Message for Friday 1 February 2019

Friday 1 February 2019

\Gate to the Comforts of Patience/

Moon in Capricorn

|Karmically serious or sobering third| of this week is with us through Saturday

The patience of a tortoise is salutary and helpful. 

You may appreciate something tasteful and satisfying in your home, or a friend's, or a public place, with furnishings and mirrors of a pleasing sort. "The gate to the garden of desire" is in front of you, though whether you enter it or not is up to you if you feel there is a cost.

You may notice eccentric clothing and hair styles. Whether this is disorderly or not depends on one's viewpoint.

One can have regard for others even while willing to assert one's own position in a cavalier style. There is some desire to guide or direct others paternally or maternally, or you may feel this coming from them.  Let's expect the better in people and foster it.

The |serious third| of this week, at its peak in the evening and early tomorrow, need not be stressful if we appreciate the conservative values and beauties which are Nature's and humanity's gifts. "An old bridge over a beautiful stream" pleases the one crossing, or just observing. The patient tortoise may negotiate the stream in other ways. Important tasks seem trivially easy when one is enduring and steadfast.

{Friday}  /Gate to the Comforts of Patience\

Cosmic Piper

Message for Thursday, and Current Week of January 26 through February 1

Thursday 31 January 2019

Moon in Sagittarius-->Capricorn

/moon goes void-of-course at 2:34p PT | 5:34p ET | 10:34p UT

until it enters Capricorn at 4:48p PT | 7:48p ET | 12:48a(F) UT

I had not intended to use the degree-symbols for weeks, only for days, because they change daily; but have experimented with a weekly method which seems to highlight symbols which apply to a whole Saturday-through-Friday week. Here is an experimental approach to that for the current week. I recommend reading and pondering slowly, to let the symbols speak. Let me know what you think. 

Week of January 26 through February 1

You are walking toward your goal in a foreign land, and out of the shadows you are jumped and mugged, surviving with your credit cards saved in your belt but no wallet. You spend a week getting back the papers you need for identity and travel. During that time you ponder the sky and magnificent white clouds, sitting in parks and squares, enjoying the gorgeous weather and the kindness of strangers who chat. Going to the hospital to take care of minor injury to your leg, you visit the children's ward and contribute some toys you picked up from a street vendor. 

Back in the village square, some men nearby are wrangling about politics and nationalism, but no one is converting anyone else. When a farmer passes by with horse and cart, you envy his nonchalance and simple life of routine. 

In the evening you walk past a canal in the moonlight. You seem to see a head separated from a body, and a hand separated from both, moving as if wanting to get back together but unable to coordinate. Without thinking you say to the invisible spirit of disjection, "Get your thoughts in order and the body will follow." He seems to try. The body parts, now dancing close together, move toward the arch in a ruined wall nearby. They enter the arch, disappear, and return, now put together into a whole man carrying a bow and arrow. He says, "My people are there on the other side and they applauded my reconstitution, then turned away. Here is something to help you as you helped me." You accept the proffered gifts. 

You hear a woman in the distance pleading with the chief of her clan for the release of her imprisoned children. You lift the bow, insert the arrow, and aim at the chief; the arrow goes straight to his head but hovers in the air, dancing in his eyes and ears, persuading with the woman's voice, until he bows his head and relents. The woman's children are hers again. 

You find a hotel, sit in your room and move pebbles, pens and papers in various directions on your desk until you seem to detect the next step in your peculiar journey. Have you been defeated by the strange turn of events? It doesn't seem to matter. Undrugged and sober, you examine colorful hieroglyphics appearing on the walls and know what they are suggesting. This trip is not over.

I fear the domination of an alien race and religion. How to defeat them without violence? A sword is given me, in a nimbus of light, and a voice tells me it is not for slaying but protecting. I am to prepare my men and women, peaceful army, for what needs to be done for their security, drilling them precisely.

I put on my belt with arms attached, ready to investigate the world and finish my mission. A bloody man is lying on the side of the street. He seems to be in the final moments of life. Two men on the other side of the road are fighting fiercely, ignoring the dying one. Beyond them a calm laborer is attacking a tree with an ax. He sings a song which sounds like a psalm or hymn. I take it up, sing with him, and the heavens open into a celestial choir room. The melody and harmony cascade into veneration for the One, their influence descending to the man bleeding and hardly breathing, until he revives. He sits up and looks toward the ruined wall with its arch, through which the now-reconstituted once-disjected man reappears. Together they bow toward the celestial choir, which withdraws into hidden spaces above--and silence.

You are a farmer plowing your field. You are patient and plodding, in no hurry, content. A young woman passes by, her hair dyed wild colors, her body covered with tattoos. Each keeps his opinion of the other to himself. A lonely tree in the field has been struck by lightning and is broken. Around it children in sunbonnets are playing. The colorful disorderly girl joins them. The lonely tree feels a tremor of interest in life. You slowly finish your work, ready to take your plow to the barn; you invite the young woman to come along, with your foster children. When you arrive at the homestead, a bluebird flies toward and stands at the door of the house chirping gaily, seeming to announce good fortune in store for all. 

{Thursday; and Week of January 26(Sa)-February 1(F)}  

Cosmic Piper

Message for Wednesday 30 January 2019

Wednesday 30 January 2019

^The Show or Play of our Making or Waking^ 

Moon in Sagittarius

First, nerdy musings on astrology and the weather. If not interested you might skip to the forecast for Wednesday below.

Astro-meteorology is not a defunct science, though it be one needing revitalization. I have not done thorough research in the writings of those who have attempted it. They used various methods I do not use. (Benjamin Franklin, or an astrologer he knew, may have been one of them, in his Poor Richard's Almanac.) I have noticed through observation every winter what goes on in the sky when the coldest times come, wherever I have lived in the USA, and that includes the Northeast, Southeast, Rocky Mountains, and now Northwest. Also I notice, of course, the nation-wide cold weather and stormy weather news. I can say without doubt that the ancient astrologers were right--Saturn is the planet of cold, and often of precipitation, of snow in winter. Not only are Capricorn and Aquarius (late December through late February) the signs of Saturn and so, in the Northern  Hemisphere, the times of the coldest weather, but when Saturn, in whatever sign, is strongly aspected by squares or oppositions from the other planets, there is colder weather. Also, as I have pointed out here endlessly, during the |karmically serious third| of each week, determined by Luna's hard aspects with Saturn, there is often (far more than by chance) more humanly difficult or hazardous weather, including just clouds and rain sometimes, or cold and snow in winter. I have been able to pick out the coldest parts of the winter over and over again with these methods. Last week's big storm on the weekend was discussed in great detail here, from an astrological perspective, last week. 

What about this week's "polar inversion" weather, said to be the coldest in decades in many areas? It's a big deal. First, it seems to be coming earlier than the |difficult third| period of this week, which begins Thursday at 12:43p PT | 3:43p ET | 8:43p UT. It is said that the big storms will move East and maybe hit the Eastern states beginning around then, Thursday. Meanwhile they hit Minnesota and Wisconsin already on Monday he 28th. Well, Mars remains squared to Saturn, as it was during last week's storm, then closer to exact, on Monday by less than five degrees. I allow ten degrees for major aspects, and sometimes the height of what they indicate happens later than when they are exact, while they are technically "fading" but sometimes that seems to make them stronger. It's as if the steady beat of a hammer on a nail finally gets the nail where it is supposed to be, long after the midpoint of the pounding. Something like that. I recommend this viewpoint to other astrologers. Experiment with it. It is not true that the peak of one's experience of an aspect comes just when it is exact; often it comes later, when it is fading yet still in orb. So it is with this Mars-square Saturn aspect, destined to indicate the "big polar inversion storm" now brewing. The aspect will still be there within 6 degrees on Thursday, 7 degrees on Friday, 8 degrees Saturday. Major aspects definitely last, and sometimes strengthen, up to ten degrees. Mars-Saturn hard aspects are said by many astrologers, for centuries, to be the hardest of all (although CEO Carter wisely included Mars-Jupiter hard aspects also among the hardest). There is also Mars square Pluto, the latter in Capricorn, again the sign of cold among other things. It will be exact this weekend, precisely so on Friday. That makes sense. (Given Pluto's reputation, probably there will be the "Baby, it's cold outside" syndrome, or cold-escaping sex. Careful.) Then there is Saturn in its own cold sign Capricorn bi-septile to Uranus, which began on the 22nd and includes both last week's big storm and this week's. The septiles, bi-septiles and tri-septiles are very important; there was a configuration involving them among Mars, Uranus and the sun on 9/11/01. They are said to be "fatality" aspects, that is, indicating something fated, whether good or ill. Apparently the harsh weather this week is part of what destiny has decreed for those living in the areas affected. Uranus shows something unexpected, and everyone is saying how unusual this storm and cold is, breaking records. 

Of course, the storms and cold do not hit everywhere in the world. The weather here in Seattle is beautiful as I write on Tuesday. For those in temperate regions, these difficult aspects indicate other problems, such as a friend who had an accident last week and is going for medical help today, or myself who seem the victim of extra crazy confusing financial paperwork, etc. 

The |difficult third| of the week, beginning Thursday at the time above, ends Sunday at 9:37a PT | 12:37p ET | 5:37p UT. 

This is not the end of the world. Other good aspects are there---Mars is still in a trine with Venus, very important, there is love around the edges; and Mars in a trine also with Jupiter, giving us enthusiasm and optimism to face the hurdles. 

Wednesday:  People may be kind and sympathetic even though putting on a mask to hide some of their feelings. 

Popularity comes and goes. You exert yourself in ways which demand assertion, as "a pugilist entering the ring." He gets applause but when the fight is over, what is left? A need to keep on training.

Forcefulness has its value but one needs to be aware of what Nature intends rather than forcing Her, or Her human beings, into the corner where one wants them to be. Steady industry, as a farmer plowing, is good and a safe refuge. 

As for politics and philanthropy, they can be an empty show, or they can be real and progressive. Especially philanthropy, which relies on good voluntarily transmitted rather than seized from someone else. It is noble to hold up the "flag" or logo of what one most deeply believes. 

People joke a little, try to smile when feeling down, put on masks to entertain themselves as well as you. That is, "the show must go on."

{Wednesday} ^The Show or Play of our Making or Waking^

Cosmic Piper

  "O God, in virtue of thy power---

scatter these nations which revel in war;

All you kingdoms of the world, sing praises to God,

  to him who rides on the heavens, the ancient heavens."

--Psalm 68

"A march of his greatness are the wheeling stars." 

--Sri Aurobindo

Message for Tuesday 29 January 2019

Tuesday 29 January 2019

^Good Sense Wins^

Moon in Scorpio-->Sagittarius

/moon is void-of-course

until it enters Sagittarius at 6:34a PT | 9:34a ET | 2:34p UT

I believe that if you consider what you have been doing and thinking for the past few weeks you will see that you have been clarifying and solidifying much of your approach to life. That is because we are at the center (exactly today) of a Bright Hermetic Epoch, with Mercury moving faster than the sun (geocentrically), and today exactly conjoined to it. A suggestion might be to ponder and consolidate those good intentions, choices and plans today or tomorrow while you are able to see very clearly. And then hold on to them during the more confusing (but definitely interesting) Dark Hermetic Epoch from February 19 through April 15.

Tuesday: There is some warning of a desire for easy gains, pretending that one is ahead of oneself while actually slipping behind. The "chubby boy on a hobbyhorse" forgets that it is just wood and thinks he is a rodeo star. Then there is self-intoxication rather than accomplishment. 

It is good to be generous, though at times one might exceed good sense in giving too much at the wrong place and time. Real hospitality recognizes, within giving, limits which are easygoing and pleasing. 

Charubel's symbols are often oddly appropriate. "A ruin consisting of the remains of an ancient massive wall, with an archway therein" suggests that the "massive wall" urged by Donald Trump may be on the way out--ancient and ruined! The "archway" could be, perhaps, the underground tunnels which, it is said, are used by drug traffickers, making the wall useless anyway in those cases. Or it could be the fact of legal immigration (archway) which, if enforced, would obviate the need of a wall. 

Not wanting to get ahead of ourselves, we could continue plodding away at accepted tasks. Steady industry is good for soul, body and providential gain. Patience in money matters trumps hastiness. 

Mars's square with Pluto is, in formula, "an indomitable approach to obsession," which could be disastrous if unmoderated. It could be an erotic-sadistic impulse to violate someone. Or it could be any "sinful" escape through intoxicants or just through fantasy. Knowing when to put down that glass or bottle, or get off that wooden horse, would help.

{Tuesday} ^Good Sense Wins^

Cosmic Piper

Message for Monday 28 January 2019

Monday 28 January 2019

~Worth Demonstrated Patiently~

Moon in Scorpio

/moon goes void-of-course at 2:40p PT | 5:40p ET | 10:40p UT

There is an emphasis on career hopes, which might seem utterly decimated. Of course that is an illusion, a temporary seeming defeat or depressed will which shall recover in time. We need to remember the good things in our lives, "A bluebird standing at the door of the house," to keep ourselves happy enough to be calmly efficient in doing what needs to be done. 

Those things do not have to be ambitious. To be contented with one's lot, as a farmer with his horse-cart, is to prepare the way for happier fortune. The horse and cart are your projects, which are probably going to do well if you are patient and consistent with them. Mercury is moving to its exact conjunction with Sol, the center of this Bright Hermetic Epoch (which lasts through February 18). That gives solid perspective on plans. You know what you should and can do. There is a soupcon of wonderful vision, a panorama, a "magic carpet," in your consciousness, and this does not interfere with but dignifies and strengthens your plans and implementation of them. 

There are questions of "conversion," of "How do I convince this person, or anyone, of this wonderful teacher, guide, politician, organization, philanthropy, ideology?" It is easy to say "Live and let live" and yet conscience wants a hearing and you do not want people you like or respect to be ignorant of a good path or project you feel to be essential. Yet they are innocents, blithely enjoying their lives in their own way, "tiny children in sunbonnets," and you don't want to disturb them. What is the answer? I wish I knew.

We want to do what a parent, or imaginary one, would be proud of.  As in paragraph 2, that does not have to be extravagant but can be simple and common-sensible for now. When it seems that projects are abortive or relationships unfortunate, we need to remember that "bluebird at the door of the house" chirping of good fortune. If we heed it, we will see that little things now at hand are wonderful because we are worthy of them.

{Monday}  ~Worth Demonstrated Patiently~

Cosmic Piper

Message for Weekend of January 26-27, 2019

Week of January 26-February 1, 2019; and Data for the Weekend

On a weekly basis, things seem to be getting easier for most of us. The ratio of "good" or "easy" aspects to difficult ones in the past week was 29; this coming week it shall be 50; and in the week following, February 2nd through 8th, 75 (maximum 100). This ought not to make us lazy or giddily optimistic but it is encouraging. The government shutdown, for one thing, cannot last forever, and there ought to be corresponding improvements in personal situations.

Saturday 26 January 2019

Moon in Libra-->Scorpio

< moon in the Via Combusta (more uncertainties or doubts than usual) until early Monday

/moon goes void-of-course at 8:22p PT | 11:22p ET | 4:22a(Su) UT

until it enters Scorpio at 11:32p PT | 2:32a(Su) ET | 7:32a(Su) UT

|Karmically difficult or sobering third| of this week continues

until it ends at 10:30p PT | 1:30a(Su) ET | 6:30a(Su) UT

The Via Combusta plus |difficult third| make this a rather dicey or maybe depressing day for a date, party or social time. If you're reading this Friday, I suggest Friday as better than Saturday, and Sunday as also somewhat better. It seems most are going through difficult transitions on Saturday.

Sunday 27 January 2019

Moon in Scorpio

< moon in the Via Combusta

{Coming Week and Weekend}

Cosmic Piper

Message for Friday 25 January 2019

Friday 25 January 2019

}Insisting on Hopeful Aims{

Moon in Libra

|Karmically serious or sobering third| of this week is with us through Saturday

Loosening, loosening, loosening. That is what the hard aspects are doing. Venus and Jupiter are moving away from their square with Neptune (confused loyalties). Mercury is moving away from its square with Uranus (frenzied mental search). Mars is moving away from its square with Saturn (everything seems tough; have to keep hacking against obstacles and delays). And so we can be pleased that things should be getting slowly easier.

However, the |difficult third| of this week has snuck up again, lasting through Saturday. It may be the last gasp of the government shutdown or maybe there will be a solution to that by Sunday-Wednesday. 

Friday: There could be success, or the beginning of it, in something involving trade, merchandising, or travel. One's personal hopes have sails despite some glum moods. One has to be faithful to the way one idealizes one's individual potentialities, so they can be manifested gradually. Someone with whom you have a cool or Platonic friendship appreciates your approach.

In order to rise above a feeling of being adrift or estranged, one could devise "a long bow" or way of aiming at high hopes at a distance in space and time. This is not escapism but intelligent use of mental and physical faculties. One can hunker down to realistic endeavor during a |difficult third|. 

This is like "cutting through ice" to procure what you need.

Even if issues lurk beneath the surface, the day includes beauty and concord, sociability and geniality, with Luna in Libra sextile Jupiter and Venus in Sagittarius (increasing in the evening).

{Friday}  {Insisting on Hopeful Aims}

Cosmic Piper

P. S. Six minutes ago as I write this is on the front page of the NYT:  President Trump’s measure to reopen the government and provide $5.7 billion for his border wall failed a critical test in the Senate, in a nearly party-line vote.

• A Democratic measure to reopen the government for two weeks and provide disaster aid was also expected to fail on Thursday.
• All this fits perfectly the fact that the moon is void-of-course all day, as pointed out in the forecast for Thursday. These two test runs of bills to reopen were expected to fail. That's one thing to do during v-of-c: clear the path for something else coming along later. 

Message for Thursday 24 January 2019

Thursday 24 January 2019

\Restlessness Seeks Questionable Easy Path/ 

Moon in Virgo-->Libra

/moon goes void-of-course at 5:51a PT | 8:51a ET | 1:51a(F) UT

until it enters Libra at 8:04p PT | 11:04p ET | 4:04a(F) UT

Negotiations at a distance may be useful or fruitful. This could just be exploratory gathering of information. The moon being void-of-course most of the day plus the fact of twice as many "difficult" as "easy" major aspects means we need to slow down and take our time to do well patiently rather than expect too much. "Two prim spinsters" are you and someone you like, whether with that person today or not. Both are divorced from "the world" while each pursuing individual interests the other approves or understands. 

The desire for personal amusement could result in what looks like a lot of time-wasting but some of this is necessary to one's inner equilibrium and is refreshing. Someone who catches everyone's eye through beauty or personality is a high point, whether or not her or his approach to life seems substantive.  

Feeling captive to some elements in one's society or government is hard and tortuous (perhaps some suffering because of the shutdown). A beleaguered city chafes one's sensibilities. So there could be interest in a new situation or location through travel or moving. A frontier is calling. However, such a move and any decision about it (except in case of an emergency) ought to be postponed to when the moon is no longer v-of-c. 

{Thursday}  /Restlessness Seeks Questionable Easy Path\

Cosmic Piper

All I Have to Give by Mali Music  (excellent)

Message for Wednesday 23 January 2019

Wednesday 23 January 2019

\We Are Just Kids/

Moon in Virgo

Work which brings prosperity is favored. The earth grants its blessings through crops. Even those in the Tech industry have to eat, and use mined minerals for their products. The "cloud" is sustained by earthly gadgetry. We are learning to respect our earth-mother as well as our biological and spiritual Mothers. Nature seems personal as well as impersonal in her dance of life, "Brownies dancing in the setting sun." The Mosaic law says that workers should be paid by sunset. We are invigorated by the results of our efforts.

"A little boy in a state of nudity blowing bubbles" could be a friend or neighbor, innocent and harmless. Those who seem outwardly babies may be inwardly giants--"Of such is the kingdom of heaven." We can give childlike-seeming ones the benefit of the doubt, for deep down they bear treasure of experience and insight to share.

What seems disorderly in people may be peculiar and grotesque. Odd hair styles, tattoos, or peculiar clothing may disturb, or intrigue. Individual uniqueness is the order of the day in humanity. It is least disturbing when most innocent, "Tiny children in sunbonnets." As we grope toward playing our roles we can respect or even "get off on" others' styles and mannerisms. 

{Wednesday}  /We Are Just Kids\

Cosmic Piper

Great song by Switchfoot, Who We Are 

We Were Just Kids by Radical Something

Message for Tuesday 22 January 2019

Tuesday 22 January 2019

^Going It Alone Until Rebirth^

Moon in Leo-->Virgo

/moon goes void-of-course at 5:20p PT | 8:20p ET | 1:20a(W) UT

until it enters Virgo at 7:23p PT | 10:23p ET | 3:23a(W) UT

The square between Saturn and Mars remains the closest major aspect and this requires us to be on our toes in regard to "sharpening our game." We want skills to be perfected and are willing to persist in perfecting them. We sense that our basic plans are sound even when doubts and temporary gloomy moods surround us like "a dark pall." So rather than submit to that, we continue our projects like "An Indian weaving a blanket" diligently.

We have to follow some of the rules of the game set forth by our society. Still, we need to assert fearless defiance when things are holding us back unfairly according to our deep intuition. This means, sometimes, breaking rules, "A deserter from the navy." "Except as man creates his own allegiances, his destiny holds no depth" says Dr. Jones. If those allegiances ring a bell with the heart of humanity, we are supported by all in our rebirth, "An Easter sunrise service."

Some individuals try great things, amazing adventures, and succeed for a time, then fail, meet hard circumstances, and feel as abandoned as "a man afloat upon a raft." Then they need to look into themselves, since "the world" and even friends have deserted them, and find that ray of light which will guide to a safe haven. There thy may experience, again, "An Easter sunrise service" or a rebirth into wise long-lasting goals which can be fulfilled. 

{Tuesday}  ^Going It Alone Until Rebirth^

Cosmic Piper

FLAME rappers care about persecuted Christians

Difficult Saturn Weekend is Past

We Survived a Tough Weekend

In this week's |karmically serious or sobering third|, otherwise named by me the |difficult third| of the week (based on the relations of our moon and Saturn), there were about 70 people killed in Mexico by a pipeline explosion (Friday night), a man in Oregon went berserk and killed four family members (Saturday afternoon-evening), a strange fire caused apparently by a toaster in a Seattle office building caused hundreds of thousands of dollars damage (the only fire of its type I have heard of in my six years in Seattle), Winter Storm Grounds Flights, Delays Trains And Knocks Out Power according to NPR, and so on. This is a real weekly phenomenon, not always as bad as this week because also Mars in Aries is square Saturn in Capricorn exactly. But Capricorn and Saturn, when prominent by hard aspects, give the coldest or most inclement weather of the winter. This ought to be known by all astrologers because it is kindergarten astrology. But nobody but me seems to notice it! Amazing. --Cosmic Piper

Message for Monday 21 January 2019

Monday 21 January 2019

^Diligence Secures Peace^

Moon in Leo

Although the |more serious third| of this week is gone (until Thursday evening through next Saturday), things are still serious. Mars is square Saturn exactly, each in its own sign. This is a test. We are testing ourselves, basically. If it seems others are testing us, we need to work with that perception and decide what it means and how to cope with it. Charubel suggests that there is "a black or dark pall" over the day, so we may be more pessimistic than need be. More happily, the Sabian symbol of "An Indian weaving a blanket" shows that if we are diligent with intelligent routines, things will improve.

You can be alert to opportunities even if they seem difficult, as "Sea gulls watching a ship." Whether "An unexpected thunderstorm" will prolong what many experienced over the weekend, or not, it suggests that one might be nervous about the way things are transpiring. A lot has been unsettling and we are making our way toward more secure ground, during this Bright Hermetic Epoch, which grants good sense and wise planning at least through February 18.

What seem like opportunities might be vacuous, leading nowhere but to waste of time and energy, we are warned. That is disheartening, but need not be if we retain the seagulls' alertness and confidence that "something will turn up." It always does. Meanwhile, weaving that blanket through well-thought-out routine will keep us sane and peaceable. Luna's trine with both Venus and Mars, increasing into the evening, makes for good interpersonal relations at some level.

{Monday} ^Diligence Secures Peace^

Cosmic Piper

From the 1930s, Isham Jones, very refreshing!

Aretha Franklin's fantastic rendition of You'll Never Walk Alone

Message for Weekend of January 19-20, 2019; and Current Fortnight

Weekend of January 19-20, 2019; and Current Fortnight

\Dedication Tested; Loving Hope Triumphant/

Saturday 19 January 2019

Moon in Cancer

|Karmically serious or sobering third| of this week is with us; discussed at length in Friday's report

Sunday 20 January 2019

Moon in Cancer-->Leo

|Karmically serious or sobering third| of this week continues

until 9:04p PT | 12:04a(M) ET | 5:04a(M) UT

/moon goes void-of-course at 5:51p PT | 8:51p ET | 1:51a(M) UT

until it enters Leo at 7:56p PT | 10:56p ET | 3:56a UT

Full Moon of Aquarius-Leo is exact at 9:17p PT | 12:17a(M) ET | 5:17a(M) UT

The |difficult third| of this week, happening to cover the entire weekend (it will be a little earlier starting next week, ending on Saturday evening rather than Sunday), was discussed at length in Friday's report, to which I refer you. It seems to signify, among other internal and personal problems, the difficult weather many are experiencing this weekend. 

The current lunar Fortnight began on Monday the 14th and continues until Sunday the 27th. That is from one so-called "quarter moon" to the next, with the Full Moon at the center of the fortnight. It is the "gibbous moon" phase, or "fat moon." An exposition of what it could mean this time was posted Monday, and here it is with revisions and additions:

1  We are in a Bright Hermetic Epoch until February 19. So our plans are likely to be clear and straightforward, based on realities rather than illusions. That is all to the good.

2  However, current difficult aspects, a lot of squares, plus the presence of three planets in Capricorn including its ruler Saturn, plus the crucial square of Mars at home in Aries squared (exactly) to Saturn at home in Capricorn, means we have to fight a to bring our plans into realization. Why "fight"? I do not like that language but struggle to find the right words. I reject the notion that life is a battle, but it seems sometimes that our efforts meet obstacles and that to overcome them we have to work harder than usual. Work is expenditure of effort, which means moving things (our hands, our feet, for example) to "get things done." So rather than "battle" language we could use "work" language. The "battle" might come in when there are individual human beings who seem opposed to one's efforts, either (a) competitors or (b) detractors. To "conquer" the first, one has to get one's "game" in shape (we could also use "game" language rather than "battle" or "work" language). To "conquer" the second, one has to feel deeply or strongly within oneself that one is above their detraction and that it cannot hurt one's plans and efforts. 

3  The previous sentence is made clearer by this:  Mars in Aries is the lone individual with his or her definite plans, who wants to lead or "get ahead" no matter what. Saturn in Capricorn is "the world" and its harsh judgments. It tests that lone individual to make sure his or her plans and efforts will be worth while and succeed. This could be actual individuals who judge one's plans and work, or it could be oneself. The square between these planets, very strong this fortnight, could feel like "me against the world." However, if one takes the Saturn "teacher" as the world's seemingly baneful wisdom helping one to "improve one's game," one can learn and win.

4  Another major aspect is two planets conjoined, Venus and Jupiter, in Sagittarius, squared to Neptune in Pisces. This is harder to adumbrate because Neptune is such a tricky planet. Or, one might say, it is a spiritual planet, which becomes tricky when held to the world's standards, except in the case of a saint of some kind. One form this square can take is doubt of the Good. One believes, for example, that a lover, or a spiritual teacher, is "good" and one almost adores this person. Or actually adores her or him. Yet there is doubt. "Am I being a fool, or being made a fool of, by this loved person's domination of my feelings?" Here is where Neptune is a test of faith. Would I really give up everything for Jesus, or my guru? Neptune seems to ask that much, sometimes. Would I give up all for my loved one? Can I give up my judgment of my guru, my loved one, child, best friend? Can I trust that whatever they say or do, it is ultimately for the good? Can I believe in them even when they say or do things which seem confused or deceptive? 

5  Or, rather than actually sacrificing some of my interests for their sake, will I pretend to do so, and get lost in the ecstasy of prayer or mantra or meditation, or contemplating the loved one, while neglecting the actions which would prove my real devotion and love? Am I using my spiritual path, or my adoration for a person, as an escape rather than a real path?

6  Another major aspect is Mars trine Venus. This is excellent. It helps, no matter what else is going on. At the same time, Mars is trine Jupiter because Jupiter and Venus are tightly together. As opposed to (4 and 5), this could be the remedy. There are some areas of shared idealism (Sagittarius), high hopes, which flow smoothly in cooperation with someone, or with a group. If one rides on that smooth momentum, one may get over the doubts (of 4 and 5) and a wonderful, loving harmony can develop.

7  At the personal level, of course the Mars-Venus trine can be a wonderful personal relationship. Not all of us will be blessed with such this fortnight, but some of us shall. The rest will find friendship or at least friendliness in our pathway. If we are awake to that and cultivate it, everything gets better. (I have verified this through 50+ years of observation. The sextile between these two is just as strong as the trine.)

{Current Fortnight}  /Dedication Tested; Loving Hope Triumphant\

Cosmic Piper

Message for Friday 18 January 2019

Friday 18 January 2019

}Winding Down to Peaceful Reflection{

Moon in Gemini-->Cancer

|Karmically serious or sobering third| of this week begins at  1:56p PT | 4:46p ET | 9:56p UT 

and continues through Saturday until Sunday at 9:04p PT | 12:04a(M) ET | 5:04a(M) UT

/moon goes void-of-course at 5:33p PT | 8:33p ET | 1:33a(Sa) UT

until it enters Cancer at 7:45p PT | 10:45p ET | 3:45a(Sa) UT

Here is comes again:  The |difficult third| of this week. I don't like it. You don't like it. Nobody likes it except I guess Nature, because She created and maintains it. It is good for crops and plants because there is so much precipitation at these times. For human beings it tends to be depressing and they can go kaflooey. So we need to keep our eyes on it every week. This time, the weather is complying, as it has on most recent weekends, that is, there will be storms, snow, and cold in many regions of the U. S. This weekly configuration happens for everywhere on the planet. I do not watch weather conditions in Sierra Leone or Japan. But I watch them for wherever I happen to be living, and I read about them for everywhere in the U. S. when they are unusual, and I can certify that there is more humanly inclement weather at these times than at other times, on average. 

This time, from USA Today: After hammering California with rain and snow, a 'blockbuster' winter storm is taking aim on the East, where as much as 40 inches of snow could fall over the weekend. Road travel may become "impossible" due to the heavy snow; flight delays and cancellations are also likely.

After the storm heads offshore on Sunday, the intense cold will be the main weather story as bitterly cold air straight from the Arctic will roar in, bringing below-freezing temperatures to 200 million Americans.

As for the storm, "freezing rain, heavy snow and heavy rain are expected through the central and eastern U.S. over the next few days," the National Weather Service warned.

On Friday, the heaviest snow will hit South Dakota, Nebraska, Minnesota, Kansas, Missouri and Iowa, AccuWeather said.

Then, the storm will wind up and roar into the Northeast and New England on Saturday and Sunday, where the heaviest snow will fall.

AccuWeather said 40 inches is possible in parts of northern New England, while close to 30 inches of snow may fall on parts of central and northern New York state and the northern tier of Pennsylvania. Snowfall rates could reach 2-3 inches per hour.

The storm "will be a blockbuster in terms of impact and dangerous conditions," said AccuWeather meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.

Enough said, I would guess, to prove my point, because the |Karmically serious or sobering third| of this week (as I chose to call it for good reasons) begins Friday January 18 at 1:56p PT | 4:46p ET | 9:56p UT and continues until Sunday at 9:04p PT | 12:04a(M) ET | 5:04a(M) UT. In other words, it covers exactly the period the meteorologists are pointing out as the peak of the storm in various regions. [Note to astrologers who try to calculate this period: Yes, the opposition and conjunction between Luna and Saturn take a somewhat longer orb, 17 as opposed to 15 degrees, than the squares. I have determined this through observation.]

As for the human rather than weather element: Yes, most of us tend to get more depressed and anxious during these times, no matter what the outer weather is doing. Therefore there are more crimes. A case in point: This week I learned from the NYT that the kidnapping of Jayme Closs occurred on October 15 in the evening. That was during a |Karmically serous or sobering third| of a week. I just looked up my posted report for that day; it reads: Monday 15 October 2018  \Current Fortnight and Hints of the Next/  Moon in Capricorn   |Karmically serious or challenging third| of this week continues (until around midnight)  The Times says: " late on an October night, Mr. Patterson pulled up again to the home of the Closs family — people he had never met — and killed Jayme’s father, James Closs, with a single blast of the shotgun. He then forced his way into a bathroom where Jayme and her mother, Denise, were hiding in a bathtub, the investigators said. He ordered Denise Closs to cover her daughter’s mouth with black tape, then killed Denise. Then he tied up Jayme and forced the teenager into the trunk of his car — all of it in a matter of four minutes." Later the report mentions "questions that had haunted Barron ever since Oct. 15, the night that the Closses were killed and their daughter vanished."  

I am not reporting this to scare you but to indicate that we are dealing with real factors here. The assassination of JFK, and the attack on the WTC, both occurred during |Karmically serious third| periods. And much more which I have documented in these reports over the years. From my viewpoint, the best shield and remedy is faith in G*d, spiritual study and prayer. And attending peacefully to duties rather than getting lost in dangerous escape. 

Friday:  (First two paragraphs are repeated from Thursday's forecast, because Mars remains in the same degree and most aspects the same):  There are eccentricities, in others and yourself, while the sun squares Uranus exactly. Some have to find their own way, regardless of how others see it as futile or pointless. They are in a labyrinth of partially wrong, partially right trails and have to keep choosing which to follow. To many observers it seems they are hopelessly lost. To themselves it feels they are about to find a better, true path out of difficulties. Let us hope the latter!

There is freedom, "A flock of wild geese," a sort of insouciance, the ability to honk, meander, or fly anywhere. Yet within that there is a "labyrinth" when the flock, led perhaps by a key individual, is ready to migrate to another climate, or just another pond. So we are enjoying our freedom but also we need a reliable, useful path within that freedom.

Coming back peacefully to home, by eventide, is probably wise. Otherwise one might enter "a dark tunnel" or be temporarily dislocated or delayed by weather or other factors. Home is a good place to be. It contains friendly pleasures.

Restraint and seclusion are not bad at a time like this. Elements of the past, perhaps some errors one has made, come to light. Rather than being upset by them one can reflect on them quietly, and on the better path one wants to follow. Everything can be cleared away and rectified through spiritual realization, including what are considered sexual or erotic "sins" of the past (Mercury conjunct Pluto).  Practical matters can be handled with patience. There is time to reflect and rebalance. 

{Friday}  {Winding Down to Peaceful Reflection}

Cosmic Piper