So may it be.

{Tuesday} /Appropriate Care; Uplifting Influences\

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Monday 24 February 2014

Monday 24 February 2014

Sun in Pisces; Moon in Capricorn; Foci in 10, Career and Honor; and 3, Communication, Neighbors, Environment

\Past Delays, Hopeful Influences/

Sincerity, bluntness, frankness, and good fellowship are possible, even in work situations.

There is ingenuity in your job or profession, a quest for realizations as if in a maze, with glimmers of truth as well as much falsehood. The latter can be eliminated only with patience and higher inspiration.

Business and accounting could play a prominent role; you feel good when books, with profits and losses, are in clear order. 

People are responsive to the best in you. Many feel that their status is improving. If costs are under control, and you feel pride in your work, there is much for which to be grateful.

There are shoals it is hard to avoid (Mercury still retrograde until Friday) and you could feel that delays are oppressive. Gaining a new start through confidence is always possible.

Whatever your untapped resources, you can master them through plodding research or review. Many will succumb to laziness or lassitude, letting things slide to a point where dangers could emerge and be a threat. It would be better to guard against that.

Illumination is obtainable by sincere spiritual aspirants. The sun with Neptune in Pisces promotes this, aspected nicely by the moon in Capricorn. Serious study of philosophic, religious and spiritual laws will be deeply profitable.

The better side of people comes out in loyalty, with honest statements of where they stand and what they think, in a way helpful to them and you. Facing things directly promotes good responses from yourself and life itself, and light increases even in this Dark Epoch (dark only superficially, while illumined from within). 

{Monday} /Past Delays, Hopeful Influences\

Cosmic Piper

Sunday 23 February 2014

Sunday 23 February 2014

Sun in Pisces; Moon in Sagittarius; Foci in 10, Honor and 3, Communication

Moon on course

There will be no prediction for today. Like most people, I need a sabbatical day this week (although I have not been taking them for many weeks.) I hope to post a forecast for Monday on Sunday evening, G*d willing.

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Saturday 22 February 2014

Saturday 22 February 2014

Sun in Pisces; Moon in Sagittarius; Foci in 10, Career or Honor; and 3, Communication, Neighbors, Environment

/moon void-of-course until it

enters Sagittarius at 2:13a PT | 5:13a ET | 10:13a UT

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week continues until Sunday morning

*Determination Within Expanding Social Accord*

For those feeling unloved, or missing a lover, or partner, or friend, or otherwise feeling that something is missing on the human level, let me say that we are in a period when Mars and Venus are squared off against each other. This affects both other-sex and same-sex relationships and would-be relationships (courtships to use old language). It does not mean that nothing is possible but that everything in that area is problematic, doubtful, or otherwise seemingly unsatisfactory. Of course there can be exceptions to that in the case of remarkably "made in heaven" relationships, but those are rare and even some of those may falter at a time like this. It lasts at least until March 14. Then--remember this or mark in on your calendar--a period when Mars and Venus are in a favorable trine will last a couple of weeks from March 22 through April 5. This is not mere theory! I have tested these times carefully over the years through observation very carefully. It is not that everyone will be head-over-heels in love during those two weeks, but it will happen more often than usual, and the harmony between those attracted to each other will often reach exalted or ecstatic levels. Verbum sapienti satis est. (I may or may not repeat this prediction.) Being lonely at a time like that is not permitted. You will have to be out and about and interacting to get the full benefit. (It's a month away.)

In terms of value, this prediction is enough for one day. However . . . 

There is determination to carry on and use whatever you have, today, including old things used in fresh ways. We all have our designated work and you will feel better if you do some of it. (I except orthodox Jews who follow strict Sabbath observances, of course.) The sun conjoined to Neptune plus the moon squaring it may make us lazy, but some activity you believe in will make you stronger. (For the foregoing, this could be spiritual rather than physical activity.)

Music can uplift you in more than ordinary ways. Many factors around you will brighten your prospects and lift your spirits as the day goes on and the |difficult third| of this week releases somewhat. When things slow down or are obstructed, you can remain hopeful and wait for a fresh chance to do something which feels meaningful.

Indifference to what is going on around you or to business or opportunities could make you slothful and precipitate loss. You could, instead, observe how a matrix of dependabilities is forming within and around you, methods or procedures you can rely on, rock-like. These establish true paths in your future career.

The social side of the day is not to be sneezed at. There can be accord among those who are naturally drawn to one another, who learn from one another and feel expanded in friendly contacts. A threesome might be interesting. There can be music and youthful cheer.

Through it all you won't forget some major goals of your own, which make you feel worthy of respect in one way or another. It is not a burden to keep them in mind because you sense that the world is fostering them gradually.

{Saturday} *Determination Within Expanding Social Accord*

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Friday 21 February 2014

Friday 21 February 2014

|Karmically intense or sobering third| of this week continues

/moon goes void-of-course at 2:11p PT | 5:11p ET | 10:11p UT

~Desperado Seeks Hope~

First the difficult part: Often when the moon is void-of-course during a |difficult third|, as late afternoon and tonight, there is a lot of despair, a feeling that one is bereft, and often a concern about someone else who seems lost. One may be jilted, or feel jilted by someone, or unable to contact someone. One reaches out toward what seems impossible of attainment and feels desperation. It is a "desperado" time-frame, unless one take conscious measures to keep oneself calm and hopeful.

That said, there are hopeful indications such as Venus increasing in a sextile with Saturn--realism, honesty and honor in career and finances, with improvements in both--and the sun increasing in a trine with Jupiter--gain, ambitions gratified, mutually beneficial associations. This is muted by the sun's conjunction with Neptune, not bad but other-worldly, inclining to passivity or easy-going dreaming (especially during a Mercury-retrograde period). The helpful indications are in the background, increasing over the next week, and could be summoned up consciously if you refuse to become a lunar desperado.

You can be determined and incisive in at least some areas. There are pure intentions, with nobility beneath them. Solitude or austerity, and religion or spiritual discipline, can have excellent results.

The world becomes more friendly when we are courageous. Sandbanks allow for new starts after temporary obstructions. 

You can analyze and investigate some problems with sharp precision, as if a medical technician. 

You are not totally alone but could feel isolated. Some may avoid you because you have given clues that you were on your own and didn't want to be bothered.

Gay or youthful amusements, and artistry or music, are pleasing and uplifting when you are in a fit mood to receive them.

Sticking with something in the realm of communication--hard or problematic communication--could be important, succeeding very slowly with setbacks along the way. This could be be in connection with a neighbor, correspondent, or career. You find usefulness for items which had been abandoned or discarded, whether physical or intellectual items.

Spiritual comradeship is available in some form, whether with others directly or through media, communication, or sheer meditation summoning up helpful influences on the inner planes.

{Friday}  ~Desperado Seeks Hope~

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Thursday 20 February 2014

Thursday 20 February 2014

Sun in Pisces; Moon in Scorpio; Foci in 9, Travel or Understanding; and 4, Home or Foundation

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week begins at 7:07a PT | 10:07a ET | 3:07p UT

Moon leaves the Via Combusta at 11:14p PT | 2:14a(F) ET | 7:14a(F) UT

~The Alchemy of Believing, Preparing, Waiting~

The intensity of the battle seems to be between old things, pressing on you as something you can't escape and don't really want to escape, and new things which seem questionable. During a Mercury Retrograde cycle (until the 28th) and a Dark Hermetic Epoch (until March 20th), the old ought to have priority. New things are too up in the air, too much susceptible of later re-evaluation. What you have learned deeply to trust is what should be trusted. Your judgments in major decisions involving other people, business, and so on are likely to be way off today (look at the two lunar indications above) if they involve any departure from what has been thoroughly tried and tested.

Renovation is a link between the ancient and the current, the old and the fresh. This is going on at a philosophic as well as more practical level. Many want to have their own way, no matter what, and you will be swayed by them. That is partly because you like them so much. They will never say die and never take no for an answer.

You admire some very deeply, their beauty and lovely or colorful, charming characteristics. You may wonder how trustworthy they are, without dropping admiration of their inspiring qualities. 

You can be optimistically responsive to all uplifting influences. You need to use discretion because you could get sidetracked by things which will delay you for a long time. Then the aforementioned brightening influences will help you make wise choices. They come from friends and youthful people especially. 

The part of you which chooses sometimes to be alone is an important part of you. It has and knows its value. When others don't trust you completely, you trust yourself.

Youthful pleasures are good for you because they release you from over-worry about things you can't currently change. You can have fun, indulge yourself a little, and share high living with those convivial. 

Nothing is too much to dream for. You have a solid idea or premonition of wonderful things you could attain. Conditions are not good for showing decisively that they are attainable at present. That does not prevent you from cherishing them, studying, pondering, and preparing a remarkable future.  Influences around you are better and more promising than the circumstances in which those influences currently operate and which they are trying to improve. So it is well to go with those strong helpful tendencies, of which your soul is aware, while being patient and careful with outward conditions which take a longer time to change.

{Thursday} ~The Alchemy of Believing, Preparing, Waiting~

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Wednesday 19 February 2014

Wednesday 19 February 2014

Sun in Pisces; Moon in Libra; Foci in 8, Regeneration and 5, Offspring or Pleasure

Moon remains in the Via Combusta until Friday

/moon goes void-of-course at 1:53p PT | 4:53p ET | 9:53p UT

until it enters Scorpio at 7:34p PT | 10:34p ET | 3:34a(Th) UT

}Very Slow Ripening{

Work in a secluded place or at home can be intense and important. Meanwhile you think of connections at a distance. There is an urge toward play or interaction with a neighbor or youthful person. A slowdown in health or vitality yesterday could improve gradually today. 

Personality is highlighted. This can be clever, funny, inimitable, monkey-like. Someone clever and attractive influences you more than you realize at first so that you are under her or his thumb. 

The "hovering" aspect of things continues--you see things from above rather than getting right into them directly, and estimate them quite well perhaps, but with a feeling that there is only so much you can do now. Sometimes it feels that you are completely stranded. You sit and wonder What to do next? Nothing seems to be working. But you can remain cheerful and before long sense what the next ordinary step should be. 

Rational powers can be strong, despite Mercury's backward motion. That means understanding some things in a thorough manner even if it is impossible to put together in a practical way all of your conclusions for realization in the material world right now. Thought, study, and research are favored, as long as you avoid false trails (Via Combusta and Mercury retrograde) or recover from them quickly. 

Some individuals may feel you have abandoned them in favor of your own questionable (in their minds) ambitions. Then they in turn leave you alone. This gives you an opportunity to stay with your personal program, what you have seen to be essential for your unfolding destiny. That has a lonesome side to it.

Still, there is entertainment when you want it. The sun's conjunction with Neptune in Pisces inclines to music and artistry unleashing deep emotions.

Scholarship and inspiration go together. Study opens doors into high speculative realms which have a strong impact on the world in a good way. 

The opposite of that, yet complementary, is a playful trend, wanting to mimic others or bring out the glory, beauty and irony of human life through acting or pretending. Children do it often naturally, and we might recover a childlike side of ourselves even during difficult times like this. Getting a super-view of human life, an overview, does not immobilize us but prepares us for more cogent action when the time is ripe. (It's not very ripe.)

{Wednesday} {Very Slow Ripening}

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Tuesday 18 February 2014

Tuesday 18 February 2014

Sun in Pisces; Moon in Libra; Foci in 8, Regeneration and 5, Pleasure or Offspring

Moon enters the Via Combusta (Burning Way) at 3:13p PT | 6:13p ET | 11:13p UT (cosmic reshuffling, with possible loss of morale)

}Constant Recovery{

I suppose we might say that the square of Mercury with Saturn (in Scorpio, a money sign) plus Mercury being retrograde could suggest sweat and worry and confusion over taxes or other money or accounting matters. I will not say decisively that you ought to wait to do your taxes until early March (when the retrograde has ended) or late March (Bright Hermetic Epoch begins on the 20th), but it might be smart, if you have any doubts, to wait until then to review and then file them. Doing them now during the M-R period might feel like going through a fever dream. And even your accountant is subject to more errors at such a time.

Imitative skills might have a heyday--pretending to be someone or something you aren't, which is not only a monkey but a human proclivity. 

Military affairs do not look good--the Iraq war was started by the Bush administration on a day the moon was in the Via Combusta. "Secret enemies" are everywhere, as it were, that is, those who could veer you from your best course. It is well to be mindful. 

Some of that can be done by being above it all, as if in a surveillance plane. You get the lay of the land around you and the temporal lay of the land coming up in the future, at least enough for instinctive orientation. 

You may find you are not as independent as you wish--that is, you depend on others for guidance when you hit shoals which strand you. There is nothing to be ashamed of in that. 

It may seem that your boat landing has been washed away--that you have to improvise, find a new route or method to get past improvident delays. That brings out your virility and implicit confidence.  You go it alone, almost--isolated because you served yourself alone and therefore were abandoned by some. This is sobering but not impossible. The moon is waning, you have your horse and arms but there is nowhere to go at present, except into the fortress of responsibilities you have taken on. That is your safety.

Music and the arts are a comfort and a source of renewal--listening to someone else perform if you don't perform yourself. 

Papers, documents, accounts, paperwork could be important--things at headquarters you need to take care of. This sets you up for a better reputation and better links with people at a distance.

Amusements are not absent. They might take the form of mocking others or yourself--imitating, making fun of, and in a sense redeeming through humorous awareness. This is part of the over-all high-flying orientation you are getting at present and for the past few days--it is impersonal, challenging yet de-confusing, showing you how to navigate through this slow period of Mercury retrograde until Friday the 28th. Slow is a word to remember--slowing down will help time after time, or changing from one thing you can't do now to another which you can do smoothly, then going back to the one you had dropped. Things get "out of pattern" so you could lose morale (especially when the Via Combusta begins) but always you can recover, and when you have recovered you have learned something.

{Tuesday} {Constant Recovery}

Cosmic Piper

Forecast: Monday 17 February 2014

Monday 17 February 2014

Sun in Aquarius; Moon in Virgo-->Libra; Foci in 8, Regeneration and 5, Pleasure

/moon void-of-course until it

enters Libra at 10:24a PT | 1:24p ET | 6:24p UT

}Patience Fosters Valor{

Pressures remain intense. The moon falls into a position which completes a Grand Square with Uranus, Jupiter, Pluto, and Venus. (There is nothing much "grand" about it!) Well, you could turn this around. How? By facing whatever you have to face and not giving up.

There is stolidity and imperturbability for those who can tune in to that quality. And there are secret or not-understood powers within you which you can use to arrive at insights truly supernatural. You may feel you are giving, giving, giving . . . which is good, whether or not you get anything in return other than pride in what you are doing.

You see consequences of things and relationships among things, people, possibilities, in ways which are remarkable. When you reflect on all that, you get insight into both past and future, despite obstructions which arrest current progress. You can sit on this sand bar, this unwanted place of delay, and get perspective on coming adventures . . . if you are not too impatient while taking advantage of the perspective it offers. 

Innovation can be intense and wonderful, even if it is basically using things you already know in fresh combinations and situations. There could be the dawn of a new day, including awareness of better ways to defend yourself and preserve everything you own and rely upon. The astrological setup, as well as Mercury being retrograde, requires more defense than offense, preservation of what you have and your advantages rather than pressing on into new territory. The "new day" means using old things and prerogatives better than you have before.

Youth, beauty and music are highlighted, but probably indirectly and not very noticeably except in unusual moments. They offer a way of refreshment when sorely needed. 

Some have wonderful good fortune, seem blessed by the gods, rest and recline on a couch, yet seem not to care to share what they have.

The view you have of your powers is correct. You have developed them and can use them. The way to use them is to persist despite all the opposition and turmoil surrounding you. That turmoil is like the waves of the sea beating against a solid rock, which could be you. Then they actually "beat" into you fresh abilities through your determination to rise above and beyond the turmoil and accept challenges with valor. 

This time of high and enlivening perspective could be wonderful despite its difficulties.

{Monday} {Patience Fosters Valor}

Cosmic Piper