Message for Friday 3 May 2024 ~This Baneful Comet-Struck Epoch~

Message for Friday 3 May 2024

~This Baneful Comet-Struck Epoch~

How has your Thursday been? It started with the moon void-of-course, and after taking a bath I had to answer the door wrapped in a towel to hear the wails of a neighbor who had lost something. I was unable to help at that time. Later, after the moon entered a new sign, it seems that his problem was solved.

Then I had to deal with a workman in the employ of my landlord who was required to make certain upgrades to my apartment even though, out of the four, only one was important to me. He did well, considering the moon was void. I told him about that and he understood, because he had to make repeated trips up and down the stairs to get supplies. But experience, competence and patience can conquer the void-of-course periods, although with more delay and annoyance than usual. 

Now the moon in Pisces is conjoining Saturn by less than 17 degrees, the |difficult third| of this week (until very late Saturday night), and I am feeling a struggle to explain something to you here. The moon-Saturn aspects are challenging if not depressing; less depressing if the challenge is met. I'll try.

I believe, based on hours of research, that the Hermetic Epochs reveal a lot about what all of us experience during each two-month period. I looked at the symbols for the degrees of the zodiac occupied by the major planets in the chart for the present Dark Epoch of March 18 - May 12, and they were so depressing that I said very little about them. But now, with the period almost at its end, I look again and see how remarkably accurate they are (in the system given out by Charubel).

First, in the current Epoch, the sun and Mercury together are at the degree "A comet with a very long tail, pointing towards the earth. A notorious character who may become an instrument in the hands of evil powers, so as to bring evil on this earth generally and on individuals in particular. Such persons may become the scourge of nations. Whatever their position, their influence will prove baneful to all with whom they may have to do." 

Do I have to give examples of this? The Ukraine war, the Israel-Hamas war, the campus protests, the quarrels among Trump, Biden and Kennedy supporters. The FISA act being prolonged, giving "our" government the power to become our enemy. And so on. It has been hard to find any "good" news except in the entertainment or sports columns. That invisible "comet" seems to be wreaking its havoc. Of course, from a deeper viewpoint, it is something implicit within us rather than outside us.

Then what is the sun-and-Mercury symbol for the coming Bright Epoch of May 12 through July 16? "A balloon. A person capable of performing remarkable feats, though he will never succeed in any one great enterprise."  Well, that is far better than the baneful comet. Our plans or enterprises could be "remarkable" or wonderful, up to a point. Maybe that is enough.

The symbols for the other planets seem equally meaningful. More about them in coming reports.

{Friday} ~This Baneful Comet-Struck Epoch~

Cosmic Piper

Moon in Pisces

|Karmic sobering, challenging third| of this week continues until very late Saturday night

Message for Thursday 2 May 2024 ~Old Business~

Message for Thursday 2 May 2024

~Old Business~

Mars entered Aries Tuesday morning, and later that day protesters at various campuses were at it, getting arrested for obstructing normal business. At UCLA, Aries, the Mars sign, came out in his full force as students were actually hitting one another with big sticks, before being arrested.

And because we are in a Dark Hermetic Epoch until May 12, these students, or non-student interlopers, don't even have full or clear knowledge of what they are supposedly protesting. My refrain during any DHE is, "It's a strange world." 

In politics, Biden, Trump and Kennedy are doing a dance around each other and all they say or do seems inconclusive and confusing. I said today on Twitter (X) that I expect all this to get clearer and less crazy-making beginning May 12. By the end of June we should have a much better idea of where we shall be headed by the November election. 

The Bright Hermetic Epoch of May 12-July 16 looks considerably better than the current Epoch. And better than the dismal Epoch which included October 7 when the dreadful Hamas-Israel conflict started. Your personal affairs are not necessarily "on hold" till May 12-June-July 16, but may feel that way. "Old business" is good to take care of, with whatever tedious details it may include.

Meanwhile, today is the beginning of the |karmically difficult third| of this week and so moods could go down. Three of the symbols for the day remain the same as three of the six which comprised yesterday's sonnet. They were not cheery. But the moon's sweet sextile with Venus, all day but specially in afternoon-evening, could bring cheer into our lives.

{Thursday} ~Old Business~

Cosmic Piper

Moon in Aquarius-->Pisces

|Karmic sobering, challenging third| of this week begins at 11:30a PT | 2:30p ET | 6:30p UT (until Saturday evening) 

/moon goes void-of-course at 2:30a PT | 5:30a ET | 9:30a UT
until it enters Pisces at 11:53a PT | 2:53p ET | 6:53p UT

Message for Wednesday 1 May 2024 }Handling Baggage{

Message for Wednesday 1 May 2024

}Handling Baggage{

You know my opinion of this DHE (Dark or Slow Hermetic Epoch) until May 12. In my life it is working out typically. Not tragedy, but annoyances; things being delayed; extra things popping up such as paperwork or bureaucratic details; public transportation slow (a traffic jam yesterday), and so on. Yet a few good things are sprinkled through the days, such as an unexpected small check. People are reflective and meditative more than efficient. You can read for yourself what is going on on college campuses. 

The symbols for the day are not cheery but lunar aspects are mostly okay, so we make the best of it.

\

A lion has gotten into trouble through violence,

Which ends up turned against himself. Things seem

To disintegrate. As for wars, they are deadly.

Soldiers are in extreme danger; others should be

\

Watchful. Away from the battlefield, two dogs

Run, one with a bone, the other with none,

Selfishness craving forever. In the harbor lies

An anchor unattached, the cable broken. 

\

Control of one's life seems to be lost. What is the

End? Handling baggage, again and again, 

Summoning strength and industry in one's niche.

There is virility. From the harbor a woman rises

\

Out of the water. A seal rises and embraces

Her. Unconditioned potentials are realized.

\

{Wednesday} {Handling Baggage}

Cosmic Piper

Moon in Aquarius

Message for Tuesday 30 April 2024 }Realizable Mission{

Message for Tuesday 30 April 2024

}Realizable Mission{

Working the land requires a farmer's four-pronged

Fork. Its owner is unambitious and useful to others.

But an ambitious man finds his aim beyond his 

Powers. In life's last moments his great efforts 

/

End in self-undoing. At last he gets up 

From the ground with a warrior's sword, to pursue a 

Savage multitude. His occult knowledge gives him a

Mission as a white magician. Nearby two butterflies

/

Rest on a bright orange flower. They fan their wings

In gracious reciprocity. Outside a shop window two

Seekers for desires are given potent visualizations.

They examine life's possibilities. A woman rises

/

Out of water; a seal rises and embraces her. 

What are they realizing? Illimitable potentials.

/

{Tuesday} {Realizable Mission}

Cosmic Piper

Moon in Capricorn-->Aquarius

/moon goes void-of-course at 8:20a PT | 11:20a ET | 3:20p UT

until it enters Aquarius at 8:21a PT | 11:21a ET | 3:21p UT (just one minute later)

Message for Monday 29 April 2024 \Ennobling Manifestation/

 Message for Monday 29 April 2024

\Ennobling Manifestation/

Lunar aspects are good, so things should flow fairly smoothly. (Mercury remains in its Dark Epoch until May 12; you have heard plenty about that.) Jupiter and Uranus together in Taurus, a money sign, suggest that many will feel good about possible income increases. 

/

A scrawl or flourish of the pen does not accomplish

Much. One anticipates what one cannot yet 

Realize. But soul force is great, though intellect be

Mediocre. Fraud is prevented by the large-hearted.

/

A woman sprinkling flowers gives tangible

Manifestation of creative powers. She takes a

Sword and points it earthward, her head

Kissed by the noonday sun, her face toward 

/

North. She gains through strife and diplomacy.

A man on a throne, holding a scepter, crowned,

Is surrounded by wealth his service to himself

Has garnered. A boy stares upward at The Great

/

Stone Face carved in rock, subconsciously

Molding himself to its noble resemblance.

/

{Monday} /Ennobling Manifestation\

Cosmic Piper

Moon in Capricorn

Message for Weekend of April 27-28, 2024

Message for Weekend of April 27-28, 2024

Do you notice, or use, or benefit from, the |Karmically sobering, challenging third| of each week I post here every week? I wish more would take advantage of that information. From yesterday's message: "|Karmic sobering, challenging third| of this week is at its peak today and tonight, ending early Sunday." I am feeling it on Friday, for sure. It often correlates with hard weather; today I see: "US weather forecast: Tornadoes, severe weather threat for 60 million Americans." "Tornadoes, strong wind are likely to hit southern Minnesota to Texas as more than 60 million are under severe weather threat till Sunday." Is it a coincidence that this time period is exactly the same two days I had already pointed out to be the |difficult third| of this week? No, it is not a coincidence because I discovered the |difficult third| (not known to other astrologers) partly by observing weather patterns. Astrology is real, to those with enough patience to work with it. 

Another "bugaboo" I point out here, to help you, is of course the Mercury-retrograde period and its extension, the Dark (Slow) Hermetic Epoch, lasting until May 12. This was discussed at length yesterday. Guess what? This morning (Friday) I had to restart my computer for unknown reasons and then, for unknown reasons, it lost all the tabs I had saved. An hour of my time was wasted on all this. It is just the sort of thing astrologers have always pointed out as more common while Mercury is retrograde, but I insist that it is nearly equally as common during the Dark Epochs which typically last about two weeks before and after the M-retrograde period of about three weeks. 

Does it delight me to point this out? No, but I do it to help you navigate the "storms." Astrology is real to those patient enough to work with it.

Yet it seems true that some "ice" was breaking yesterday (Thursday) after Mercury turned direct in the morning. I already covered the several good signals for the Trump candidacy, including a Supreme Court decision. Now on Friday some Biden "ice" may be thawing since it is reported that he has said he will be glad to debate Trump. That is highly significant breaking news while Mercury stops in its tracks and slowly turns around, because before this it has been assumed that there would be no debates.

And there was breaking news in the Kennedy campaign. In an interview he disclosed that the members of his family who had said they supported Biden had also asked Biden to provide Secret Service protection for their relative. This he has not done, to his shame, as if making things harder for his political rival. The Democratic Party despises Kennedy because he makes clear that it is not at all democratic. 

Another way I try to say something meaningful looks more fanciful, through the sonnets I construct using the degree-symbols. Last week I posted one relating to the soli-lunar Fortnight of April 16-30, using Charubel's symbols, and this time let's use instead the Borelli-Sepharial set of symbols. The three sets (the Sabian symbols are the other one) seem to describe parallel universes; sometimes we appear to be in one and sometimes in another. 

Through a crown is set an upright sword. 

High resolves sustain assaults in victory.

But while the king enjoys his throne a figure

Veiled in black stands behind. Collapse and

\

Fall? The young are the ones to protect. A tiger

Stands guard over its litter, watchful and devoted.

A man juggles colored balls while an immodest

Woman stands behind him. Are both or just one

\

Foolish? A woman holds a pair of scales; on one side

A cup of red wine; on the other a number of golden

Coins. There's pleasure or wealth in earthiness. 

A man, his face benevolent, chops wood

\ 

Near a cottage. A sheep grazes while the 

Orchard is filled with fruit. He is content.

\

{Weekend, and Fortnight of April 16-30}

Cosmic Piper

Saturday 27: Moon in Sagittarius

|Karmic sobering, challenging third| of this week continues

Sunday 28: Moon in Sagittarius-->Capricorn

/moon goes void-of-course at 0:32a PT | 3:32a ET | 7:32a UT

until it enters Capricorn at 2:39a PT | 5:39a ET | 9:39a UT

|Karmic sobering, challenging third| of this week ends at 5:10a PT | 8:10a ET | 12:10p UT

Message for Friday 26 April 2024 ^Gradual Renewal^

Message for Friday 26 April 2024

^Gradual Renewal^

I refer you to yesterday's report (Thursday April 25) if you haven't read it or digested it. It discusses the whole Mercury cycle. 

As I write on Thursday, Mercury has been direct for 9 hours and a lot has happened. Let's focus on Donald Trump, not because I am a big supporter of his (I prefer Kennedy) but because a lot happened for Trump today.

First, the New York Times posted an op-ed piece by a lawyer who believes one of the cases being pressed against Trump, by Alvin Bragg, is meritless and doomed to failure. For the NYT to appear in even a small way to take Trump's side is very rare. 

Second, there were widespread videos of Trump in New York being lauded by union workers, some of them chanting "We love Trump." 

Third and most important, late in the day the Supreme Court voted (according to all reputable sources) to uphold the major portion of Trump's claim to immunity for some acts performed while he was in office, noted as "Presidential immunity." The case is still not decided but while it goes back to a lower court for adjudication it will be delayed until after the November election. All agree that this is a big gain for Trump's chances.

And so for once the very day Mercury turned direct (no longer retrograde) some major things happened which changed the course of destiny, at least for Trump and probably for the nation. 

Another interesting development for those who follow Naomi Wolf on Twitter was a very long and detailed argument-discussion among her and followers about the propriety or necessity of resisting the vaccine mandates enforced on many during the pandemic. Again, this is "old business" (Mercury slow while barely direct in a DHE) which seemed to reach a  climax, for it almost seemed that by the end of the day there was agreement. 1. Those who stood up to resist the mandates and refuse vaccination were very brave and, in afterview, this was the best and wisest course to protect us all from governmental tyranny over our bodies. (Naomi's very strong position.) 2. But many were coerced, or virtually forced, to accept vaccination in order not to lose their jobs or positions or livelihoods. Naomi did not want to accept that, but many of her followers made a good case for it.

So this, too, was a sort of resolution of a past dilemma on the very day Mercury turned direct. Astrology is real.

Then there are the demonstrations and protests and clashes with the police at many college campuses including Columbia, Texas, South Carolina, and others. I shall not comment on that. My tendency is to support Israel as far as possible, but I see why some have serious trouble with that. The conflict has been intense through the whole M-r period (April 1 until this morning) and seems perhaps to have reached a peak before decelerating (let us hope). The very hour I am writing this, Sean Feucht is organizing a Christian, pro-Israel demonstration at Columbia. Provocative? Maybe, but it is non-violent. 

In your own life, I hope you are feeling a little calmer than you have previously in April and sensing that a less confusing path is opening up ahead of you.

It could take time, with May 12 as the beginning of the next Bright or Straightforward Hermetic Epoch, through July 16.

{Friday} ^Gradual Renewal^

Cosmic Piper

Moon in Sagittarius

|Karmic sobering, challenging third| of this week is at its peak today and tonight, ending early Sunday

Message for Thursday 25 April 2024 ~Recharging~

Message for Thursday 25 April 2024

~Recharging~

Yes, Mercury turns direct today at 5:55a PT | 8:55a ET | 12:55p UT 

I am not as pleased with this as other astrologers are. The speed of Mercury is as important as its apparent direction, and its temporal place in the over-all Mercury cycle, which I call the Hermetic Epoch, as important as its speed. That Slow or Dark Epoch lasts until May 12 (it began March 19).

Then a Bright or Fast (normal) Epoch shall begin, through July 16; then another Dark Epoch until September 12, when a Bright Epoch shall begin until November 7. Each Epoch lasts an average of around 60 days, the Dark ones generally a little shorter.

Why do I make so much of these Epochs? Because I have found them, over decades, to be the primary division of human time. For example, what was one of the most memorable unexpected events which shocked the whole world? 9/11/2001. A Dark Epoch began that very morning, just a few hours before the attack. And for the next two months of course people never ceased asking "What happened? Why? Why weren't we prepared for it? How can we prevent it from happening again?" 

This time, I shouldn't have to mention the Ukraine war and the disputed funding for it, the Israel-Hamas conflict and the disputed funding for it, the Trump trial or trials and the endless ways of analyzing them, Biden's flaws and fitness issues, and on and on. Campus upheavals are grabbing the headlines today as I write.

People are saying, on Twitter, "Is this the end times? Is black or evil magic being unleashed on the world? How do I learn to pray before it's too late?" And so on. Many feel "silent desperation." 

The exact time Mercury turns direct, given above, could be a good time for prayer, meditation, and aspiration. Or within a few hours of that time. Most of us will probably feel, "Something is changing" even though we can't define it. I have been feeling it Wednesday as I write.  And typical Mercury-retrograde (Dark Epoch) stuff has been happening, such as needing to restart my computer not once but three times this morning. That was alarming but I give thanks that it is now functioning.

Can we expect there to be a big change Thursday, or before May 12? Usually there is no dramatic change, which is one reason people doubt the reality of Mercury-retrograde. But there can be a quiet internal strengthening, a gain of calm perspective. Then gradually that expands into the Bright Epoch more evident beginning May 12. It may or may not be too early for definite planning; that depends on your personal situation; but plans are likely to get clearer over the next three weeks. 

For clarity here is the timeline again:

Mercury (M) entered a Dark Hermetic Epoch (DHE) on March 19, 2024 . . .(M retrograde April 1-25) . . . DHE ends May 12 . . . Bright Hermetic Epoch begins May 12 through July 16 . . . DHE begins July 17 . . .(M retrograde August 5-29) . . . DHE ends September 11 . . . BHE begins September 12 through November 6.

{Thursday} ~Recharging~

Cosmic Piper 

Moon in Scorpio-->Sagittarius 

/moon goes void-of-course at 4:18p PT 7:18p ET | 11:18p UT

until it enters Sagittarius at 6:38p PT | 9:38p ET | 1:38a(F) UT

Message for Wednesday 25 April 2024 ~Toward Higher Manifestation~

Message for Wednesday 25 April 2024

~Toward Higher Manifestation~

The full moon divides its influences 

Within a finesse of tentativity. 

A man riding a restive horse maintains

A position of dignity and dominion.

/

Then he plows with two work horses to

Prepare the earth for a higher manifestation.

He makes an elliptical figure on the ground

And stands upright within, a lover of beauty.

/

He ascends a dais, holding a scroll of papers,

On his head a laurel wreath. Through great

Penetration and large understanding he acquires

Honor and favor. He oversees the building of a

/

Bridge across a gorge. Physical limitations

Give way to constructed channelship.

/

{Wednesday} ~Toward Higher Manifestation~

Cosmic Piper

Moon in Scorpio

< moon leaves the Via Combusta at 1:44p PT | 4:44p ET | 9:44p UT

Message for Tuesday 23 April 2024 ~Toward Heart-Wealth~

Message for Tuesday 23 April 2024

~Toward Heart-Wealth~

How are your Mercury-retrograde adventures going? Politics, which I have been following closely, seems impossible. Truth is not believed and lies are believed, for the most part. I have been doing things in out-of-pattern ways, not crazy but peculiar. G*d help us all.

The Full Moon gives expanded consciousness even though it be fuzzy, introverted, mysterious, mystical. 

/

A widow at an open grave has to return to enduring

Values while releasing outworn factors, that is, to

Reorient herself. She may feel the Supreme has

Let her down. She relied on a priesthood which seems

/

To require reformation. Who are the "white magicians" 

Who have a mission, armored against a savage 

World? They might protect her. She would like to 

Row with someone in a boat on a lake for sheer 

/

Adventure. She wants company, changeability. 

She could stand behind a man playing with colored

Balls, juggling foolishly in carefree pleasure. 

Or she could align herself with a man of benevolent

/

Countenance chopping wood near a cottage. Orchards 

Are full, sheep grazing. Heart-wealth fills the days.

/

{Tuesday} ~Toward Heart-Wealth~

Cosmic Piper

Moon in Libra-Scorpio

/moon is void-of-course

until it enters Scorpio at 8:21a PT | 11:21a ET | 3:21p UT

< moon is in the Via Combusta

Full Moon of Taurus-Scorpio is at 4:50p PT | 7:50p ET | 11:50p UT