Forecast for Saturday 1 November 2014

Saturday 1 November 2014

Sun in Scorpio; Moon in Aquarius-->Pisces; Foci in 4, Home or Foundation and 9, Comprehension or Learning

/moon void-of-course from very early hours (see yesterday's data) 

until it enters Pisces at 9:38a PT | 12:38p ET | 4:38p UT

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week continues all day (until early Sunday morning)

~Smoother~

Things gradually get better than they were on Friday, so post-Halloween should be more pleasant than Halloween. 

{Saturday}   ~Smoother~

Cosmic Piper

Forecast-Meditation for Friday 31 October 2014

Friday 31 October 2014

Sun in Scorpio; Moon in Aquarius; Foci in 4, Home or Foundation and 9, Travel or Comprehension

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week continues all day   **

/moon goes void-of-course at 11:23p PT | 2:23a(Sa) ET | 6:23a(Sa) UT   *

Oh big deal, it's Halloween! Actually this means "The Eve of All Hallows Day" which is the night before a sacred holiday celebrating the ever-living whom we call "dead." So Halloween ought to be a sacred holiday. Not a time for stupid costumes and debauchery.

Okay, I bow to the popular desire for a "costume day." I know it can be fun. I have enjoyed many a Halloween party. Go for it, if you feel like it. We need a time of spontaneity, irony, laughter, free self-expression. And some costumes are not "stupid" but wonderful. 

But if you don't feel like that, maybe you could tune in to the deeper meaning of the time. Scorpio is the sign of "death" but also of rebirth, of the way to immortality. It is no accident that Halloween falls within that sign every year. 

}What's Needed{

Lying on the ground weak and sick he feels

A burden to himself and all. But nearby in

The river a group rows a canoe and tries to

Dance in it. Their energy might mobilize his courage. 

The maize is real and nourishing, a solid crop,

So celebrating harvest comes quite naturally.

The drinking and the feasting carry on past midnight

Till rancid stimulation reaches a dead level.

A rabbit watching from a seat above his burrow 

Wonders what the noise is all about. Timorous, he

Doesn't trust intoxicated humans but believes in the

Moon rising over the hills. Somehow he gets what he needs. 

{Friday}  {What's Needed}

Cosmic Piper

Forecast-Meditation for Thursday 30 October 2014

Thursday 30 October 2014

Sun in Scorpio; Moon in Capricorn-->Aquarius; Foci in 3, Communication and Neighbors and 10, Honor and Career

/moon void-of-course 

until it enters Aquarius at 6:53a PT | 9:53a ET | 1:53p UT

\Wayward Command/

Not bad. You may wonder why you are strongly attracted to certain individuals, some of them from a great distance, others nearby.

The party enters the large canoe, putting all

Their things in order, safeguarding details. But one

Dude gets upset, finds fault with the leader and

Knocks him to the side as if to capsize the fragile craft.

They had wanted to view a comet on the journey, but

The fight is more wayward than that ball of fire.

Still someone restores order. Then the drinking

Begins. It mingles poorly with steering the canoe.

The one who wants a fight grew up without a family,

Except for his pet snakes. He settles down.

The beer has calmed him. He is robust with

Penetrating eyes, and gestures that command. For now.

{Thursday}  {Wayward Command}

Cosmic Piper

Forecast-Meditation for Wednesday 29 October 2014

Wednesday 29 October 2014

Sun in Scorpio; Moon in Capricorn; Foci in 3, Environment or Communication and 10, Honor or Career   ***

/moon goes void-of-course at 8:02p PT | 11:02p ET | 3:02a(Th) UT   **

I could write another long essay on the Dark Hermetic Epoch, extending to November 10. I am not Johnny One-Note but the human race needs to understand these Mercury cycles. What I call the DHE extends on both sides of every Mercury Retrograde period, at least ten days in each direction. That means that the Dark and Bright Hermetic Epochs keep alternating, each about 60 days long, the Dark somewhat shorter. We are still in it, even though Mercury is now direct. That helps, but the confusion continues. 

The Antares rocket exploding last night just after take-off is a symbol of this. (I am one of those who think that "space travel" is absurd and adharmic. This is our planet and space ship; deal with it.) Yes, Mercury is direct, but still very slow. The effects are almost the same as when it was retrograde. Mistakes, backtracking, side paths which get people in trouble, on and on. The Denver man who disappeared during a Bronco football game is another example. He left to go to the game in a hurry, not taking a cell phone or credit cards, and then disappeared. In my own life, I am trying to keep up every day but all seems delayed. These reports are being posted much later than usual. And so it goes. Things are "out-of-pattern." The Ebola scare is another example, with all the bickering, backpedaling, disagreement, and misinformation. The head of state of North Korea disappeared while Mercury was retrograde. Amusing. But then he turned up. Not amusing. And on and on . . . 

\Orphan Command/

The trader in precious stones has made a fortuitous find.

Fortune smiles. This is better than expected. Intuition 

And foresight are real, balancing power. The serpent of 

Wisdom his girdle, he raises his hand to command.

The nest of young birds lies on the ground. The priest

Passing by stops to see how he can help. Lifting them

To safety is something like teaching children of 

Neglectful parents. Orphans of the world struggle on.

The children find kindergarten quite surprising yet somehow

Very familiar. Avid for the real, they confront the Other in

Other little bodies while Teacher's old pictures and hieroglyphs

Cover the wall. Naively they explore, wonder, come to center.

{Wednesday} /Orphan Command\

Cosmic Piper

Forecast-Meditation for Tuesday 28 October 2014

Tuesday 28 October 2014

Sun in Scorpio; Moon in Sagittarius-->Capricorn; Foci in 3, Communication or Neighbors and 10, Honor or Career

/moon void-of-course   ***

until it enters Capricorn at 3:04a PT | 6:04a ET | 10:04a UT  ****

\Jewels Discovered/

The clouds look like lead, the man hangs his head,

Walking past the church with broken windows.

Inside they are commemorating something quite unreal

To him. He wants to escape from this monotony.

He approaches a mound of earth with a shrub on top,

Admiring the work of the one who planned it. A face

Looks out from behind the bush, sharp and frightful,

And a raised hand. Something penetrates his consciousness.

He presses on and sees a priest in a monkish

Robe studying beneath a lighted window. Then turns

To his task, picking through the earth with

A shovel. He finds rich jewels reflecting sunlight.

{Tuesday} /Jewels Discovered\

Cosmic Piper

Forecast-Meditation for Monday 27 October 2014

Monday 27 October 2014

Sun in Scorpio; Moon in Sagittarius; Foci in 1, Possessions and Allies and 11, Friends and Hopes   ****

/moon goes void-of-course at 8:19a PT | 11:19a ET | 3:19p UT   ***

^Hope^

They rejoice in and contemplate the stained-glass windows, settled

In this church for decades. Drinking a toast to the artist,

Set out in cups of wine, they go too far.

And then a bomb goes off. One window's shattered.

It had happened before. The artist had to re-begin

His work three times, while his windows vaunted

Three symbols of faith and hope and charity.

Would he now repair this window once again?

Because when the sun hit his windows they dazzled the eye,

Some who passed by felt the lack of such dazzle

In themselves--of faith, hope, and love--and slandered

The church and the artist. The window was repaired. 

{Monday} ^Hope^

Cosmic Piper

Forecast-Meditation for Sunday 26 October 2014

Sunday 26 October

Sun in Scorpio; Moon in Sagittarius; Foci in 2, Allies and Possessions and 11, Friends and Hopes

Moon on course   ***

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week ends at 4:11p PT | 7:11p ET | 11:11p UT    ****

^Harmony^

A semblance of normality, rising above the drift and bale of Saturday, should be returning. We have a better chance to take things firmly in hand and recapture an optimistic orientation. We need to give this recovery some time (the Bright Hermetic Epoch begins November 10), but should be feeling good things coming.

The Native American chief had gone bad through

Stress and strife unending, treaties broken, endless

Betrayal. All he had left was treacherous instinct.

Yet inflexible in character, he emanated authority.

His insignia the double triangle, he raised his eyes

To rediscover it far above. It came down from a

Star radiating multiple colors. He felt himself

Embraced and all-upheld by its assurance.

It led him to a wife whose whole career was

Music, harmony, the fine arts chasing out distress.

Her magic touch grew stronger in his presence, lifting

Both to public prominence. Their souls grew one with all.

{Sunday} ^Harmony^

Cosmic Piper

Forecast-Meditation for Saturday 25 October 2014

Saturday 25 October 2014

Sun in Scorpio; Moon in Scorpio; Foci in 1, Focus or Self and 12, Confinement, Research or Solitude

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week continues all day   *

/moon goes void-of-course at 9:12a PT | 12:12p ET | 4:12p UT   *

until it enters Sagittarius at 9:41p PT | 0:41a(Su) ET | 4:41a(Su) UT   **

Mercury turns direct at 12:18p PT | 3:18p ET | 7:18p UT  But I hasten to add that this may not result in a big obvious difference or improvement because of the just-listed lunar phenomena. Still, it could be an excellent time to meditate or let your consciousness rise out of whatever confusions you may have been experiencing. 

~Not Whistling Dixie~

It is not my intention to give out tales of woe about Mercury Retrograde, but I find that people in general (maybe not you my loyal readers) "just don't get it." I mentioned the friend who had wasted a whole half-day searching for lost car keys and getting a ticket, during this Retrograde period, and how I explained Mercury retrograde to him. It pleased him because he had just experienced it. I told him it would last until October 25. But a couple days ago I saw him again and he complained that he had cut his fingers twice in a kitchen accident and had to find a band-aide. No reference to Mercury being retrograde; he had forgotten. Then together we found that a mutual friend had just had a car accident, thereby losing his car and getting a ticket. He had rammed into the car in front of him on a freeway. Mercury retrograde can be absent-mindedness or carelessness or mind-wandering causing out-of-pattern incidents or even accidents. Again, he did not mention Mercury being retrograde; he had forgotten. And I, not wanting to be the bragging omniscient astrologer, said nothing about it. So it goes. People don't know that astrology is real because they don't want to know.

I have also mentioned repeatedly, till blue in the face, dozens of times over the years, the fact that there are more crimes and accidents in the |difficult third| of each week which is why I report it here faithfully every week. It is my own discovery, from many years ago, and it holds, holds, and holds. The |difficult third| this time began early Friday, as you can see in yesterday's report, and later on Friday there was the horrid "school killing" in Washington state. Again during a |karmically difficult third of the week|. And on the same day, according to USA Today: "A man armed with an assault rifle shot and killed two California sheriff's deputies and wounded another deputy and a motorist in separate incidents Friday in and around Sacramento, authorities reported."  

When a |difficult third| occurs also during a Mercury Retrograde period, as it did Friday and as it does today (Saturday), to put it bluntly, people "freak out"--sometimes. Those who are "close to the edge," as the unfortunate high school boy, are more likely to go over it. Likewise, whoever the other unfortunate armed killer in Sacramento might be. 

What is the point of knowing about this? Adjusting one's attitude. Being cautious but not paranoid. Finding out, by observing oneself and one's own life each week, what it means to you so you can adjust your plans and scheduling in accordance with it. Police departments and hospital emergency centers would do well to read this blog and learn from it. As well as, of course, military commanders at every level. Whatever Cosmic Piper may be doing, he is not whistling Dixie.

His dream of the Pope was overpowering. It came

On the heels of an attack by a vengeful enemy.

A tiger was after him, treacherous and cruel, when a man

In a white robe appeared, lifting hands to protect. 

Then later he finds a place beneath a tree to sit

And meditate. He wonders what the Buddha knew.

The setting sun inspires within him thoughts of worship.

"That's not Buddhistic. Is even the sun illusion?

"Something has to buttress assurance. What solid heritage?

Jesus the Rabbi is not the Pope, nor yet the Buddha. What,

Beyond belief, is real? Without the sun there'd be no life

Or consciousness. I'm here with it and its rays. That's real."

{Saturday} ~Not Whistling Dixie~

Cosmic Piper

Forecast-Meditation for Friday 24 October 2014

Friday 24 October 2014

Sun in Scorpio; Moon in Scorpio; Foci in 1, Self or Focus and 12, Confinement or Research

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week begins at 1:24a PT | 4:24a ET | 8:24a UT (until Sunday afternoon-evening)   *

Moon leaves the Via Combusta at 6:13p PT | 9:13p ET | 1:13a(Sa) UT   **

There seems a calming tendency on this last day of Mercury's retrograde motion (from our geocentric perspective). The "sobering" third of this week is also calming, as if tempestuous desires had found a natural comforting limit and subsided, without losing any of life's spice and fascination.

~Beckoning Promontory~

Near the temple they rake leaves, participating

In a semi-ritual, autumn reconnoitering.

Some take care to pray a bit while glancing toward the

Pointed roof. Others think about the repast after.

Some walk over to the beach, where a headland

Reaches out toward the sun risen high 

And blessing all who can receive. Some feel

As if they could bow down and worship there.

A rabbi from the synagogue nearby now joins them.

Ecumenicism finds a place upon this promontory.

His heritage and theirs are not severely different when

Insight and ministration bridge the gap between beliefs.

{Friday} ~Beckoning Promontory~

Cosmic Piper

Forecast-Meditation for Thursday 23 October 2014

Thursday 23 October 2014

Sun in Libra; Moon in Libra-->Scorpio; Foci in 1, Self or Focus and 12, Confinement or Solitude

Moon remains in the Via Combusta all day (cosmic reshuffling with possible loss of morale)  **

/moon goes void-of-course at 10:23a PT | 1:23p ET | 5:23p UT   *

until it enters Scorpio at 2:11p PT | 5:11p ET | 9:11p UT   **

New Moon of Scorpio at 2:58p PT | 5:58p ET | 9:58p UT

Mercury will turn direct in the early afternoon of Saturday. This does not guarantee that "everything will get better" immediately because the Dark Hermetic Epoch still continues until November 10. But Saturday is a day to look forward to for a still difficult but sobering internal reconstitution of your consciousness. Probably things will seem better on Sunday, rather than on Saturday.

The New Moon period, today, is subtle and germinal. It is a good idea to take your time and not feel pressured, except by your internal clock telling you to take care of what is most essential for you just now.

~Tough Rum Characters~

He mows lawns in summer and shovels snow in winter,

Wearing his necklace of skulls and the Eye of Horus.

He's gotten overweight, melancholic; but studies with devotion

Strange comics, occult metaphysics. And shovels and mows.

The nomad likes to take care of himself, carrying a

Javelin which gets him in trouble. "No offense, officer,

Just for a contest." He worships the sun at sunrise

And sunset. If he quarrels he wounds. Stay away.

His body is strong, quite robust, and his reason sees force as

The way to get all to obey. When he meets the rabbi

He is greeted warmly. Contrasting traditions are not pleased

When rival adherents find concord. These two did just that one day.

{Thursday} ~Tough Rum Characters~

Cosmic Piper

Forecast-Meditation for Wednesday 22 October 2014

Wednesday 22 October 2014

Sun in Libra; Moon in Libra; Foci in 12, Confinement or Solitude and 1, Self or Focus   ****

Moon enters the Via Combusta (monthly 2-3 days of loss of morale, reassessment,  or reshuffling) at 9:29a PT | 12:29p ET | 4:29p UT  (until late Friday)   ***

Not too bad, really, by the aspects, although the Via Combusta plus Mercury Retrograde makes things apparently uncertain or up in the air. Have you been noting the "out of pattern" tendency during the past three weeks? For example, I went back to posting these forecasts daily rather than every two days, with a different poetic format, and somewhat later than usual. Many details of daily life get rearranged at these times, for better or worse, or just because it seems inevitable.  Yet this day has favorable social indications to some degree.

}Conservation{

He rules his business as with a scepter.

On weekends he visits his New England home,

Appreciates his estate, his creek and the 

Bridge across it. All is conserved as is his money.

On the bundle of his clothes the vagrant lies asleep.

A vulture eyes him from above. He has

Drunk more than enough. He dreams of a shining

Star with a waxing moon, favor from the elite.

The priest walking by remembers the example of the

Samaritan, but doesn't he have other duties? He is

Sincere and those in high positions keep him going.

Only dense foliage here, a dark gloomy pool.

{Wednesday} {Conservation}

Cosmic Piper

Forecast-Meditation for Tuesday 21 October 2014

Tuesday 21 October 2014

Sun in Libra; Moon in Virgo-->Libra; Foci in 12, Confinement or Research and 1, Self or Focus

/moon void-of-course  **

until it enters Libra at 4:13a PT | 7:13a ET | 11:13a UT   ****

The four stars are rather hopeful, depending on one's individual mood-control most likely. 

}Quietly Earned Distinction{

The sculptor wants to be immortal through immortal statuary.

The climber above the lake, naked, takes an unwilling dive.

He'd rather have fallen in bed with the one who was on his mind,

While the sculptor's hard-rock lady shamelessly mocks and flirts. 

Is this serpent a woman or this woman a serpent? She distracts

The one who ponders the crescent moon drifting near a companion 

Shining star. Her fascination competes with the sky. Which

Will attain a distinction craved? They wonder.

The priest questions if this boring assignment

Will really please the bishop or God, but carries on

Relentlessly. "Take up your cross" is his motto.

At least there is quiet, a robe, a lighted cloister window.

{Tuesday} {Quietly Earned Distinction}

Cosmic Piper

Forecast-Meditation for Monday 20 October 2014

Monday 20 October 2014

Sun in Libra; Moon in Virgo; Foci in 11, Friends and Hopes and 2, Possessions and Allies   ***

/moon goes void-of-course at 8:31p PT | 11:31p ET | 3:31a(Tu) UT   **

\Autumn Essential/

Several individuals I know are finding this time-frame extremely trying, to the point of wanting to give up almost, or "punt" and give their lives to Fate. It seems to me a harder time to keep going than most Mercury Retrograde periods. I am not sure exactly why unless it has to do with three planets--sun, Mercury and Venus--being in the Via Combusta (15 degrees of Libra to 15 Scorpio), a time when reorientation is essential yet sometimes very confusing or demoralizing. The simplest things sometimes seem hard to do. Orientation seem lacking. That is why I recommend paring down to essentials during these times. 

I hope it is not too terrible for you. My consistent advice has to be to turn to the spiritual side of one's nature, and one's relation to the Supreme, the Eternal Thou who dwells untouched by all temporary delusions or confusions and can be one's Guide if one turns to Him or Her sincerely with trust and aspiration. What other answer could there be?

He pushes the shaft of the grinding mill, tires,

Then learns to pull it. There seems no end. 

What will be the reward, if ever? Inured to it all,

He accepts the fate of Sisyphus. Then studies his chart.

Carrying the symbol of his team and mascot

He enters the hall of recognition and reward.

Something about his person and bearing is mystical, so

As he accepts the trophy applause is fervid, wild.

Old Sol shines brightly over the cottage and its 

Spreading cedar-tree companion. Those who live there

Imitate the autumn sun by being mild and peaceful,

Strong and comforting. Their neighbors find them essential.

{Monday} /Autumn Essential\

Cosmic Piper

Forecast-Meditation for Sunday 19 October 2014

Sunday 19 October 2014

Sun in Libra; Moon in Virgo; Foci in 11, Friends or Hopes and 2, Allies or Possessions

Moon on course   **

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week ends at 7:11a PT | 10:11a ET | 2:11p UT   ***

With Fortuna in 11 and Venus exactly sextile Mars, friendship  or romance--or semi-romance, or sheer good will--should be prominent. 

The baby born to innocence lies helpless on the ground.

Cruel parents do not care if beasts attack her.

A nobleman bearing his flag of loyalty passes by.

He sees, defends, protecting forever after.

His sovereign sent him to the field to fight

If need be, or otherwise defend. The ruler's face

Hovers over the knight's bright consciousness. 

His public loves him; his men secure the victory.

The traveler enters the rustic cottage by the way,

Befriended by the benevolent couple dwelling there.

Together on the lawn they see a star with many rings,

Revolving around the strong central sun while blessing.

A word about the quatrains:  Often some of the 1080 symbols, given by clairvoyants for the degrees of the zodiac, are martial, or maybe apparently sexist, or classist, or redolent of much 19th century thinking, since two of the sets were delivered in that century. In translating them into poems I sometimes shudder when the result seems just that: sexist or classist or military or cruel or judgmental. I try to modify that and perhaps will succeed better in the future. As most of you know, I am not a militarist. Remember, these are symbols. The "knight" fighting a "battle" could be an activist fighting for a cause, in these days. The "nobleman" with his "flag of loyalty" could be someone with a cause. The LGBT movement and the United Nations, for example, each have their own flags. Or, the flag could be totally imaginary, representing something to which one is loyal. We have to take the symbols as symbols, meaning different things according to one's life-situation. When battles are mentioned, to me they are primarily spiritual battles, which work out mostly as interpersonal conflicts which can be resolved by peaceful yet courageous means. We will see how the quatrains evolve as time goes on.

Cosmic Piper

Forecast-Meditation for Saturday 18 October 2014

Saturday 18 October 2014

Sun in Libra; Moon in Leo-->Virgo; Foci in 11, Friends or Hopes and 2, Possessions or Allies

/moon goes void-of-course at 6:11a PT | 9:11a ET | 1:11p UT   **

until it enters Virgo at 4:09p PT | 7:09p ET | 11:09p UT   ***

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week continues

The sextile of Venus with Mars is with us, exact today through Monday. This does not always mean a hot relationship, although it can. Often for an individual it is a time of increased harmony and reciprocity with more than one individual, or, even more subtle, happy memories and projected hopes of relationships past or future. Who is mostly on your mind now? Those select individuals are likely to be your "mates" or best friends at least for now and the near future.

\Threats Surmounted/

The fat boy rides the hobbyhorse. It doesn't care.

The prowler watching through the window cares, and wants the boy.

The boy, lost in vain imagination of cowboy greatness,

Wakes up in time and, screaming, alerts his dad who saves him.

Isolated, she stands on a rocky height contemplating

Distinctions she has won. A dark cloud passing by

Seems threatening. Is she envied, perhaps betrayed? A great man's

Presence in her life is a sun chasing the cloud.

The knight, randy for victory, is mailed and plumed,

Ready to fight for his country's rights. In the bivouac's

Midnight light he views a star radiating colorful rings,

Imparting virtue to his daring, courage to his loyalty.

{Saturday} /Threats Surmounted\

Cosmic Piper

Forecast-Meditation for Thursday 16 and Friday 17 October 2014

Thursday 16 October 2014

Sun in Libra; Moon in Cancer-->Leo; Foci in 10, Career or Honor and 3, Communication or Neighbors 

/moon void-of-course   **

until it enters Leo at 3:30a PT | 6:30a ET | 10:30a UT  ***

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week begins at 5:56p PT | 8:56p ET | 12:56a(F) UT  **

^Helpful Portents^

For many this is a time when things seem to be changing in big ways, deep ways, as if they were re-examining their lives and purposes and their modes of fulfilling their destiny. This is not only because Mercury is retrograde but because of the increasing square between Jupiter and Saturn, a signal that one's soul is trying to reform whatever is inadequate in one's way of manifesting it. This ought not to be depressing, but can be until one gets one's bearings. The forgetfulness, absent-mindedness, and side-tracking are symptoms of something deeper trying to come to consciousness.

He lies asleep among old cans of beer and junk food, 

His wallet beside him open, green bills strewn

Across the floor. The rabbi come to visit gives him

Stern but kind advice, a prayer, and higher aspirations.

This large man climbs up the shaky ladder of 

Work for others, feeling himself darkness in their light.

But today there is a party in the office, moving to

A houseboat as scene for his hard-earned promotion.

When she awakens in the morning a cheerful bluebird

Hops to the door of her house. Could this be good

Fortune? A friend in her profession had given her

A scepter-wand with diamond-like top for luck.

{Thursday} ^Helpful Portents^

Cosmic Piper

Friday 17 October 2014

Sun in Libra; Moon in Leo; Foci in 10, Career or Standing and 3, Communication or Neighbors

Moon on course

|Karmically intense or sobering third| of this week continues   **

^Cultivating Cheer^

His research has carried him far from the world

In his feelings, but close in his deep solid study.

His rabbi tells him his efforts will make a big difference.

That assurance keeps him trying, with patience.

The woman playing the Welsh harp has practiced regularly.

She's come to this party to be with old friends and please them.

It's a pocket of life in a houseboat, and even temperaments

Around her emanate harmonies. Her melodies are congenial.

The signs and portents point to luck, for those alert to them.

The birds chirp around the house; its owner runs around the block.

He feels the wind against him. Why are those birds so happy?

Has he been obstinate, he wonders? Could he be cheerful like them?

{Friday} ^Cultivating Cheer^

Cosmic Piper