Weekly Weather | November 29 - December 5, 2021

Monday November 29 :: Lunar 10/25

Should be a decent day, and an easy week overall. Basically, take good care of yourself and stay in line. If minor issues show up, address them now to save trouble later. Today’s constellation (The Roof) means danger, but inherent danger like standing on a roof or entering a battlefield, not the danger of poor choices. The key to the auspice has to do with how we act in risky situations. It’s good to stay home, make repairs, and take herbs. “Comply with superiors” means inhabit your rightful place in your social context. Exercise, eat well, and get acupuncture or a massage.

a swerve of the rake
I make dirt into cursive
with perfect kerning

Tuesday November 30 :: Lunar 10/26

What is lost today is recovered “further up the stream.” Today is good for enjoyment and generosity. Have fun and share your success with others without making pleasure a goal. Manipulation and secrecy are in the air. Keep your head down and go with your gut. Other people’s secrets have nothing to do with us, even if they do. In our Choose Your Own Adventure story, we can always pick the simplest version.

he must have realized
all poets take the same road
in the yellow wood

Wednesday December 1 :: Lunar 10/27

Today’s constellation (The Wall) is particularly positive in the autumn and winter months. It represents the rallying of people and collecting of resources. Our best projects come from this place—libraries, orchestras, the internet... The Wall is the home of the god of wealth and literature. Enjoy what is already manifest, rather than adding something new. A good day to rest on our collective laurels.

falling star fortune
how many million wishes
has the cornfield caught

Thursday December 2 :: Lunar 10/28

What makes the day smooth is a sense of fearlessness. Maturing and declining are where it’s at, as yin overtakes yang. Cleverness and survival give way to courage and directness. The ambitious finance bro becomes a beloved ambassador. Let new assistants come forward by standing back. Pay attention to details and tradition today. Stopgap measures work for now, but whatever it is will require more attention later.

no 501K
but a windfall of gold leaves
my dad rakes them in

Friday December 3 :: Lunar 10/29

Enjoy your Friday. Everything goes well. Let good people and coherent plans unite.

hope springs eternal
cherry blossom emojis
dropping all year round

Saturday December 4 :: Lunar 11/1

Brand new moon. A bunch of stuff says stay home and chill. It’s very easy to overextend ourselves today, so let’s just not. Instead, write letters, retreat, make bank deposits, take herbs. The only output congruent with the day is gift-giving, but don’t go overboard there, either.

cyber Monday deals
a brief greening of the field
in the clean, cold sun

Sunday December 5 :: Lunar 11/2

Another great day to take it easy. Today is not about retreat, but about being too new to move. We have the clarity that comes from watching a situation be born. Beholding what is new also puts us close to the unborn origin of things. Freshness bestows lucidity. The qi of the day is like early spring—yin is exhausted after a long winter, but yang is not strong enough to act. All positive events will have a negative outcome today. Don’t make any big moves. If you buy a car, it will be a lemon. If you get married, divorce is likely, etc. Spend your day planning for projects and upcoming events instead. Other excellent choices include routine work, family time, and analog reading technology.

mysterious dew
always pregnant with something
before she moves on

__

Thanks so much for reading, and have a great week! As always, feel free to share. This information can be found in the DYC TongShu App for Apple, and in Changing by Liu Ming, available at dayuancircle.com. If big events are on the horizon for you and you’d like help finding a good day, I'm happy to assist. Just email me to schedule a Calendar Consultation.

Weekly Weather | November 22 - 29, 2021

Monday 11/22 :: Lunar 10/18

Little Snow Qi Node begins today. The dark grows quickly, the ground hardens, and insects and rainbows disappear. Today is “shut,” a great opportunity to rest. Retreat, eat nourishing foods, and cancel ambition. Anything that feeds your resources goes well. Routine work is fine.

Some acupuncturists, including Bob Levine with whom I apprenticed for several years, enter retreat during these winter months. Most of us can’t do that, but we can let rest find us where it can. When I have too much to do, I move fast and frenzied, which wastes a lot of energy. Slow and steady can be a form of rest, when literal stillness is not possible. “Pushing forward on this day will have three times the negative result.” Today, addictions can be broken, and good choices made. Give ghosts nothing to stick to by decentralizing yourself, keeping your humor, and starting/maintaining excellent habits.

he’s going nowhere
yet outstanding in his field
scarecrow paradox

Tuesday 11/23 :: Lunar 10/19

The new weekly hexagram describes the outcomes of using force. When we feel held back, sometimes we just want to push through. This can be effective, but also create backlash. Restraint keeps us out of trouble today. The gradual, instinctive progress of migrating birds gives us an antidote to frustrated impulsivity. The daily hexagram tells us we are on a long, predestined journey of perseverance and predisposition. It’s not a hero’s journey, but an ancestral one. Finding our place in the fold protects us from ourselves. Reframe your position instead of lurching from the version of the story in which you feel obstructed. Become your broadest ecology.

the migrating geese
fly over border control
undocumented

Wednesday 11/24 :: Lunar 10/20

Today we experience the good fortune of the fool. Things turn out well despite ourselves. We also have the opportunity to get rid of what holds us back. The images are of a snake shedding its skin and a winnowing basket to separate rice from chaff. We can cull our material stuff, habits, emotions, etc. The lunar mansion describes a Leopard, whose skins were worn by military officers and Chu shamans. The Leopard confers copious blessings. Let them in.

sudden gust of wind
the scarecrow finally flies
just like one of them

Thursday 11/25 :: Lunar 10/21

Happy Thanksgiving! The auspices are on our side. The Ladle governs libations and ancestral rituals. The big, happy Chinese lion-dog figuratively shows up to offer its exorcistic dance. This popular festival rite invokes clarity, safety, and prosperity when danced at the threshold of any building. Lion-dogs can discern truth from lies, and live on fire to maintain their ruthlessness toward traitors and hypocrites. Be energetically honest today. You can do it. Even with your family. Even with yourself. If you are a family of one, feel in your body the way that we are literally connected to everything. There is nothing that is not our family. Our breath is the atmosphere. Our eyes evolved with the sun. Don't just think it, let it fill you.

Today’s changing line tells us to remain calm and stay silent. (You do you! I’m just telling you what the almanac advises.) Regulating our nervous systems is not cowardly. Today’s Mountain hexagram describes stillness in the face of physical punishment. We can say volumes with stillness, and a few well-chosen words that arise from an open stance. Don’t underestimate the power of presence. True confidence requires no aggression.

with wide open arms
our scarecrow welcomes the world
into his wheat field

Friday 11/26 :: Lunar 10/22

When I moved to California and still waved at everyone like a small-town girl, working class people were the only ones who ever waved back. No matter your position, get low and stay low. Inhabit your humanity enough to be grounded, real, and genuine. Ming says, “Modesty applied to time is patience.” We can be chill even when we need to take strong action.

Today is also an Ox-Boy day, which is about bad luck in romance. The losses that come from inattention to details and boundaries can show up today. The Ox-Boy constellation forever chases the Maiden, but they can’t unite. If love is in the air, it’s probably unrequited. Auspicious activities include moving, planning, inactivity, solitude, and medical treatments.

seventeen long years
cicadas toil underground
poets, probably

Saturday 11/27 :: Lunar 10/23

Judicious use of force may or may not bring benefit. Today, it’s crap shoot. Stable, functional, and progressive qi rules that day, so whatever happens, it’s easier to return to normal afterward. Guard your health, and conserve your energy. The daily hexagram is called Obstruction, which describes a situation when good people are temporarily held back, and small-minded people prevail. It’s sort of like the kids who make fun of my son for wearing sparkly shoes. We know who’s gonna win in the end. When the best people are obstructed, change for the better is inevitable. Be humble, cancel, and postpone. Don’t accidentally work against your fate by pressing forward. But there’s also a chance that force can succeed, especially if you keep your cool.

shooting star
lucky unless you catch it

Sunday 11/28 :: Lunar 10/24

“The family is assembled before the ancestor altar,” as it were. Spiritual, social, and material resources are gathered and put in order. Good for all joint efforts. Opening our hearts with others purges us of selfishness. Through this exchange, we can enter the depths of our humanness. Be receptive to inevitable success. Events (good and bad) can surface that we did not directly cause. Unseen helpers show up to mediate ancient affronts. Even difficult things can be smoothed over as a group.

a gentle drizzle
over the retention pond
family reunion

__

Thanks for reading, and have a great week!

Weekly Weather | November 15, 2021

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

Weekly Weather | November 8, 2021

Monday November 8 :: Lunar 10/4 (good buddy)

A sweet day in an otherwise precarious week. The power of Earth and “support from heaven” come together to bless us from above and below. The growing moon supports us, too. If you have something to share with the world, today is a good day to do it. Most things go well. Divination is auspicious.

Divination systems from our indigenous cultures open a powerful portal to our ancestors and the worldviews that gave birth to us. Everyone naturally divines when they dream and walk around in the world, but many people find it helpful to formally consult another system. Many years ago, I made runes from a yew branch in Ireland, but only recently have I felt grounded enough to work with them. I’ll “consult the oracle” once every month or two. For me, more than that feels like a symptom of anxiety. What systems of divination did your ancestors practice? Older forms include reading entrails, weather, tea leaves, coffee grounds, bird flight, and raven song. Many people roll bones or shells, or sacrifice goats to read the liver or other organs. Modern people often use tarot (France) and I-Ching (China). Dreaming is the oldest form of divination.

from inside the grape
a sweetness that can’t escape
until we bite down

Tuesday November 9 :: Lunar 10/5

The ancient Chinese observed that the stars move from east to west. and rivers from west to east. Today is about opposing flows—arguments, criticism, and litigation. The rise and fall of disputes is natural, but selfish arguments are a lot harder to resolve. Withdraw from complicated situations. When we find ourselves in an argument, we have likely neglected to pay attention to the trickle of circumstances that led up to it.
Jews and Tibetan monks have traditions of arguing for the sake of polishing and education. It’s like a game. But chances are, if you’re someone who likes to “win” an argument, people think you’re an ass. Personally, I can let stuff build up instead of addressing small concerns when I first notice them. The volcanic outcome of this kind of neglect can surface today. It’s much easier to blame others than it is to address a situation before it becomes a thing. Good luck!

plucking muscadines
thicker skin than mine

Wednesday November 10 :: Lunar 10/6

Good day to stay home, work around the house, and be chill. “Comply with the omens” means go with the flow. A couple weeks ago, my family was ready to move into a house in North Carolina, but when we arrived, a falcon swooped down by our car—an omen which always appears to strongly warn me. Then we learned the house had mold, then my son fell through the rotten fort in the backyard. Don’t let your idea of what you think is best undermine what is actually best. The universe is unfolding on your behalf, not because you’re special, but because you are the universe, and the universe has a vested interest in self-preservation.

The dark image of the day is about being reckless, and the bright side is found in conserving our energy. We could get hammered, go off the deep end, and sleep with a psychopath, or we could do some art, have a cup of tea, and quietly celebrate maturity. Spending resources goes poorly. Collect accounts receivable (and stuff like that) instead. Take your herbs. Do the thing that nourishes you. Trying to escape a difficult situation digs our hole deeper, so make your pit a monastery. Negative emotions can give way to inner peace, even under physical duress.

a koi jumps the pond
banking his entire life
on impressionism

Thursday November 11 :: Lunar 10/7

For the next six days we are asked to cultivate the stillness of mountains. Two mountain trigrams comprise the weekly hexagram of Stillness. The top mountain represents clarity, calm, and mystical revelation. The bottom mountain describes the courage of restraint in the face of physical punishment. Together, the images represent the view, path, and fruition of meditation. Five indicators tell us to step back and wait. Take stock and plan. Go with stillness, preparation, education, and growth. A good day for medical treatment, making repairs, apologizing, and honoring our ancestors.

one gentle breeze and
the morning glories tremble—
fear is just a wind

Friday November 12 :: Lunar 10/8

On this day, we can make progress, but pausing and loss may be part of it. To shed its skin, a snake must take time out, and lose something, but ultimately this process carries it forward. The uneven qi exposes our vulnerable, immature position. What haunts this state is aggression, imagining that we are ready for action. Holding back today is not about maturity, but about shedding inessentials. What needs to go before we can continue? Consult with experts and elders.

Death is more likely for people who are near it. It’s actually auspicious to die today. If you’re hanging on, and they don’t want to, let go. They will experience the freedom of release. Not defeat or “losing a battle.” Today governs the transitory state of the bardo, and is also associated with things that are precious but hidden—treasures, gems, secret teachings, hermits. Watch your dreams, and visit the infinite mystery within.

faces in the trees
shed their beards despite the chill
most of them redheads

Saturday November 13 :: Lunar 10/9

The qi is building, but we’re still between worlds. Visitation dreams may occur. A good day for education, preparation, polishing, gathering resources, and firming up plans. Today’s totemic animal of the stag symbolizes longevity and the non-dual revelation of immortality. Daoist rituals and inner cultivation, such as neidan, have always been practiced today. A good day for funerals, burials, and exorcism (the complete resolution of the unsettled dead). A very good day for meditation.
Consult the oracle for more information.

the day of the dead
a seance for the living
who listen loudest

Sunday November 14 :: Lunar 10/10

Mixed messages today. The auspices contradict each other. Activity is indicated, but use caution. The qi has been readying itself for action all week, and today we find a stable and functional basis from which to act. This tempers the next image of the raw yang of the Horse, unpredictable beneath an inexperienced rider. Pour this raw power into an existing structure so it doesn’t harm you. Continue old projects instead of launching your one-woman performance piece on the Berkeley street corner. Continuity over innovation keeps you in the pocket. Today, travel and medical treatments can be dangerous. Powerful, but gentle succeeds.

perimenopause
my whiskers mingle
with a mare’s
__
Thanks so much for reading, and have a great week! Feel free to share.

As always, you can find this information on the DYCTongShu app (for Apple), as well as in Changing by Liu Ming, available at dayuancircle.org.

Weekly Weather | November 1, 2021

Monday 11/1 - 27th day of 9th moon

Two steady indicators (Ox day/Level) help us keep our bearings if things don’t go as planned. A positive mindset doesn’t guarantee a good outcome. Relax your expectations, and enjoy what’s left—which is everything. If you don’t get what you want, give other people what you wish you had. Then you’ll receive it, too. Stay home, eat well, and take good care of yourself. Watch Coco and let your dead know that you love them (your living, too). You’ll feel them say it back. Happy Dia de los Muertos to those who celebrate. And happy birthday to my Mom!

cemetery grapes
I wouldn’t, but the birds know
nothing’s wrong with them

Tuesday 11/2 - 28th day of 9th moon

The totemic animal of the day is a Pig, who embodies ritual sacrifice, good luck, and generosity. As such, today is a rare day when both gathering and renunciation are indicated. Both forms of sacrifice yield longterm benefits. Share what you receive with others. Build, remodel, make feng shui adjustments. Sign contracts, get married, bury your loved ones (only the dead ones). Everything prospers., and allies come from all sides. Divination is not always performed to seek answers. Sometimes it simply expresses the collaboration of worlds. “You take the next line.” We’re writing the poem together.

starry night blessing
we offer light to kindle
a distant future

Wednesday 11/3 - 29th day of 9th moon

Today’s symbol (Eastern wall, where the state library was held) refers to the gifts of a group. Communities create repositories of wealth and knowledge. Share what you know. Anything that fosters togetherness and makes use of our combined resources goes well. Hit up the library, celebrate, invest, share your dreams, practice martial arts, go to a meeting. Your sensitivity is a contribution, too. Enlist it rather than being destroyed by it. Tap into the good stuff as a discipline, and watch yourself become a portal for awesomeness.

produce department
seeking the grapes who want me
to carry them home

Thursday 11/4 - 30th day of 9th moon

Today we have a paired image of a military officer and a wolf. The officer has an arsenal, but the wolf can outsmart even the most well-guarded person. The auspice is mixed because we have protection, but we need it. Do anything that parallels preparing for winter—bank deposits, planning, repairing homes and bodies. Good day to see the doctor and conduct routine business.

Today is a consult the oracle day, so I checked the runes and got Tiwaz/Tyr. Tyr is a Nordic god of justice whose hand was bitten off by the wolf Fenrir. Tyr was the only one brave enough to trap the wolf, so he became famous for sacrificing his hand for the greater good. Both the Chinese and Nordic auspices suggest we have the resources to endure wolf-like danger, but also the potential for sacrifice and loss. So, calculated loss succeeds. If it’s your turn to take one for the team, cut your losses, and assume it’s for the best. Heroics could work, but be costly. If I have a choice, today I will probably make soup and bring clothes to Goodwill.

my shadow joining
the shadow of a mantis\
devouring clean lines

Friday 11/5 - 1st day of 10th moon

Today brings a new moon and a new hexagram. Every Autumn, Yin crescendos. It's such a relief. Yin is still, receptive, and dark like the moon. Yin also refers to material Earth, which supports, defines, and nourishes everything we know. Echoed three times is the message to subordinate. Comply with confidence, knowing that Earth is in charge. Meddling puts us in danger. Stay receptive and be in your routine. Today governs family gatherings and musicians, particularly in concert. Find a way to play with your friends. Go with the flow, and show your loyalty. Confrontations are contraindicated today.

last datura bloom
not a trumpet, but an ear\
listening wildly

Saturday 11/6 - 2nd day of 10th moon

The qi is complete. “Do less, have less, show less, seek nothing. Decline is not feared, and success is not celebrated.” It seems like Daoism can make anybody into a corpse, but have you ever experienced grounded restraint? It feels like art, and teaches us to tolerate huge surges of energy so that we can have a complete death. Today is about receiving rewards, and giving the surplus away. Balance your ecosystem through generosity. Accumulation insults today’s calendar qi. If you have to buy something, let it be a gift. Fill the needs of your neighborhood, or donate to a temple. Maintain simplicity.

the luminous dew
if you have nothing to say
say it beautifully

Sunday 11/7 - 3rd day of 10th moon

Today is Samhain (yesterday, too). Stick with familiar people and places. Inherited debts may surface (ghosts), and illnesses will be more contagious. Don’t get married and don’t go to the wedding. The auspices are perfect for keeping your head down and staying at home. The moon is still new, and winter is coming. You probably won’t feel like doing much anyway. This instinct makes you sane, not lazy. Be willing to do nothing. It is completely normal to do nothing. Today, doing nothing saves lives, or at least some trouble.

I’m karate leaf
my geometry murders
—praying mantises

Weekly Weather | October 25, 2021

Monday 10/25 : 20th day of 9th moon

Thunder brings sudden change. Breakthroughs and unexpected events can occur. Last night I dreamed of riding bareback, backwards on a gray stallion. Suddenly, he bolted. I lay down, wrapped my arms backward around his neck, and relaxed into the ride. Before I got sick, I would not have known to do this. Crisis is perfect for people like me, who require it to mature. Vulnerability has the potential to make us very strong. Developing deep trust and tolerance for radical change helps us turn mountains into molehills. Curveballs feel chaotic, but chaos is compost for a new order. It will work out. Lurching into the turmoil to course-correct has the opposite impact. Modulate your nervous system, and relax into ride.

what doesn’t kill you
prepares you for the bardo
morning glory seeds

Tuesday 10/26 : 21st day of 9th moon

Now we can be quick and decisive; the vibes are on our side. All activity flourishes, as we receive the smooth transfer of power from our ancestors. The strength of the human world eclipses the spirit world, so stick to your senses (the five popular ones). Spend or receive inheritance (money, talent, blessings). Recognize achievements with reward. Show yourself, and share yourself with the world. It makes your ancestors proud, and helps other people be brave enough to share themselves, too. We can mature without sadness, loss, or crisis. Consult the oracle for more information.

in stunning light
sun-cut mare muscle
and thudding plums

Wednesday 10/27 : 22nd day of the 9th moon

We have the unique and fleeting opportunity to do exactly the right thing. Swan-dive into synchronicity. No task is too large. If you build it, they will come. Today’s image of a mouth-like basket portends both praise and gossip. The other side of jealousy is celebration. Be happy for your friends, and team up with those you admire. Today’s surprises are good ones.

last October light
gilding fritillaria
ancient glowing bells

Thursday 10/28 : 23rd day of the 9th moon

After two high-octane days, it’s time to rest. The moon is winding down, and we’re nearly a week into Frost Descends, the last qi node before winter. “Winter is coming” sounds pretty good to me. The darkening days are a balm. One of today’s hexagrams describes an immature union. Co-factors have not congealed enough to support major moves. In health and industry, small gains can be made. Speaking truth is a good thing, but can cause awkwardness today. If you’re ok with that, then go for it.

refugees huddle
in the chill of the deep south
monarch migration

Friday 10/29 : 24th day of the 9th moon

Romance goes badly for the next three days. Don’t get married (or buried). Avoid medical treatment. Stay home and guard your resources, as being taken advantage of is more likely. So are car burglaries, so take extra precautions.

If you feel out of step, it’s not you. Well, it is you, but it’s everything else, too. Greed and self-interest may surface. Have you ever heard the saying, “If you want to learn about someone, watch them eat“? What we eat and how we get what we want say a lot about us. Personally, I eat like a pitbull. I feel so hungry for food, time, inspiration… Twenty years ago, on mushrooms in a redwood forest, I chewed my food with absolute presence. I probably haven’t chewed since.

Presence is not what I’m known for. The European cultural body doesn’t help much, either. Millennia of killing, stealing, and colonizing is a lot of dissociative momentum to override as an individual. Fortunately, individuals don’t exist. Internalized individualism breeds ecocide. We are interlocking ecosystems who emerge from lands and ancestors. We belong right here, right now. We have legs (whoa—what are these things), and gifts (lots). We are not alone because a) that’s impossible, and b) people throughout all times and places are presently singing good worlds into being. It only takes an act of factual imagination to thrive. And yes, thriving includes grief and illness. But also dancing. We can even thrive as we die.

numbering the stars
trazodone refill

Saturday 10/30 : 25th day of 9th moon

Doing very little goes well. Release expectations and rest. If you’re going to a costume party, have low-key fun, be the designated driver, and come home early. Even better, be the host (stay in).

the milky way
spiraling into control
for once

Sunday 10/31 : 25th day of 9th moon

The stage is set for an old-school Halloween. Halloween comes from the Celtic festival of Samhain (pronounced SAA·win), when the faeries leave their mounds, and spirits come out to kidnap or possess the most likely candidates. That’s why we disguise ourselves. This year the cross quarter day of Samhain falls on November 6, but our cultural proxy for it occurs today. Paired with the day’s auspice of ancestral retribution, we’re wise to practice common sense. Feel your feet on the ground, keep your center, and stay sober to avoid possession. There is an additional “inappropriate seduction” indicator, so try not to sleep with them. It’s not about morality, but entanglement. It won’t be worth the enormous, dark complication. Happy Halloween. lol

starry night shiver
the window to history
has been left open

Weekly Weather | October 18, 2021

Monday 10/18 : 13th day of the 9th moon

Support the women in your household. Ask her how she’s doing. Help her cook and give her a break from cleaning. Pass her the wrench if she’s a Formula One mechanic. If you live alone, make your grandma’s favorite dish, and feast with your ancestors. If you don’t know your grandma, go with your own culinary preferences. They come from somewhere!

Sometimes we can’t see our complicity in a difficult situation, so we blame others. Blame wastes our time, especially today. Recognize and thank your supporters instead of criticizing them. (Thank your “enemies” while you’re at it.) Generosity and working in the background go well. It’s a great day to come together over food. If you feel held back, find freedom in constraint. Be the haiku you want to see in the world.

how kind is the dew

to slake an aphid’s thirst

and wash our feet for free

Tuesday 10/19 : 14th day of the 9th moon

Snake day. Good fortune relies heavily on being inclusive and observing social conventions (manners). We are likely to get bit if we break taboos or commitments. Several years ago, I lashed out at someone a snake day. I don’t remember at who or about what, but I remember being mortified. It can happen like that, too. Be slow and methodical. Snakes aren’t looking for trouble. A good day for family gatherings, concerts, and cultural events—anywhere you can play a supporting role for your community. Work together.

the October light

I could only see it

from my own angle

Wednesday 10/20 : 15th day of 9th moon

Do things and go places! Chariot days govern migration—stars, birds, and people (living and dead). All activity prospers. Business booms. Marriage inspires both partners to be their best selves. Conception makes brilliant babies. Funerals allow the dead true peace, and seed scholarly offspring. Another image of the day is the Silkworm, symbolizing constant industry. Truly, it’s a git’r done kind of day. And on the full moon. Give yourself ample time to wind down tonight so you can sleep.

when bowling pins

meet bike horns

canada geese

Thursday 10/21 : 16th day of 9th moon

Beginnings are in. Initiate anything: buy property, get engaged (or married), plant a garden, move, start a new job (or job search). Anything with kids goes great. Children born on this day will be blessed.

dewdrop glittering

on a slender blade of grass

I propose to him

Friday 10/22 : 17th day of 9th moon

Today is about not overestimating our strength. “The Titanic can’t sink” kind of thing. Instead, retreat and reassess. Focus on planning rather than action. Today’s hexagram means an unexpected incident, and the freedom of being without expectations. A clear, open mind gives plenty of space to whatever comes. Let go of goals, and allow things unfold naturally. Dragon days portend storms.

thunder shakes the dew

a cascade of throbbing dots

the waters marry

Saturday 10/23 : 18th day of 9th moon

Follow the omen of the ancestors. Multiple auspices advise remembering where we come from. When we strip filial piety of its parental overtones, we find respect for what precedes us. Our ancestors include oceans, mushrooms, sword ferns, and insects. Today’s constellation governs what happens when we don’t acknowledge our basis (difficulty). When we do remember, we experience a gentle rain of blessings (literally or figuratively). Consult oracles and physicians, make offerings to your ancestors, and go to school.

barefoot in the chill

I dream of tiny sneakers

for the centipedes

Sunday 10/24 : 19th day of 9th moon

Just because our wisdom is ignored does not mean we are powerless. Integrity is its own reward, regardless of whether we feel seen or valued, or get our way. Stick with this sentiment, and today can be a lovely continuation of yesterday. Otherwise, the day carries a big risk of miscalculation. Deliberate confrontation and use of force can sometimes succeed. Force without restraint is brutality. Be elegant rather than impulsive, knowing your measured move may still foment chaos. Another option is to fold yourself into your ecosystem with gratitude. This can look like a stroll through nature or doing the dishes. “The Halberd (axe) cuts open what has been sealed.” Our offerings come back to greet us. No gesture of love has ever been wasted. May we open to receive the care we have shown the world.

toward the old shipwreck

into the rough Atlantic

a pure white egg placed

Weekly Weather | October 11, 2021

Monday 10/11 : sixth day of 9th moon

Today we are told twice that calculated loss succeeds. Make offerings to your ancestors and give gifts to your friends! Giving freely is not loss. Every act of generosity goes both ways. Offerings transform into blessings from the ancestors. If you feel wronged, cut your losses.

Happy birthday to Darren Gibbs, whose hard work makes these posts possible. He built (and maintains) the DYC TongShu app, where you can access this information yourself. He also recorded all of Liu Ming’s talks, which will benefit the world for generations. Beyond his many contributions, he is just a wonderful person. Show him some love!

smoke climbs the trestle
of October’s golden light
incense offering

Tuesday 10/12 : 7th day of 9th moon

Underdogs are seen and valued today. Get low. Good day to chill, enter retreat, study, and stay with our routine. We’re a week into the Cold Dew qi node. Activity on earth appears to diminish as we move toward winter, but really it’s just moving inward. Yin is growing. (Yin describes what is cold, still, dark, substantial—an antidote/complement to the excess Yang of our current world.) We allow Yin to flourish by resting, eating warm foods that are easy to digest, and going to sleep by 11pm. Our blood and yin are most deeply replenished between 11pm-1am.

wanna be the star
but autumn light
casts my shadow

Wednesday 10/13 : 8th day of 9th moon

Group efforts go well, especially when everyone involved has the natural boundaries that arise from self-respect. Today’s Lunar Mansion comes from the three stars that make up Orion’s belt. This constellation governs borders. Get rid of qi vampires, end bad habits (excess), and guard your resources to avoid loss, exhaustion, and invasion. Great day for a haircut (shedding inessentials). People who do not use their qi judiciously will be prone to recklessness and seduction.

celebrity stars
chase celestial bodies
but his belt stays on

Thursday 10/14 : 9th day of 9th moon

Change is in the air, so let go. Fear of change makes transformation excruciating and can lead to incomplete death (ghosts). In a recent dream of dying, I freaked out as everything I knew began to fall away—proprioception, dexterity, knowledge, skill, memory. I hovered near my psychic friend, looking for direction. Next time, I’m going all in. (We can practice dying every day.) Letting go is a wild ride, but hanging on is way scarier. On a global scale, this level of change could look like revolution. It’s a good day to initiate change, too: feng shui adjustments, makeovers, switching jobs. If you’ve been waiting for the right day to make a large purchase (or donation), this is it.

mounted butterfly
has done its butterfly thing
for a second time

Friday 10/15 : 10th day of 9th moon

Today offers an easy rapport with the otherworld. By simply being still, or even falling asleep, we can be visited by revelations, secret teachings, and lucidity. Taking credit for bouts of clarity is like taking credit for good health. We can’t. We can behave in ways that increase our odds of health and sanity, but most causes lie elsewhere (grace, fate, precedent, calendar qi). Anyone buried today resolves fate for the whole family.

freaks of nature
roam in the queer October light
at last in season

Saturday 10/16 : 11th day of 9th moon

Today is a lot like yesterday. A Shut day is a day of rest, whether we like it or not. Days like this are only “negative” in cultures that value industry over health, and conflate rest with laziness (an emergent property of trauma). Forcing things to happen borrows qi and creates negative credit. However, we may experience a windfall of inner resources today. Sudden recovery from illness is possible.

Today is called a Willow day. Grief brings us closer to life than nearly anything else can. It strips us clean to the bone. Willow twigs preceded yarrow stalks in consulting the I Ching because of this essential quality. Planted in cemeteries, willows soothe the dead through their weeping. They are known to “maintain the purity” of sacred places. People make talismans and altar plates from their wood. Grieving allows us to occupy a liminal space of wisdom. We take turns at this post, so honor those who currently hold it.

the willow is, too

Sunday 10/17 : 12th day of 9th moon

Consult the oracle, and report back. Like dreaming, divination is a community affair meant to recalibrate the group body. In general, go with convention over innovation today. Avoid travel and medical treatment if possible. If not, it’s never the end of the world.

the praying mantis
and her shadow on a leaf
green on green on green

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Thanks so much for reading. Have a good week!

Weekly Weather | October 4, 2021

Monday 10/4/2021 - Lunar 8/27

The tiger is full, and baby deer play nearby without incident. Still, anyone can recognize the inherent danger. Planning and tending to our security systems make good use of this auspice. Repair walls and roofs, take herbs, see the doctor. Regularly scrub your skin in the shower till it turns pink to activate your wei qi (or defense qi). This traditional hygiene method keeps us from catching colds all year round. We don’t have to be paranoid. Caution can be relaxed. I’m traveling today, which is contraindicated. Against all odds, I will go the speed limit.

Tuesday 10/5/2021 - Lunar 8/28

The living and the dead harmonize today. Joy comes easily when we connect with nature—human and environmental. (Tomato, tomato.) Today is less about what we do and more about how we feel while we’re doing it. All ancestor offerings today will be well-received. Pierogis will taste better because we’ll be feeding hundreds of Jewish ancestors with every bite. In turn, we will be well-compensated for our work. Life is reciprocity. The extent to which we can receive is the extent to which we can be human. Let it in.

Wednesday 10/6 - Lunar 9/1

Happy Dark Moon! Today kicks off a new hexagram. The next six days are excellent for getting real with ourselves. Ambition will cause our downfall, which is a good thing. No one at the top should be unacquainted with the bottom. Ideally, we maintain a worm’s eye view if we have to become leaders. People who lie to themselves and others have the opportunity to stop. Practice meditation, self-reflection, and exercise for natural confidence with none of the puffed-up douchebaggery. Tend the garden. It’s a good time of year to plant fritillaria. Happy birthday to four of my family members—Jake, Sam, Molly, and Tracy!

Thursday 10/7 - Lunar 9/2

Winter is coming. Why bang your best friend’s fiancé when you can crochet mittens and beef up the larder? Today is mixed. It’s about having protection, but needing it: an army with an arsenal, a really good team of doctors, a powerful amulet. All of this calls into question who needs protecting, and from what? But as my wizard-colleague Brandt once advised, don’t write checks for non-duality that you can’t cash.

Friday 10/8 - Lunar 9/3

Today is good for family gatherings. It’s better to emphasize other people. Consult the oracle for more information. (Consulting the oracle can be remembering the dream you had this morning, overhearing part of someone’s conversation on the sidewalk, reading tarot, being sprayed by a skunk, calling your psychic aunt, etc. Or just drop into your body and let it tell you everything you need to know.)

Saturday 10/9 - Lunar 9/4

Have you ever met someone who cannot be unhinged by danger, success, or failure? For me, it was a cartoon sheep I watched as a kid in the ‘80s. A high strung rooster unraveled all his wool, and the sheep just said, “No problem.” I wanted to be like that. Before one of Liu Ming’s long retreats, his teacher told him only: “When it’s going bad, don’t cry, and when it’s going good, don’t put on a party hat.” This isn’t a quest for perfection or total lack of personality. Just a little stability.

Regarding astrology in general, Ptolemy says, “We should consider that even with events that will necessarily take place, their unexpectedness is very apt to cause excessive panic and delirious joy, while foreknowledge accustoms and calms the soul by experience of distant events as though they were present, and prepares it to greet with calm and steadiness whatever comes.” For the record, dreams do the same thing.

Sunday 10/10 - Lunar 9/5

Abandon industry. It’s the Lord’s day, after all. Positive events today tend to have negative results: marriage ends in divorce, medical treatments complicate existing illness, buying an iPhone turns into a customer service nightmare after you find out it’s defective. Use these constraints for inner wonderment. Renounce guilt while you renounce activity. It’s ok to work around the house. You may find long-standing negotiations naturally conclude today. Sell the business, accept the severance package, sign the divorce papers.

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Thanks for reading. I hope everyone has a good week!

Weekly Weather | September 27, 2021

Monday 9/27 - Lunar 8/21

Day of the Fox. Foxes can become mediums for the unresolved dead, calling unsettled debts to the surface. Wild impulses and sad mishaps help us grow up (after taking us down). Today is one of those days when we can expect to be bitch-slapped for our poor choices. Perfect time to exercise impulse control. If you want to have sex with your neighbor, wait. Those unicorn taco holders you found on Amazon? Don’t buy them. At least, not today.

crows on a fence
counting the birds I’ve flipped

Tuesday 9/28 - Lunar 8/22

You’re a veritable cornucopia. Spend your wealth, in whatever form it takes. Pay genuine compliments. Celebrate the achievements of your friends. Buy the unicorn taco holders, then make a feast for your Mexican ancestors. (Yes, I know crunchy tacos are American.) It is also the perfect day to move house.

beneath the pine trees
I listen for happiness
porcini nation

Wednesday 9/29 - Lunar 8/23

Wait your turn and consult the oracle. Gi-gong the gossip away, and let grudges go. On Danger days, my kids statistically get injured more. So, be deliberately graceful, physically and otherwise. If you don’t want to go to the thing you have, cancel it.

how the butterfly moves!
the burner left on again

Thursday 9/30 - Lunar 8/24

Ming says, “Art is the demonstration of confidence, dignity, and wisdom. Be artful.” Both hexagrams suggest waiting on whatever it is. Use your intuition. Artists live in the pocket of synchronicity because they’re always listening for the next move.

the butterfly effect
all I knew was
I liked standing near you

Friday 10/1 - Lunar 8/25

Today kicks off October and the hexagram Assembly. The coming week brings our family together before the ancestor altar to put spiritual, social, and material resources in order. Success is “found in the blood.” We’re the natural unity of living and dead, but it might take some awkward recalibrating to register the unity. The foliage of the earth is falling away. As material earth diminishes, the spirit world crescendos. The veil thins.

outer hebrides
singing songs into the wool
women are the loom

Saturday 10/2 - Lunar 8/26

Success comes from working together as a family at home. If you feel you have no family, go outside and look at the pigeons. Notice the geranium leaves turning red in the sidewalk cracks. The wind is a person, too. There is no protagonist who should have a family; there is only family.

what the hermit knows of touch,
so does the orchid
only everything

Sunday 10/3 - Lunar 8/27

Key words from the indicators are shut, void, wait. These, too, are conditions in which we can flourish. We can place the whole world in our good hands with just a bit of rest. Challenging cultural norms does not need to be combative. It can look like a nap, like saying “not today,” like replacing guilt with a sense of responsibility to our ecosystem, which thrives on rest.

deep in the country
the thousand voices of night
so this is quiet

Weekly Weather | September 20, 2021

Monday 9/20 - Lunar 8/14 (14th day of the 8th moon)

Today is an open day on the full moon, providing an abundance of energy for most worldly activities. Create, exercise, socialize, move. The hexagram says to get fancy and prepare yourself for presentation. Have your dress ready and get your eyebrows threaded. Today is a consult the oracle day, so I took the liberty of doing so: Eccentricity succeeds. Unusual pairings go well. Weirdness and excess work. You’re in over your head, but the outcome is good. Not often, but today.

Tuesday 9/21 - Lunar 8/15

Today is a shut day. Putting things in = good. Rest and medicine go in the body. The dead go in the ground. Money goes in the bank. Use your english degree to extrapolate from there. Recovery from illness goes well if we're willing to pause. Be patient. Even though you’re prepared, don’t act. Wait to be noticed. Wait to be invited. A very good day for meditating and observing our environments to divine our place.

Wednesday 9/22 - Lunar 8/16

Happy Equinox. We are halfway through autumn. Renew your friendships and alliances. If you’ve got good people in your life, let them know. Donate time or money to your favorite organization. Tend to your connections with ancestors, nature, and place so that you begin to move as a multiplicity. Individuality is so 1640s Europe.

Thursday 9/23 - Lunar 8/17

“The sincere heart of the weaver can be felt in the simple cloth.” Humble, heartfelt offerings are the best kind. Selfish motives, ambition, or bad timing will undermine you. Consult people smarter than you and gather your energy. Do some YouTube qigong, remember your lower body. Feel your abdomen, pelvis, feet. All activities related to kids are auspicious.

Friday 9/24 - Lunar 8/18

The new season of the Great British Baking Show premiers on Netflix, making this one of the most important days of the year. As you watch 12 new bakers enter the tent, allow primordial yin flourish within you. Accept the wild, gorgeous earth. No tinkering is necessary. Comply and be supple, just like the rest of nature.

Saturday 9/25 - Lunar 8/19

Today launches a week of abundance, and a sweet spot in the year. The celestial creative force of heaven asserts itself today. The dragon strengthens and energizes all activity. Remembering our basis keeps us nested in the proper holon. Learn from your teachers, make offerings to ancestors, consults oracles and physicians. The spirits that cause illness are active today, so avoid the wilderness, bars, and abandoned buildings.

Sunday 9/26 - Lunar 8/20

Today deals us a wildcard of mixed indicators. There’s so much forward momentum, but both hexagrams suggest a problem. Expect the unexpected. Things are liable to lurch. It might be uncomfortable, but it turns out ok. It’s a good day to go about our business. Sudden escape from a negative situation is possible.

Have a good week, everybody! Let me know how it goes.

Weekly Weather | September 13, 2021

Monday 9/13 - Lunar 8/7

Joy reigns. Even complicated matters work out well, despite ourselves. Today’s lunar mansion is the Raven. Natural diviners, Ravens advised kings in Ireland, China, and anywhere else rulers and ravens coexisted. The call of the Raven is auspicious between 3 - 7am. This omen echoes the day’s uniformly positive auspices. On Raven days, formal divination yields a more specific read.

Tuesday 9/14 - Lunar 8/8

Stillness in the storm makes us into mountains. Respecting life’s visceral quality, and letting things be goes a long way. The hawk sharpens the mouse, and the mouse sharpens the hawk. We are the hawk, the mouse, and the compost that gives rise to them. Adversity is not personal, even when it is. Today is also Medicine Buddha Day. Good for medical treatment, and putting in a good word with the blue man.

Wednesday 9/15 - Lunar 8/9

Mountains are also still beneath the rainbows. Be happy, but not too happy. Too much joy harms the heart. Today calls for genuine modesty. Low self-esteem and self-deprecation are just forms of narcissism--undue emphasis. Go do something nice for the world, and you’ll forget you exist. Humility expresses the confidence of nature, and includes boundaries.

Thursday 9/16 - Lunar 8/10

Calculated loss and cancellation succeed. If you need to cancel your appointment, the person you’re cancelling on will likely benefit, too, even if they get mad. It’s a good day to give back without expectations. Take care of all repairs, apologies, and difficult tasks. This includes medical treatment. It’s an excellent day to address long-term, complex health situations. If things don’t work out today, then you’re expressing the calendar qi.

Friday 9/17 - Lunar 8/11

Perfect day to enter retreat, and not much else. Take a nap and receive secret teachings. If this is not possible, do only what needs to be done. Today is also Liu Ming’s birthday. Happy birthday, Ming!

Saturday 9/18 - Lunar 8/12

Happiness finds you like a sunrise lights the ground. Making your bed stirs gratitude for a comfortable place to rest. Cooking invokes all the people, animals, weather, earth, and work that enable our nourishment. So much good fortune comes together throughout our days, and sometimes we feel like we’re part of it. Today has an otherworldly quality to it, too. So make some extra food for your ancestors, and pay attention to your dreams.

Sunday 9/19 - Lunar 8/13

Power means generosity, no matter our position. When we do not include ourselves in our generosity, then we are not generous. Giving when we feel beholden is not generosity, either. Generosity is not rooted in self-abuse or the willingness to take abuse from others. Generosity is an expression of good health and self-respect. If we don’t have it, then we need to give to ourselves. Courting resources doesn’t work. What we need arrives when we stand back. Silence and stillness can be forms of generosity. Avoid medical treatments and traveling today, if possible. Emphasize continuity rather than innovation.

Have a great week!

Weekly Weather | September 6, 2021

Monday 9/6 - Lunar 7/30

It’s the last day of Ghost Month, and the portal of hell is scheduled to close. The new moon is like a toilet flushing. On this day of natural conclusions, let the last of it go. Teamwork succeeds. Today and tomorrow are both Harvest days, when commerce—both spending and collecting money—are indicated. But if you’re planning to buy a car, do it tomorrow, after the dark of the moon seals this ritual node. Acupuncture is not indicated on the new moon, as it “disorders” the meridians. If it feels right, do a little something to help your unsettled move on. Enlist a psychopomp, light a candle, offer an ancestral food for the next leg of their journey. Be loving, and let go.

Tuesday 9/7 - Lunar 8/1

Themes of willing sacrifice are echoed in the daily hexagram and lunar mansion, so sharing the benefits we receive today with others goes very well. A good day for doing stuff, buying stuff, entertaining guests, and hanging with the family.

Wednesday 9/8 - Lunar 8/2

Our feelings and body are reliable tools for divination, especially today. Allow gentle inspiration to swell into enthusiasm and eventually, the confidence to act. Progress is gradual, patient, and intuitive. Staying in the pocket of this instinctive bloom helps everything come together. Pretty much everything goes well today, except weddings and funerals.

Thursday 9/9 - Lunar 8/3

Today is a shut day. It’s a great day for powering down and “putting stuff in.” Medical treatments, herbs, sleep, money the bank. Drawing from your savings account, whether through physical exertion or overspending, costs a lot more than it would on most other days. By the same token, a solitary retreat can replenish you and bring gifts that are not typically available.

Friday 9/10 - Lunar 8/4

Conformity can be good when it comes to our ecosystem. Observation is participation—a way to learn our place. When we have relationships with the plants of our land, we know who to harvest today. When we remember who walked here before us, we know who to thank. Knowing the names of plants and peoples is good, but relating to them as beings over time embeds us in our ecosystem. Isolation makes land acknowledgement feel like lip service. The good news is that isolation is actually impossible. We are visceral multiplicities within visceral multiplicities. Today’s hexagram is Small Succeeds, which sounds like what it is. Work small and smart. Plan, study, and enjoy your discipline.

Saturday 9/11 - Lunar 8/5

Pause and reflect, and join forces with a self-reflective person. Realistic self-assessment is a vital part of leadership. Register your bounty, and smartly distribute the surplus. Drop off supplies for the refugees. Being confrontational or squandering resources today “brings years of loss and regret.” Consult the oracle for more information.

Sunday 9/12 - Lunar 8/6

We come from a long line of people, all doing the same stuff. We get to do more of it, and that’s a good thing. Today’s hexagram is the simple and comforting truth that ordinary life fulfills us. The routine work of a migrating bird ensures its return to the alpine lake.

Weekly Weather | August 30, 2021

Monday 8/30 - Lunar 7/23

When we fall into a pit, clawing at the walls makes our hands bleed. Let our prison become a hermitage! Group efforts succeed, so rest in your team. Going out on a limb, making your case, and forcing any kind of progress will have “three times the negative result.” Great day instead to give gifts, make offerings, and find our place within our community.

Tuesday 8/31 - 7/24

Today is good for most things. Celebrations, the arts, doing stuff, going places. Harmony is in the air. A day of natural beginnings and endings. Enjoy with moderation.

Wednesday 9/1 -7/25

We are released from Monday’s prison—er, hermitage. Let things open up by themselves. New resources arrive. Good for weddings and funerals. Continue with your regular stuff. All of it’s supported. The blessings of the ancestors rain down. There could be arguments among family members, so it’s a good day to bite your tongue or “avoid feasting with relatives,” as the Tibetan calendar advises.

Thursday 9/2 - 7/26

Today bridges the esoteric and the practical. Excellent day for rites, initiations, and transmissions, as well as starting a business, building a home, and digging a well (doing research). The people we bury today rest peacefully and benefit the surviving relatives. Consult the oracle for more info.

Friday 9/3 - 7/27

Deep and honest spiritual revelation is available today while we vacuum. Clean house, rest, and retreat. That’s what the qi is doing. Perfect day to go to the doctor and continue medical treatment. If you flirt today, you’ll get your feelings hurt. There could also be literal floods.

Saturday 9/4 - 7/28

Today is great for abandoning all notions of self-righteousness, and allowing adversity to polish us. Any bad situation will be made worse by overreacting. It’s back to the “hermitage” for us. Leisure and gift-giving go well. Once, when Ming asked me how I was doing, I said, “Monkey in a Tiger Year” as short-hand for not good. He pointed out how lazy and uncreative my take was: “Not very dynamic use of the auspice." Every day is good for something.

Sunday 9/5 - 7/29

If you feel nervous, it’s not personal. Today we’re affected by events we did not directly cause. The solar index tells us, “Do less, have less, show less, seek nothing.” That’s success.

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One day many years ago when I was leaving acupuncture school, I saw an old man stumbling on the sidewalk in Berkeley. He looked disoriented, so I asked if he wanted help. He told me he was trying to get back to his assisted living facility, but had lost his bearings. His name was Dragon, and he had fled Japan to escape his fate as an acupuncturist. (Blind people in Japan had to either become a doctor or sell lottery tickets.) He didn’t want to do those things, so he came to America. As we walked, it started to rain. It took us about an hour to get there, so we were able to cover a lot of ground, but the last thing he told me seemed to come out of nowhere: “Anxious people shouldn’t use astrology. It just makes them more anxious.”

I’m reminding myself to keep a light heart, play with the auspices, and cultivate a general lack of preferences. If any of this makes you anxious, stop reading and use your intuition-as-oracle. Or if you’re adventurous, counter the auspices for the sake of science. See what happens! Ming used to tell stories of monks cutting each other’s heads off because they’d never tried that before. LOL. Experiment within the parameters of your view and the rules that govern your consensus reality. Have fun. None of this is too serious. Not even death.

Weekly Weather | August 24, 2021

Weekly Weather

Tuesday 8/24 - Lunar 7/17

Notice the good omens! Divination occurs naturally today, but you can consult the oracle formally if you want to. Sacrifices and offerings express confidence associated with good fortune, rather than loss. Make borscht for your Ukrainian ancestors. Today is good for pretty much anything but criticism. Travel, work, play, consult a doctor. Enjoy yourself by giving, or simply being. Make beauty out of time.

Wednesday 8/25 - Lunar 7/18

The momentum is very outgoing today. That’s why it’s not the best day to rest or visit a doctor (treatments don’t “go in” as much). Get’r done if you got it in you. Be responsibly social. Show your power by planning carefully and enlisting helpers, not by buying a bunch of crap. Grounded restraint helps on a day that can lend itself to mania. Today goes best when we stay in the pocket of synchronicity/nature.

Thursday 8/26 - Lunar 7/19

Another banner day for most stuff. Recover, see your acupuncturist, make larger purchases that you’ve been planning. Good day to move, travel, write letters. The sacrifices you made on Tuesday can turn adversaries into friends today. It’s a great day to team up with the people you love, and tend to your community. Express our interconnectedness through art, ritual, and appreciation.

Friday 8/27 - Lunar 7/20

Don’t make any big moves. The fuckery runs high! If you get paranoid about people, ghosts, or other stuff, just wait. The unresolved dead can pop up to foment division because they’re scared, pissed, and ultimately wanting resolution. Whatever funky thing comes up, don’t engage it. Do some art instead. Work in the garden. It’s a perfect day to retreat and go off-grid. The sky cures every curse, given enough spin. Facebook arguments will be at an all-time high, if you're the type that likes to watch.

Saturday 8/28 - Lunar 7/21

The stuff you are planning with friends or family still needs to marinate. Don’t act on it yet. Wait until everyone is on the same page. Broaden your perspective, or (diplomatically) make your case to broaden theirs. Advice is available from “on high” today, so be receptive. The moon is starting to wane. Go inward a bit while you go about your business. Most things are indicated. Just don’t get married, and don’t go to the wedding, either. The potential for super-spreader events today is astronomical. Also astrological.

Sunday 8/29 - Lunar 7/22

Take your herbs and be a compliant patient (only if you like your doctor!). Good day for moving, purchasing property, and making feng shui adjustments. If interpersonal difficulties are getting to you, restraint is still the way to go! Just keep exercising caution. Wait for them to surrender or retreat.

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We are in the late-summer season, associated with the spleen organ. Spleen imbalances can show up, like feeling heavy, tired, or worried. Eating disorders might feel more difficult. Some ways to support the spleen are to get out of your head (do fun stuff, meditate, exercise) and eat nourishing foods regularly, especially between 9:00 -11:00 am (spleen time). The spleen loves warm food. Everybody thinks smoothies are healthy, but if you drink them cold, they’re going to make things worse. Ditto on salads (cold, raw vegetables). Yes, even in summer. And especially in late-summer. Sweets can also damage the spleen, and craving them is often a sign of "spleen deficiency." Do what you have to do! (I have been eating a giant salad every day.) But better choices for the spleen are warm foods that are easy to digest. Give your spleen foods it doesn't have to "think about." Soup? Yes! Scrambled eggs? Sure! Cooked foods are the way to go. Anything that looks relatively digested before you eat it. I know, gross. But memorable!