Forecast for Friday 1 April 2016

Friday 1 April 2016

\Making the Impossible Possible/

Moon in Capricorn-->Aquarius   ***

/moon goes void-of-course at 9:40a PT | 12:40p ET | 4:40p UT   ** /

until it enters Aquarius at 6:38p PT | 9:38p ET | 1:38a(Sa) UT   ***

The v-of-c time is good for reconnoitering, reassembling, reviewing or revising a little. I would not say it's good, this time, for sheer relaxation and fun, because the presence of the sun and Mercury with Uranus in Aries, the sign of self-centered pushing-forward, wants to get something accomplished. People are not only playing the game, they are determined to win. If they can't win every time, they are determined to win more often than before, and soon! So, they tell themselves, let's get on with it.

It's not a bad way to live, especially now and in the whole month of Aries. Some may think of it as a selfish sign, but it is really more a sign of concentration of power and drive toward a particular goal. Failures never seem to daunt the Aries spirit for long. That internal energy is coiled like a spring to get something accomplished. Aries can ignore anyone or everyone while busy at its self-appointed task or mission. But it can be entirely fair to others, while respecting their own particular drive toward their own particular goals, but it knows better than to get mixed up in someone else's game-plan. Its own (her own, his own) is enough. So we keep on.

Mental energy and insight are wonderful. Uranus and Mercury both bi-quintile Uranus give lucky insight into the solution of problems, the finding of profitable solutions.

There could be more friendliness later in the day after Luna enters Aquarius. 

The forming square of Mars with Neptune is always interesting. (At worst, I feel obligated to say, it can be misuse of drugs or alcohol, but let's not focus on that, just beware of it.) It is a spiritual drive, a need to manifest the Ideal (Neptune) through action. I believe in certain things, I even feel a soul-dedication to them--so what then? I need to manifest my energy and drive in a program to make those ideals actual in this world. That is the spiritual ferment of Mars-square-Neptune. It can be immensely powerful, even magical, for it will not give up.

Not even while the moon is void-of-course, though we may dither a little then and toy with different approaches in an experimental manner.

{Friday} /Making the Impossible Possible\

Cosmic Piper

Forecast for Thursday 31 March 2016

Thursday 31 March 2016

\Intense Practical Focus/

Moon in Capricorn   ****

Astrologers tend to write in trite formulas when composing their forecasts, and probably I am no exception. I use the word "practical" too much when the moon is in Capricorn, but it is a good word for what happens then. After it went in that sign yesterday I spent hours in intense concentration on some business matters which I had not wanted to confront as seriously when the moon was in Sagittarius. Then I was reading philosophy and religion.

So today, because also the Part of Fortune is in the 10th sector of business, career, or standing in the world, you may focus a great deal on getting things done which will make your material prosperity or your status more bountiful and satisfying. This could be the right time to do that with intense concentration, for Luna trines Jupiter, in earth signs, and forms a sextile with Venus, good for prosperity or prosperous schemes, plans and projects. She is also conjoined to Pluto, planet of big business but also of our own smaller business worlds. 

If you were a CEO of a multi-million dollar corporation you would be flying high today. If you are not, you will still fly high in some way in your personal world and feel that you are in command of it. You give orders to yourself, maybe to others, and things get done pronto. Where there did not seem to be a way, there is a way.

Orderliness is a natural concomitant of being in harmony with the universe, which for us is our solar system, our planet, and the human governments, businesses and NGOs which network through it and around it. You are finding your place in all that. It's serious, but the well-being it establishes can be blissful.

Communication is likely to be not emotional, flattering or seductive but no-nonsense. You sense what it is you can accomplish with or without certain individuals and then you go ahead to do that and use their cooperation impersonally rather than worry about what they think of you. That gets a good response when they see that what you are doing makes sense in their world or their consciousness. You don't have to persuade them, you just do what you do effectively and then they fall into line as adjuncts to, or co-participants in, your program. 

But there is also a lot you can do alone or without considering, just now, how anyone else is involved or might be involved in the future. That is for later. You are putting in the foundations.

{Thursday} /Intense Practical Focus\

Cosmic Piper

P. S. If you get spam from me, pornographic in content, I have nothing to do with it. I got some of it yesterday, addressed to me and sent "by me" although I had nothing to do with it. Yesterday I also got a message from Google that someone in Los Angeles tried to sign into my account. Apparently that personage or robot used my address to send the pornographc spam to me--and to you perhaps, I have no idea. So if you get something like that from "hugh.higgins" you know it is not from me--and please mark it "spam" in your email provider. I don't know how to prevent it other than to change my password, which I have done. If it continues, please let me know and I may have to take more drastic measures. 

Of course, it's possible that if you mark things supposedly sent by me as "spam" then you won't get the forecasts either. I have no idea. All that kind of ridiculous evil has no place in my consciousness.

Forecast for Wednesday 30 March 2016

Wednesday 30 March 2016

\Capabilities Available/

Moon in Sagittarius-->Capricorn

/moon is void-of-course    * / | 

until it enters Capricorn at 10:46a PT | 1:46p ET | 5:46p UT   ** |

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week ends at 5:12p PT | 8:12p ET | 0:12a(Th) UT   ***

We always expect realistic, practical activities when the moon is in Capricorn. This gets better through the course of the day as Luna moves toward a trine with Jupiter, culminating on Thursday afternoon-evening. So hope is alive and has a foundation.

Business details and communications with associates or friends at a distance are emphasized.

The easy path is not always the best path, but we try to make the best path as easy as possible. 

Softness and delicacy (Luna sextile Neptune) intermingle with hard persistent endeavor (Luna square sun). 

Even when communication may be difficult, there is a rapport with people which can bring out their unsuspected capabilities and talents. That makes you feel more fulfilled yourself.

Any monetary gains you enjoy are based on having done the right thing to the best of your ability.

{Wednesday} /Capabilities Available\

Cosmic Piper

Forecast for Tuesday 29 March 2016

Tuesday 29 March 2016

^Supremacy^

Moon in Sagittarius

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week continues (until Wednesday evening)   *** |

/moon goes void-of-course at 6:56p PT | 9:56p ET | 1:56a(W) UT   
** / |

Much of the focus seems to shift to privacy. One can do what one needs to do either alone or in a less public area in one's job-space. 

Brilliant ideas or insights seem thrilling. They are not impossible or unworkable although time is needed to get them into working order. 

The emotional tone is serious rather than frivolous, circumspect rather than smoothly social. Luna's square with Venus seems to bring forth hidden desires, overweening or lustful, which make no headway, really, although they seem to for a while. Then they sink back into the subconscient whence they came. 

People may be attracted to one another but hold back from expressing the attraction.

The deep coiled energy we feel within us (six planets in fire signs) derives from the Supreme, defined in one place by Sri Aurobindo as follows: "The Divine being; the master and creator of the universe. He is Omnipotent, Omniscient, the controller of all energies, the conscious in all that is conscient or Inconscient, the Inhabitant of all souls and minds and hearts and bodies, the Ruler or Overruler of all works, the enjoyer of all delight, the Creator who has built all things in his own being, the All-Person of whom all beings are personalities, the Power from whom are all powers, the Self, the Spirit in all, by his being the Father of all that is, in his Consciousness-Force the Divine Mother, the Friend of all creatures, the All-blissful and All-beautiful of whom beauty and joy are the revelation, the All-Beloved and All-Lover. He is supracosmic as well as intracosmic. He is that which exceeds and inhabits and supports all individuality." 

{Tuesday} ^Supremacy^

Cosmic Piper

Forecast for Monday 28 March 2016

Monday 28 March 2016

^Conscience-Informed Insight^

Moon in Sagittarius

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week all day (until Wednesday evening)  *** |

Serious thoughts. Serious thinking. Abstract thinking which has practical applications. Conclusions, or attempts to arrive at conclusive insights.

Mystery and uncertainty, yet a firm belief that one can arrive at answers. So the uncertainty tends to dissipate through clear thinking based on personal experience. Then firm answers could arrive. 

In business, the details become more securely arranged. 

Ethics takes on importance. One wants to do what is right for everyone without being selfish in a way which violates one's subtle conscience. That conscience may be what is responsible for any discomfort one feels. 

Loyalty to the Highest and to one's most basic associates and friends is essential to steer past a possible failure of the soul (Saturn square Jupiter, both planets retrograde). We are here for a reason and purpose. When we act in alignment with that, all goes well.

{Monday} ^Conscience-Informed Insight^

Cosmic Piper

Forecast for Easter Weekend, March 26-27, 2016

Saturday and Sunday, March 26-27, 2016

It doesn't seem that I want to go through the process of writing a lengthy forecast for this Easter weekend. So I will be brief.

Saturday: The moon remains in Scorpio. Saturday should be considerably nicer than Friday. Luna goes out of the Via Combusta shortly after 4p PT | 7p ET | 11p UT, and forms good aspects with both Jupiter and Venus, also Neptune and Pluto. Those should be noticeable and uplifting all day. It will probably be a good social day, but good also for more serious projects if those are important to you. 

Sunday, Easter, the moon remains in Scorpio all day and goes void-of-course at 0:27a PT | 4:27a ET | 8:27a UT, so the momentum of Saturday could be missing. It's a time for relaxing and then doing whatever your deeper resurrected self tells you is most important and significant at this time. Connections with people may be less satisfying than on Saturday but your personal evolution continues in one unusual form or another.

I am not preaching an Easter sermon, but of course it is well to reach toward the Highest with humility and love, at all times, and especially on a special day like this. 

{Easter Weekend}

Cosmic Piper

"No man can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise him up on the last day. It is written in the prophets: 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Everyone who has listened to the Father and learned from him comes to me." --Jesus, John 6: 43-45

Forecast for Friday 25 March 2016

Friday 25 March 2016

~Muted and Serious~

Moon in Libra-->Scorpio

< moon remains in the Via Combusta (discussed yesterday) until Saturday evening

/moon void-of-course   * / <

until it enters Scorpio at 11:10a PT | 2:10p ET | 6:10p UT  ** <

Perhaps it is fitting that the lunar indications are rather dismal on this day of the commemoration of the crucifixion of Jesus my Lord. I bow to Him and to the sacrifice he made for all of us, even for those who do not know him or who reject him. 

It is also fitting that on Thursday evening I was led, unexpectedly, to watch a video of a presentation by a woman I never heard of, Susan Landauer. She suffered, in her own way, a sort of crucifixion, or torture, at the hands of our own (?) government, under the Patriot Act's provisions. I don't have time here to present her story, but you might find it as fascinating as I did:

http://agreenroad.blogspot.com/2014/12/cia-asset-susan-lindauer-whistleblower.html

You could skip the first seven minutes of the introduction. Her story is utterly fascinating, and I tend to believe this woman. She seems to have a heart and a conscience and did not deserve the horrid treatment she received from "our" government. Whether her beliefs and statements about the lead-up to 9/11/2001 are entirely accurate or not, I do not know, but they are worth considering. It is fitting that a woman (born under the sign of Cancer, often motherly and peaceful) took on the war-machine which unfortunately was determining the course of our nation's destiny in the early 2000s. Whatever one may think of her presentation, her courage is amazing.

Today Venus is opposite Jupiter and square Saturn by less than one degree, very intense. This does not have to be dismal. It is rather profound. So we may choose to spend time alone, or in contemplation or meditation. You know that I always recommend the study of Scripture or other sacred, spiritual writings, as well as repeating prayers and mantras, especially at times like this. The better side of people is likely to be their more muted and serious side, and of that they ought not to be ashamed.

{Friday}  ~Muted and Serious~

Cosmic Piper

Extra message for Thursday March 24

I want to be as optimistic and hopeful as possible in these reports. But this morning, getting out of bed, I felt a world-weariness and doubtfulness, and recognized it--Via Combusta! I realized that the moon is now in that segment of the zodiac and that I had failed to report that in the forecast for Thursday. So I added the following:

But all the above was written before I noticed that the moon is in the Via Combusta today (until Saturday evening). That puts a damper on things. It is important not to lose confidence. The big word for the Via C is DOUBT. We know our little finite minds are not omniscient, our little muscles omnipotent, our little hearts all-loving. So we wonder if we can cope, and if we really know what we have to cope with. Welcome to the human race. So we need faith and patience and, of course, as much competence as we can summon.

Forecast for Thursday 24 March 2016

Thursday 24 March 2016

}Freedom Shared with All{

Moon in Libra  ***
< moon enters the Via Combusta (for 2.5 days approximately) at 4:43a PT | 7:43a ET | 11:43a UT  (possible loss of morale, uncertainty or confusion, a cosmic reshuffling)

/moon goes void-of-course at 1:56p PT | 4:56p ET | 8:56p UT   ** /

until it enters Scorpio around noon or early afternoon tomorrow (depending on zone)

Gains,  materially, are likely to be sub rosa, hidden, private. You don't want to reveal them to anyone. 

Losses are taken philosophically--you know you will do better, so why worry about a temporary retreat from your hoped-for standard of success?

Many are floundering in their love lives, or would-be love lives, not connecting actively with anyone, but forming passive connections with those who are not ideal companions but will do in a pinch of loneliness. 

As for your understanding and appreciation of yourself, it is healthy. You can rise above emotional worries and sense your true identity, which is one with the eternal Self of humanity, or of the universe, or of the Supreme. (It is impossible to put that in words other than suggestive ones, but it is well to dwell on those while in search of their infinite implications.) 

Financial gains are possible in surprising ways. 

But all the above was written before I noticed that the moon is in the Via Combusta today. That puts a damper on things. It is important not to lose confidence. The big word for the Via C is DOUBT. We know our little finite minds are not omniscient, our little muscles omnipotent, our little hearts all-loving. So we wonder if we can cope, and if we really know what we have to cope with. Welcome to the human race. So we need faith and patience and, of course, as much competence as we can summon. 

Misunderstandings are merely signs that people are alive, thinking for themselves, and trying to grasp what it's all about. Obviously we do that in different ways, hence the inevitable misunderstandings. If we take them as salt, sugar, flavoring, spice, we will not be upset by them. 

Even the individuals most important to you sometimes seem as if enemies or opponents in some respect. The lurking sweetness behind all that is what holds you together with them.

{Thursday} {Freedom Shared with All}

Cosmic Piper

Forecast for Wednesday 23 March 2016

Wednesday 23 March 2016

}Self-Finding{

Moon in Libra   ** |

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week ends at 1:13a PT | 4:13a ET | 8:13a UT   ***

The Brussels attacks yesterday took place during a |karmically difficult or sobering third| of a week and while the moon was void-of-course (all day). The attacks on 9/11/2001 also took place when both of these lunar conditions were present. I report these void-of-course and |difficult third| periods every day because I have seen how important they are. We cannot just stop the world and get off at such times, but when both of them are going on we could take care to be specially cautious. 

I did not have a terrible day, but I was not really tested, being alone most of the day. I did feel a disconnection from what I had intended to accomplish and did not do as much as planned; this was pointed out in the forecast for Tuesday as a possibility and I am sure I am not the only one who behaved that way. We needed a bit of a break, perhaps. And the suicide bombers should definitely have taken a break--permanently. Pressing on with something one's deeper self knows is a mistake is one thing people often do during both void-of-course and |difficult third| periods--yes, even to suicide sometimes, I am sorry to say.

Further, as pointed out in last weekend's Sermon here, and in the following forecast for the Fortnight of March 15-31, we are, on Monday and Tuesday (check the Saturday Sermon and you will see) at the very heart of the Saturn square Jupiter aspect, a karmically challenging one. 

In addition to all that, Venus is now squaring Saturn. It snuck up on us, and I did not even report it yet although by a ten-degree orb it began last Thursday March 17 and continues until April 2. The heart of it, by five degrees, is from Monday the 21st through Monday the 28th. The Brussels attacks were right on time, I am sorry to say, for Venus square Saturn is a sad or depressing aspect--unless we are spiritually able to rise above it. Let us try. It is all too easy to feel sorry for oneself at such times and to feel that one is loveless, or find it very hard to stay loving and to keep one's faith in G*d, oneself, or anyone else. We need to keep trying. Love is not dead but may seem dormant. The crasser or less dedicated forms of love, bordering on lustful attachment, tend to reveal themselves for what they are, and then the deeper caritas or selfless love has a chance to find its reality. Not without mournful or melancholy hours, for most of us. Being loyal to friends or family is an art form at such times, requiring sacrifice, which turns out to be very much worth the trouble. At the same time, because everyone is touchy, one need not press too close or too assertively in anyone's direction, but with a sense of decorum and respect. That would win appreciation.

So that is going on today (Wednesday). The moon in Libra is not void-of-course as it was Tuesday, and Mercury exactly with the sun is good for planning. So in this Bright Hermetic Epoch, good for plans and choices even if depressing as this one has been for reasons just mentioned, we can, perhaps today especially, get some of those plans and choices in good shape--strategies for coping with the next month and the next Dark Hermetic Epoch beginning April 14.

Because of the Saturn aspects, those plans will be realistic and not wildly adventurous, but they could be solid and workable.  You may feel confident in your personal goals, with the sun and Mercury trine Mars in fire signs. You know you can do what you have chosen to do, despite the doubts and worries outlined above and in the Fortnightly report. 

{Wednesday} {Self-Finding}

Cosmic Piper

Special Message after the Brussels Tragedy

The symbols for the Fortnight, given here two days ago in the report for the Fortnight of March 15-31, take on a more vivid and tragic meaning today after the events in Brussels. One of them was called by Charubel "the degree of death." Neptune is therein. The other one (the degree occupied by Uranus) is symbolized by "A man on the ground with his throat cut." I left that description out, from kindness to you readers, but reported the rest of it: "This appears a bloody degree. Those [who have this degree] are advised to do all in their power to fortify the soul, and to pray to God for help and guidance." I am feeling the need for that myself, not because of impending physical dangers that I know of, but because we all need divine grace--because none of us measure up to divine standards.

Forecast for Tuesday 22 March 2016

Tuesday 22 March 2016

\Poised in High Consciousness/

Moon in Virgo-->Libra

/moon is void-of-course 

until it enters Libra at 10:24p PT | 1:24a(W) ET | 5:24a(W) UT

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week continues until very early Wednesday

We have dwelt at length on the Jupiter-Saturn square and I shall not repeat what I said about that over the weekend. It remains with us. Only soul strength can overcome the challenges we are facing.

There is energy, with the sun and Mercury together in Aries trine Mars in Sagittarius (fire signs). Mercury is joining the sun at this center of a Bright Hermetic Epoch. That means that you can decide on things, firm them up, get plans in reasonable order. It could be wise to do that today or tomorrow (tomorrow could be better because the moon will no longer be void-of-course) and write down your conclusions--strategies for coping with things over the next three months. (A Dark Hermetic Epoch with its usual uncertainties begins on April 14.)

We approach a Full Moon (which is also an eclipse), exact Wednesday morning. This is always a high-consciousness period, with awareness seeming to extend out in all directions. Because the moon is void-of-course today, you may not be able to pinpoint every detail of what you want to be doing. Keeping your optimism high and being poised for success is probably enough. Then the rest will take care of itself. Letting yourself escape from all but necessary schedules might be psychologically healthy. People are likely to chat about things which are of little or no consequence, though the interaction is enlivening. 

{Tuesday} /Poised in High Consciousness\

Cosmic Piper

Forecast for Fortnight of March 15-31, 2016 (and Monday)

Fortnight of March 15-31, 2016 

^Sigh, The Work Ethic Again^

Monday's lunar data follow this report. We work with the symbols of Charubel, or John Thomas, Welsh seer of the 19th century. They are amazingly accurate so often that they are among top-ranking factors in astrological musing about the meaning of events. 

The first symbol for the fortnight is a man sitting at a table with a carving knife, about to enjoy a good meal--an epicure. He is "harmless, and as a rule fortunate in the things of the world." Well, the stock market has been rising for a few weeks, although one cannot with any firmness predict what it will do today, tomorrow or next week. As for my personal situation, and perhaps yours, I have had trouble curtailing my appetite in the past week and have eaten things I usually don't, and too many of them. I have, however, been very careful about alcohol, not having had any for three days; but since Venus is conjoined to Neptune in Pisces, often a drinking sign, some may be overindulging in that direction. That is not wise because Mars is moving to a square with Neptune, often indicative of serious problems through drugs, alcohol or stimulants. Neptune is in private areas of the field systems so the indulgence could be secretly or in private. 

"A racecourse, the racers at full speed." This could symbolize speculation, gambling, or taking one's chances financially through investment or the like. The Presidential primary of course also comes to mind, since it is as peculiarly interesting as a fascinating horse race this time around, in fact we have never seen the like. The symbol also indicates hurry, which I can relate to, since I have been feeling daily that I need to rush to keep up with a full schedule, and then unexpectedly add more to the schedule over and over. But please let's call it a horse race rather than a rat race . . . Rather than complaining about it, we could enjoy a sense of adventure in trying to beat the odds. 

Neptune is at Pisces 10-11, "The ascendant enveloped in gloom and blackness." Charubel says bluntly "This is a degree of death." I believe that this means we may be alert to or thinking about the possible winding down of some lives of which we are aware, but not that there will be more death than usual. The clairvoyant adds: "I advise [us] to devote [our] energies to the spiritual side of our nature. Here [we] may find comfort, even when walking through the way where the shades of death abound." That has meaning for me because I have found myself, in the past few days, addicted to a TV series called The Returned, about those who return from death and find that re-mingling with the living is quite an ordeal. I am amazed how hypnotic the series has been for me. We may be in touch with those on the Other Side.

Uranus's position continues the gloom, in "a bloody degree" which requires us "to fortify the soul, and pray to God for help and guidance" in order to avoid a dismal fate. These warnings may be appropriate for some of us, if we feel we are slipping into something risky or dangerous, or need divine guidance and protection in a serious way. 

The "sermon" I posted Saturday about the Saturn-Jupiter square, exact right now, is probably worthy of re-reading. It covers a lot of what I ought to say here in this report, for it will be in effect not only through the fortnight but for months to come; yet this fortnight is the peak of it. Perhaps you have been feeling dismally down on yourself for some seeming failures or some real failures. This square offers us that recognition, which can be sobering and painful, yet if we did not recognize the problems we could not pull away from them or improve our ways of living. 

And so the symbols occupied by those two planets are highly significant; Saturn first: "A little boy in a state of nudity blowing bubbles." (You will recognize many of these symbols from previous fortnights, for we are focusing on the slower-moving planets.) This is said to indicate "Much innocence, one who will live long but who will do little good or harm; ever bent on personal amusement, and such as may be deemed worthless." You recall how in the "sermon" I suggested we feel a deep need to prove our worth at this time. That is good for us. Although I love childlike innocence and amusement, I recognize that it has its limits and we sometimes have to shake ourselves out of it to do something requiring character strength. That is what seems to be going on. And we see ourselves and others reflected in the news, always, so the Donald, for example, seems to be an embodiment of this degree-symbol much too often. He seems to take the presidential race as an amusing TV reality show. But rather than merely laugh about him we should look to ourselves. 

Jupiter: "A person being carried by four men in a sedan chair." As we consider Charubel's interpretation of this, let's think not only of ourselves but of others we know, and how they might be disporting themselves at present. The Donald seems to get more attention than any other living human being on the planet at this time, so he is fair game: "A favorite of fortune, he will have the good luck to accumulate wealth; will be endowed with good parts and possessed of numerous accomplishments. But his idleness and characteristic sloth may render him a useless member of society, and, as a consequence, self-indulgence may prove his ruin." We note, of course, how Charubel enunciates the old Anglo-Saxon work ethic; and yet this symbol seems appropriate at present. I mentioned in the Sermon (the weekend report) that we need to feel we are not just coasting on others' labors (the sedan chair) but contributing our fair share to the world which supports us. But I do not want to repeat that sermon . . . You could probably give it yourself, to yourself or someone or me . . . when not blowing bubbles with the little boy or smiling sweetly at those who carry your sedan chair. 

{Fortnight of March 15-31} ^Sigh, The Work Ethic Again^

Cosmic Piper

Monday 21 March 2016

Moon in Virgo   ***

/moon goes void-of-course at 8:56p PT | 11:56p ET | 3:56a(Tu) UT   ** /

It's a good day for heeding the advice given above, for Virgo is a work sign whether that be physical or intellectual. Both Luna and Jupiter therein signify joy and satisfaction through one's endeavors.

{Monday} 

Cosmic Piper

Forecast for Weekend of 19-20 March 2016

Weekend of Saturday 19 and Sunday 20 March 2016

^Deserved^

Several difficult situations hit me at the same time from the 15th through the 19th of March and I fell off from the "wheel" of these forecasts, not posting one for Friday, Saturday or Sunday.

Today I studied the current aspects and I see what "hit" me and it is probably hitting you too, in one way or another.

It is the exactness of the Saturn-Jupiter square. This aspect is so important that it (together with the opposition and conjunction of these two planets) has been called a "mutation" by Marc Edmund Jones. That is, it seems to mark off major changes in people's lives.

This one began, by a ten-degree orb, in September of 2014, and has been with us on and off, because both of these planets turn retrograde frequently (from our geocentric perspective). Its current phase began January 18 this year, and continues through July 20, six months. Then it disappears, not to come back again (as a conjunction) until February 2020. The more intense five-degree part of it lasts until June 26, three more months, and right now it is exact--within 17 minutes of arc as I write, and totally exact on Monday-Tuesday of this week (March 21-22). It is something to be cognizant of, because it is happening at a deep soul level, for all of humanity.

Jupiter is expansion and enthusiasm; Saturn, contraction and despair. That is putting it too briefly as a quick sketch. When enthusiasm meets with reality, there can be intense spiritual suffering. Of course ultimately Reality is perfect and good--that has been my idealistic faith since childhood--but in some sense, when this aspect goes on, we feel, or know, that we need to deserve that perfection and goodness. Deserve! It's interesting how we use that word, and it is a crucial one for understanding what this aspect denotes in our lives.

Yes, we feel we need to deserve any good fortune we might hope for. If we try to reject that feeling, and go off to enjoy ourselves blissfully through overindulgence in food, drink, sex, or entertainment, some inner voice keeps telling us we are going wrong, we are missing the boat, we are failing to earn what we ought to be earning. That is why this has been called a karmic aspect. 

The doctrine of karma asserts that we make our own good fortune by our actions and thoughts, our serious intentions and deeds. Not many would disagree with that, ultimately, but when the crunch comes--and it is here now--we may fail to realize what is happening until it's too late--that is, we could slack off, seek escape, lose ourselves in fake euphoria, and then wake up soberly to see that we have lost an opportunity--in fact, diminished ourselves and our destiny.

That is pretty heavy stuff. Thank you for reading it. You are one of a very few who could stomach it. I don't like it either, but am feeling it today pretty intensely. For example, I realized that my failure to write reports for the past few days was indeed a karmic failure--because in designating myself Cosmic Piper (rather vain or arrogant, many would think) I took on a certain task, and when I fail to dispatch it I do not feel good about myself. Similarly with you, whatever your self-assigned duty or mission might be. In other words, even if we are secure financially, we feel we need to earn our keep as we go along. And this aspect asks, "Are you really doing that?"

Similarly when it comes to family, relationships, and friendships. Lately, for a month or more, I have been thinking about how I have treated friends in the past, and I am not entirely happy with that--in fact, I have been seeing how I have taken many friends for granted, over the decades, failed to keep some friendships going and in fact dropped or ignored certain friends or neighbors, or treated them harshly or almost with contempt sometimes. That does not make me feel good about myself. 

There is a chance that one might be too hard on oneself--exaggerate one's failures or sins--and get oneself into so much self-contempt that one has suicidal thoughts. Of course that is not the right way to use this aspect. Rather we can sense how to rectify past behavior and get ourselves in shape. Marc Edmund Jones gives one keyword of Jupiter as "paternal," or one might also say "maternal" but with a more judgmental sort of "mother" attitude than the "sweet mother" one. In other words, we are being our own parents and judging ourselves as our own children and trying to push ourselves in a better direction that we can feel proud of. All that is quite salutary and in fact necessary. 

There are other aspects. Jupiter trine Pluto is almost the opposite, giving sometimes undeserved (apparently) good fortune, or largesse from the cosmos. That can be as trivial as free coupons for things one will enjoy, or the kindness of a friend or stranger, or finding a bit of extra cash or whatnot. Or it can be more than that if one is in business or investment. That aspect is also with us, exact in the past week, remaining until August 16, and exact again the last week of June. So we might be happy with something "extra" in our lives--but then ask ourselves, "Do I truly deserve this?" deferring to the Saturn aspect. Well, yes, it is important to deserve what we get, although there is such a thing as Divine Grace according not only to Christianity but Hinduism and some other traditions. Yet all those traditions would insist that while we can be grateful for grace and mercy and its provisions, we certainly cannot demand them. So that little conscience-voice that says "Try to be worthy of this" is something we should heed if we want to feel happy with ourselves. 

End of sermon!

Lunar data:

Saturday 19 March

Moon in Leo   ***

/moon goes void-of-course at 1:44p PT | 4:44p ET | 8:44p UT   ** /

(This is amazing! I had not looked at the lunar aspects for today, but felt a deep urge to write the above, and now after finishing it it is 1:50 p.m. PT, and since I spent a few minutes editing, that means I finished and wrote "End of sermon!" exactly when the moon went void-of-course! So perhaps the sermon, whatever it may be, is not "void"!)

Sunday 20 March 2016

Moon in Leo-->Virgo 

/moon void-of-course   ** /

until it enters Virgo at 10:40a PT | 1:40p ET | 5:40p UT   ***

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week begins at 1:24p PT | 4:24p ET | 8:24p UT   ** |

{Weekend} ^Deserved^

Cosmic Piper

Forecast for Thursday 17 March 2016

Thursday 17 March 2016

}Settling Things Comfortably{

Moon in Cancer   ****

Lunar aspects are smooth and it's St. Patrick's Day so let's give ourselves four stars. Still, there is a rather subdued tone. We are feeling we need to live up to our goals for ourselves and may wonder if we are really doing that seriously. That is the Jupiter-Saturn square. It symbolizes a tension in the soul as it strives to be perfect or to live up to its ideals. 

The exact trine of Jupiter and Pluto is good for finances, generally speaking, and probably for your own finances in at least some regard. Working on taxes or other bookkeeping tasks could go well. 

Entertainment, travel or other satisfying pleasurable activities could be on your mind but you know you have to be ready for them and they have to come at the right time rather than prematurely. 

We seem to be on a borderline between indulging ourselves freely and  holding back circumspectly. It is wonderful when we can feel and live the natural balance between those two extremes. 

{Thursday} ~Settling Things Comfortably~

Cosmic Piper

Forecast for Wednesday 16 March 2016

Wednesday 16 March 2016

~Attending to Basics Smoothly~

Moon in Cancer   ***

I tried to ignore the Presidential Primaries today because I know I have spent too much of my own time pondering and speculating about them. I have felt that I had a deeper soul-connection with Bernie Sanders than with Hillary Clinton, because he opposes capital punishment and she does not. That to me is a major issue, more important to me than to most. But studying the chart for today, last week, I concluded that Hillary might do better than Bernie on this particular occasion. So I did not say anything about the primaries because I did not want to predict a victory for Hillary today. (Yes, that victory came, except in Missouri which is uncertain as I write.) Still, there are many more primaries to come, and I have not studied the astrological setup on each of those days. Much could happen.

As for the Republican race, everybody knows about that because the media are obsessed with Donald Trump. I knew from the beginning that Marco Rubio was going nowhere. I could tell by his demeanor in the debates. And that demeanor was confirmed and explained by his horoscope, which contains Mars squared to Venus, a harsh aspect which turns people off. Here is something I wrote tonight to the New York Times about a column by Gail Collins about John Kasich in today's edition of their paper: 

I might agree with Kasich on no more than 50 per cent of what he says, but at least he is sane, and that is saying a lot in this election cycle. If the media (including this august newspaper) and the Republican leadership had just given him half the attention they gave to Rubio (a loser from the beginning in my opinion, stated from the beginning) and Trump (a loser at the end, everyone thinks), they might have saved themselves from fatal Trump-itis. Gail, confess! You were a part of the conspiracy of silence. Kasich hugged and cried with some of the people in his audience! If Trump had done that it would have been huge headline news. Oh yes, I am holding the media, and you are a part of it! partly responsible for Trump-itis.

So far the Times has not posted my comment.

Tuesday has been a long and complex day for me. I won't say much about Wednesday except: We can make the most of it. We may want to be homebodies part of the time because we know things we can do there quietly may be more essential than anything done out in public. That does not mean we will be inactive. Smoothly finishing things that need to be finished produces a real high rather than a false one.

{Wednesday} ~Attending to Basics Smoothly~

Cosmic Piper

Forecast for Tuesday 15 March 2016

Tuesday 15 March 2016

}Natural Choices Lead to Harmony{

Moon in Gemini-->Cancer

/moon goes void-of-course at 10:04a PT | 1:04a ET | 5:04p UT (times now in Daylight Savings Time except for UT, Univeral Time)\

until it enters Cancer at 5:58p PT | 8:58p ET | 1:58a(W) UT

I am not making political predictions about the outcome of today's primaries, fascinating as they are. It seems far more important for us to focus on our own work and projects, well-being and mission. If everyone did that wisely, politics would take care of itself. Because to take care of one's own life wisely is to be attuned to the universal welfare; otherwise it could not be done. And if all were attuned to the universal welfare, politics would be obsolete, as would most of human laws.

We are far from that, apparently, but it is time to realize that we can't expect politics and manipulation of others to solve our problems. "We believe that the original authority and dominion given to man was over his own thoughts, emotions, feelings, and passions, and that, in the lawful exercise of this authority, he will harmonize all discords within and without and restore the kingdom of God on the earth." --Charles Fillmore. 

The Grand Square in common (or mutable) signs is an exercise in wise choice. There is too much to choose from, but one cannot dither forever, and so one has to choose what makes most sense, quickly. This need not be impossible or upsetting, because we remain in a Bright Hermetic Epoch until April 14. Out choices are informed by intelligent reflection on our past experience and where it has led us. The link or bridge between that past and our future is not obscure, as it can be in a Dark Epoch, and so without looking too far ahead we can see what needs to be done in the immediate future and feel good about doing it.

The eight-hour void-of-course time in the center of the day might be annoying and yet it could be used to tie up small loose ends of things that need to be done even though they seem minor. Getting them out of the way makes room for major progress. It can also be a good time for rest, reflection, and non-purposive restoration of perspective. For example, I read some articles on philosophy yesterday which seemed utterly disconnected from my current pressing concerns, but they helped me by refreshing my approach to everything else as if I had become a child eager to try again. 

Today (and also Monday) there may have been issues connected with one's home or apartment which need to be straightened out. Doing that sensibly puts in a good foundation. Then by late afternoon and evening the moon's trine with Venus, later Neptune, could make us feel pleased with the way things are turning out. There will be more social harmony than on Monday.

{Tuesday} {Natural Choices Lead to Harmony}

Cosmic Piper