Message for Monday 1 March 2021

Monday 1 March 2021

}Tested Before Attainment{

Moon in Libra 

< moon enters the Via Combusta at 11:57a PT | 2:57p ET | 7:57p UT (until Wednesday evening) (uncertainties, or questing, during a cosmic reshuffling)

Challenge:  We start with the symbols which issue warnings.  'A crucifix' is said to show 'strange events' and possibly 'grievous accidents.'  'Be careful,' says Charubel.  At issue could be how far you can stretch people toward seeing something you think they don't see.  They can only stand so much before there is a snapback.  'A truncated cone' is said by Sepharial to show the attainment of fortune and then 'a sudden cessation, followed by troubles and grievances.'  He says one ought to aim higher than one means to hit, or else just remain content in the face of possible curtailment of one's ambitions.  (Since this is a symbol for just the day it might show just temporary disappointment.)  

Process:  Saturn and Uranus are still in a square by less than one degree, so we have 'a man with a scourge in his right hand driving two slaves in manacles.'  He wants to 'rule without qualifications' which is what many in Washington seem to be doing.  Despotism ultimately curbs the despot.  'An examination of initiates' is a symbol of 'life's demand that man continue at all times to prove himself in full accordance with the claims he has made for himself.'  The examiners are not despots if what they are doing is helping the examinee realize what is missing, enabling him or her to grow toward full potentials.  

Blessing:  'Two cobblers working at a table' suggests the efficiency of Mercury conjunct Jupiter (expanding mind) and Mars trine Pluto (using whatever material is at hand for one's driving purposes).  Capabilities are strengthened through division of labor allowing each to specialize.  Recognized integrity is as lasting as well-fortified shoes.  Success arrives through circles and cycles, so that the 'truncated cone' of paragraph 1 grows back to a full cone at certain points in the spiral.  One need not give up in despair, but rather pass through the confusion and contradiction (Dark Hermetic Epoch until March 13) with the aid of one's unique inspiration.  'A new light develops; he is on his groove, carried onward and upward.'

{Monday}  {Tested Before Attainment}

Cosmic Piper

 

Message for Sunday 28 February 2021

 Sunday 28 February 2021

}Out of Gloom to Shared Freedom{

Moon in Virgo-->Libra

/moon goes void-of-course at 7:59a PT | 10:59a ET | 3:59p UT

until it enters Libra at 11:18a PT | 2:18p ET | 7:18p UT

Challenge:  It seems that much is improving, with the hard aspects loosening and smoother ones coming in.  But I stick with the symbolic degrees which have thoroughly proved themselves, and we have 'the ascendant enveloped in gloom and backness' which, says Charubel, shows misery in this world unless one 'devotes energies to the spiritual side of one's nature.'  Likewise there is 'a man in a gloomy enclosure looking at a black pall suspended; finally he musters courage to lift it and enters a dark passage which leads him into the light of a glorious day.'  That could happen for you before this day has ended.

Process:  'Men seeking illumination' represent all of us who want more understanding of our lives and destinies.  Dr. Jones says this could mean 'some form of an apostolic succession, or a living tradition of spiritual achievement.'  We can be dedicated to 'an effective alignment with ultimate reality.'  In an informal way we could attend 'a church bazaar,' maybe literally since it's Sunday, or for non-church-goers this could be any spiritual group or community institution.  Philanthropy organizes us toward benefits for everyone amid social happiness.  

Blessing:  'A wild horse leaping a barrier' is ourselves feeling free, open and emphatic in expressing thoughts and feelings.  We might skirt danger adventurously.  Yet Sepharial says this could also show 'distinction in law, literature or ecclesiastical work.'  'Three men advancing arm in arm' are enjoying friendship and amicable relations, with good feelings no one doubts.  There is fondness for pleasure plus glad receptiveness to one another's insights.  

{Sunday}  {Out of Gloom to Shared Freedom}

Cosmic Piper

Message for Saturday 27 February 2021

 Saturday 27 February 2021

\Indulging in Hopeful Prospects/

Moon in Virgo

Challenge:  'Heavy traffic on a narrow isthmus' could be crowding, too much, too many people---or just enough to make things interesting.  An 'ever-ramifying environment' keeps us going and learning.  It's a convergence of potentialities to be selected and shaped.  Doing this might include some formal testing of things, as if one were using 'chemical instruments such as a retort, pestle and mortar, bent tube and crucible.'  Analysis resolves things into their principles while one worships in the cathedral of Nature.  One is enthusiastic about one's growing knowledge, which can direct one through the 'heavy traffic.'  

Process:  Mercury conjoined to Jupiter in Aquarius could make one 'an aviator in the clouds,' gaining a perspective superior to any pattern of limitation.  Such observation facilitates long-range planning (getting easier now as we approach the Bright Hermetic Epoch beginning March 13).  On the ground might be 'a woman pursued by mature romance,' who realizes that 'the fullness of life is ageless.'  Her past disappointments stimulate her to 'capitalize on her enduring potentials' so that she persuades effectively or is persuaded graciously. 

Blessing:  We should not get ahead of ourselves, but there are highly favorable symbols going along with the sextiles of Venus and the sun with Uranus.  'A transcendental sun shedding a halo of supernal glory on the ascendant' suggests 'psychic power and brilliant gifts' not understood by the present generation but influencing future ones favorably and granting long life.  Likewise 'a very straight road; an interminable perspective' foretells 'a long and happy life' while one's mind is evenly balanced and serene. 

{Saturday}  /Indulging in  Hopeful Prospects\

Cosmic Piper 

Message for Friday 26 February 2021

 Friday 26 February 2021

\Prudent Approach to Lofty Fulfillment/

Moon in Leo-->Virgo

/moon goes void-of-course at 3:33a PT | 6:33a ET | 11:33a UT

until it enters Virgo at 9:08a PT | 12:08p ET | 5:08p UT

Challenge:  'A man climbing a pole set on an elevation' is aspiring after vain things, his ambitions in the clouds.  He follows no definite plans, only vagaries.  This could be yourself or someone important in your world, who has a position of authority but seems to be failing.  The approaching Full Moon can summon up intense desires.  Charubel says, 'Do not follow the dictates of passion, nor yield to the desires of thy lower nature, or a wretched life is thy lot. . . But if by firm resolve thou art able to overcome those elemental promptings, thou wilt pass through the evil crisis to a long and happy life.'  

Process:  'A squirrel hiding from hunters' is consciously careful, conservative and cautious, loyal to self-interest through good judgment.  While 'a woman pursued by mature romance' has sublimated eroticism through 'the agelessness of the human spirit.'  She can persuade or be persuaded without overeagerness or upset.  Luna moves into coy Virgo.  

Blessing:  The Full Moon opens us to 'inspirations of a very lofty character.'  'Speculations on a grand scale,' perhaps scholarly, aid in 'the elevation and salvation of mankind.'  Ambitions, at best of a relatively selfless nature, soar upward in the moonlight.  One might sense that one could be on 'a very straight road with an interminable perspective.'  An evenly balanced mind could make for 'a long and happy life.'

{Friday}  /Prudent Approach to Lofty Fulfillment\

Cosmic Piper

Message for Thursday 25 February 2021

 Thursday 25 February 2021

^Awakening Toward Exalted Unification^

Moon in Leo

|Karmically serious, sobering, challenging third| of this week continues until tomorrow, Friday, at 0:53a PT | 3:53a ET | 8:53a UT

Challenge:  We are warned by Charubel to refrain from indulging in selfish, black or evil magic, for it 'would terminate in utter ruin.'  The wrong influence toward revenge or rapacity is symbolized by 'a dark cloud charged with elemental shapes, most hideous and repulsive.'  Fortunately there could be 'a flash of lightning' which 'rends a huge rock,' which would amount to bitterness of spirit being converted through special (perhaps shocking) illumination.   One 'might be the means of convincing the skeptical concerning certain matters of a celestial nature.'

Process:  Likewise 'a girl blowing a bugle' stimulates us to wake up to duties.  Not just officious regimentation, her summons is sincere and uplifting.  Then we could, like 'a native American woman selling beads,' just get on with 'trading in tokens of our cultural heritage,' doing business as if free from greed, disinterested, detached.

Blessing:  Most everyone would like to be like 'an alchemist at work in his laboratory; upon his table is much gold.'  A crypto-currency miner, or successful investor?  All that requires patience, thrift and industry.  It might add up to (says Sepharial) 'an eccentric vocation and success therein.'  Or, a fallback position is the 'squaw selling beads' who is content with what she has. Not everything is business. Today Venus moves from Aquarius, a Saturn-ruled sign, to Pisces, ruled by Jupiter the greater benefic.  She is 'exalted' in Pisces according to the reliable tradition of the ancient astrologers.  'A man and woman stand face to face, their hands clasped.'  Sepharial says this shows adaptability plus 'fidelity, devotion and self-control, ruling others by the power of persuasion.'   One could 'unite forces which singly would prove incomplete.'  

{Thursday}  ^Awakening Toward Exalted Unification^

Cosmic Piper

Message for Wednesday 24 February 2021

 Wednesday 24 February 2021

^Divine Simplicity^

Moon in Leo (since the very early morning hours listed here yesterday) 

|Karmically serious, sobering, challenging third| of this week continues until Friday

Dark Hermetic Epoch Watch:  It helps, not hurts, to know about these periods, this one lasting until March 13.  They have the same flavor as Mercury Retrograde and are an extension of it.  Yesterday and today, for me (and no doubt many), serious Internet problems.  A new browser I've tried for weeks had a serious issue with Twitter and I couldn't use Twitter through it.  I complained about this on a site posting reviews of the new browser (Dissenter).  My complaint was not posted but is now "under moderation."  I have a feeling it shall never be posted.  Then another platform, designed to be an alternative to Facebook, stopped working for me, inexplicably, in the past hour.  This is the kind of stuff which delays and annoys us during any DHE.  But life goes on and so I continue to write these reports as you continue to go about your necessary business.  

Wednesday:

Challenge: 'A cross lying on rocks' would have a different meaning for a Christian than a non-Christian.  It could be a warning to make sure one is not discarding one's spiritual foundations.  Conscience could awaken.  'A vessel rolling in the trough of a rough sea' goes with the |challenging third| of this week, at its greatest intensity today.  I see that, for example "A suspected oil tanker leak off the coast of Israel has led to the country’s biggest maritime ecological disaster in years — with authorities closing beaches and beginning a massive cleanup effort." (WAMU radio)  Pluto seems to rule oil, generally speaking, and we have a bi-septile (fatefulness) aspect between Uranus and Pluto in earth (oil) signs.  The 'vessel sailing in a rough sea' in your case could be extra work or a need to select priorities carefully.

Process:  Worldly matters may be harder than 'matters spiritual and transcendental,' according to Charubel.  'Dense fog below; sunshine above.'  Yet there is some good fortune; wealth flows in some small manner at least.  You 'recline on a rustic seat 'neath a shady tree; a ray of sunshine has fallen' on you.  That which is above grants some temporal reward.  

Blessing:  'A niche with a lamp and a book or missal' carries out a theme of spiritual seeking, which reveals secrets of natural and human life through patient study of divine archives.  Such illumination is compatible with a simple life of unambitious contentment, as if one were 'a farmer driving his horse-cart.'  Taking the day simply would assuage internal dissatisfaction. 

{Wednesday}   ^Divine Simplicity^

Cosmic Piper

Message for Tuesday 23 February 2021

 Tuesday 23 February 2021

~Time-Taffy~

Moon in Cancer

|Karmically serious, sobering, challenging third| of this week begins at 11:41a PT | 2:41p ET | 7:41p UT (until early Friday)

/moon goes void-of-course at 8:55p PT | 11:55p ET | 4:55a(W) UT

Those who think Mercury Retrograde is nonsense are fortified in that belief by this:  When it turns direct, as it did two days ago, nothing seems to get better!  I observed this repeatedly, decades ago, and studied the situation with memories and records, and found that there is a Dark or Slow Hermetic Epoch which extends a couple of weeks before and after the Mercury Retrograde cycle.  We remain in one of those until March 13, and that is why things did not seem to 'get better' a couple days ago.  For example, yesterday and today I am suffering the very odd, inexplicable, hindering, annoying collapse of a website I have used regularly for many years.  It has never had this trouble before but is now completely unusable.  It is run by a wealthy and stable major corporation.  Mercury Retrograde?  One might think so, but it is rather the Dark or Slow Mercury period, termed by yours truly the Dark Hermetic Epoch.  It is too bad that this period is so long, almost half the time, unless one remembers that the days also are divided into approximately equal bright-times and dark-times.  Therefore the terminology, BHE and DHE.  During this DHE, Time feels like taffy one has to pull.  We always get through it, but need greater encouragement than usual, which I try to provide!

Tuesday:

Challenge:  'A wreck floating on a peaceful sea' at least has the advantage of peace.  Hazards could lead to ruin and then there is a long period of recovery, during which one might 'retrieve the family fortunes,' that is, get that wreck somehow back to shore for rebuilding.  Temporary retreat might also be indicated by 'an elephant' which, says Charubel, indicates someone possessing 'sagacity, secrecy, and implicit confidence in his own strength.'  (His trunk can pull that time-taffy patiently and adroitly.)

Process:  We keep our skills functioning during the DHE even though not using them as effectively as during a BHE, so we are something like 'officers on dress parade,' proud of our status but parading it in our minds more than employing it efficaciously.  Ritualizing life according to a protocol has value.  We are investing our time for long-range potentials.  Yet there are moments of sheer easygoing happiness: 'A fair woman leading a child by the hand and gathering flowers by the way.'  One could be loving and agreeable, fostering concord.  

Blessing:  If those 'officers' ever finish their 'dress parade' they might turn to target practice.  Charubel says there are 'great powers of concentration, plus rivalism,' making for military success as 'a good marksman.'  Luna sextile Mars all day and into the evening facilitates accurate aim.  One might aim one's voice, as if 'a Spaniard serenading his senorita.'  Everything one desires is 'immediately at hand' says Dr. Jones.  One's contribution of poetry or music brings a return, if not at once, then in response to one's constancy.

{Tuesday}  ~Time-Taffy~

Cosmic Piper

Message for Monday 22 February 2021

 Monday 22 February 2021

~Past Rough Sea to Shared Fulfillment~

Moon in Cancer

An analogy for this period, February 21 through March 12:  You can't force a bud to open!  Were you to try, with your hands, you would just tear it apart.  We remain in the Dark Hermetic Epoch, a germinal state, before the Bright Epoch begins on March 13.  

Monday:

Challenge:  The Saturn square Uranus aspect, considered very difficult by astrologers, shall be with us a long time.  It was exact last week; these two planets move very slowly and go retrograde every year (geocentric perspective); so it lasts and lasts and shall be exact again in June and then in December.  After that it gradually fades away during 2022.  We do not need to let it dominate our lives but at its hardest it can be like 'a vessel rolling in the trough of a rough sea.'  That spells uncertainty, changes, and severe trials.  However, today we have a hopeful degree:  'A black pall suspended; a man in a gloomy enclosure; finally he musters courage to enter a dark passage which leads into the light of a glorious day.'  With that courage, some of your hardest trials should be easing before the day ends. 

Process:  'A standard-bearer' could be yourself trying to live up to standards and ideals while leading others to do the same.  This does not have to be onerous, for there are community associations providing support, and the warmth of shared personalities in the midst of entertaining philanthropy, as in 'a church bazaar.'  There could be benefits on all sides.  

Blessing:  'A stately mansion surrounded by trees' could be your own domicile, someone else's available to you, or a community building or park.  A frank, humane disposition accompanies possessions and shared prosperity.  'Three men advancing arm in arm' enjoy their friendship.  You may 'foster amicable relations' among others.  You might oversee them as a teacher or director while they respond favorably.  Pleasure-seeking could be excessive but mostly there is wonderful accord.  

{Monday}  ~Past Rough Sea to Shared Fulfillment~

Cosmic Piper

Message for Sunday 21 February 2021

 Sunday 21 February 2021

}Mysterious Potentials{

Moon in Gemini-->Cancer

Mercury, stationary (moving not at all from geocentric perspective), turned direct (but moving hardly at all) yesterday, Saturday, at 4:53p PT | 7:53p ET | 12:53a(Su) UT.  But the Dark or Slow Hermetic Epoch continues until March 13  

/moon goes void-of-course at 10:40a PT | 1:40p ET | 6:40p UT

until it enters Cancer at 7:54p PT | 10:54p ET | 3:54a(M) UT

Although things are getting somewhat smoother, by several indications, still we have 'a man walking blindfold towards the opening of a deep pit.'  That sounds like the Saturn-square-Uranus plus Venus-square-Mars aspects, still very strong, making for, at worst, precipitate emotional reactions resulting in a crisis which takes a while to cure (climbing out of the pit).  Let's not succumb to that.  Thoughts and projects could be 'chaotic and confused' because we remain in the Dark or Slow (Confusing) Hermetic Epoch, therefore we should 'walk warily and in humility in the simple ways of life' rather than tread unfamiliar paths with pitfalls.  With 'heavy traffic on a narrow isthmus' there could be crowding, resulting in someone being thrown out of the way by someone more aggressive, or at best this could be a 'convergence of transient enterprise in a pattern of over-all effectiveness' for everyone.  We help one another avoid the 'pit.'

'A hydrometer' is highly suggestive in view of what has been happening in Texas, for example.  First, too much precipitation (water as snow). Then water shortages for millions.  This requires efficiency, or 'exceptional ability in manipulating the fundamental complexities of living.'  If there is a single sign representing winter weather and snow, it's Aquarius, and four planets remain within it, an unusual preponderance.  But life goes on.  People respond to everything in their own inscrutable ways.  'A dark, moving column, it stands very high' is said by Charubel to indicate someone very mysterious.  'Whilst living among men, a stranger to men.  He has a life of his own, a world of his own; content to live and die unknown.'

Where is your basis of operations?  It assumes significance.  It could be your home, but also something more public such as 'a large well-kept public park.'  Community resources provide what we could not get through isolated efforts.  There could be recreation which pleases others as well as ourselves.  The 'dark, moving column' person, residing in his own world, could still use the 'park' for his or her own purposes  He or she has 'a very peculiar psychological power,' 'holding the end of a rope while the other end is out of sight in the heavens.'  Thus he or she 'procures esoteric truth at will consciously.'  It's your rope; do with it what you will!

{Sunday}  {Mysterious Potentials}

Cosmic Piper

Message for Saturday 20 February 2021

 Saturday 20 February 2021

}From the Maliciously Crimped to the Generously Cosmopolitan{

Moon in Gemini

Mercury, stationary (moving not at all from geocentric perspective), turns direct (but moving hardly at all) at 4:53p PT | 7:53p ET | 12:53a(Su) UT; Dark or Slow Hermetic Epoch continues until March 13

Why do people relish anger, hatred, and violence?  Oh, you say, they do not?  Have you looked at what Netflix, or any streaming service, offers and what people voluntarily watch?  I find that about 90 per cent of that stuff is insufferable to me because it celebrates or glorifies or wallows in torture, cruelty, and violence.  And so I hope no one will blame me for reporting what our three clairvoyant seers have identified as symbols for the zodiacal degrees.  One turning up today is this (from Signor Borelli):  'A dark face wearing an expression of fierce anger, across the forehead a red band of blood.'  Watch most any Netflix creation and you will see him.  It is one who is 'vindictive and passionate almost beyond power of control.'  Fortunately there are fewer such individuals in the real world than on Netflix.  Sepharial warns of 'frenzy or acute mania' making someone subject to warranted detention.  Such malice can be modified or removed by 'the power of moral persuasion, intellectual training and social culture.'  So may it be.  (This symbol could be a concise combination of the worst possibilities of Venus square Mars plus Saturn square Uranus, both intense now.)  However, there is spiritual continuance and survival, translated into the material sphere as 'a petrified forest' or imperviousness to the 'red band of anger.'  This is 'power of human character,' 'an eternal stout-heartedness.'  It is protective inwardly and outwardly.

Perhaps the trine from Luna in Gemini (air sign) to four planets in Aquarius (air sign) gives us 'a butterfly with the right wing more perfectly formed.'  (Some on the right in politics might say "Yes!")  Abnormality could be a handicap, or it could be a uniqueness which develops stamina, turning a deficiency into an asset.  The wavering flight of this unusual insect leads it to adventures or discoveries others miss.  Apart from the delicate repast of a butterfly we have 'a sumptuous main dish' served up hospitably as we 'entertain friends in a convivial feast.'  An individual  who seems coarse and self-indulgent, with a fiery nature which makes enemies, brings them into accord by acts of generosity and goodwill. 

The lunar aspects of the day, plus the loosening of planets moving away from Saturn, bring blessings.  'An isolated luminous cloud in the azure sky opens and pours out on the earth an influence like a shower of pearls of variegated hue.'  Charubel says this is 'celestial gifts' offering prosperity 'in matters temporal and spiritual, without apparent effort.'   (Though there might be some recklessness or prodigality.)  'A ship in full sail upon a sunlit sea' suggests 'an enterprising and adventurous spirit' bringing one into association with those remote in nature or location.  Catholic and cosmopolitan, one gains a position of affluence and distinction.

{Saturday}  {From the Maliciously Crimped to the Generously Cosmopolitan}

Cosmic Piper

Message for Friday 19 February 2021

 Friday 19 February 2021

}Toward Serenity{

Moon in Taurus-->Gemini

/moon goes void-of-course at  [11:29p(Th) PT] | 2:29a ET | 7:29a UT

until it enters Gemini at 8:05a PT | 11:05a ET | 4:05p UT

We can interpret the planetary aspects and degree-symbols in at least two ways.  One is the obvious one, where there are always some difficult or painful aspects which traditional astrologers have warned about as leading to failure, anger, violence or illness, and we take these as literal warnings.  Then the question is, how do we avoid or circumvent such problems?  Another question which anti-astrologers ask is, Are we making things worse by contemplating these warnings, psychologizing ourselves into expecting the worse rather than the better?  I leave that to you.  I wouldn't be doing this if I believed it was not helpful to consider the warning signs.  By doing so we can then know how exactly to affirm the better, and gear ourselves up for it, because we do not take the hard aspects and symbols as "evil fate" but as signals of things we, as imperfect human beings, need to work on for our gradual perfection.  That is, we view human life as an evolutionary process, and astrology as a wisdom-teaching helping us to enhance our evolution.  

Friday:  Those considerations are important now because we have two exact squares, Saturn square Uranus and Venus square Mars.  At the worst, this could add up to fundamental differences in people gaining the predominance to the point of upset, anger, even violence.  However, considering the evolutionary status at which most have arrived, this is not likely to take the form of outright fist fights or brawls, or terrorism, or domestic violence.  Nor is it usually even harsh verbal arguments, because these are suppressed.  First, one has to protect one's reputation, and cannot insult the boss or co-workers without penalties in one way or another.  Second, one wants to be liked or loved and does not want to reject people harshly thereby burning bridges behind one.  At the worst, these two aspects combined could result in just that, harshly rejecting people and burning bridges behind oneself.  Not smart.  So it is essential to consider that warning.  Then what? There could be simmering anger or disappointment, even despair, surging within oneself while one maintains a calm outward composure.

Or, if one has arrived at sainthood (!), one might "bless one's enemies" (or seeming enemies or frenemies) willingly and remain in a blissful state of mind.  Other strategies?  Let's see what the day's symbols suggest.

Two seem to hint that one might be too passive.  'Crows feeding in the bed of a dried-up river' is said to mean that one has let 'wayfaring and deceitful men' (the crows) deplete one to the point that one is in decline.  That might be letting Saturn (repression) dominate freedom (Uranus).  It could mean that while possibly attractive people interest you, they seem to be either uninterested or just wanting to get something from you (Venus square Mars).  So one might feel like 'a squirrel hiding from hunters.'   Through such seeming passivity, one could 'set the conditions for all personal participation in events,' that is, wait until it is safe to come out of hiding.  Good judgment impels one to be cautious in an intelligent manner.

Assertion or caution?  That seems to be the question.  'A mounted Indian with scalp locks' is sure that he can assert his authority through personal prowess.  He conquers enemies and uses what he can get from them.  Is that you, or someone trying to conquer you?  Who has the command?  One does not want to be ruthless, yet one has to discipline oneself to play the socio-economic game.  Or, taking the opposite tack, one could be 'a chest floating on an open sea,' indifferent to the waves and currents sending one hither and yon.  It seems most of us will be poised between these two attitudes, taking firm command of some things but letting others drift when interfering with them would be a waste of energy.  

At the spiritual level, there is 'a very long ladder' reaching toward the heavens.  Charubel says this shows we have both ambition and inspiration, 'disposed to indulge in grand speculations,' helping toward 'the elevation and salvation of mankind.'  The intense squares impel one to climb higher to get perspective on things so that they become harmless, even helpful.  Mars squaring Venus can be passionate, striking out to conquer someone's feelings, drawn to a flame of attraction like a moth, yet often finding the response opposite to what was hoped.  'A man turning his back on his passions and teaching from his experience' has not eschewed all worldly pleasures and rewards but has attained higher vision with an element of selflessness.  That amounts to serenity, 'a genuine peace of inner understanding.'

{Friday}  {Toward Serenity}

Cosmic Piper

Message for Thursday 18 February 2021

 Thursday 18 February 2021

\Frosty/

Moon in Taurus

Sun enters Pisces at 2:45a PT | 5:45a ET | 10:45a UT

|Karmically serious, sobering, challenging third| of this week continues until 4:33p PT | 7:33p ET | 12:33a(F) UT

/moon goes void-of-course at 11:29p PT | [2:29a(F) ET | 7:29a(F) UT]

Weather crises, and rolling blackouts, in many states.  Why, astrologically?

1.  It's winter!  The months of Capricorn and Aquarius are ruled by Saturn (December 21 through February 18).  Saturn is the planet of cold.  Why? Because it is.  Astrology just measures what is, for those alert enough to watch the patterns.

2.  Because Mercury is retrograde.  I have been saying for two decades that we have HARSHER WEATHER from a human viewpoint during the Mercury Retrograde periods and equally through the longer Dark Hermetic Epochs.  Why other astrologers have not picked this up from me is very strange, because it is so obviously true for anyone who watches the patterns.  I noticed it in the 1980s, in the 1990s, in the 2000s, in the 2010s, in the 2020s, right now today!  Fellow astrologers, where are you? 

Dark (Slow) Hermetic Epoch began January 15 . . . (Mercury retrograde began January 30, ends February 20-21) . . . Dark or Slow or confusing Epoch ends March 12 . . . new Bright or Fast Hermetic Epoch begins March 13 (until May 15)

It's a two-month, four-month cycle, approximately, as you can see, and it is major.  Mercury rules, in a word, EVERYTHING!  This is something most astrologers do not get.  The 'impeachment' nonsense began during the current DHE and continues with political bickering of a nonsensical sort on a ridiculous scale.  The election in November was during a DHE and millions are convinced that election impropriety, confusion, illegality or fraud threw the election away from the true winner of the Electoral College.  And now the National Guard is eerily deployed in Washington, D. C. until . . . you guessed it, the middle of March when the DHE ends.  'Pentagon Spokesman John Kirby told Fox News in an interview on Tuesday that the National Guard deployment is scheduled to be effective until mid-March. “The plan right now is to end this mission in the capital region by the middle of March. That’s still the plan," Kirby said.' --Epoch Times  Does the Pentagon employ an astrologer?  Not likely.  Do they read Cosmic Piper?  I have a suspicion that the forecast is being propagated sub rosa by some who find it useful but never inform me that they are disbursing it.  At any rate, the Pentagon's timing is astrologically appropriate (though many think the deployment rather absurd even now).  

3.  Harsh weather also because Saturn rules all the planets (because five of them are in its own sign, Aquarius, and those in turn rule the Taurus planets because Venus in Aquarius rules Taurus---all these ancient rules are valid!) and Saturn, again, is the planet of cold and also (through Aquarius, the 'water-bearer') of precipitation.  Aquarius is an air sign and the air is the carrier of water, literally the water-carrier as the ancients recognized.  It pours out snow also.  On Thursday, for which this is a forecast, the sun leaves Aquarius and enters Pisces, but that is small comfort because Jupiter remains in Aquarius, ruled by Saturn and ruling the sun because Jupiter rules Pisces (along with Neptune).  These 'hierarchies of rulership' are very accurate and revealing.  

4.  Saturn is square Uranus exactly, and these two planets rule Aquarius.  The square is the harshest aspect (plus the opposition which happens half as often).  When the two planets ruling the 'water-carrier' are fighting, you have precipitation plus frantic efforts to meet the results of the precipitation, such as the rolling blackouts and the frantic attempts to cure them through repairing or restoring electrical sources and transmission, etc.   Uranus and Aquarius also rule electricity!  Look at the symbol for Aquarius, two wavy lines!  The need for those currents is current in Texas, for example.  

What do I mean by "exactly"?  Exactly!  On Tuesday when there were big problems, Saturn was at 7 Aquarius 08 and Uranus at 7 Taurus 12, 4 minutes of arc from an exact square.  On Thursday for which this is a forecast, Saturn at 7 Aquarius 22 and Uranus at 7 Taurus 16, an exact square within 6 minutes of arc.  

In the political sphere this is conservatism (Saturn) rubbing against modernism (Uranus), nationalism (Saturn) against globalism (Uranus).  (From another viewpoint, Uranus could be independence of single nations and Saturn a restricting global order.)  Obviously both are needed but they appear to contradict each other.  The process of resolving their differences is going on like two sticks being rubbed against each other, producing either light or heat.  Ultimately, this can be good; temporarily it seems disturbing.  Freedom within bounds is the formula, yet there is disagreement over what the bounds are and when someone is out-of-bounds.  

On the personal level, you may be struggling to get something new started (Uranus) but facing the restrictions, the natural resistance and recalcitrance, of laws, rules, and conventional attitudes (Saturn).  Plus, Mercury retrograde makes communication hard and people are REtreating into themselves, often for good reason.  

Fear not, we always get through these things.  I dropped the usual symbolic-degrees-reading for today in order to write the above.  I hope it is useful.

"Before the operation of divine Principle, sin and disease lose their reality in human consciousness and disappear."  -- Mary Baker Eddy

{Thursday}  /Frosty\

Cosmic Piper

Message for Wednesday 17 February 2021

 Wednesday 17 February 2021

\Comfortable Approach to Natural Cosmic Boons/

Moon in Taurus

|Karmically serious, sobering, challenging third| of this week is here until midday Thursday

I keep reminding you that Mercury is retrograde because I find that I need to keep reminding myself.  It makes a difference to know about it.  One will then be less disturbed by its symptoms, such as slowness, delays, mistakes, out-of-pattern scheduling which seems wrong or upsetting, and so on.  It is also important to remember that one is not losing one's mind!  Rather one's mind, symbolized by Mercury, is in an unclutched  mode, not because there is anything wrong with it but because this is the time for reviewing things, re-estimating them, doing them somewhat differently but not jumping zealously into anything new, which would be another mistake.  Best advice:  Take your time, go easy, let yourself have extra rest or recreation, while keeping up with bare essentials.  Let yourself experiment with the unusual as long as it does not grossly impair accomplishing the essential.

'A man lying wounded or sick upon the ground' does not show inevitable illness but perhaps voidness of virility and ambition.  As just explained, this is not always bad.  Extra rest is often good.  Yet there does not have to be moral apathy, mental ineptitude or physical weakness.  'The field of Ardath in bloom' is a sweet mystic meadow of ancient Babylon.  The universe is friendly and we can rely on it if we live in such a way that it will support us.  We can maintain the continuity of attempting good deeds, even if little ones.

'A woman disappointed and disillusioned' could be feeling the effects of Venus square Mars, which can be intense attractions which do not work out and throw one into a fit of disillusionment.  Love loves differences, but the differences now may be so acute as to crash the connection.  A setback can be a useful clearance of unhelpful allurements or reactions.  Yet even in this |difficult third| of the week there can be good fortune: 'A ray of sunshine falls on a man reclining on a rustic seat beneath a shady tree.'  

The rustic symbolism could be Mars trine Pluto in earth signs.  'in a field of rich grass stands a tree encircled by a swarm of bees.'  This, says Sepharial, shows diligence leading to the acquisition of money and friends.  Thrift plus industry succeed even during a Mercury-retrograde period, as long as one does not push beyond reasonable limits.  'A scepter surrounded by a crown' denotes distinction, power, and influence, at least within some domain.  This comes of strict integrity, resulting in Authority granted by the cosmos.  

{Wednesday}  /Comfortable Approach to Natural Cosmic Boons\

Cosmic Piper

Message for Tuesday 16 February 2021

 Tuesday 16 February 2021

^Crafts that Sustain rather than Interfere^

Moon in Aries-->Taurus

|Karmically serious, sobering, challenging third| of this week begins at 3:18a PT | 6:18a ET | 11:18a UT (until Thursday afternoon)

/moon goes void-of-course at 4:18p PT | 7:18p ET | 12:18a(W) UT

until it enters Taurus at 7:13p PT | 10:13p ET | 3:13a(W) UT

With the strong or harsh planets emphasized, one might need to use tools, sharp or pointed, or any other implements including technological ones.  One could be an artisan or expert at a handicraft.  Dexterity in using things would be rewarded.  Saturn square Uranus exactly (a long-lasting and hard aspect) is summed up by Isabel Hickey:  'No one can break a cosmic law (Saturn) but one has the privilege (Uranus) of breaking one's own neck trying.'  That is rather bleak, but one can perhaps figure out how to be relatively free within the limits of established things.  Charubel gives us 'a degree of sorrow.  One might be subject to harrowing trials.'  That would fit what was just mentioned, as well as the |serious third of this week|.  

However, we have a 'white dove over troubled waters' symbolizing one's 'indwelling spirit or divine heritage,' and this can give 'clear direction or absolute orientation.'  Such guidance, even if less than absolutely lucid (Mercury retrograde), could 'reconcile difficulties in the light of over-all potentials.'  One might hear 'a man playing a violin', or any musician, whether in actuality or on the astral or other superphysical plane, bringing exuberant harmony which heals and pacifies.  

Mars trine Pluto in earth signs could be like 'a great tortoise' with a patient, plodding disposition, great powers of endurance and an evenly contented mind.  This would be a successful orientation to the preponderance of planets in fixed (fixing, establishing) signs.  This could be solitariness yet kindness, smiled upon by providence.  To change the simile, one might be like a 'butterfly emerging from chrysalis.'  Aquarius is an air sign, favoring the intellect, or 'the self-renewing purity of man's mind.'  'His ideas come forth from the formless matrix of his inner being.'  The butterfly emanates from its chrysalis as one of the 'wonders of a continuing creation.'   While Mercury remains retrograde, one cannot hurry or push the glorious insect out of its cocoon but just bless it and let it be, let it emanate.  

{Tuesday}   ^Crafts that Sustain rather than Interfere^

Cosmic Piper

Message for Monday 15 February 2021

 Monday 15 February 2021

^Steps Over a Fence^

Moon in Aries

The critical degrees of the zodiac, demarcated by ancient and medieval astrologers, are based on an exact mathematical formula and I find them highly significant.  (The books of Marc Edmund Jones elucidate them.)  I allow two degrees on each side for the orb (Jones allowed only one).  Right now Pluto, Uranus, Saturn and Mars are at critical degrees and these are not pleasant planets; I mark three of them (the last three) with red in my charts when at critical degrees.  This to me explains some of the difficult weather conditions we are having in various places.  (Heavy snow where I am, though that is not universal of course, but occurred in the East earlier, though those planets were still accented then.)  

Monday:  Mercury remains retrograde for six more days (and the DHE continues after that) so we have 'a boat to which a submerged man is clinging for support.'  Sepharial suggests this shows 'a deficiency of tact and skill rendering him subject to adversity of fortune.  But there will be raised up to him a friend sustaining him in his extremity, and he will not therefore sink.  He should acknowledge his incompetence in certain areas [swimming in the example] to prevent insecurity.'  Or, know what skill to use and what to leave in abeyance for now (Mercury retrograde).  Then one might be expedient in whatever one chooses to do, mobilizing things in one's own interest, and could have at one's feet 'a tree felled and sawed' for firewood or building, fuel or shelter. 

Luna in adventurous Aries sextile four planets in Aquarius suggests risk-taking, however, so we have 'a cup, a pack of playing cards, and dice.'  'Weakness for wine and gambling could lead into sore difficulties' or this could be some other 'pursuit of fortune by adventitious means.'  One might 'attach oneself to others of like propensity' but, lacking confidence, lose even their adherence, and be lost in byways.  The favorable sextiles would then indicate a temporarily thrilling misadventure.  Or, one might use one's mental faculties (Mercury conjoined with Jupiter) in better ways and be able to climb up and down 'a stile' the steps of which allow one to get over a fence.  Such steps, as minute analysis and sound reasoning, would be an effective use of those same sextile aspects. 

Luna sextile Venus (and other planets) could make one intrigued by 'beautifully gowned wax figures.'  I just received two magazines filled with photos of prominent people, female and male, in fashion-designers' garb.  This is superficial stuff but I might be looking at it Monday.  The 'wax figures' are just promoting their own careers and those of the designers, but we live sometimes through images presented by the culture, to do with as we wish (those magazines can go in the trash at some not-distant point).  People impact one another through vanity and finery.  That can stimulate self-confidence.  But then we are likely to get back to business.  'A man with dark hair and keen dark eyes sits at a desk with account books before him' which these days would probably be digital.  Everyone is an expert at his or her own accounting, always unique, coded according to some ineffable individual formula no one else would get. 

{Monday}  ^Steps Over a Fence^

Cosmic Piper

Message for Sunday 14 February 2021

 Sunday 14 February 2021

~Ultimate Assurance, with Wide Sympathies~

Moon in Pisces-->Aries

/moon goes void-of-course at [11:30p(Sa) PT|] 2:30a ET | 7:30a UT

until it enters Aries at 7:55a PT | 10:55a ET | 3:55p UT

'A man lying prone upon a bed of sickness' is said to indicate apathy more than real sickness, in other words, hypochondria or self-induced illness.  One might need extra rest, but should not allow this to become indolence and too-great dependence on others.  Such a period of calm could foster reassurance through 'an ancient pottery bowl filled with violets' or a beautiful token of traditional values which gives 'ultimate assurance to the human heart.'  

There could be a tussle between demons and angels.  "The devil finds plenty for idle hands to do" is a savvy old insight, and we have 'a naked man with a serpent coiled round the lower part of the body.'  Charubel hints that this could be self-induced eroticism of a 'filthy or vicious' sort.  Yet there is also 'a Standard-bearer' who is 'a leader of the multitude, a public character or reformer.'  It is not unusual to have both types sitting in the same pew. 

'A finger pointing in an open book' is the signaling discrimination we need.  'The racial wisdom quickens insight' (MEJ).  We get confirmation of the significance of things.  That reassures and restabilizes.  What we own is social in nature even if possessed as an estate or privilege.  'A stately mansion surrounded by trees in an expanse of pastureland' belongs to 'a capable, polished member of society, a good patriot and upholder of the traditions of his people.'  'He will prosper in the world and be beloved for his breadth of mind and wide sympathies.'  

{Sunday}  ~Ultimate Assurance, with Wide Sympathies~

Cosmic Piper

Message for Saturday 13 February 2021

 Saturday 13 February 2021

~Restoration of the Reliable~

Moon in Pisces

/moon goes void-of-course at 11:30p PT | [2:30a(Su) ET | 7:30a(Su) UT]

The 'crow or raven standing upon a waterpot' (Charubel) who is full of envy and wants to cause mischief looks to me like too many Washington politicians.  He is 'crafty and designing.'  What happened to honesty and transparency?  He, or someone or something, might cause us to 'walk blindfold towards the opening of a deep pit.' Actually when a planet was in this degree, many years ago, I fell on the street and hurt my leg and knee.  Then, foolishly, I asked the police for help and was taken to the hospital and later had to pay dearly for the charges.  That was a deeper 'pit' than the accident itself and my 'blindfold' was not realizing how much I would be billed.  Today the 'pit' against which you are warned could be fallen into through 'chaos and confusion' when you are 'walking in the dark.' (Actually it was dark when that accident happened.)  Sapharial says 'walk warily and in humility in the simple ways of life' rather than 'tread paths which are unfamiliar, with pitfalls for the unwary.'  Sounds like Mercury Retrograde.  

Sometimes meditation is one of the best things to do while Mercury is retrograde.  Then one's mind might be like 'an oval-shaped mirror,' very impressionable but retaining little or nothing---the oval mirror is a zero sign.  Some oriental teachers of meditation recommend having no thoughts at all.  Sri Aurobindo partially agreed with that but affirmed that ultimately the universal consciousness asserts itself in the individual, realizing the reality of all things in the cosmos, but in their proper and exact correlations to one another.  This would be something like having one's mind, or Overmind, as 'a hydrometer' which 'has full assurance of an intelligence and order to be found throughout the world of everyday realities.'  This would be 'efficiency in manipulating the fundamental complexities of living.'  

One emphasized degree 'has no symbol" (Charubel).  'A degree of mystery, allied to four-dimensional space.  One has something not in common with the rest of his race.'  That could be the aforementioned Overmind.  How does it operate in the world?  For the ultimate good of all.  Sometimes that could be done by 'a big business-man at his desk.'  Organizational powers make for 'efficient participation in everyday affairs.'  The business-man 'remains undisturbed within himself throughout ramifying vicissitudes.'  'Personality is developed as it is challenged to prove itself.' There is also, on this Saturday, latitude to appreciate the RElaxing 'fourth-dimensional space' which REstores us.  One clue to Mercury REtrograde is:  stay with what is REliable.  

{Saturday}  ~Restoration of the Reliable~

Cosmic Piper

P. S.  The unattributed quotations above are from Marc Edmund Jones and his classic The Sabian Symbols in Astrology.  I mentioned Sepharial and Charubel when quoting them instead.  

Message for Friday 12 February 2021

 Friday 12 February 2021

~Untangling Heft-Rope~

Moon in Pisces (from very early hours; time given yesterday)

The most intense hard aspect is Saturn square Uranus.  The great traditional astrologers, the Heindels, say that those born with this 'are very eccentric and look at everything from a peculiar angle; they are treacherous, idle, indolent, and altogether dangerous to the community.'  Some would suggest this sounds like some Washington politicians.  However, good aspects make this less intense, though one might observe someone like 'a crow or raven standing upon a waterpot' 'enviously planning mischief though eventually injuring himself thereby.'  Luna in Pisces plus Mars sextile Neptune could turn us rather in the direction of 'a beacon light on a high rock' which 'gives impressions which the world calls foolish but which show the Divinity speaking through humanity' (Charubel). 

Aspects formed and forming with Mars suggest 'wind clouds and haste' or the exaltation of quick or hurried rising to the occasion to get necessities accomplished and then have more freedom.  At that point one becomes like 'a ship in full sail upon a sunlit sea,' enterprising and adventurous, cosmopolitan while forming beneficent alliances.  One's thoughts have been turned toward affluence, which could be partially realized.  

'A flag on a flagstaff on the top of a high mountain' suggests 'rising from a very low degree to eminence.'  The churning of hopes and plans while Mercury remains retrograde (until the 21st) could be preparation for carrying that flag up the mountain, though probably not the accomplishment itself.  Tangles in the heft-rope are untangling.  Meanwhile 'two lovebirds sitting on a fence' affirm their feelings for each other.  Venus is leaving her depressing union with Saturn, moving to a square with Mars, which can be stimulating even if the lovebirds are 'angry birds' temporarily.  Poise can be regained.

{Friday}  ~Untangling Heft-Rope~

Cosmic Piper

Message for Thursday 11 February 2021

 Thursday 11 February 2021

}Through Tunnel to New Continent?{

Moon in Aquarius-->Pisces

|Karmically serious, sobering, challenging third| of this week ends at 11:33a PT | 2:33p ET | 7:33p UT  

/moon goes void-of-course at 11:07a PT | 2:07p ET | 7:07p UT

until it enters Pisces at 11:24p PT | 2:24a(F) ET | 7:24a(F) UT

The New Moon of Aquarius occurs exactly at the void-of-course time given above (the moon void after that because forming no aspects in Aquarius after its conjunction with the sun, which is the lunation or New Moon)

'A woman lightly clad is lying in a field, surrounded by violet-colored flowers.'  Easy-peasy, inoffensive but weak, indolent.  Sounds like Mercury Retrograde while the moon is void-of-course (for many hours, see above).  The woman lying in the field might be smarter, however, than someone who wants to cross 'a broken bridge spanning a rapid stream.'  Some things collapse and can only be rebuilt through much time and endeavor.  Sounds like Mercury Retrograde.

'A train entering a tunnel' is ourselves realizing there are cycles of time and some of them are dark.  We cannot fully apprehend our surroundings or the immediate past or future while in that obscuring 'tunnel.'  Yet we entered it because it's the only way to the other side.  We need also to be courteous in allowing others to find their own ways through the darkness.  Perhaps on the other side is 'a newly formed continent.'  We could 'shape our own ground' in original ways, 'in full conformity with desires.'  Such could be the hope generated by the New Moon (time above).  We 'remodel the whole face of the universe.'  (This could be done, more likely, in thought and inner realization rather than in outer form while Mercury goes backward [from geocentric perspective].)  

'A large brilliant star in the west, its rays confined to one spot in a dark sky' denotes genius, some amazing vision or power of discovery, which can happen during a Mercury R period.  The "darkness" of the Dark Hermetic Epoch allows for brilliant visions, as dreams in the night or stars viewed through a telescope.  There could be spiritual illumination.  When this is intense, inculcated through suffering, we become like 'a man turning his back on his passions and teaching from his experience.'  We have loved and lost, sought love and rejected it, arriving at some selfless state impossible to define (Venus close to Saturn and now squaring Mars).  The 'passions' on which we turn our back had their place but fade when their lesson has been learned.  Aquarian love is somewhat impersonal, yet still we can 'participate generously and broadly in everyday life.'  Experience mellows us, and then we 'teach' not pompously but by osmosis.  

{Thursday}  {Through Tunnel to New Continent?}

Cosmic Piper

Message for Wednesday 10 February 2021

 Wednesday 10 February 2021

}Regermination{

Moon in Aquarius

|Karmically serious, sobering, challenging third| of this week remains until Thursday midday (around the time of the New Moon at 11:07a PT | 2:07p ET | 7:07p UT Thursday)

The toils of the Mercury REtrograde period (until February 21) are different for each of us yet similar.  For me today it ha been thinking and REthinking things, suffering the REcalcitrance of people's political or other beliefs, REstarting my computer after a serious glitch which crashed it (after getting onto a new major website, confirming the danger of 'new' things during these periods), and REpenting, to a degree, of not REconnecting with people who are more important to me than I generally realize. I also REread a section on Aquarius in a trusted astrology text, because there are six planets in that sign today (including the moon).  Aquarian age?  Maybe, but I have never considered that an unmixed blessing; each sign has its own pitfalls and advantages.  Aquarius can be very stubborn or recalcitrant sometimes, intellectually cold and fixed in its viewpoint, but not always.  The REformer.  We work with what is happening.  It seems that one Aquarian movement now is toward greater freedom of speech and expression (Uranus, one ruler of the sign) within respect for the community and its laws (Saturn the other ruler).  

Wednesday:  That sign can be judgmental, and 'a sexton digging a grave' is said by Charubel to be 'secretive and unsympathetic, taking pleasure in others' misery.'  This might be the Aquarian tendency to think 'You made your bed, now you have to lie in it.'  Aquarian Ronald Reagan told those struggling, "Just look in the help wanted ads, you'll find a job."  Some politicians think they are digging an ex-president's grave; others think they may be digging their own.  If we snap out of such moroseness we could be more like 'a beaver at work upon a tree overhanging a gorge.'  He might lose some of his work if it falls the wrong way but he keeps at it (Mars in Taurus is persistent).  

Rivalry and opposition could be annoying, or might be fun, as in 'three men in a boat, two on one side, one on the other.'  A problem could be that people seem to have lost a sense of humor, though that is understandable if one perceives things as really ominous.  Let us hope that despite Saturn's control of the heavenly situation for now, we can REtreat into a happier place in consciousness for REgermination of potentials, becoming 'a child born of an eggshell.'  (The final day of an Old Moon can be inchoate.)  There is a self-matrix within which existence continues to create itself.  Within essentiality burgeons resourcefulness.

'A big bear sitting down and waving all its paws' might be frantic for attention.  He might better develop aptitudes and excellencies which will then get recognition.  'People on stairs graduated upwards' realize that each has skills the other does not, but such a ranking does not disturb them; rather it helps each continue the course of his or her progression.  

{Wednesday}  {Regermination}

Cosmic Piper