I Ching and the 60-Year Lunar-Solar Calendar Cycle

My Instagram post from five days ago noted that 2024 (or more accurately, year of the Wood Dragon) corresponds with hexagram 43. Some have been describing it as a forecast or prediction. That’s not entirely accurate, so I thought I’d clarify.

It’s not so much a forecast as it is an application of I Ching theory.

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The Oracle of Human Destiny: Cartomancy + Bibliomancy Reading Method

This is fun! A delightful soul and kindred spirit gifted me with the above book, which you can download a pdf of at the Internet Archive, since it’s in the public domain. The Oracle of Human Destiny (1825) is credited to someone going by the pen name “Madame Victorine Le Normand” and is written in first person, with references to doing divinatory readings for Napoleon.

You’ll need a standard deck of 52 playing cards. I opted for the pips, pages (knaves), queens, and kings from a Tarot de Marseilles deck. Works just as well.

From the below charts, decide which of these 12 questions (along the right side of the page spreads) best expresses what you want to ask the oracle. Then note the corresponding zodiac sign on the left side of the page spread.

Table of the Celestial Signs with Corresponding Questions, Part 1 of 2

For example, say I want to ask about financial stability to come, business opportunities, or employment. I might opt for Libra and the question I’ll be asking will be, “Inform me whether I shall ever be Promoted, Wealthy, or Fortunate?”

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Planetary Lithomancy by Micki Klein

Click on any of the photographs for an enlarged close-up view.

I can’t fully convey to you how excited I am about Micki Klein’s Planetary Lithomancy divination set. A while back she had launched a crowd-funding campaign over on Kicktraq to self-publish the divination set, but sadly it did not gain the traction it absolutely deserved. I wish she had reached out to me at that time to help her signal boost, because I would have promoted the heck out of this! I’m so in love with what Klein has created. This YouTube video, “Planetary Lithomancy” by Micki Klein, explains the divination system pretty well.

I confess that I got to tinkering with the divination system before even opening its companion guidebook, but don’t worry– I’ll be reviewing it with the guidebook and getting to Klein’s approach. First, my own. =)

As soon as I saw the board with the astrological houses and keywords, as an astrology enthusiast I felt I immediately knew how to operate this thing. I was so excited by the concept I didn’t even continue rummaging in the kit that Klein had sent me. Instead, I ran upstairs and started picking out gemstones all on my own, from my personal stash, for the seven sacred planets and two of the main Hermetic Lots.

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Relationship Compatibility by Your Tarot Court Significator

Queen of Swords from the Tarot in Wonderland (Barbara Moore); Game of Thrones Tarot (Liz Dean and Craig Coss); Bad Bitches Tarot (Ethony Dawn)

Even though I don’t personally buy in to generalizations about astrological sign compatibility, they sure are fun to read (and write). Instead of zodiac signs, I’m going even broader and exploring elemental compatibility between the tarot courts. Zodiac signs aren’t the only way to determine tarot court correspondences, but it’s the one I’m going to go with for the purposes of this blog post.

Since there are differing elemental correspondences for tarot out there, here’s the one I’m working with:

Those who are Fire signs are part of the Wands court, Water signs are Cups, Air signs are Swords, and Earth signs are the court of Pentacles. Psst… I’m the Queen of Swords by both sun sign and rising.

To determine your elemental court, you can use your sun sign (what is commonly referred to as your horoscope sign), but for some relationships, you may want to go with moon sign. Checking compatibility points for moon signs, rising, and Venus signs in addition to sun signs can bring a more well-rounded insight to a very specific romantic pairing. Closeness of friendships can also be determined through an account of the moon signs in addition to the sun.

The relationship compatibility I want to explore here is not limited to love. These considerations can be applied to friendships, acquaintances, or professional partners, or heck, even which public figures seem to resonate with you and which for some inexplicable reason just don’t.

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Holistic Horoscopes: Your January 2015 Sun Sign and Tarot Forecast

charts

Every few months I get the itch to dabble in sun sign horoscopes. To do so, we focus on what’s up with the Sun, Mars, Mercury, and Venus, with an eye on the Moon. I use the day-night rulership approach, running transits animations for January, 2015 and analyze those transits. There’s really no science to sun sign horoscopes and anyone who tries to convince you otherwise is just pulling your leg. Still, they’re fun and every once in a while, by some synchronous fluke, can even be useful. So here we go. January, 2015, and even some additional insights into the rest of the year for each sign.

I’m also going to throw in a tarot card draw for good measure, coming to you from the Voyager Tarot by James Wanless. (Click on any of  the card images for a larger view.)

I like to open with the sun sign of the month, and that’s you, Capricorn.

Capricorn | December 22 – January 19

It could be a hectic start to the New Year and you’ll feel like you are at the center of everyone else’s personal predicaments. That’s only because people see you as always reliable and need you to be their rock. Be alert to curve balls that could get thrown your way. You’re going to feel a child-like fragility and vulnerability this month. Drama may ensue this month and it won’t be your fault. You just have to breathe, hold back, do not overreact, and try not to let the uncertainties of the future unnerve you. You’re contemplating a new course of action as part of your resolutions, but fear of the unknown holds you back. You need to regain confidence in yourself, and then blockages to your creativity can be eliminated.

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Card Drawn. Nine of Crystals: Narrowness

Your hard, impenetrable character grounds you, gives you a sense of stability, but it is also isolating and lonely. There seem to be bars over your view, restricting your perceptions. And yet such narrowness is also what keeps you focused.

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Planets in Retrograde and What It Might Mean: November to December 2014 Edition

Retrograde Mars. Image Credit: Tunc Tezel. Source: NASA APOD.
Retrograde Mars. Image Credit: Tunc Tezel. Source: NASA APOD.

So we, we being all the planets in the solar system, go round and round the sun in our orbits, right. Each one’s orbit is a little different, some are rounder and others more elliptical, and then there’s the tilt of the axis, each one tilted a bit differently from the others. Because of that, at certain times, earth will round a corner at a different pace than one of the other planets on its different-shaped orbit, i.e., maybe a little faster. At that point, from the earth’s perspective, because we’re rounding the corner a touch faster (and on a different-shaped orbit and a different tilt), that other planet appears to move backwards.

So the term “retrograde” kind of stuck.

At least that’s how I understand it. Hey, I’m no astronomer and barely even cut it as an astrologer.

Anyway, let’s just say that’s all about right. Well. Metaphysically, the change of pace is most definitely a change of energy flow and retrograde or not, astrologers are interested in how that change of energy affects life on earth. That’s basically what astrology is all about, whether you’re talking Eastern or Western astrology. It presumes the concept of a cosmic unity, that the whole universe is one being with a collective Spirit, and like our bodies, sometimes, something going on with the hands can affect what’s going on with the feet. So that’s the whole “As above, so below” and also the Dao and Qi concepts distilled into baby terms. And if you ask me, it’s entirely aligned with the concept of God.

We just survived an inordinately brutal Mercury in retrograde and now this. There’s Neptune in retrograde until the 15th of this month and Uranus in retrograde until December 22. It coincides with Jupiter going into retrograde on December 10.

That means right now you’ve got Neptune in Pisces and Uranus in Aries in retrograde (from the earth’s perspective) plus the Northern Node in Libra in retrograde plus Chiron in Pisces with Neptune in retrograde. November 13-14th-ish, the Northern Node goes stationary (but it won’t stay there or be prograde for long; more on that later). By noon Saturday November 15, 2014, Neptune will go stationary. November 16th onward, Uranus and Chiron continue in retrograde. On November 23, Chiron goes stationary; December 9, Jupiter goes stationary. Then December 10 onward, you’ve got both Jupiter and Uranus in retrograde. Oh, also on that same day, the Northern Node is in retrograde again. During that whole time, by the way, after my last statement about the Northern Node, it comes in and out of being stationary, in prograde, and in retrograde. I just stopped jotting down the dates as I cycled through the transit charts. December 22, Uranus in Aries finally goes stationary and is what we would call normal by the 23rd. Now Jupiter and the Northern Node continue in retrograde into 2015. Oh, and by the way, Jupiter is going to stay in retrograde until about April 7 when it goes stationary and then is back to normal after that.

And here’s what it kind of looks like animated:

Transits_Oct-Dec2014

Oct. 21 – Dec. 30, 2014 Transits

So what does all that mean? Depends on who you ask. Now let’s say you’re asking me, because– sad day for you– you have no one smarter to talk to about these things.

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Holistic Horoscopes: Your July 2014 Sun Sign Forecast

Image Source: Eatsleepwork.com
Image Source: Eatsleepwork.com

Writing sun sign horoscopes? Oh what fun! I wonder if people wonder where sun sign horoscopes come from. If that’s you, then read about my approach to sun sign horoscope forecasts here. Anyway, here are my sun sign forecasts for July, 2014.

Also, for each sign, I pulled a single tarot card to supplement the monthly forecasts and found every single one to yield a similar message as the stars. I’ve embedded the card interpretations into the forecasts below, but at the end of each paragraph, will note the card (Rider-Waite deck) drawn for that sign.

Cancer | June 21 – July 22

It’s going to be a great month for you, Cancer, thanks to the influence of Jupiter through the first half of the month, but you’re going to feel dissatisfied and perhaps even a bit moodier than usual. Resist temptations and stay focused, and grounded. Earth stones like jaspers and agates could help. There could be some drama and curve balls with spouses, significant others, or close business partners mid-month and onward and a few unexpected challenges late month. Open communication will be critical to smoothing over the ruffled feathers. Overall, though, energies around you in July are optimal for success, so take advantage of it and get ahead at work and in personal creative projects. If you’ve been out of touch with family for a while, get back in touch this month. [Card Drawn: Key 6: The Lovers]

Leo | July 23 – August 22

Finances and money may be a focal point this month and also, you could be feeling a bit more emotionally sensitive than usual. Leos working in the corporate sector will fare well in July and find themselves taking on a more prominent leadership role. Mid-July and on, Leos in creative or unconventional fields might find themselves redirecting energies, refocusing, editing, or changing course due to the aspect influence of Neptune in retrograde. All Leos should be getting an extra surge of intuition and creativity, so be sure to utilize it! July 16 and on will be a time of success, achievement, and results, and you should be proud of yourself, Leo! So don’t worry so much if family members aren’t quite on board just yet. They’ll come around. The 27th or 28th is a good time to start that new project you’ve been mulling over (or regain momentum for work that you’ve been leaving on the back burner). Carnelian could really help you to positively align your personal energies, Leo. [Card Drawn: Queen of Wands]

Virgo | August 23 – September 22

Lately there may have been miscommunications and misunderstandings in your life, so July will be a good time to get away. This Fourth of July weekend will be a great time of opportunity. Any time early to mid-month, consider a short trip out of town. If you have siblings, it’s a good time to reconnect with them. This July will be all about recalibrating your thought process and self-analysis. You’re too hard on yourself, Virgo, especially in the romance department. Love will come when it comes. Rose quartz would be good for you. Grace under fire is the mantra for you this month. Being able to maintain your inner balance will be crucial in July. And remember, things don’t have to be perfect to be good. Late July, around the 23rd, focusing on finances will bring rewards. [Card Drawn: Key 14: Temperance]

Libra | September 23 – October 22

Early in the month, up to the 6th will be great for you, Libra, but then it may get a little rough, with interpersonal tensions heightened through the first half of July. Then after the 23rd, there could be sibling issues, vacation trips that didn’t go as well as they should have, and miscommunications. Happiness could feel elusive throughout July, and planetary aspects with Uranus and Neptune could bring the unexpected, especially in creative projects. If you find your workload doubling this month, hang in there. Amethyst, citrine, or smoky quartz might help you to reduce tensions and work-related stress. Reconnecting with family and loved ones will be an effective way to alleviate mental blockages. Writing and journaling will be incredibly therapeutic for you. For you this July, you’ll want to be realistic with your expectations and reach your desired destination one step at a time. [Card Drawn: Knight of Pentacles]

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