Monday 11/15/2021 :: Lunar 10/11

A few well-chosen words set everything in order. If we’ve been saving up something to say, today it can happen simply. At its best, rumination is preparation. Today brings the good omen of a successful hunt, which strengthens bonds between the people who share in the feast. This constellation governs food, kitchens, and chefs. Group festivities go well. Good for marriage, signing contracts, and all worldly relationships. If we isolate ourselves, we’re missing out.

leaving the sour ones
unharvested on the vine
grape maturation

Tuesday 11/16/2021 :: Lunar 10/12

The Wings constellation refers to a ritual gathering at Chinese court, where honors and retributions were conferred (hence the mixed auspice). The court orchestra played complex, symbolic music to transcribe unity. Today is about protocol, family gatherings, and musical performance. Good auspice relies heavily on inclusion and following customs. However, weddings “cause premature death for both partners.” Buildings started today will become money pits. Avoid contractual dealings. Stay home and listen to Nirvana.

bullfrogs
a ballad in the bullrush

Wednesday 11/17/2021 :: Lunar 10/13

If you don’t like an army metaphor, think Carebears, or Canada geese. Order, cooperation, and personal discipline can turn danger to success. Stick with your pack. Good day to clean out closets, sign divorce settlements, make donations, and cut your losses. (“Calculated loss succeeds.”) Working goes well, and procrastination does not. Comply with your normal health regimen, or renew physical disciplines (ride your bike, roller skate, do tai chi, etc.). Discipline can be playful. Not a great day to go out on a limb. A goose who strays gets picked off by the fox. The Tibetan calendar says to keep newborn babies safe at home.

migrating geese cut
the sun with a blunt arrow
bright red horizon

Thursday 11/18 :: Lunar 10/14

A wish-fulfilling day. The totemic animal is a yellow river crocodile, the “thunder reptile” used to make Shang dynasty drum heads. The Dragon’s head signifies an early Spring. The fangshi (mantic arts master) stares down the dragon to keep it in check so that Spring doesn’t come too soon. The paired images, therefore, inhibit miscarriages and premature births. The day governs healthy births, renewal, and growth. Anything with gardens and children goes well. Take a class or teach one. When old people team up with the young, new outcomes surprise and enrich the world.

a praying mantis!
spontaneous mindfulness
finds the small children

Friday 11/19 :: Lunar 10/15

Take on what you can handle, or less. The potential to feel overwhelmed by our Herculean habits surfaces today. It’s not personal, but cultural. Let burnout become a lantern. May it light the way to our winter caves. I’m so used to the compulsive doing that puts me in energetic debt. The daily hexagram shows us another way: stillness dissolves into action. Action that arises from meditation is like no action at all. The Full Moon lets us coast on its big energy, but we can store it rather than spending it. It’s a good time to build our savings accounts.

entering its reflection
mallard

Saturday 11/20 :: Lunar 10/16

Focus on foundations. Attend to structural details, remember your legs, and make offerings to ancestors. We are the Earth. We may feel like we have the strength to move forward with projects—and it’s true—the energy is there. But if we push forward without the underpinnings for long-term support, the “progress” we make today will collapse. An image of the day is a general making his way home through enemy territory after losing a battle. He only has the strength to accomplish this because of the tribe he has come from and the one he is moving toward.

migrating geese
holding the ancient arrow
that always points home

Sunday 11/21 :: Lunar 10/17

A good, easy day. Bodies are an ancient language, a grammar much truer than English. Paint, dance, make music. Today we can experience art with no protagonist, and observe the underpinnings of reality beyond the desire that creates appearances. Most things go well: fengshui adjustments, large purchases (including luxuries), medical treatments (especially food/herb cures), investments, correspondence, and contracts. Weddings work, and funerals benefit the living and the dead.

what is your story
morning glory? I listen
wildly, and bear it