Message for Monday 1 January 2024 Happy New Year!

Message for Monday 1 January 2024

Happy New Year!

That's about all I am going to say for now. What with Mercury still retrograde, and the |hard third of the week| hitting the New Year weekend, I feel exhausted.

I am going to take off a few days, perhaps, but shall try to post at least the lunar data.

I am not "losing it," and neither are you. But it sure can feel that way at a time like this. The insane wars going on are one strong, horrible symptom of it, and each of us individually has seemingly "crazy" complexities to work out, daily or hourly. Today a party in my building was planned for a certain hour, then I was told it had been canceled, then I went downstairs to see about it and stumbled and fell, losing my cap and shoe on the stairwell. So much fun. A neighbor didn't get my text because his phone was asleep and that caused more chaos. It's likely this kind of stuff is happening in your life too. We are not losing it but are coping with (learning from?) Mercury the trickster while he goes backward. 

And things will NOT necessarily get any better when that planet turns direct on Tuesday because the Slow or Dark Epoch continues through January 20.

Nevertheless, Happy 2024!

Monday 1: Moon in Virgo

|Karmically sobering, challenging third| of this week continues until 9:10p PT | 12:10a(Tu) ET | 5:10a(Tu) UT

Mercury turns direct at 7:09p PT | 10:09p ET | 2:09a(Tu) UT

Tuesday 2: Moon in Virgo-->Libra

/moon goes void-of-course at 3:37p PT | 6:37p ET | 11:37p UT

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

Cosmic Piper

Message for Weekend of December 30-31, and current Epoch through January 20

Message for Weekend of December 30-31, and current Epoch through January 20 

We have considered the Dark or Slow Hermetic Epoch chart for November 25 through January 20 already, one post using the Charubel symbols and one using the Borelli-Sepharial symbols. Now it's time to do it again with the Sabian Symbols.

"Wind clouds and haste" means transient instability amid superficial excitement. We see this in the war zones in the Mideast and Ukraine, of course. Yet one can be "efficient in controlling events at any point of transition or crisis" and then the keyword is Exaltation.

"Hunters starting out for ducks" are expressing desire honestly and straightforwardly. They make their own elbowroom to get what they want willy-nilly. The keyword is Enterprise. My caveat is: During a Dark or Slow Epoch, ducks may outwit the hunters!

We may look at things in multiply varied ways, and sense that they are not at all what they seem. Many spend more time than usual reading or thinking about paranormal events such as UFOs during any Dark Epoch. Can this be a "rabbit hole"? Indeed! Or it could add a dimension to one's experience of reality. "A child and a dog with borrowed eyeglasses" supplement their perceptions and examine everything with fresh, colorful vision.

"The purging of the priesthood" is almost literal in the Roman Catholic Church. Just today a church official who had been rebuked by the Pope said, after a meeting with him, "Well, I'm still alive." Many Catholics are unhappy with Pope Francis and feel that he needs to be "purged" of some of his attitudes. Beyond that, there are serious religious disputes, obviously, behind the war between Jews and Hamas. Christmas trees have been attacked by pro-Palestine activists, and so on. Each of us as individuals may be examining our conscience to determine what we believe and what we reject or question.

"An Indian chief demanding recognition" could be Netanyahu of Israel, or various Hamas chieftains, or Zelensky of Ukraine, or Putin, as well as various American presidential candidates. The keyword, Inflexibility, shows what the world is up against. At best, it could be "an ever-effective authority following from a single eye of vision and a consistent dignity of character."

To take care of the wounded and suffering in these conflicts, we have "a Red Cross nurse." She or he has "steadiness of concern for the extreme needs of others." The keyword is Enlistment.

Where is security, something firm and lasting? "A petrified forest" symbolizes "an eternal stoutheartedness and its practical dividends in spiritual continuance." The keyword is Survival.

"A secret business conference" could be monopolistic and exploitative; or it could be "a determination to capitalize on any given situation through effective allegiances among the principal personalities involved." The keyword is Opportunity.

The separations, internationally, are stark, as well as the political separations in the U. S.; yet "a bridge is being built across a gorge." "There are always ways in which physical limitations may be transformed into personal or social assets." We need to "Heal the Divide" with understanding Channelship.

Happy 12 Days of Christmas, through January 5, and Happy 2024!

Cosmic Piper

Saturday 30: Moon in Leo

|Karmic sobering, challenging third of this week| is with us

/moon goes void-of-course at 9:19p PT | 12:19a(Su) ET | 5:19a(Su) UT

Sunday 31: Moon is void-of-course

until it enters Virgo at 3:54a PT | 6:54a ET | 11:54a UT

|Karmic sobering, challenging third| of this week remains through Monday

Message for Friday 29 December 2023 ^Dependability^

Message for Friday 29 December 2023

^Dependability^

I am finding the Mercury retrograde cycle (till January 2) trying, as usual, though good for /re\-word things, such as reminiscence in this forecast; also rethinking, rebalancing, repenting, regaining poise. Happy Fifth Day of Christmas!

/

A man is desponding, standing on a barren plain

With leaden-colored clouds overhead.

There is gloom, poverty, monotony. 

Another person wears a mask, the face of a

/

Hound, imitating all and sundry in felicitous

Mannerisms, dramatic, deep, sympathetic.

Uncompleted work is like a bridge being built

Across a gorge. Nature is inconvenient but can be

/

Transformed into dependability by those 

Consistent in intelligent, practical instinct.

A channel is made for advancement toward

A Grand Army of the Republic campfire where

/

Enduring ties with others are preserved.

Reminiscence restores centers of well-being.

{Friday} ^Dependability^

Cosmic Piper

Moon in Leo

Message for Thursday 28 December 2023 ~Subtly Hidden Opportunities~

 Message for Thursday 28 December 2023

~Subtly Hidden Opportunities~

At our gloomiest we might feel like "a broken tree struck by a lightning flash," ambitions falling short of accomplishment, weary of abortive projects and unfortunate relationships.

But "a Native American mother is pleading to the chief for the lives of her children." For Catholics this might be Mother Mary as an intercessor; for followers of Sri Aurobindo, Mother Mira. Someone of either sex is "making stark sacrifices for the welfare of each individual," balancing rights and wrongs within social problems of self-fulfillment. The keyword is Effectiveness.

And there are effective allegiances among principal personalities, as if there were "a secret business conference" which is secret for good rather than nefarious reasons. Some capitalize on other persons' resources almost monopolistically, yet with good intent, as for example Elon Musk. They create opportunities for others as well as themselves.

Who is "a veiled prophet of power"? Musk, or Bobby Kennedy, or Tucker Carlson, or Marianne Williamson? Or some religious or spiritual teacher of yours? He or she "exalts the untapped resources inherent in all personality" with "unerring insight into the motives of men and a consequent gift for organizing their efforts along any given line of accomplishment." The keyword of such a prophet is Supremacy.

{Thursday} ~Subtly Hidden Opportunities~

Cosmic Piper

Moon in Cancer-->Leo

/moon goes void-of-course at 2:58p PT | 5:58p ET | 9:58p UT

until it enters Leo at 4:24p PT | 7:24p ET | 11:24p UT

Message for Wednesday 28 December 2023 ~Subtly Hidden Opportunities~

Message for Wednesday 28 December 2023

~Subtly Hidden Opportunities~

At our gloomiest we might feel like "a broken tree struck by a lightning flash," ambitions falling short of accomplishment, weary of abortive projects and unfortunate relationships. 

But "a Native American mother is pleading to the chief for the lives of her children." For Catholics this might be Mother Mary as an intercessor; for followers of Sri Aurobindo, Mother Mira. Someone of either sex is "making stark sacrifices for the welfare of each individual," balancing rights and wrongs within social problems of self-fulfillment. The keyword is Effectiveness.

And there are effective allegiances among principal personalities, as if there were "a secret business conference" which is secret for good rather than nefarious reasons. Some capitalize on other persons' resources almost monopolistically, yet with good intent, as for example Elon Musk. They create opportunities for others as well as themselves.

Who is "a veiled prophet of power"? Musk, or Bobby Kennedy, or Tucker Carlson, or Marianne Williamson? Or some religious or spiritual teacher of yours? He or she "exalts the untapped resources inherent in all personality" with "unerring insight into the motives of men and a consequent gift for organizing their efforts along any given line of accomplishment." The keyword of such a prophet is Supremacy.

{Thursday} ~Subtly Hidden Opportunities~

Cosmic Piper

Moon in Cancer-->Leo

/moon goes void-of-course at 2:58p PT | 5:58p ET | 9:58p UT

until it enters Leo at 4:24p PT | 7:24p ET | 11:24p UT

Message for Wednesday 27 December 2023 ~Past Illusion to Security~

 Message for Wednesday 27 December 2023

~Past Illusion to Security~

I'm weary of saying, and you're weary of hearing, that we remain in a Mercury retrograde period for another week. The trickster planet can seem like "a crow or raven standing on a waterpot" planning mischief even if it only be spilling coffee or whatnot. The enviousness of candidates in the political sphere is evident, which is why many are turning to the unity candidate, Bobby Kennedy. Do people seem designing or crafty? They feel lost and take it out on others. At best this can be merely amusing.

Or we may find ourselves before "three cups of wine upon a table, in the form of a triangle." Excessive indulgence and undue enthusiasm could take form in alcoholic or mental intoxication, or that of "the herb" or some other debauchery. We aspire to what is high but could aim at it through what is low. 

It would be better to approach "a dark archway with ten logs at the bottom." These might be reflections of the ten planets used in astrology, or other definitive potentials to be explored. One can extend oneself through thoroughness in the interpretation of life's bottom purposes rather than merely float into a "high."

We want dependability and security, and could approach it through a measure of monastic austerity. That could include spiritual or religious studies. One's mind can be faithful and luminous. "Out of a rocky eminence a cross is carved in stone. It stands against the rising sun as if haloed in divine light."

Happy Third Day of Christmas!

{Wednesday} ~Past Illusion to Security~

Cosmic Piper

Moon in Cancer

Message for Tuesday 26 December 2023 ~Nobility and Hospitality~

 Message for Tuesday 26 December 2023

~Nobility and Hospitality~

It's the Second Day of Christmas! Most know of the 12 Days of Christmas only from the interesting and amusing novelty song, but actually this is a Church tradition, the 12 days extending from December 25 through January 5. 

Since I'm writing this on the 25th and trying to do some celebrating as well, I'll be brief. For Tuesday we have the moon transiting from Gemini to Cancer at 7:16a PT | 10:16a ET | 3:16p UT (void-of-course in Gemini before that). The Full Moon of Capricorn-Cancer occurs at 4:34p PT | 7:34p ET | 12:34a(W) UT. 

"A flag-bearer" is exalting national ideals over individual ambitions, and may feel that he or she is doing that by supporting some political figure. The keyword is Nobility. 

"A ship in full sail" denotes "one unstable and never settled; fond of change; maybe a trader in foreign produce." The Full Moon can give us illusions of grandeur, or positively expand our consciousness.

"A small cottage with wide-open door" signifies "a hospitable and generous nature, a kindly and warm-hearted disposition. Austere in his own methods of life he will nevertheless show much sympathy for others, and compassion for their weaknesses and foibles. He may be liable to imposition by denying himself to sustain others. The keyword is Hospitality." (Signor Borelli and Sepharial.)

{Tuesday} ~Nobility and Hospitality~

Cosmic Piper

Happy Second Day of Christmas!

Message for Monday 25 December 2023 }Extemporizing Toward Lasting Fulfillment{

Message for Monday 25 December 2023

}Extemporizing Toward Lasting Fulfillment{

I noted that most of Christmas Eve, though the angels were around, many humans were suffering the moodiness or thoughtfulness or gloom of the moon-Saturn- square |hard third of the week|, which fortunately ends this afternoon (time below). 

It's as if one is holding a lamp in one's hand (the sun's growing light after the solstice) looking for something. Where is 2024, and what shall it bring?

Well, we can extemporize, like "Indians making camp" (one of the day's symbols). One can "find everything one needs immediately at hand." Being alert to potentials is the secret of self-fulfillment. Where and how are you "making camp" this Christmas?

The planet Venus is present with us, maybe in presents, maybe in holiday decorations and celebrations, which manifest refinement. People delight in the company of the opposite sex as well as anything ornamental or beautiful in nature and art.

For the long term, we are like sculptors chipping away at life's indefiniteness to endow it with something of the expanded vision the holiday season is bestowing on us. Our mature self-expression brings about the immortalization of whatever is ultimately fulfilling.

Happy Christmas!

{Monday} {Extemporizing Toward Lasting Fulfillment}

Cosmic Piper

Moon in Gemini

|Karmic sobering, challenging third of this week ends at 12:11p PT | 3:11p ET | 8:11p UT

Messages for Saturday and Sunday, 23-24 December 2023: Christmas Eve

Messages for Saturday and Sunday, 23-24 December 2023

Saturday 23: \Remote yet Real Reward/

A vane's arrow pointing north seems to vacillate.

Many turn this way and now that, falling into

Ineptitude. Enterprises are abandoned. 

A man is sowing in the wind, wasting substance

/

And dissipating energies, with little regard to the

Fitness of things. Vain and illusive projects go counter

To good advice. But in a Chinese laundry 

A whole family, secluded from a foreign culture,

/

Find a richness of living through concentrating on 

Goals with remote reward, sustaining poise through

Hard labor. The moon is growing but not yet full

And all, through speculation, are fond of change.

/

Are sanguine expectations realistic? No one knows

For sure, but trends are waxing toward good fortune.

{Saturday} /Remote yet Real Reward\

Moon in Taurus

|Karmic sobering, challenging third of this week| is with us

/moon goes void-of-course at 10:41p PT | 1:41a(Su) ET

Sunday 24: \Merry Christmas/

Immigrants enter a new land with a new language,

Risking well-being to bring their skills into

Pioneer areas. By transplanting their roots they

Escape a major impasse. Or are they wolves

\

Standing on the carcasses of horses? So some

Perceive some of them if they are contentious,

Snatching an advantage to surrender it to others,

Selfish and predatory, though adventurous. 

\

In them and in all the human soul is receptive to

Growth and understanding. Naively we seize on

Experience, depending on the understanding and 

Support of fellow-participants in the kaleidoscope

\

Of persons. A holiday meal is fully prepared.

Even the coarse are bountiful, humane, convivial.

{Sunday} /Merry Christmas!\

/moon is void-of-course

until it enters Gemini at 0:16a PT | 3:16a ET | 8:16a UT

|Karmic sobering, challenging third| of this week remains with us until Monday around noon -- but the Christmas Angels are active nonetheless! 

Message for Friday 22 December 2023 \Adaptability/

Message for Friday 22 December 2023

\Adaptability/

Happy Winter! The solstice occurred last night at 7:28p PT | 10:28p ET | 3:28a(today) UT. The darkest day of the year has passed and the Light of a new year has been born, with that of the Christ Child soon to follow. 

"A man hesitating to trust himself on a wooden bridge over a chasm" suggests "a fearful disposition; inclined to doubt everything and suspect even his best friends."

If we rouse ourselves from that state of mind we may be more like "Hunters starting out for ducks," expressing ourselves simply, with straightforward honesty of desire. The keyword is Enterprise.

Yet there are others in the world. "A boy and girl stand with arms entwined." Finesse and adaptability empower one to gain distinction and honor. There is versatility, with an ability to be an ambassador or connecting link. 

{Friday} /Adaptability\

Cosmic Piper

Moon in Taurus

Message for Thursday 21 December 2023 ^True Shepherd^

Message for Thursday 21 December 2023

^True Shepherd^

A lofty building with massive nave and pillars

Is sublime, and appreciated only by the sublime.

The sacred and antique evoke feelings of

Veneration. A buffalo stands on an eminence,

/

Paws the ground and snorts. He is independent,

Bold and forceful, knowing neither restraint nor

Law, maintaining a semblance of freedom. 

A spade protruding from the soil hints at 

/

The labors of a miner to whom nature's dark

Secrets have been revealed. Ignoring friends' advice,

He relies on an incisive mind and strong purpose.

A shepherd on the mountain top looking for the

/

Locality of his sheep with crook in hand will be 

A commander of his flock, and a ruler indeed.

{Thursday} ^True Shepherd^

Cosmic Piper

Moon in Aries-->Taurus

/moon goes void-of-course at 6:48p PT | 9:48p ET | 2:48a(F) UT

until it enters Taurus at 6:51a PT | 9:51p ET | 2:51a(F) UT  --  just three minutes later

Message for Wednesday 20 December 2023 ^Maturation^

Message for Wednesday 20 December 2023

^Maturation^

In August the fat boy mows the lawn, attending

Practically to the needs of his group, participating

With calm efficiency in mastering challenging

Situations. By December his task is rather cutting

/

Through ice and shoveling snow. Thereby he procures

Natural resources and social opportunities

For the community at large. In all seasons the sun

Rises upon ocean waters, and as the boy

/

Reaches maturity he travels for the sake of discovery

While anticipating honors and attaining

Mental illumination. The lawn he used to mow

Blooms into a garden of many-hued flowers. 

/

His life has grown genial and kindly, filled with

Friends and admirers, amity and concord.

{Wednesday} ^Maturation^

Cosmic Piper

Moon in Aries

Message for Tuesday 19 December 2023 ~Conservation~

 Message for Tuesday 19 December 2023

~Conservation~

A tortoise is patient and steady, finding tasks

Trivial and hardships a matter of course.

Through calm endurance he gains the position 

He set out to gain. A man with a stiletto, however,

/

Sitting at a table, is avid in all he does, quick-

Tempered and eager in contention, yet convivial

To friends. Even enemies respect him. He has sharp

Wit and a taste for pleasures. When he goes fishing

/

He enjoys being in a boat on a lake and seems 

More indolent, opening a flask or bottle to invite

Bacchus into the aquatic exercise. On his way 

Home he passes over an old bridge over a beautiful 

/

Stream. The world at large is dependable.

Needs and ideals fit into Conservation.

{Tuesday} ~Conservation~

Cosmic Piper

Moon in Pisces-->Aries

/moon goes void-of-course at 1:04p PT | 4:04p ET | 9:04p UT

until it enters Aries at 2:48p PT | 5:48p PT | 10:48p UT

Message for Monday 18 December 2023 ~From Recovery to Innocence~

Message for Monday 18 December 2023

~From Recovery to Innocence~

A battered hulk lies upon the seashore.

Its captain lived a wandering, rudderless life

On troubled waters. The wreck made him a

Derelict from life's great sea; but he took up

/

Sculpting, idealizing nature by bringing it into

Subjection, sharing expanded vision with all by

Immortalizing a statue of himself. Thereby

His stature rises, as if he had hoisted himself

/

Up a flagstaff on a very high mountain to

Unquestioned eminence. But he sees below,

Playing near the wreck, tiny children in sunbonnets,

Participating fully and happily in normal living,

\

Each in her or his chosen role. How liberating to 

Explore unlimited potentials in utter innocence.

{Monday} ~From Recovery to Innocence~

Cosmic Piper

Moon in Pisces

|Karmic sobering, challenging third| of this week

continues until around midnight

Message for Weekend of December 16-17, and the Holiday Season

Message for Weekend of December 16-17, and the Holiday Season

Yes, you know I am going to say first that we continue to be in the Dark or Slow Hermetic Epoch (and the Mercury retrograde part of it which is most noticeable) until January 2. (a) Computer slowdowns, as for example Microsoft insisting on an update at an inconvenient time, (b) a nice time with a friend yet mixed with delays while he sat in a smartphone place while they worked on his phone almost an hour, (c) the leader of a volunteer group sprung an unexpected Zoom meeting on me and it seemed to be mostly pointless, (d) right now my thermostat has stopped working and I do not know if I will get normal heat tonight. Plus, (e) people on Twitter and the internet seem even more disconnected or semi-crazy, or disoriented, than usual. How is all this going in your life? Oh, also the "little things" like this morning I accidentally poured a coffee drink into a mug that still had a juice drink in it from the night before and had to dump it all down the drain. 

This is not to mention the horrors that Jewish hostages of Hamas, and many Palestinians, are suffering from one armed group or another. If we can do nothing else to help we ought to pray for them.

So now let's look at the whole Slow or Introspective Epoch from another viewpoint. We did that last week using the symbols given by Charubel for the chart covering the whole two-month period; this time we shall use the Borelli-Sepharial set of symbols.

The Epoch extends from November 25 through January 20:

Who seem to be "enemies"? They are like "a crow or raven standing on a water-pot," crafty, designing or effecting mischief, envious. Well, one can see people like this active on social media if nowhere else.

"A cataract is falling from one rocky ledge to another." Some are restless and impulsive, not aware of danger until it is encountered, and so much is "lost in obscurity or swallowed up in the sands of time." Sadly, this is happening in Ukraine. But these symbols are not intended to make us despair over ill-fate, but to help us change it.

Voila! Since writing that last sentence, three workmen appeared at my door and fixed my thermostat! Amazing.

"An ox asleep, two birds perched on it" can be ourselves when we succumb to the lethargy of the Mercury retrograde ambience. But we could rouse ourselves to take up "a sword set through an upright crown," symbol of upright Victory.

"An arrow in flight" is ourselves accomplishing our ambitions. Then there may be a decline, a falling away from valor to something more lovely like "A boy and girl standing with arms intertwined." There is versatility, diplomacy, and connecting links bestowing honor.

"A prepared holiday meal" suggests culinary arts plus "high living" and "the good things of life." There can be convivial feasts all through this Christmas-New Year season. "At heart we are bountiful and humane, generous and good-willed."

"A man in the prime of life stands on a dais, in his right hand a scroll of papers, on his head a laurel wreath." This is large understanding resulting in favor, Mind-Wealth.

"Two triangles interlaced, with a third superposed" suggest the Jewish Star of David as well as the Hindu emblem of Vishnu from which the former was derived. The third triangle is something combining yet transcending the virtues of the other two. "The conquest of things mental and spiritual will be the chief object in life." There is self-government and rulership, Mastery.

{Weekend of December 16-17, and the Holiday Season to January 21} 

Cosmic Piper

Saturday 16: Moon in Aquarius

|Karmic sobering, challenging third| of this week begins at 10:59a PT | 1:59p ET | 6:59p UT

Sunday 17: Moon in Aquarius-->Pisces

|Karmic sobering, challenging third| of this week is at its peak this afternoon (continuing until late Monday night)

/moon goes void-of-course at 4:05a PT | 7:05a ET | 12:05p UT

until it enters Pisces at 11:59a PT | 2:59p ET | 7:59p UT