Monday, January 3 :: Lunar 12/1 :: Settle/The Net/Crow

New moon, who dis? It’s the last (Ox) month of Ox year. Most of us were not sad to see 2021 go, but we don’t truly say goodbye to Ox vibes until February 1, when Water Tiger takes over. Then, who knows? Tigers are less predictable than Oxen. We are probably in for a wild ride. Today we can experience success that comes from preparation. Rely on tradition, training, and education. If you do not practice formal divination, divination will find you. Today is a Crow day. I just woke up from a dream of a beautiful crow taking off from a pine branch. I could see its breath in the morning light. Crows are messengers. Embrace the omens that visit us today, which come from our ancestors. Auspicious activities include finding a new home, making your case, relying on elders and mentors, signing contracts, getting married, participating in cultural activities and arts, being industrious, moving, and making adjustments to our homes.

the power of ox
ploughing the last of the field
as though it’s the first

Tuesday. January 4 :: Lunar 12/2 :: Maintain/The Beak/Monkey

A combination of discipline, community, and restraint keeps us on track. Not a great day to go out on a limb. Weakness and exhaustion can make us vulnerable, so it’s better to replenish our resources than create more debt. (Eat soup instead of going on a bender.) We can avoid today’s negativity by respecting and accepting the natural course of events. Our own ideals could be our executioner today, so quit trying to save the world, and just relax. (I’m at my best when I’m sleeping.) Demanding justice can harm us today. Abrupt change and impulsivity are in the air. If you snap and quit your job, go Karen on the customer service agent, or get arrested for inciting a riot, that’s the calendar qi.

unbiased witness
a winter rainbow shows up
for jury duty

Wednesday, January 5 :: Lunar 12/3 :: Maintain/The Trio/Gibbon

Today is the first day of Little Cold qi node. Yang is slowly growing, but we won’t really notice. We’re still firmly in Yin mode: retreat and hibernate. The Zhou Yi tells us to “hold back and withdraw like a mourner at the end of a funeral.” A new leader will soon take over after the death of the old king. The people’s hero doesn’t seize power right away. It’s not that she’s “reading the room,” but that she’s genuinely acknowledging the end of an era before the inevitable swell of support carries her to the throne. Good fortune has everything to do with staying calm today, as dramatic breakthroughs can happen. What registers as turmoil at first ends up being beneficial in the long run. Go with what you know—uphold good manners and social protocol. Today the 3 stars in Orion's belt invite us to shore up our boundaries. I think of plant cells. Cell walls allow nourishment in and push waste out. It’s not a false, aggressive assertion of individuality, just a natural expression of good health. Recommit to a budget, cut back on drinking and smoking, and push other people out of your body. Recklessness can get us into trouble today. A commonplace fling can give you gonorrhea. Make like Orion and keep your belt on.

celebrity stars
chase celestial bodies
but his belt stays on

Thursday, January 6 :: Lunar 12/4 :: Destroy/The Well/Tapir

Funeral is over. “You arrive at your goal (promotion, leadership, influence) so naturally that no jealousies or surprises threaten you. Everything is sweet.” This may, however, entail a loss of childishness, selfishness, and possibility, as we make the necessary sacrifices to lead. Today’s constellation governs purification, bathing, repairs, and apologies. If we feel wronged, consider it a balancing of scales to restore our right relation with the rest of the world. It is auspicious to give back without expectations, donate, invest, participate in community projects, receive medical treatment (especially if we commit to a series of treatments for chronic conditions), abstain from sex and drugs, simplify, take care of pets, families, and homes, and get a haircut. It’s a Consult the Oracle day, so use divination for a more specific auspice.

changing of the guard
mycelium overlords
lead from underground

Friday, January 7 :: Lunar 12/5 :: Danger/The Ghost/Sheep

Interesting day. Pay attention to your dreams. If we get low, secret teachings and ancestral wisdom visit us. Today is really not good for worldly activity. We’ll miss our chance for revelation if we’re too busy, and forward progress isn’t available anyway. It is an auspicious day to die and be buried. Despite our loss, those who depart have great potential to resolve fate for the whole family. Crossing over into other worlds is also easy for the living. Channeling is a perfectly normal aspect of being human for some people, but stay grounded. Traditional societies have systems of checks and balances in place to protect their channels while they travel. Unprotected dissociation invites the wrong kind of possession.

starry New Year’s Eve
alive as they ever were
all of my dead friends

Saturday, January 8 :: Lunar 12/6 :: Complete/The Willow/Roebuck

Today the almanac advises us to “do less, have less, show less, and seek nothing.” Enjoy what is already manifest. If we naturally turn inward, consider it good instinct rather than laziness or failure. It’s an otherworldly day in which grief may surface. Wherever willows grow, people plant them in cemeteries to soothe the dead, and use their branches in purification rituals. Willow twigs also preceded yarrow stalks in I-Ching divination. Circumstances are delicate and new, and we can expect delays if we try to make progress. Gentle progress can occur, though. Auspicious activities include paying bills and debts, distant communication, apologies, divination, renunciation, medical treatment, gift-giving, starting fermentation processes (pickles, kraut), concluding projects, and renewing commitments.

neurodivergent
my daughter sorting walnuts
deep in her own groove

Sunday, January 9 :: Lunar 12/7 :: Harvest/The Birdstar/Horse

The moon and the glass are half-full. The qi carries us forward in an easy way if we give it a proper channel. Be courageous and direct, and live beyond your ambitions. The raw power of the day flows smoothly into what we have already established; our longterm projects and relationships flourish, especially if they serve the community. Selfish ambition can get us into trouble. Don’t start anything new (continuity over innovation), and avoid medical treatments. Auspicious activities include industry and production, commerce, negotiating contracts, spending and depositing money, studying, gardening, writing letters, paying debts, dyeing and repairing clothing, and studying.

black walnut branches
our ancestors smiling down
on what they have made

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