Western Wall: The White Tiger Approaches

Monday, 8th of February

Master Mouse Says:

The Lunar Lodge for today is THE HOUSE, next to last in the week-long Northern Palace of the Black Tortoise.  The asterism for which it is named is composed of two stars of Pegasus, The Winged Horse.  They form the right side of the large square that’s usually taken as the horse’s chest.  For the Chinese, this square formed the confines of a ritual enclosure, and the right side of it was the “Western Wall,” which it was sometimes called.  In ancient tradition, an enclosure was made of four “walls” of earth and cut saplings, within which a ritual pyre was constructed for a sacrifice to the gods before the end of Winter.  The square of stars then, does not depict a house, per se.  For modern understanding, it would be perhaps more accurate to this image to use one of its other names:  ”House of Fire,” “The Encampment,” or “The Enclosure.”  But the character used for this Lunar Lodge is the common one for “house” ( 室 shì), and this is the way it’s referred to in modern almanacs and common speech.  Indeed, capped by yesterday’s “roof,” the four walls, holding a fire, fulfill completely the rudiments of what humans need in a “house.”

The association of this Lunar Lodge with the close of Winter (and the promise of the coming Spring), and the image of the ritual offering to the gods (both the construction and the fire), make this a sign of extremely good auspices.  Beginning activities or businesses (particularly, beginning construction), holding weddings and their celebrations, moving house or business, and—as one might expect—performing religious rituals, all derive benefit from the energy and timeliness of the day.  In keeping with its association to ritual actions, THE HOUSE is a time for maintaining the “middle way.”  Thus, both avoiding social interaction at one extreme, and over-indulging at the other, are inappropriate.  Yesterday’s Lunar Lodge having been so favorable to burials and taking risks, today is devoid of such auspices.

The spirit animal for THE HOUSE is the Pig.  This seems quite natural, since the character for “household,” or “family,” ( 家 jiā ) is a picture of a dwelling with a pig inside it.  Then again, ritual celebrations and offerings (at least in the domestic sphere) are virtually required to include pork.  The Pig means prosperity and proper hospitality, and adds, to the uprightness and good demeanor necessary in the “House of Fire” ritual, the warmth of social welcome, and the strengthening of community relations and friendliness.

The Solar Index today is DESIGN, named for the second month of Winter in the agricultural calendar, when the Winter Solstice occurs.  Just as the Yang sinks down to its lowest, and is re-conceived by the depth of Yin, the DESIGN month is a time of low activity, and of the desire for warmth and comfort.  The character for this term ( 建 jiàn ) is a pictogram meaning “writing troop movements”, that is, “to draw up orders on how the troops are to be arrayed in preparation for engagement.”  In modern usage the word means “to establish,” “to design,” “to found.”  The first step in construction in ancient times was actually to trace the plan of the building on the ground.  Concrete foundations for smaller buildings on raw ground are frequently still begun in this way.  So draw out your foundation lines today.  Sink down, as if to your roots;  empower strategy and imagination, and let dreaming and planning launch the new cycle of qì.

Talk to the Animals

Born in the Year of the Rat: The Metal Tiger on duty today is the advance guard of the coming New Year, and will scout out the terrain with caution and authority.  Keep your wits about you, and don’t dash into anything helter-skelter:  you may bump into more than you bargained for.  You’ll need to emulate the Tiger’s desire to fully investigate before making commitment, if you wish to keep on the bright side of things next year, and bring forward the Tiger’s natural appreciation of your charm.  Start your training regimen today.

Born in the Year of the Ox: The Metal Tiger on duty today is the advance guard of the coming New Year, and will scout out the terrain with caution and authority.  Today may feel like a bit of a let-down, as you will be handing the baton off to the next runner in the relay.  If you feel some droop in your energies, don’t be alarmed;  it’s quite natural—when you finally get to gather some rest and recuperation—for you to sense just how deeply the qì needs to drop.  You’ll be up and at ‘em again by next week, leading the celebrations for the New Moon, and congratulating the Tiger’s Succession.

Born in the Year of the Tiger: The Metal Tiger on duty today is the advance guard of the coming New Year, and will scout out the terrain with caution and authority.  You’ll feel right at home under his scrutiny, as long as you remember that Tigers are solitary and independent, except when they want not to be.  Leave plenty of space around you today, and try to keep your temper on Very Slow Burn.  It will be easy to get through the day with a happy smile on your face, but anyone carelessly bumping into you could arouse a response of such fierce energy that even you might be shocked.

Born in the Year of the Hare: The Metal Tiger on duty today is the advance guard of the coming New Year, and will scout out the terrain with caution and authority.  You may feel surprisingly small and child-like, under the tentative investigations of so powerful and commanding a presence.  Not to worry, the Great Stripéd One has a deep understanding of the delicacies of your nature, and high respect for your bone-deep bravery.  Keep to a bland and boring level of life, today, and find your sweetness and satisfactions fully in bloom there.  Pursuing anything of high tone or flashy style will only blow the Tiger’s cover, and cause him to bring a big paw down onto your back.

Born in the Year of the Dragon: The Metal Tiger on duty today is the advance guard of the coming New Year, and will scout out the terrain with caution and authority.  If you’re wise, you’ll engage in some counter-espionage today, and use the Tiger’s tentative inquisitiveness as an opportunity to take your own reading of what’s Coming Soon.  This is only the trailer, with many of the important plot elements left out, so don’t make any solid presumptions.  Remain calm, move with grace and silence, and pay close attention to your inner physicality and arising array of tensions and flexibilities.  Today’s Tiger will be awakening the energies you’ll find most needful in the coming year;  they’re going to be big ones.

Born in the Year of the Snake: The Metal Tiger on duty today is the advance guard of the coming New Year, and will scout out the terrain with caution and authority.  You, more than anyone, will need to take advantage of the appearance of this “scouting party” to begin an assessment of your position in relation to the Tiger Way of Doing Things.  Your natural proclivities and leanings do not put you easily into a favorable light under his fearsome gaze.  Your cunning ability to lie low, and to disappear into the scenery, are both going to need to be taken out of the closet and dusted off.  You’ve not used them very often in the last two years, and in the one coming up, you’re going to want them to be ready at hand.  Spend the day taking mental notes, and listen six times more than you talk.

Born in the Year of the Horse: The Metal Tiger on duty today is the advance guard of the coming New Year, and will scout out the terrain with caution and authority.  You may very well greet this condition with such a big and expectant smile that your friends will be worried for your mental welfare.  You’ve felt cooped up far too long, and not really in your physical body;  today, you’ll begin to sense the liberation of your spirit the Tiger will be bringing you.  Find some kind of busy-ness or exercise to help you work off the extra energy this tentative arrival of your Friend with the Fangs and Claws is sponsoring.  It’s only a scouting party today, but his re-enforcements are just over the hill.

Born in the Year of the Sheep: The Metal Tiger on duty today is the advance guard of the coming New Year, and will scout out the terrain with caution and authority.  You’re no doubt feeling a bit out of practice in the Assessment and Accommodation Department, which is a mainstay of your art.  The Ox may even have almost convinced you that you’ve lost the knack of it, entirely.  The clear energetic field today’s Tiger is throwing off is here to convince you otherwise.  Keep your mind open and moving;  it’s a blank page which the Great Stripéd One will be writing upon.  You’re going to have a bit of a puzzle beginning to make out the marks, but keep with it:  you’re going to be fluent, and translating like a scholar, before you know it.

Born in the Year of the Monkey: The Metal Tiger on duty today is the advance guard of the coming New Year, and will scout out the terrain with caution and authority.  Even if you’re not paying attention to the entry of this Scouting Party of One, you’re going to notice the clear shift in the Way of the World, as he pads silently through the day.  If you are paying attention, you’ll also notice that it’s doing something inside you, waking up your nervous system, quickening your actions, heightening your interest in things around you.  But don’t let your excitement get the best of you, or pursue your interests too far:  you’ll spook the Great Beast, and he’ll slink off into the brush, and disappear.  Keep him in your gaze;  Tiger’s don’t like to attack if you’re already looking at them.

Born in the Year of the Fowl: The Metal Tiger on duty today is the advance guard of the coming New Year, and will scout out the terrain with caution and authority.  Your task in the coming year—if you wish to maintain the composure and benefits you’ve harvested from the Ox Year—is to keep constant attention on Where the Tiger Is, and Where the Tiger Is Not.  Today’s your first chance to get your spying skills back up to speed, and to make assessment as to which of your newly-won skills and perspectives are, in fact, exactly what will help you to do that.  It’s not going to be a particularly dangerous year for you, unless you lose focus and forget to look before you leap.  Here’s your first opportunity for “looking first.”

Born in the Year of the Dog: The Metal Tiger on duty today is the advance guard of the coming New Year, and will scout out the terrain with caution and authority.  You will most likely not know exactly what to do with it, but this little scouting foray of your Friend with the Stripes and Claws is going to put you into an extremely heightened state of attention, and dunk you into that confusion between wanting to jump up and do the Happy Happy Arrival Dance, on the one hand, and getting ready to startle up, and run under the porch, on the other.  Not to worry, it’s not time for either yet.  But as the day progresses, you’ll get more and more clear, more and more relaxed, more and more awake.  Don’t try to make any sense of it, just enjoy it, and let it sink in.  Oh, and is it too much to ask you to try to find time to have a nap?

Born in the Year of the Pig: The Metal Tiger on duty today is the advance guard of the coming New Year, and will scout out the terrain with caution and authority.  This little scouting foray is going to be your First Test of the Tiger Year;  well, actually in advance of the Tiger Year, of course.  You will need to maintain your composure, and act fully calm and non-chalant, keeping your secret aweness of The Great Stripey-Furry Presence to yourself.  You don’t, after all, want to blow his cover.  He’ll be sneaking back over the hill at midnight, as stealthily as he came, but returning in full force in a few days.  This gives you just enough time to prepare his more proper and public welcome.  Such preparations, you can allow yourself to get excited about.

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Words to the Wise:

The soft over the strong, the yielding over the obdurate, the spacious and unknown over the defined, the pointed;

Infinite flexibility coats the thorn of any problem, as snow covers rocks, as shimmering leaves conceal the stiffness of branches.

In a non-chalant mood, the Tiger squints, yawns.  Flare of whiskers, and sleek stripes flow over muscularity, the repose of dangerous power.

Not even demons dare taunt him.  Only immodest Monkey recklessly creeps down a ways, throws a stick, calls out:  ”Hey!  You!”

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“Meditate on what you will, you will not meditate.”

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Letting the Great Ox Pass

Monday, 8th of February

Master Mouse Says:

The Lunar Lodge for today is THE ROOFTOP, fifth day of the week-long Northern Palace of the Black Tortoise.  The name comes from an asterism consisting of three stars:  one is the second brightest of Aquarius, The Water-bearer, and the other two are from the forelegs of Pegasus, The Winged Horse.  They form a flattened triangle, like the shape of a gable-roof.  This asterism has an ancient tradition linking it to funeral rites and burials.  As yesterday’s Lunar Lodge was known as “Tomb of the Sun,” THE ROOFTOP represents the time for human burials and memorial for the deceased.  A passage in the ancient Book of Rites ( 禮 記 Lǐ Jì ) describes a funerary ritual in which the folded clothes of a deceased person were carried in a bundle up to the roof of the house, on the eastern side, and then across the apex of the roof, to be lowered down again on the western side.  This ritual was done in mimicry of the passage of the Sun, and in demonstration of the arc of human life.  It ritually ensured that the spirit of the deceased would pass on to its “tomb life” in the Northern Realm of the “Tomb of the Sun.”

This Lunar Lodge is fundamentally inauspicious for activities not harmonious to its funereal tone.  Opening a business (or making a start of any kind) is unsupported, and doomed to bad results, if not failure.  Legal proceedings, taking steps towards promotion, or expansion of business, are similarly inauspicious.  However, this image of the ritual “going over the roof,” seems to give permission for house repairs (particularly up on the roof), and for outdoor work of any kind.  Commerce and routine business affairs are favorable, but only in so far as they are truly “routine.”  The character with which THE ROOFTOP is written ( 危 Weí ) is a picture of a person on a high place, taking pains not to fall.  It is the same character as the Solar Index of DANGER, that being the character’s most common meaning.  Consequently, this Lunar Lodge makes the dangers of working high-up—or of any other kind, actually—safer.  Dangerous activities are therefore to be undertaken today, so as not to have to accomplish them under riskier, “unprotected” conditions.

The spirit animal for THE ROOFTOP is the Swallow, which can easily be imagined soaring and wheeling above the roof, and nesting under its eaves.  The Swallow is also an icon with a funereal meaning in Chinese culture.  In virtually all cultures across its extremely wide global range, swallows are the symbol of return according to the seasons, or return from long travels.  They symbolize happy and active community life, as well as diligence in parenting.  And of course, the elegance of their tapering bodies and long forked tails, along with the swooping and darting characteristic of their flight, make them instantly recognizable and enduringly memorable.  As they also return to northern climes with the warmer weather of Spring, one would have to have a hard heart and an anti-romantic spirit not to long for their return.

In Chinese culture, the Swallow holds a special iconographic place in the long-standing tradition of “burial clothes.”  These are a specially selected and prepared set of garments in which one is to be buried, which may be completed even decades before death is expected.  Having them completed is not regarded as unlucky, or morbid;  in fact, having them on the ready is regarded as increasing the longevity of their owner.  Swallows are a traditional part of the embroidery embellishing and beautifying these garments.  Like the passing of bundled clothes over the roof, they symbolize safe passage out of life, completing the arc of life, and achieving rest in death.  Whether it’s this practice which has resulted in the attribution to THE ROOFTOP, or the other way around, is unclear.  What is clear is that the Swallow depicts not grieving and sorrows, but well-wishes for the departing spirit completing its journey to the North, and provides an amulet of protection to those family members performing the funeral rites.

The Solar Index today is SHUT, named for the first month of Winter in the agricultural calendar.  The character with which it’s written ( 閉 bì ) is a picture of a pair of doors, closed and barred.  This is the time when the weather grows cold, outdoor labors shrink to almost nothing, and the qì slips down into quietude.   The whole natural world is in a state of cold, exhaustion, and rest.  Consequently, the proper pace of human life is interior, inactive, and aiming towards recuperation.  SHUT days are similarly times of deep recuperation and timely withdrawal from the outer world.  Only those who are born on a SHUT day should risk disturbing the qì when it demands to sleep!

Talk to the Animals

Born in the Year of the Rat: The Earth Ox on duty today completes the brace of three, and marking the moment when the Ox Year relents, turns with a slight flick of his tail, and saunters off into the past.  Your main task for the day is to bid farewell to the Spirit of the Ox as he departs.  There’s less than a week before the Tiger bounds in, changing everything but your inner nature.  Make sure that you’re fully breathing out all day long, and that you’re paying more attention to what’s right in front of you, than to what’s a ways off.

Born in the Year of the Ox: The Earth Ox on duty today completes the brace of three, and marking the moment when the Ox Year relents, turns with a slight flick of his tail, and saunters off into the past.  This is a day for you to feel you’re in the Center of Time, and that the world, for the moment, is wheeling around you.  Put your fingers on your wrist, and feel your pulse.  Let your eyes relax and receive the light bouncing off everything and reaching your retinas.  If there are tasks to be done, simply refuse to hasten to complete them.  ”Hurrying is a form of procrastination.”

Born in the Year of the Tiger: The Earth Ox on duty today completes the brace of three, and marking the moment when the Ox Year relents, turns with a slight flick of his tail, and saunters off into the past.  Today’s a day for you to practice your deepest style of respect, and to honor in any way you can The Way Things Already Are.  Your time in the spotlight is coming before the week’s out, so don’t be hasty to make adjustments, corrections, or comments.  Observe, observe, observe.

Born in the Year of the Hare: The Earth Ox on duty today completes the brace of three, and marking the moment when the Ox Year relents, turns with a slight flick of his tail, and saunters off into the past.  The rest of this week will have an eerie calm for you, which you can fill to your heart’s content with all the little domestic duties so necessary to prepare you and your residential spaces for the flush of Tiger Qì when it arrives.  Keep as slow a pace as you can today, in honor of the last Ox Day of the year, and don’t forget to remember to do something purely about Beauty before the sun sets.

Born in the Year of the Dragon: The Earth Ox on duty today completes the brace of three, and marking the moment when the Ox Year relents, turns with a slight flick of his tail, and saunters off into the past.  If you feel almost as if a brass band is approaching, giving you the strange yearning to take your hat off, and stand still in a respectful and awakened silence, then you’re in exactly the right mood for the day.  If you’d like to do something to respect your own spirit, make a plan to turn to the west around sunset, close your eyes, and take in a really big breath.  As you breathe out, slowly open your eyes, and take in the glimpse of the world before you, however it appears.  That’s what the End of the Ox looks like, from your point of view;  I imagine that it will make you smile.

Born in the Year of the Snake: The Earth Ox on duty today completes the brace of three, and marking the moment when the Ox Year relents, turns with a slight flick of his tail, and saunters off into the past.  Today’s a day for you to assess your accomplishments, acknowledge your mis-alignments and short-comings, and summon a deep gratitude and appreciation for your knowledge of the difference.  The Ox has favored you more than most this year, and you’ll be circulating his blessings for a couple of years to come.  The Tiger arriving in just under a week will feel like a big wave dedicated to rocking your boat;  the deeper your contemplative attitude today, the easier it will be to feel you’re diving under that wave.

Born in the Year of the Horse: The Earth Ox on duty today completes the brace of three, and marking the moment when the Ox Year relents, turns with a slight flick of his tail, and saunters off into the past.  For you, this will result in a slight sense of a vacuum, or at least a perceptible lowering of the feeling of pressure in the air around you.  No need to be alarmed;  it’s just a calm before the wind comes up, sweeping in with the Tiger before the week’s out.  If you’re going to make your peace with the rigors of the Ox Year, today’s the day.  By tomorrow, with a sort of dead-calm filling the air, you’re going to be thinking:  ”That was then;  this is now.”

Born in the Year of the Sheep: The Earth Ox on duty today completes the brace of three, and marking the moment when the Ox Year relents, turns with a slight flick of his tail, and saunters off into the past.  All year long you’ve been hoping for a moment of advantage, a little opening in the adversary’s defenses, and chance to redeem yourself in full view of the crowd.  Disappointing then, perhaps, to see the Big Bruiser simply turning and clopping off into the distance without so much as a by-your-leave.  Take your blessings as you find them, though:  he’s left the trophy on the stand, and the judges are going to have to award it to you.  So straighten your clothes, and do what you can to wipe the blood and dirt of your face, to make a braver impression up on the podium.  The plaque on the trophy will eventually be sent out to have your name emblazoned on it.  Just now, all it says on it is:  ”Champion Survivor.”  Put your fists in the air, and grin.

Born in the Year of the Monkey: The Earth Ox on duty today completes the brace of three, and marking the moment when the Ox Year relents, turns with a slight flick of his tail, and saunters off into the past.  No doubt you will have saved up a few rude remarks for this moment, or perhaps a pert witticism will occur to you as you view the Ox’s comical hind-quarters receding into the distance.  But show just a little restraint, and forbear the cat-calling;  you’re in a position to gain immensely in your reputation, and to gather admiration for your extraordinary wit and intellectual insight.  All you have to do it remain as still and silent as a statue, and let your breath do all the moving.  This is the Ox’s parting gift to you:  a way to show everyone the true depth of your spirit, and the wisdom of your calm.  Go on, impress them all;  you’re going to need friends when the Tiger bounds in.

Born in the Year of the Fowl: The Earth Ox on duty today completes the brace of three, and marking the moment when the Ox Year relents, turns with a slight flick of his tail, and saunters off into the past.  I shouldn’t be surprised if at some point in the day, some small detail of the world and the Way Things Are, brings a tear to your eye, and a tightness in your throat.  The Ox has been very kind to you, though you may have spent the year chiming in with everyone else, complaining about the rigors of the kind of Universal Boot Camp he seemed to be running.  But the next few years will be filled with the arrival of understandings of exactly how valuable to you his multivarious gifts have been.  For today, let yourself wax nostalgic, and—if you can fit it in amongst the many menial details you’re caught up in at this time of year—at least send mental expressions of thanks to all those around you who have filled your heart, and brought deeper meaning to your place in the world over the last 12 months.

Born in the Year of the Dog: The Earth Ox on duty today completes the brace of three, and marking the moment when the Ox Year relents, turns with a slight flick of his tail, and saunters off into the past.  As much as you hate being left behind, this is one departure which will not fill you with an eager longing to get to go along.  You’ve got some details to see to before the Tiger arrives, in just under a week, but—as I insist on repeating—the top of the agenda is:  Minimize All Exertions.  The Tiger has a special place in his heart for you, and while all the others are going to be jumping out of the way, or dashing to keep up once he arrives, you’re going to be lounging in the Special Care Ward, building up your strength, and re-establishing your enthusiasm, so fast it will make your ears tingle and your face flush with joy.  I’m going to be nagging at you to “take it slow,” to let the healing sink in deep before truly testing it.  But today, I’m still saying: “take it stopped.”

Born in the Year of the Pig: The Earth Ox on duty today completes the brace of three, and marking the moment when the Ox Year relents, turns with a slight flick of his tail, and saunters off into the past.  You really ought to take this opportunity into some kind of inner ritual event for yourself, to honor the departure of the Ox, and to deeply consider the great gift only he can give you:  the understanding of your true scale.  Your appetites are so broad, and your understandings and interests are so comprehensive that there’s really only one thing you lack:  a deflated view of yourself.  Once you’ve added that to your encyclopedic list of attributes, everyone else will be free to think as highly of you as you do yourself.  And that is what makes you truly generous in the world.

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Words to the Wise:

Great clouds approach from the west, a mountain range in the air, suggesting towers around a lake, or boulders embracing the sky.

As the days grow longer, the heavenly blue deepens, if only in the mind, and the sunlight lingers in its touch.

There ought to be a holiday marking such days as this, when it’s possible again to imagine warmth, remember grass.

Instead, there’s just that moment in the sinking afternoon, when white turns blazing pink, then softens to grey, as if to summon the stars.

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“No need for divinations, when the mind is clear, the eyes open.”

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Emptiness of the Year

Sunday, 7th of February

Master Mouse Says:

The Lunar Lodge for today is THE VOID, the fourth and central day of the Northern Palace of the Black Tortoise.  The asterism which gives its name to this Lunar Lodge is composed of only two stars, the second brightest of Aquarius, The Water-bearer, and the brightest of the small, dim, and not well-known Equuleus, The Little Horse.  As THE VOID falls in the center of the Northern Palace, it is associated with due north, and with the Winter Solstice.  In the oldest traditions, THE VOID was associated with death and burial, and was regarded as the “Tomb of the Sun,” because it marked the point in the year when the Sun was weakest, or “died” and achieved its rebirth.

The character with which it is written ( 虚 Xǖ ) depicts a hill or promontory with tigers roaming on it.  This is an ancient image of a place with no people, and therefore “empty,” “void,” “deserted.”  Tigers also have a long iconographic tradition linking them with death and burial, and may be here the guardians of the Tomb of the Sun.  All these associations make it unsurprising that this is an inauspicious sign, suitable only for the most austere and solemn activities.  Neither frivolities such as gambling and flirtation, nor important legal or social pursuits, are supported by THE VOID.  Religious rituals (but not public ceremonies), solitude, contemplation, and stillness, all make proper use of the temperment of this Lunar Lodge.  ”Cautious Romance” is acceptable, because after the moment of the “Death of the Sun,” the Yáng will be rising.  It’s not a day to meet with or pursue romantic engagement, but the first questions can be well inaugurated:  ”Do you know, ….is he ….attached?”

The spirit animal for THE VOID is the Rat, naturally enough, since the Rat Moon always contains the Winter Solstice, and thus he points to the principal of resurgence implied in this Lunar Lodge.  The Rat is a Yáng animal, and though small and weak of body, he has cunning and intelligence, wide ranging interests, and an inverterate ability to gnaw through obstacles.  (“Rodent” comes for the Greek for “growing teeth.”)  The Rat is diligent, social, curious, and opportunistic.  When he’s not sleeping deeply, he will be bustling about locating resources, memorizing terrain and pathways, and evading the many predators who would pounce on such a nourishing little morsel.  Though the Winter Solstice is a time when humans must desert the world, the mind is still active, and much can be contemplated, re-considered, planned for.  Solitude and rest on such a day serve to nourish intelligence, refresh spirit, and reconnect understanding to nature.  From inactivity in this time, much will come.

The Solar Index today is OPEN, which relates to the month in the agricultural calendar directly following the harvest, from early October to early November.  The hard labors and tense worries of the year are largely past, and a season of festivities, congratulations, and camaraderie begins.  The only concerns for the near future have to do with preparations for the depth of winter, and its cold and storms.

The character for OPEN ( 開 kāi ) is a picture of a pair of doors swung wide.  The feeling of this time is adventurous, light-hearted, and free-wheeling.  The Chinese say, “Go out the door to find fortune!” and today certainly feels like the time to do it.  Normal constraints drop away, and new (though temporary) options are suddenly available.  After the harvest, the cleared fields offer little shelter for birds and other game, and hunting becomes opportune.  A sense of repose arises, as the wealth earned through long labors is safe in the granary.  It’s also, however, the time when bandits and thieves may feel that it’s finally worth their time to come calling.  The “open doors” are a welcome to friends to share in leisure and hard-won luxuries, but they are no barricade to wanderers who wish to crash the party, and pilfer a few valuables.  Keep a light heart, but also, a sharp eye.

Talk to the Animals

Born in the Year of the Rat: The Earth Rat on duty today has a composed attitude and a restrained sense of ambition, but his shrewd wit and irreverent view will be charming the Ox Duo as they prepare their exit.  As the last week of the Lunar Year is starting, re-double your attentions to diminishing exertion and dumping excess bulk from your agenda.  New solutions today are much more auspicious, if they bear the hallmarks of efficiency and directness, and make it possible for you to “do more by doing less.”  Aim to be personable rather than powerful, and don’t be embarrassed to ask for large-scale assistance.  It may not arrive in time, but at least it will give you a reason to stop trying to do the heavy lifting yourself.

Born in the Year of the Ox: The Earth Rat on duty today has a composed attitude and a restrained sense of ambition, but his shrewd wit and irreverent view will be charming the Ox Duo as they prepare their exit.  This is an excellent situation for you to review your Progress Reports, and make any small changes in procedure or direction that will bring benefits before the Tiger makes his entry.  These small details normally escape your attention, as they seem too immediate to be worthy of notice, and too small to be of much long-term importance.  But today’s Rat takes very seriously his aim to keep you in a jovial mood, and will handle all the fussy stuff before it becomes annoying.  Be careful driving heavy machinery, particularly when laughing.

Born in the Year of the Tiger: The Earth Rat on duty today has a composed attitude and a restrained sense of ambition, but his shrewd wit and irreverent view will be charming the Ox Duo as they prepare their exit.  You’ll feel like you’re mostly in Audience Participation Mode, today;  not really in-on-the-act, but not sitting way out in the dark, either.  Whether you find yourself on center-stage, or roaming around out in the lobby, keep your eyes open and your ears perked up:  Maestro Rat is trying to show you something.  You won’t see their importance until well into the end of February, but there are clues lurking about today that will greatly benefit you to have noticed.  Take any suggestions or invitations as if they were military orders.  You’ve got plenty of power, today, and can afford to season it with some willingness.

Born in the Year of the Hare: The Earth Rat on duty today has a composed attitude and a restrained sense of ambition, but his shrewd wit and irreverent view will be charming the Ox Duo as they prepare their exit.  You’re going to have complicated experiences, today.  Confusion of understanding will mingle with certainty of appearance.  Directness of action will produce splayed out results.  Honesty in communication will be replied with formal and austere etiquette.  Don’t be alarmed, and don’t try to dig deeper into what is essentially mysterious.  The Rat and Oxen are conversing in a language that only seems to be one you speak.  If you spend the day smiling pleasantly, and maybe humming to yourself, you get a great deal done without much interruption.

Born in the Year of the Dragon: The Earth Rat on duty today has a composed attitude and a restrained sense of ambition, but his shrewd wit and irreverent view will be charming the Ox Duo as they prepare their exit.  This Mutual Appreciation Society will put you into a mild state of anxiety:  people talking will either sponsor a sense of concern that they’re talking about you, or fill you with a sense that you really ought to step in and give them your two-cents worth.  You can relax, however;  your Favorite Rodent is always thinking of how his influence may redound to your benefit, and all the whispering going on is only to spread the buzz about the big things coming once the Tiger takes over, and your Big Break opens up to view.  Even if you feel like you’re just doing some kind of cheap Affirmation Exercise, keep repeating to yourself:  ”I believe in me.  I believe in me.  I believe in me.”  Strangely, it’s not important to believe it.

Born in the Year of the Snake: The Earth Rat on duty today has a composed attitude and a restrained sense of ambition, but his shrewd wit and irreverent view will be charming the Ox Duo as they prepare their exit.  You’re not quite in the Super Sweet Spot you’re going to find yourself in tomorrow, but the wiles and whimsy of our Friend of the Round Ears are working a bit of a spell on you as well as on your Ox Benefactors.  Don’t take the opportunity to surrender all control or sense of responsibility;  Mr. Rodent is trying to show you how to be more completely in your physical body, and how to move more correctly through your physical environment.  It’s a bit like getting a massage:  it’s relaxes the muscles, but awakens the nervous system.  If you go for Pure Indulgence, and allow yourself to fall asleep, it will all be just an over-complicated way to take a nap.  No naps for you, today!  Don’t over-eat, either.

Born in the Year of the Horse: The Earth Rat on duty today has a composed attitude and a restrained sense of ambition, but his shrewd wit and irreverent view will be charming the Ox Duo as they prepare their exit.  It’s hard for you to think that any of what’s going on with these two has much to do with you, or would make better sense even if they did draw you into the conversational circle.  While that’s not strictly true, it is a good idea to spend the day (unfortunately, you may feel) on the outer edges of social interaction, and to pursue your rare appetites of Going Off Alone, and Keeping Secrets to Yourself.  Getting exercise is a great idea today, but aim for just getting warm rather than getting exhausted.  Your Main Event won’t be showing up until Coach Tiger takes charge, and he’s left strict orders on the clipboard that you’re not to be allowed to do anything more than break a sweat.

Born in the Year of the Sheep: The Earth Rat on duty today has a composed attitude and a restrained sense of ambition, but his shrewd wit and irreverent view will be charming the Ox Duo as they prepare their exit.  You might have misgivings about Rat and Ox and Ox forming a huddle:  it will make you suspicious of what they might be planning.  But the truth is—as you may have noticed by now—a great part of the difficulty you’ve had this year comes from the fact that you’re not really being thought of at all.  So consider this:  perhaps our Friend of the Round Ears is secretly diverting the attention of the two Great Hornéd Ones, and leaving the field to you for whatever solitary stretching or rehearsals you might find entertaining.  True, you’d rather have an audience, but you’re going to be gathering one all through the Tiger Year, and a little posturing and planning on an empty stage will give you confidence and definition.  That being said, putting on the actual performance today is probably ill-advised and premature.

Born in the Year of the Monkey: The Earth Rat on duty today has a composed attitude and a restrained sense of ambition, but his shrewd wit and irreverent view will be charming the Ox Duo as they prepare their exit.  You might feel that the sense of mass supplied by the two Oxen, and the sense of constriction sometimes supplied by the Rat, will produce a condition you will only want to respond to by pouting and kicking stones.  But think of it this way:  when you marry the Rat’s Big Ideas with the Oxen’s Grand Scale of Action and Effect, the one carrying the cushion with the ring on it is most likely going to have to be someone from the Clan of the Long Tail.  So, spend the day putting extra attention on your appearance, and don’t hold back if standing in front of your closet and mirror turns into a huge costume parade, with intermittent Shakespearean recitations.  You don’t know yet what you’re actually capable of.  The Rat is trying to help you find out in the most direct and safest way.  Fidget not.  Fret not.  Try on a couple more hats!

Born in the Year of the Fowl: The Earth Rat on duty today has a composed attitude and a restrained sense of ambition, but his shrewd wit and irreverent view will be charming the Ox Duo as they prepare their exit.  As long as you make sure to mind all your P’s and Q’s, you’ll find it easy to figure out what the Herr Rodentmeister is whispering in the Oxen’s ears.  Rest assured, there’s a part in his Grand Plan for you, but you may have to prepare yourself for what seems to be a minor role.  There are tiny little micro-adjustments being arranged, and if you are looking in just the right place you’ll be able to recognize them quite clearly.  More likely though, you’ll not have your alignment correctly gauged, and you’ll feel a bit mystified, particularly at the beginnings of things.  Play through, and play fair;  there’s a very good chance that in this mystery play, one of the minor servant roles in Act 1, turns out to be the master-mind of the whole caper by Act 4.  And anyway, it’ll be much more fun if, at the start, even you don’t know Who-Dunnit.

Born in the Year of the Dog: The Earth Rat on duty today has a composed attitude and a restrained sense of ambition, but his shrewd wit and irreverent view will be charming the Ox Duo as they prepare their exit.  The mystifying whisperings, gesticulations, and sudden expostulations going on when these three get into a huddle, will leave you not so much intrigued as bored.  This is a very good thing, and should be your signal—yes, again—to find a comfy place to curl up for a snooze.  If you’re stuck on the tread-mill for the day, at least forget about fitting into office gossip, either as explainer or gasper, and practice the fine art of Doing by Not Really Doing.  When you point your nose towards Pure Efficiency, you’re a master of speed, so aim for doing just what’s essential, and punch out for the day as early as you can.  You won’t have to turn in early tonight;  in fact, you should find something diverting and meaningless to unwind with.  A huge jigsaw puzzle, perhaps?  Sunday Times crossword puzzle?  Thinking though your explanation of Gravity Dynamics Under the Specific Theory of Relativity?  Careful though:  that last one will make you very drowsy.

Born in the Year of the Pig: The Earth Rat on duty today has a composed attitude and a restrained sense of ambition, but his shrewd wit and irreverent view will be charming the Ox Duo as they prepare their exit.  You’re more than a little likely to feel a bit left out by the confab going on today.  If you strive to get the Rat to stop messing around with the Big Boys, and entreat him to put his worthy attention towards entertaining you, you’re not only going to come up dry:  you’re going to have a Rather Angry Rat on your hands.  Better to find some small tasks to busy yourself with, and to take the—rather boring—lack of engaging diversions as a signal that it’s time to see to outstanding details and not-yet-completed preparations.  ”Preparations for what,” you ask?  Oh, sorry!  Thought you got the memo!  Tiger’s coming!  Due in a week!

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Words to the Wise:

Zao Jun has flown up with his full retinue, arms full of bothersome memos for the Celestial Court’s perusal.

Emptier now, the house becomes more human, at the same time more “just like everything else.”

Clean and clean, as if to wipe the old year away.  Sweeping and dusting, just like grandmother taught you, long ago.

Come the noise of the fire-crackers, and you’ll be like a toddler again, clapping hands, staring, and laughing out loud.

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“Cold and grey clouds hold hot and sharp lightning.”

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Bribing the Lord of the Hearth

Saturday, 6th of February

Master Mouse Says:

The Lunar Lodge for today is THE MAIDEN, third day of the Northern Palace of the Black Tortoise.  This Lunar Lodge is named for an asterism composed of four relatively weak stars of Aquarius, the Water-bearer, and was originally connected to women’s duties indoors, once winter had set in.  The character with which it is written ( 女 nǚ ) means ”girl(s),” or “virgin(s),” or “woman (women),” depending on the context.  In this context, since it applies to the work of spinning, dying, and weaving, the Lunar Lodge is sometimes rendered as “The Weaving Maiden.”

This produces a mild confusion, however, as “The Weaving Maiden” ( 織 女 Zhī Nǚ )  is also the name of a separate asterism, not on the zodiac’s ecliptic, but well north of it, and on the eastern edge of the Milky Way.  It includes Vega, second brightest star in the northern sky, which is the embodiment of the daughter of the King of the Sun in the tragical story of “The Ox-herder and the Weaving Maiden.”  Over the many centuries of star-lore in China, the similarity of name and meaning of the two asterisms have caused both to be associated with the famous romance of the “star-crossed lovers.”

And in any case, the indications of this Lunar Lodge are as dark and sad as yesterday’s, striking a similar note of solitude and resignation to duty.  One difference is that THE MAIDEN is regarded as favorable to religious ritual (though not public ceremonies).  It is also a day when generosity is both appropriate and well-placed;  gift-giving and hospitality can be made with an easy grace, and will be received with respect and gratitude.  Among activities forbidden under this sign, sewing is noteworthy.  One might imagine that as part of the tradition of “women’s work” it might be favorable;  but since it involves cutting of the woven material, it is in a sense the opposite of producing the cloth, and therefore inauspicious.

The spirit animal for THE MAIDEN is the Bat.  Both “bat” and “blessing” are pronounced the same (fú), so the Bat ( 蝠 ) is a rebus for ( 福 ) “blessing,” “happiness.”  (The two characters share the same phonetic—that is, the right half of each character—which when written by itself means “a roll of cloth.”)  Bats are, therefore, ubiquitous in Chinese iconography, indicating the arrival of (or wish for) happiness and blessings.  The Bat, as an attribution to this Lunar Lodge, suggests a lightening of the sad story of the separated lovers.  They are after all, re-united once a year, on Double Seven Day (7th Day of the 7th Moon), when all the magpies in the world are supposed to fly up to the heavens, and form a bridge for them.  The two cross over the Celestial River (as the Milky Way is called) and are allowed the “blessing” of one day of “happiness.”

The Solar Index today is HARVEST, which is the name of the second month of Autumn in the agricultural calendar, from early September through early October.  It contains the Autumn Equinox, and represents the time when the vitality of the year distills to an essence;  the plants wither and grow stiff while the fruits and seeds grow plump and ready to drop from their stems.  The labors of humans at this time of the year are hard, and must be accomplished with speed.  The results of the harvest, however, fulfill the labors of the entire rest of the year, and are a source of great satisfaction and relief.

In most editions of the almanac, HARVEST days are printed in black, as their association with Autumn makes them inappropriate for weddings.  In terms of industry and production, however, HARVEST symbolizes the gathering in of the abundance of the natural world, and the fulfillment of human labor, in preparation for the sternness and cold of Winter.  This is a favorable sign for commerce in general, and for investing, borrowing, and lending, in specific.  It is not suitable for medical treatment in the Chinese traditions, as the qì is going down and thinning, and though the shēn is ample, its presentation can be misleading.  Better to wait for a day, to determine a more accurate understanding of the patient’s condition, and to make an adjustment more likely to “take.”

Talk to the Animals

Born in the Year of the Rat: The Fire Pig on duty today has a restrained character and a staunchly held point-of-view, and will be jubilant that the Ox is about to depart, but still muttering about injuries suffered and opportunities missed.  Put your attention on the jubilant attitude available today, and don’t take anyone’s statements or complaints at more than face value.  Your own restraint of character will also be very visible to those around you, so don’t over-dramatize your own complaints.  Your private time today is what will make the most difference, and if you’ve fallen behind in your proper eating and sleeping, put them at the top of the agenda.  Delay planning and labors until tomorrow, if at all possible.

Born in the Year of the Ox: The Fire Pig on duty today has a restrained character and a staunchly held point-of-view, and will be jubilant that the Ox is about to depart, but still muttering about injuries suffered and opportunities missed.  You’ve been winning every argument with the Pig’s energetics the entire year, so it would be good form—and excellent strategy—to spend the entire day looking for arguments to lose.  Either you’ve already demonstrated your point, as if it were etched in granite, or you haven’t;  going on about it at this late date, will just make you look …uhm…  ”piggy.”  The rest of this week is all about relinquishing burdens, and “being right” can be very burdensome, indeed.  ”Being confused” is a step in a better direction;  ”being wrong” will be down-right healing.

Born in the Year of the Tiger: The Fire Pig on duty today has a restrained character and a staunchly held point-of-view, and will be jubilant that the Ox is about to depart, but still muttering about injuries suffered and opportunities missed.  Where the Pig’s exaggerations and self-importance are concerned, you have very little patience.  Where his Party Practice is concerned, you’re always ready to tumble in and join the festivities.  So put your gaze on pleasures, indulgence, and satisfactions for the day, and let everyone view your Party Animal side, before we come to the New Moon, and things start looking more serious.  Should it come to that, you’ll have the power to stop any whining with the merest fang-revealing sneer, or a tiny tilt of your head forward to emphasis the glare in your eyes.  Then smile warmly, and get back to the fun;  they’ll get the message.

Born in the Year of the Hare: The Fire Pig on duty today has a restrained character and a staunchly held point-of-view, and will be jubilant that the Ox is about to depart, but still muttering about injuries suffered and opportunities missed.  You’ll have to be careful not to get stuck trying to see both sides of the Fire Pig’s character today.  ”Restrained jubilation” and “obstinate open-mindedness” will make your head hurt if you try too hard to make sense of them.  Moaning and carrying on about the past will be relatively easy for you to put up with, but only if you are just the sounding board, and not if you join in the general whine-fest.  Better to get the Pig up off the floor and make him join in your Happy Rabbit Dance.  If all else fails to lighten the mood, ask for a story.  If that fails, tell one yourself.  (It does not need to be true.)

Born in the Year of the Dragon: The Fire Pig on duty today has a restrained character and a staunchly held point-of-view, and will be jubilant that the Ox is about to depart, but still muttering about injuries suffered and opportunities missed.  Now, you certainly have your own litany of items for righteous complaint, so you may find yourself lining up with that side of the Pig’s energetics, and spending the day re-hashing the whole sordid year in gory detail, with little charade moments, acting out the juicier parts, and maybe even exaggerating a little, just for better effect.  No harm there, as long as you get so deeply into the theatrics, that the whole thing comes out comical.   There’s no better audience pleaser, after all, than a story told at the expense of your own dignity and sense of self-righteousness.  If this course seems a bit too challenging, then just aim for minor sensory diversions, physical comforts, and any special delicacies that will make your palate tingle, and your face break into a glowing smile.  Do not let yourself get into an argument.  You wouldn’t like the outcome, today.

Born in the Year of the Snake: The Fire Pig on duty today has a restrained character and a staunchly held point-of-view, and will be jubilant that the Ox is about to depart, but still muttering about injuries suffered and opportunities missed.  The magical compliance you could so easily muster yesterday, has vanished like rain falling on the Kalahari;  what’s taken its place is a set-up for any number of minor disasters and major disagreements.   It’s not that things have all gone south for you, or that you’re in danger of losing anything truly important.  It’s just that almost any direction you turn will be the wrong one, and standing still won’t seem all that much better as an option.  This is temporary, so bide your time.  And even if it doesn’t seem to be working, act invisible and completely unimportant.  If things get really jammed up, wave your arm slowly across your view and intone:  ”These are not the droids you’re looking for.”

Born in the Year of the Horse: The Fire Pig on duty today has a restrained character and a staunchly held point-of-view, and will be jubilant that the Ox is about to depart, but still muttering about injuries suffered and opportunities missed.   If you find yourself cornered by someone recounting the entire tragedy of her life, starting from day one, and focussing particularly on the last twelve, oppressive, unjustified, and horribly unfair months, you shouldn’t be at all surprised.  You should allow yourself to listen, however, only so long as the tale is well told, and can be enjoyed for its pure entertainment value.  Getting deeper into What’s Wrong With All of It will provide zero benefit at this point in the year;  it’s all about to change, and in a direction you’re going to really enjoy.   Don’t miss any opportunities to eat really well, or to get up and dance around.  ”Happy is as happy does.”

Born in the Year of the Sheep: The Fire Pig on duty today has a restrained character and a staunchly held point-of-view, and will be jubilant that the Ox is about to depart, but still muttering about injuries suffered and opportunities missed.  Your friend from the Clan of the Curly Tail normally puts you into a favorable light, and makes you take renewed faith in your strengths and ambitions.  But today is liable to have a snag in it:  you’re not the only one with some complaints about the Ox Year, but you won’t really have the patience to listen to them, without trying to butt in.  Unless you’re ready for this sort of whine-fest to turn into something like a Monty Python sketch, with each complainer trying to top the other for suffering, humiliation, and pity-earned, then you’d better not even start.  And think of it this way:  you’ve got your complaints, but who has better reason than you to start celebrating the departure of the Ox?  If you get down and dour today, think of snow falling on poppy fields, and start dancing towards those glittering emerald-green towers that have finally come into view.

Born in the Year of the Monkey: The Fire Pig on duty today has a restrained character and a staunchly held point-of-view, and will be jubilant that the Ox is about to depart, but still muttering about injuries suffered and opportunities missed.  If you’re wise, the only thing you’ll allow yourself to respond to is anything with the ring of jubilation and festivity in it.  Allowing yourself to get sucked into a Whining Contest, matching complaint against complaint, and sorrow against sorrow, will only lead to a vast emotional drain, with no concrete results or resolution to show for your effort.  Worse, you could end up convinced that you’re in a much worse state than you actually are, and since the Monkey Rule is “Think it, be it,” that could have dire impact on you for the rest of the week.  Whistle a happy tune, and keep a smile ready.  Tell all of your jokes.

Born in the Year of the Fowl: The Fire Pig on duty today has a restrained character and a staunchly held point-of-view, and will be jubilant that the Ox is about to depart, but still muttering about injuries suffered and opportunities missed.  Since—compared to most—you’ve had a relatively easy time this year, you’re either going to have to put up with any recitation of complaints you come across today in patient silence, or else take up responsibility for sponsoring and hosting the party where everyone gets to celebrate the departure of their apparent oppressor, the Damnable Ox.  You’ll find it extraordinarily easy to get people into the proper festive mood, and their freely expressed gratitude will burnish your (already glowing) reputation, and warm your (already glowing) heart.  Only you and I will know that you’re partying for an entirely different reason.  For you, the day is a moment of thanksgiving and self-congratulation.  Today’s your day for being Properly Piggy about it by sharing your good feelings, and taking care not to shame anyone with them.

Born in the Year of the Dog: The Fire Pig on duty today has a restrained character and a staunchly held point-of-view, and will be jubilant that the Ox is about to depart, but still muttering about injuries suffered and opportunities missed.  I’m afraid that both the Pig’s celebratory attitude, and his will to recount the entire history of “injuries, etc.” will be matters you will only be able to respond to with a sense that “the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”  Your energies are seriously drained at this point—all the more so, of course, if you did not go to sleep early last night—and your proper task this week is very simple:  don’t do anything that’s not absolutely required.  The Tiger is bringing you refreshment and reinforcements, but you’ll use them much better if you need them less.  If you did go to bed early, by the way, I’m very pleased.  Now:  do it again.

Born in the Year of the Pig: The Fire Pig on duty today has a restrained character and a staunchly held point-of-view, and will be jubilant that the Ox is about to depart, but still muttering about injuries suffered and opportunities missed.   Jubilation, of course, is very good for you at this point in the long-drawn drudgery of the Ox Year, but better for you is the Fire Pig’s restraint.  If you are going to do some advance celebrating of Viewing the Ox’s Tail and the Tiger’s Nose, then do yourself a favor and make it as small and symbolic as you can.  Once you get past the first flush of festivity, your weakened constitution is liable to get the better of you, and make the whole party seem sad and presumptuous.  Worse, you’re liable to find yourself sinking into nostalgic musings of the History of the Whole Tragic Thing.  This is not the way to greet your Friend with the Stripes and Whiskers.  Even if you feel it’s a weak and hollow pretense, follow Old Style today:  ”Be not sad.  Be like the sun at mid-day.”

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Words to the Wise:

Zao Jun Si Ming "The Kitchen God" watches all from his post above the stove.

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The Kitchen God spends the whole year on the wall, but tonight he’ll take his sabbatical, and rise to the Palace of Heaven.

When taking him down from above the stove, be sure to treat him kindly, and show him the deepest respect.

Once you’ve sweetened his lips with sticky cakes, you can send him to make his report, riding upwards on smoke and incense.

For seven days, he’ll be snitching to the Jade Emperor, and we below will be gossiping and complaining to our heart’s content.

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“The sound in the word does not require meaning;  the picture in the word does not require sound.”

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On the Altar of the Sun, Moon, and Stars

Friday, 5th of February

Master Mouse Says:

The Lunar Lodge for today is THE OX-BOY, the second day of the Northern Palace of the Black Tortoise.  The character for this Lunar Lodge means simply “ox” (牛 niú ), and in the most ancient tradition, it was related to the time when the oxen were freed from their labor in the fields, and from transporting goods by wagon, because of the onset of winter.  It was also associated with the sacrifice of an ox—dedicated to the sun, moon, and stars—as part of the winter’s feasting, and to prepare dried meat for storage.

Naming this Lunar Lodge for the lad minding the ox (rather than the ox himself) comes from a later tradition linking this Lodge (and tomorrow’s) with the romantic story of “The Ox-boy and the Weaving Maiden.”  In the old folk-tale, these two are separated by her disapproving father, the King of the Sun. He places the unlucky lovers at distance from each other in the sky, on opposite banks of the Celestial River (as the Chinese call the Milky Way).  The astronomical results of this sad affair are represented by the bright star Altair, in an asterism actually called “Ox-herder,” and the brilliant Vega, second brightest in the northern skies, in an asterism called “Weaving Maiden.”

In keeping with the sad theme of this story, THE OX-BOY is an unlucky day, particularly for diversions from duty, and relying on others.  Consequently, new beginnings, contracts, and ceremonial events are inauspicious.  The austerities of fasting, retreat, and stillness are suggested by the lovers’ punishment, and can yield better results today.  Romance is “not to be trusted” today, though flirting is actually favored.  It could be said this way: If one knows it’s “only flirting”…. then no harm done!  Real estate negotiations might seem a strange addition to the favorable activities, but they are in one sense like flirting;  the “romance of the deal” isn’t sealed, until the deal is accepted and signed-and-dated documents are exchanged.

The spirit animal for THE OX-BOY is, of course, the Ox.  This is the animal icon par excellence of a life of hard work, born with a good spirit, and without complaint.  The Ox has huge reserves of strength and stamina, and they make the Ox the foundation of whatever wealth can be brought forth from the land through labor.  The Ox, however, also has the winter-time away from the fields, and so he is also a symbol of serene solitude, and favors a life partly devoted to contemplation.  Through this attribution, THE OX-BOY is a day for resignation to duty, but in happy anticipation of the time when work will be over.

The Solar Index today is COMPLETE, which is the name of the first month of Autumn in the agricultural calendar, from early August through early September.  This is the time of relaxation of growth and labor, and of the preparations for harvest.  The qì of the year begins to shrink back, and the stalks devote their stored energies to the “completion” of the grains.  The vitality of the growing season is being invested into seed-form, partly to nourish the animal partners of the natural world, and partly to ensure that the plants can endure the coming winter, and renew life when spring arrives again.

This day in the Solar Index cycle is a bright indicator, partly because of the lightening of labor it represents, and partly because it captures the hopefulness of the coming harvest.  Seeing to the fulfilling of promises, and to the preparations for hard work soon to arrive, are both highly auspicious.  ”Don’t delay until tomorrow what you can do today,” is very timely advice.  That “tomorrow” is liable to have no free time available;  in fact, “free time” may be the very thing on shortest supply.

Talk to the Animals

Born in the Year of the Rat: The Fire Dog on duty today has drive and strong appetites, but not for much the Dual Oxen have to offer, except perhaps for their stability.  For you, this will mean a day of deep simplicity, and a day when your grand complexities are not only unappreciated, they’ll most likely go completely ignored.  Trying to push them into the limelight will only cause consternation and objection, so if you can’t settle down and do the Zen Thing, then you’ll have to do your work in private, in some quiet corner.  Tune your attention to what you’re already really interested in, and you’ll make excellent and satisfying progress.

Born in the Year of the Ox: The Fire Dog on duty today has drive and strong appetites, but not for much the Dual Oxen have to offer, except perhaps for their stability.  If you get to work alone, you’ll be in a happy state all day.  If you have to time your labors to the rhythms of others, you’ll need to go very slowly indeed, explaining each step before you take it.  This will lack a sense of proper deliberate speed, but the results will be very solid, and won’t need to be re-tuned later.  If you want to get people excited—or even properly willing—you’ll have to offer them something they already know they like.

Born in the Year of the Tiger: The Fire Dog on duty today has drive and strong appetites, but not for much the Dual Oxen have to offer, except perhaps for their stability.  Instead of stability, however, you’re going to feel a kind of perky, unlocalized excitement, as the Dog Day responds to the oncoming Tiger Year, more than to the Ox on his way out.  Don’t be shy about expressing your wishes and authority;  you’ll be more respected, and give more cause for those around you to relax, as well.  If presented with something you’re not really interested in, you should be forthright, and decline.  If you’re going to get some exercise, make sure it’s something you actually enjoy doing.

Born in the Year of the Hare: The Fire Dog on duty today has drive and strong appetites, but not for much the Dual Oxen have to offer, except perhaps for their stability.  You’re going to be feeling a sympathetic strengthening of your appetites, as well, and if you don’t think you’re going to “go for it” today, just when did you have in mind, I’d like to know.  In keeping with the waning energies of the year, you’re not going to be in “go for it” mode very long;  certainly no longer than through mid-day tomorrow, most likely.  So pick something you can quickly get done with—without much muss and fuss—and dive in with true abandon.  It’s a lucky day, also, to follow others’ lead or suggestion.

Born in the Year of the Dragon: The Fire Dog on duty today has drive and strong appetites, but not for much the Dual Oxen have to offer, except perhaps for their stability.  This combination is going to produce a pace and complexity of action that looks about as captivating and informative as watching paint dry.  Cool your jets, put the “do not disturb” sign on the door, and pull out your favorite video game or finger toy;  it’s an excellent day to just do what you want to, for a change.  If you can’t do that all day, at least promise yourself some special time for your deepest interests and enjoyments between sunset and bedtime.  Early to bed?  Great idea!

Born in the Year of the Snake: The Fire Dog on duty today has drive and strong appetites, but not for much the Dual Oxen have to offer, except perhaps for their stability.  Your intentions to mix it up, and bring a bit of liveliness to the day, can be fulfilled, but only if you don your Ox hat, and do things step-by-step, and with full attention to the earthiest of the appetites.  As long as you honor your own agenda first—and when do you not do that?—you’ll be able to find the way to get almost anybody to go along with you, by recognizing and appealing to their agendas.  This will take a bit of sleuthing on your part, in some cases, but that will be half the fun of it for you today.  What will not work is:  relying either on too much force on one side, or too much seduction on the other.  ”Middle of the road” sounds boring, I know, but it will work.

Born in the Year of the Horse: The Fire Dog on duty today has drive and strong appetites, but not for much the Dual Oxen have to offer, except perhaps for their stability.  Most of your appetites are not due to be satisfied today either, except for your desire for companionship.  The Dog will be giving everybody an easier demeanor, and an open, non-committal interest in the world around them.  True, they’ll mostly be looking out for things with which they’re already familiar, and which they already know they like, but the result will be a world full of people who are happy to chat you up, and find something in common, even if they’re perfect strangers.  You’ve got three more days before the last difficult node of the Pesky Ox Year is past, so lean into your new—and old—friends today, even if it feels like it’s just to divert your attention.

Born in the Year of the Sheep: The Fire Dog on duty today has drive and strong appetites, but not for much the Dual Oxen have to offer, except perhaps for their stability.  This will be uncomfortable for you, as it will make you feel that things have gotten stuck in place, and make you think that maybe you won’t ever get out of the Damnable Ox Year.  However, it will also be comfortable for you, as the Dog always delights in dumping duties onto your agenda.  Take whatever burdens and tasks get thrown onto your shoulders today as a blessing:  while you’re seeing to everyone else’s puzzles and problematics, you’ll feel much more your old self, and will have your attention diverted away from the apparent stall in the proper progress of Time.  Eat lightly—and frequently—and don’t stay up late, even if you think you’re “relaxing.”

Born in the Year of the Monkey: The Fire Dog on duty today has drive and strong appetites, but not for much the Dual Oxen have to offer, except perhaps for their stability.  Stability always seems like a stage for you to do acrobatics on, and actually you could get away with quite an intricate show today.  But you’re very likely to discover that the audience—if they are looking in your direction—is staring at you as if they were figures in a painting.  So if you can’t put up with low-energy, disinterested responses, you’d better either think of the acrobatics as rehearsal (rather than performance) or else go into Deep Zen Mode, and pick a position to freeze in while you count your breaths up to 108,000.  The Zen Mode Thing would be my selection for you, as the more you calm your natural aptitude for Flipping, Fidgeting, and Fleeing at the end of the Ox Year, the easier the entry of the Tiger will be for you.

Born in the Year of the Fowl: The Fire Dog on duty today has drive and strong appetites, but not for much the Dual Oxen have to offer, except perhaps for their stability.  As much as the Oxen are your perpetual benefactors this Moon, you won’t get much agreement for the appetites you most like to pursue.  Consequently, this will either need to be a day when you get off by yourself to “do your own thing,” or a day when you trudge along, being very careful not to impede or obstruct those about you as they “do their own thing.”  If you follow the second of these, you’re going to see very clearly what could be done to improve what’s going on around you, or to correct a mistaken understanding, or to remove what looks like the broken gear in the works.  ”See clearly” all you want, but don’t take action or express your opinion:  your input today is most strenuously not wanted.  Sometimes people actually want to do it the Wrong Way.  ”Don’t get between a Dog and his dessert.”

Born in the Year of the Dog: The Fire Dog on duty today has drive and strong appetites, but not for much the Dual Oxen have to offer, except perhaps for their stability.  Your expectant awareness of the Tiger lurking out there somewhere is going to be all the keener today, and you’ll have an opportunity to make your final assessment of the Ox Year, from a point of view that suits your character, rather than from that of the Hoofed and Horned One.  If you’re not so exhausted that you’re close to death, or so dejected that you think even the Tiger’s huge jolt of new energy won’t be able to revive you, then you should take today as a moment to triumph in your stick-to-itivity and good luck.  You’ll actually like exercising today—haven’t been able to say that for a while!—so don’t do too much of it.  And eat as much as you want at dinner, but make sure you get into bed before you’re too sleepy.  (That will be earlier than you think it’s going to be.)

Born in the Year of the Pig: The Fire Dog on duty today has drive and strong appetites, but not for much the Dual Oxen have to offer, except perhaps for their stability.  The flat and dull platform these three agree upon is weirdly interesting for you, because you have the perfect understanding of how to take the Earthy and Boring, and turn it into the Elegant and Beautiful, just by virtue of a small addition, or an artful placement.  You’re going to have plenty of opportunities to show off at the other end of the spectrum once our Friend in the Striped Suit arrives, so take today to Go All Zen on us:  ocean in a bowl of broth, wielding chopsticks as a martial art, washing hands as sacred ritual, fingering buttons as re-aligning the stars.

•

Words to the Wise:

In the master’s long scroll we see:  the hazy sky, the tapering mountain, the forest of branches, twisting elegantly into air,

And towering above dark waters that stretch out into the far horizon, cloudy, calm, profound, immeasureable.

There, by the shadowed, steep shore, a tiny boat, a tinier oar, a hat as broad as an ant’s head.  Why can we see:

That the boatman must be singing?  That up on the mountain, someone must be hidden, listening, leaning against a rough-barked tree?

•

“Search for the new, and you’ll only find the old;  seek out the old, and you’ll always find the new.”

Click on Dragon for Ming Li Tong Shu Online

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On the Griffin’s Watch, Spring Begins

Thursday, 4th of February

Master Mouse Says:

The Lunar Lodge for today is THE LADLE, the first day of the week-long Northern Palace of the Black Tortoise.  This is named for an asterism of 6 stars, which so perfectly mimic the shape of Ursa Major, The Great Bear, that since that constellation is called “Northern Dipper” ( 北 斗 Běi Dǒu ), THE LADLE is called “Southern Dipper” ( 南 斗 Nán Dǒu ).  In antiquity, it was associated with the part of the year when grain stores were measured out (by the ladle-full), in order to properly plan for usage through the winter, and for payments made in grain.  Ten of the measuring “dippers” made one “bushel,” which is also a meaning of the character 斗 ( dǒu ).

This is an extremely auspicious Lunar Lodge, as might be expected from a sign concerned with “counting out wealth.”  It’s favorable for virtually all matters, from religious rituals, to excavation and construction, to political ambitions and accomplishment.  It is an indicator against nagging and over-indulging, perhaps because both will disturb the proper keeping track of the count.  The auspices of the day are quite favorable, and should not be squandered on such negativities.  ”When heaven sends a good day, don’t insult it with complaints.”

The spirit animal for THE LADLE is the Griffin, which is a rather loose translation for the original Chinese beast.  The Qí Lín (蜞 磷 ), as it’s called, is similarly mythological, and similarly composed of the parts of several different animals.  There is no exact equivalent in western language traditions, though it is most frequently translated as “unicorn.”  That’s understandable, perhaps, as one its animal components is the horse.  However, the Qí Lín has not one horn, but two antlers, like a deer, plus the scales of a snake, the head of a lion, the legs and hooves of a horse, etc.  In any case, like the Griffin, it’s appearance in the land is a beneficent sign of protection of the realm—and of its deserving rulers—and a harbinger of the greatest good fortune for all the citizens.  This underscores the highly favorable tone set by its Lunar Lodge.  As long as one can keep a cheerful and respectful attitude, the day is filled with good prospects.

The Griffin is an especially good omen for the day, as this is the first day of the Solar Qi Node of “Spring Begins.”  This is the beginning of the Solar Month of the Tiger—just 10 days in advance of the arrival of the Lunar New Year.  Consequently, the Solar Index today is a repeat of yesterday’s, DANGER, which is named after the third month of Summer in the agricultural calendar, from early July through early August.  At that point in the Solar Year, the sun is still close to its height in the day’s skies.  Temperatures are even warmer than earlier in the season, and provided there is enough rain or water for irrigation, the crops thrive in it.  However, lack of rain or lack of water in such heat could spell disaster.  The height of heat needs balancing cool.  This is similar to the quality represented by the DANGER day;  the energy is high, and full of potential for accomplishment, but it requires coolness of heart and calmness of action to yield its best results.

DANGER is written with the same character ( 危 wēi ) as the Lunar Lodge, THE ROOFTOP:  a picture of a person standing on the edge of a cliff or precipice.  In the case of the Lunar Lodge, this means “the caution necessary when working on the roof of a house.”  Working on the roof equals danger, as it were.  In more general use, the character can be translated as “danger,” “daring,” “awkward,” “precipitous,” or “tricky.”  This is actually a bright indicator, and is printed in red in most traditional Chinese almanacs, largely because it’s regarded as extremely favorable for weddings.  The excess of Yáng gives vitality and good luck to the couple, and a feeling of happiness to the ceremony and celebrations.  For practical purposes, and more industrial uses of the day, it’s still favorable, but so “close to the edge” that the pair of black dots in the Ming Li Tong Shu is offered as a warning.  It’s safer today to err on the side of under-doing;  just a touch too much, and all may collapse like a house of cards.

Talk to the Animals

Born in the Year of the Rat: The Wood Fowl on duty today has a modest and attentive nature, and a sober style that’s a bit warmed up by the brace of Oxen hosting the day of “Spring Begins,” when the Tiger begins to loom on the horizon.  Affairs will still require a tender touch today, but should come to a more orderly rest than you could have predicted yesterday.  Start seriously the process of dropping matters that have lingered this long through the year, and aim for the next week to hold as much blank space as you can arrange.  The Tiger as he approaches deserves your undivided attention, and whole-hearted respect.

Born in the Year of the Ox: The Wood Fowl on duty today has a modest and attentive nature, and a sober style that’s a bit warmed up by the brace of Oxen hosting the day of “Spring Begins,” when the Tiger begins to loom on the horizon.  If you’ve begun the task of correctly letting go of the year already, you’ll begin to sense the Tiger’s whisker’s not quite nosing into view.  The up-coming “changing of the guard” will lower some of the pressures on you, and today’s an excellent day to start acting like it.  You’ll have one more triumphing day on Monday, but for now, relax, let go, and let the Fowl see to the details of the day for you.

Born in the Year of the Tiger: The Wood Fowl on duty today has a modest and attentive nature, and a sober style that’s a bit warmed up by the brace of Oxen hosting the day of “Spring Begins,” when the Tiger begins to loom on the horizon.  This is another good day for solitude and disengagement, for the reason that your Tiger nature will start to bristle with the imminent arrival of the New Moon.  The turning of the year on the 14th will be like a wind coming from a completely different quarter, and if you’re still and undisturbed, you’ll get your first advance notice today of what it’s going to bring.   Tomorrow, you’ll get to be your more social self, but today’s just for you to be “you alone.”

Born in the Year of the Hare: The Wood Fowl on duty today has a modest and attentive nature, and a sober style that’s a bit warmed up by the brace of Oxen hosting the day of “Spring Begins,” when the Tiger begins to loom on the horizon.  Yesterday was good for you to hide out, since the Monkey was inspiring mischief.  Today is good for you to hide out, since the Fowl is placing rabbit-traps all over the place disguised as everything from shopping carts to flower-pots.  Don’t fall for his ploy;  stay alert, stay still, and stay out of view.  Staying still, you’ll clearly sense the imminent arrival of the Great Stripéd One, and tomorrow the Dog will help you revel in it.

Born in the Year of the Dragon: The Wood Fowl on duty today has a modest and attentive nature, and a sober style that’s a bit warmed up by the brace of Oxen hosting the day of “Spring Begins,” when the Tiger begins to loom on the horizon.  Affairs should go much more smoothly than yesterday—though that’s still not saying much, I’ll admit—and you should let them settle wherever they land, as if it was “all the Fowl’s job,” anyway.  Your acknowledgement and small gestures of approval will be sufficient.  If you are able to indulge in a moment or two of minimum exertion, you will catch a whiff of the Tiger who’s waiting in the wings now, ready to bound into onto the scene in ten days.  Let today convince yourself:  the Ox is truly passing on, and your famous abilities to “turn on a dime” are about to come back into fashion.

Born in the Year of the Snake: The Wood Fowl on duty today has a modest and attentive nature, and a sober style that’s a bit warmed up by the brace of Oxen hosting the day of “Spring Begins,” when the Tiger begins to loom on the horizon.  When you get to join Fowl and Ox, it’s always a productive and festive assembly, but in this case it’s more of a Farewell Party for the Ox’s departure.  As he leaves the field, and the Tiger starts casing the joint for his entry on the 14th, the sweet-spot you’ve been occupying all year is going to vanish as well.  Make sure you’re not the last one to recognize this fact;  the Tiger’s going to demand a different kind of attention and protocol.  Take as much profit as you can today, then, but don’t linger on at the party.

Born in the Year of the Horse: The Wood Fowl on duty today has a modest and attentive nature, and a sober style that’s a bit warmed up by the brace of Oxen hosting the day of “Spring Begins,” when the Tiger begins to loom on the horizon.  If you were “stock-still, and then dashing” yesterday, you’ll need to force yourself to stay calm and accept the way things are settling out today.  If you were instead “charmed, and then sauntering,” you’ll be able to actually join in and help out in the sorting-through and setting-straight going on today.  In either case, every still moment or pause in the day’s action is going to make you perk up your ears.  That silence you’re hearing?  That’s the sound of the Tiger approaching!

Born in the Year of the Sheep: The Wood Fowl on duty today has a modest and attentive nature, and a sober style that’s a bit warmed up by the brace of Oxen hosting the day of “Spring Begins,” when the Tiger begins to loom on the horizon.  After your months and months of dis-empowerment and oppression—yes, a bit of a dramatic over-statement, but I’m just trying to strike a tone that agrees with your experience—you’ll be perfectly happy to continue to see to the conclusion and final disposition of the little tasks occupying yesterday’s agenda.  You might even see to them with a sly smile on your face, at least every time you hit a break in the day’s action.  That’s when you’ll feel it, that little shift, that alteration of atmosphere:  there’s a Tiger out there, and though he remains a mysterious phantom to you, still, you can’t wait for him to pounce!

Born in the Year of the Monkey: The Wood Fowl on duty today has a modest and attentive nature, and a sober style that’s a bit warmed up by the brace of Oxen hosting the day of “Spring Begins,” when the Tiger begins to loom on the horizon.  If you’re truly wise, as the Ox is departing, you’ll take every opportunity like today, to join in the task of tidying up, settling things into proper place, and clearing the field of any left-overs.  The year’s not been the most satisfying for you, but its true function is to prepare you for the arrival of the Tiger.  As we come to the “changing of the guards,” you’ll be pressed more and more solidly into your Nature—rather than your ideas of your Nature—and actually, you couldn’t ask for a better preparation.  If you’re facing boredom today, consider how soon you’re going to be yearning for boredom.  The Great Stripéd One is prowling, but he’s not here yet.

Born in the Year of the Fowl: The Wood Fowl on duty today has a modest and attentive nature, and a sober style that’s a bit warmed up by the brace of Oxen hosting the day of “Spring Begins,” when the Tiger begins to loom on the horizon.  Even though we’re on the border between Winter and Spring, I have the idea that today’s going to seem to you like one of those perfect days in late summer, when time goes by at perfect pace, and the activity’s of the day fit into the hours like eggs into an egg-carton.  In that sense, today’s a sort of personal Farewell Party to celebrate the imminent departure of the Ox, and your last chance to revel in the cat-bird-seat you’ve enjoyed all year.  The Tiger prowling off in the weeds is going to require a different set of appreciations and behaviors on your part, and after today’s party, you can turn to the adjustment with a sense of diligence and satisfaction.

Born in the Year of the Dog: The Wood Fowl on duty today has a modest and attentive nature, and a sober style that’s a bit warmed up by the brace of Oxen hosting the day of “Spring Begins,” when the Tiger begins to loom on the horizon.  This will feel like a highly conflicted situation for you, as you’d really like to jump up and do your “Welcome the Tiger” Dance, but everybody else is busy sweeping up strands of hay, and shoveling up stray cow-patties.  Be wise, keep out of people’s way, and keep your jubilance to yourself.  It’s a bit premature, in any case, as the Tiger is only casing the joint today, and won’t be bounding in for another 10 days.  Tomorrow you’ll get to hold your own Farewell Party for the Ox (which will probably look and feel very strangely similar to:  your “Welcome the Tiger” Dance.)

Born in the Year of the Pig: The Wood Fowl on duty today has a modest and attentive nature, and a sober style that’s a bit warmed up by the brace of Oxen hosting the day of “Spring Begins,” when the Tiger begins to loom on the horizon.  This will seem to make much more sense to you than yesterday’s malarkey, even if it is mostly about holding a Farewell Party for the Ox’s departure, at the same time as cleaning up all the straw and cow-poop, left in the barnyard he’s made of the whole year.  Proper thing for you to do is to pitch in—both in the celebrating and the tidying up—and don’t be too chirpy or chatty about Who’s Leaving and Who’s About to Arrive.  To keep your reputation improving, you’re going to have to enjoy the benefits your Great Stripéd Friend is bringing you, in full and vivid memory of the chastisements you’ve felt during the Dull Reign of the Ox.  Hum if you like, but to yourself.  No harm in smiling sweetly, though!

•

Words to the Wise:

In the deepest hour of the night, the dawn is preparing itself.  Secretly, it crouches, off somewhere, hidden.

While stars glitter in the Great Black Lake, and only the Ruler of Destinies is still, darkness harbors change.

As one startles from sleep, without moving, one questions the stillness, the silence, the emptiness, the space.

Sink down then into the pillows, close the eyes, but do not drift back into sleep:  the qì is arising, a new day is here.

•

“In whatever direction you catch view of the Tiger, he has seen you already from all sides.”

Click on Dragon for Ming Li Tong Shu Online

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Winds on the Cliff, Perils at the Edge

Wednesday, 3rd of February

Master Mouse Says:

The Lunar Lodge for today, THE BASKET ( 萁 Qí ), is named for the asterism that completes the week-long course of the moon across the Eastern Palace of the Azure Dragon.  The original meaning of the character for this Lunar Lodge was a “manuring tray” or “refuse basket.”  The gatherings held in it would be mixed with soil, discarded plant material, and lime—to lower acidity—and then spread on the fields as fertilizer, and used to sprout seeds and young plants.  (Composting is a very ancient practice!)  Much later, THE BASKET became associated with the harvesting season, and was thought of as a “winnowing basket,” used to separate the grain from the chaff by tossing it up in the air, allowing the wind to blow the lighter chaff aside, and the clarified grain to fall back and be caught again in the basket.  This later meaning may be a transposition of an earlier attribution:  among its many other ancient names, this asterism was also called “Mouth of the Winds” ( 风口 Fēng Kǒu ), and ruled the Eight Winds, coming from the Eight Directions.

This is a very bright and favorable indicator for the day, which is perfectly understandable when one considers the favorable impact of this very human category of invention:  ”something to carry stuff in.”  The practical utilities of gathering, holding, storing, and transporting, which THE BASKET represents, all contribute significantly to agriculture throughout the year, and so this must be regarded as an auspicious image.  Through this attribution, the day is auspicious for mixing, carrying, storing, transporting in both the literal as well as the figurative senses.

The spirit animal for THE BASKET is the Leopard, smallest of the four Great Cats (tiger, lion, jaguar, and leopard), but certainly the strongest for its size.  The Leopard’s ability to drag the kill up a tree, and wedge it into the fork of a branch for storage, is quite extraordinary.  They can do this with prey that are up to 45% of their own weight.  They’re not particularly picky hunters, and will stalk and kill with equal expertise anything from small rodents and birds, to large antelope and deer.  The elegance, power, and agility of the Leopard, make his connection to THE BASKET an indication that it signifies not just lightness and flexibility, but strength,  sturdiness, and a willingness to accept “whatever is offered,” as well.

The Solar Index today is DANGER, named after the third month of Summer in the agricultural calendar, from early July through early August.  The sun is still close to its height in the day’s skies.  Temperature are even warmer than earlier in the season, and provided there is enough rain or water for irrigation, the crops thrive in it.  However, lack of rain or lack of water in such heat could spell disaster.  The height of heat needs balancing cool.  This is similar to the quality represented by the DANGER day;  the energy is high, and full of potential for accomplishment, but it requires coolness of heart and calmness of action to yield its best results.

DANGER is written with the same character ( 危 wēi ) as the Lunar Lodge, THE ROOFTOP:  a picture of a person standing on the edge of a cliff or precipice.  In the case of the Lunar Lodge, this means “the caution necessary when working on the roof of a house.”  Working on the roof equals danger, as it were.  In more general use, the character can be translated as “danger,” “daring,” “awkward,” “precipitous,” or “tricky.”  This is actually a bright indicator, and is printed in red in most traditional Chinese almanacs, largely because it’s regarded as extremely favorable for weddings.  The excess of Yáng gives vitality and good luck to the couple, and a feeling of happiness to the ceremony and celebrations.  For practical purposes, and more industrial uses of the day, it’s still favorable, but so “close to the edge” that the pair of black dots in the Ming Li Tong Shu is offered as a warning.  It’s safer today to err on the side of under-doing;  just a touch too much, and all may collapse like a house of cards.

Talk to the Animals

Born in the Year of the Rat: The Wood Monkey on duty today has a timid and indecisive nature, but a well-spring of curiosity for seeking out new problems and new solutions.  Things that get tossed up into the air today won’t settle correctly until tomorrow afternoon, so summon your patience against distractions, and don’t close off any opportunities just because they seem to be coming from out of the blue.  There’s another day of DANGER following right on the heals of this one, so everything should be carried forward with utmost attention to micro-movements and under timorous restraint.  The carpenter’s rule of thumb is:  ”Measure thrice, cut once.”  Don’t rush ahead.

Born in the Year of the Ox: The Wood Monkey on duty today has a timid and indecisive nature, but a well-spring of curiosity for seeking out new problems and new solutions.  As you’re slowing down anyway, the cautious and calculating spirit brought forward by our friend from the Clan of the Long Tail will seem highly appropriate and auspicious.  If you’ve been correctly aiming all year, the DANGER Day will make progress feel as if it’s come to a complete stop already, but that’s more an effect of your large-scale momentum relenting, than true measurement against an external mark.  You can afford to really sink into that “stopped” feeling, as the same Solar Index recurs tomorrow.

Born in the Year of the Tiger: The Wood Monkey on duty today has a timid and indecisive nature, but a well-spring of curiosity for seeking out new problems and new solutions.  I’m afraid you might only agree with the “new problems” part of this Monkey’s nature, and misinterpret his lack of forwardness for a kind of patience akin to your own, which it’s not.  Your best attributes and most obvious aims are liable to be similarly misinterpreted by others today, so solitude and disengagement are your safest strategies.  Use your famous ability to make small gestures speak volumes, and warn people off for the day.  Tomorrow’s also good for solitude, but for different reasons.  Stay tuned.

Born in the Year of the Hare: The Wood Monkey on duty today has a timid and indecisive nature, but a well-spring of curiosity for seeking out new problems and new solutions.  If you catch the spirit of curiosity, you’d better try to make your steps forward very, very small ones.  The kind of curiosity abroad today can get you into so many of those “new problems,” that you can find you have no time left to get to “solutions”, new or old.  The indications of the DANGER Day should be taken very much to heart, since it’s recurring tomorrow.  Restraint and very small actions will get you big results:  you’ve got two full days to get the fine tuning perfectly correct.

Born in the Year of the Dragon: The Wood Monkey on duty today has a timid and indecisive nature, but a well-spring of curiosity for seeking out new problems and new solutions.  It’s easy on such a day for the “new problems” to rapidly overwhelm the attention to “new solutions,” so your administerial oversight will be very much in demand, and critical for keeping things running smoothly.  Someone has to keep a cool head, and as far as most people are concerned, you’re going to look like the adult in the room.  If you can get things to slow down even a tiny bit, your influence will be very effective, but don’t worry about getting things finally disposed or wrapped up today.  Tomorrow’s Fowl will be stepping right up to that duty tomorrow, and helping you to see the completion of your vision.  DANGER Day today and tomorrow:  ”Relax.  There’s is plenty of Time.”

Born in the Year of the Snake: The Wood Monkey on duty today has a timid and indecisive nature, but a well-spring of curiosity for seeking out new problems and new solutions.  You’re going to find the Monkey’s style highly amusing, and strangely easy for you to guide forward through the day.  Most people are going to think some kind of chaos has been let out of its box, but your cool demeanor can give them at least the vague notion that things may turn productive.  With the Dual Oxen still running things, and the Fowl showing up for duty tomorrow, you’re in a sweet spot in the cycle.  Do what you can to bring things into the light, and make the range of possibilities more universally obvious.  No point in pushing things, however:  DANGER Day, and tomorrow, as well.

Born in the Year of the Horse: The Wood Monkey on duty today has a timid and indecisive nature, but a well-spring of curiosity for seeking out new problems and new solutions.  This condition will be short on clarity, as far as you’re concerned, and you may have a hard time seeing which directions are open, which obstacles are surmountable.  If you’re in doubt—since it is a DANGER Day—it’s not a bad idea to emulate our friend from the Clan of the Long Tail, and freeze in your tracks while you’re wondering.  When the moment comes to dash, you’ll feel it deep in your bones, and that certainty will make it work.  On the other hand, if you’ll perfectly still long enough, you may find that all qualms have passed without issue, and your path will be clear to saunter through, in a state of eery confidence.  The Monkey can have that effect on the Clan of Mane and Tail!

Born in the Year of the Sheep: The Wood Monkey on duty today has a timid and indecisive nature, but a well-spring of curiosity for seeking out new problems and new solutions.  In a sense, your nature is an opposite to this kind of Monkey:  you like to take a bold approach, you like clear decisions, and you almost never see the point in looking for new difficulties.  ”Haven’t we got enough to deal with already?”  So the fact that it’s a DANGER Day should come as good news today;  your ability to deal with many, many small details, and to aim for micro-adjustments moving forward, are both exactly tuned to the time.  Even better, tomorrow’s Fowl comes on duty under the same Solar Index.  You’ll get to work the problems through without a need for rushing.  Whistle while you work.

Born in the Year of the Monkey: The Wood Monkey on duty today has a timid and indecisive nature, but a well-spring of curiosity for seeking out new problems and new solutions.  Since it’s also a DANGER Day, you’d be well advised to emulate your clan-mate in the “indecisive” department, and to restrain your own curiosities—whether for problems or solutions—until you think you’re almost bored to tears.  It’s one of the secrets of Monkey Nature that the tinier the action, the better you are at it;  practice that ability all day, and the fact the it’s a DANGER Day will ensure you great rewards.  Don’t worry if others don’t notice how impressive your results are:  tomorrow, the Solar Index recurs, and if you “keep up the good work,” they won’t be able to keep from noticing.

Born in the Year of the Fowl: The Wood Monkey on duty today has a timid and indecisive nature, but a well-spring of curiosity for seeking out new problems and new solutions.  This sort of timorous snooping about can easily set off an avalanche of difficulties, clouding the air with chaos, and making investigations towards those “new solutions” difficult to include, let alone accomplish.  Fortunately for you—and those around you—you’re going to see it all quite clearly, perhaps even before it begins, and will catch, tomorrow, all the Impending Calamities tossed into the air today.  Since it’s a DANGER Day today, this all has the chance of seeming like a grand celebration—once it’s over, at least.  And since tomorrow’s also a DANGER Day, there’s no need to rush to get anything done before the whistle blows late this afternoon.  Your deft exactitude is what’s needed, both days;  take to heart the advice to work in millimeters and micro-degrees.

Born in the Year of the Dog: The Wood Monkey on duty today has a timid and indecisive nature, but a well-spring of curiosity for seeking out new problems and new solutions.  It’s hard to imagine how you would find this regime for the day either enjoyable or productive, but it’s going to have to be endured in any case.  The good news is that the DANGER Day calls for minimizing your involvement, and under-doing all your actions, as the proper course to achieve best results and benefits.  If that sounds like permission to seek out the nearest box to hide in until the mayhem has passed, you’ll get no argument from me.  The same Solar Index recurs tomorrow, so make sure your hidey-hole has some creature-comforts available within reach, and rest assured:  the Fowl on duty tomorrow is going to make gold out of today’s straw-storm, and will want you well out of the way to do that.

Born in the Year of the Pig: The Wood Monkey on duty today has a timid and indecisive nature, but a well-spring of curiosity for seeking out new problems and new solutions.  This is so totally not the way you would go about it, however, that the day is likely to look like a trip to the looney-bin, rather than a creative problem-solving session.  From your point of view, it will seem like rationality, proportion, and common sense have flown right out the window.  Fortunately for you, the fact that it’s a DANGER Day will give you full permission to fold your arms across your chest, and let the chaos roll forward;  you might even find yourself enjoying it, in a looney way.  It will be a good idea to keep alert for small objects hurtling through space, however.  In any event, don’t try to deal with the whole avalanche of disorder;  this day is made for small actions, tiny adjustments, miniscule corrections.  Pick a small part of the room, and stay focussed there.

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Words to the Wise:

Perpetual waters come up from the dark abyss, and spring out of the face of the rock,

To flow downwards again, relentlessly returning to the grandeur of the great oceans.

Like a wheel, the face of the sky rolls ever westward above us, carrying the day’s sun, the night’s moon and stars.

At the end of each season, all things unify.  At the end of the winter, the spring will arise.

•

“Nagging or sewing:  sharp jabs, over and over, until the job’s done.”

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Clearing Impediments, Rectifying Heart

Tuesday, 2nd of February

Master Mouse Says:

The Lunar Lodge for today, THE TAIL ( 尾 Wěi ), is named for an asterism of nine stars which also form the tail of Scorpio, the Scorpion, in western astronomy.  This is of course, THE TAIL of the Azure Dragon of the Eastern Palace.  As THE HEART represented the emperor and his palace, this Lunar Lodge represented the eastern wing of the palace, where the imperial family resided.  It was associated with the empress (embodied by one of its stars), the first rank of concubines, and the royal princes.  This image supports several of the activities for which this Lunar Lodge is favorable:  childcare, reliance on superiors, and rising in office (meaning, in the classical case, “in the service of the emperor.”)  Similarly:  domestic strife, undue emotionality, and over-indulgence, are all damaging to family order and harmony, and therefore are particularly inauspicious under this Lunar Lodge.

The spirit animal for THE TAIL is the Tiger, who is the complement to the Dragon, on the east-west axis.  Dragon-and-Tiger is a ubiquitous icon of expertise in the martial arts.  Their polarity also illustrates the balance of Eastern (Springtime) Qì and Western (Autumn) Qì in fengshui practice.  The Tiger is Yáng in relation to most of the other Twelve Animals, but not to the Dragon.  In its attribution to this Lunar Lodge, the Tiger shows that it is Yīn (since it is terrestrial) in complement to the celestial energy of springtime and dawn, represented by the Azure Dragon.  Like the Tiger, an icon of boldness and honesty, this Lunar Lodge is regarded as free of impediments to the pursuit of one’s properly prepared actions, and auspicious for those with strength of heart and rectified character.  Avoid scheming and recriminations today;  the straight-forward path is best.

The Solar Index today is DESTROY, named for the second month of Summer, from early June through early July.  This is the agricultural month which contains the Summer Solstice.  In farming life, the work in the fields can turn to the destruction of weeds and vermin, since the crops have attained nearly their full height, and they can stand disturbance without being damaged.  Weeds have accomplished enough growth to be pulled up by the roots.  As they have not yet set seeds, they can simply be left on the soil to mulch, returning nutrients to the plants, and helping to keep moisture in the soil.

The character for DESTROY ( 破 pò ) can also be translated “break,” “solve,” or “spoil.”  This is the month when the Yáng reaches its peak, and its rise is “broken.” For the next 6 months, Yáng will be declining, and pouring nourishment into Yīn.  This alchemy is necessary for the crops to gather their qì into useable fruits and grains, and for the year to renew itself in the dark depth of Winter.  Like this month, DESTROY days are appropriate for clearing away inessentials, beginning to give up the rule of Yáng, and yielding to the nourishments of Yīn.  Start turning towards ends and accomplishments;  the time for investigation, striving, and “the big push” is not over, but it’s beginning to fade.

Talk to the Animals

Born in the Year of the Rat: The Water Sheep on duty today has a definite will objecting to the Ox’s command of things, but not much strength left by this point in the year, much less an ability to gain a solid footing.  Your own stance may seem a bit slippery as well, and any parts of your agenda that don’t seem to be standing on firm and dry ground should be delayed until tomorrow’s Monkey lends you assistance and tactical advantage.  As this is the last Sheep Day of the Ox Year, it’s a most appropriate time to take an honest inventory of the ways in which you consistently find yourself coming up short, or failing to fulfill your own promises to yourself.  Do everyone a favor and don’t use the list to beat yourself up, or as the springboard to “make more promises.”

Born in the Year of the Ox: The Water Sheep on duty today has a definite will objecting to the Ox’s command of things, but not much strength left by this point in the year, much less an ability to gain a solid footing.  As you’re easing up on the accelerator and on a glide-path to the end of the Moon, the sticky surfaces and muddy pathways this Sheep can sometimes produce won’t really damage your momentum.  They may give you cause for bouts of nostalgia through the day, or for the vague sense that your labors this year have been off-target, your aims mis-calculated, your commitment not as dedicated as you believed.  This is just a cloud of fog you must pass through to come to the end of the journey.  When you’re on a slippery patch of road, steer your wheels in the direction you’re sliding to get traction restored.  Tomorrow, this fog will start lifting, you’ll see things clearly again, and you’ll find your traction is true.

Born in the Year of the Tiger: The Water Sheep on duty today has a definite will objecting to the Ox’s command of things, but not much strength left by this point in the year, much less an ability to gain a solid footing.  Under conditions of wobbly foundation, or slippery surface, you invariably summon your famous Willingness to Wait, as the go-to response.  This is a serviceable tactic today, as long as you’re in a position you can maintain through tomorrow as well, when the Monkey will be causing you mischief, and erasing your normal ability to remain unobtrusive.  If not, then you’ll have to take your dose of embarrassment today, as you scramble for a better situation, in order to avoid a deeper humiliation tomorrow.  Be on guard against any situations that may give rise to anger;  you can’t afford to indulge in a blow-up—or otherwise waste your qì—even if you’re in the right on a matter of morals or legality.

Born in the Year of the Hare: The Water Sheep on duty today has a definite will objecting to the Ox’s command of things, but not much strength left by this point in the year, much less an ability to gain a solid footing.  This is the kind of situation where your deft ability to drain the tension from social situations comes in very handy.  There’s going to be some serious irritation and frustration wandering about, and any way in which tightness and stiffness can be aimed towards the accomplishment of small, mundane, insignificant tasks will work wonders.  If you feel an increase of emotional range or intensity today, don’t assume that the emotions are necessarily yours;  notice them, let them circulate, and then let them flow down through your body like weight sinking down into the earth, or up and out the top of your head, like thoughts flying up into space.  The World of the Actual will be what’s left;  you’ll like it.

Born in the Year of the Dragon: The Water Sheep on duty today has a definite will objecting to the Ox’s command of things, but not much strength left by this point in the year, much less an ability to gain a solid footing.  Even silent partnerships are problematic for you today, and given the muddiness of the terrain, and the sadness and self-pity floating around looking to take up residence in any heart that will have them, I’d say your best aim is to fly up to a great height—in that way that you do—and spend the day in disassociated dreaming.  Staying engaged with other people today will of course have its values—mostly in the area of taking notes on human faults and foibles—but your ability to see clearly and act with authority and definition will be much stronger tomorrow.  Gather your thoughts today, even if that does make you look like you’re only “cloud-gathering,” and plan on swooping down tomorrow with your super-hero suit on.

Born in the Year of the Snake: The Water Sheep on duty today has a definite will objecting to the Ox’s command of things, but not much strength left by this point in the year, much less an ability to gain a solid footing.  You will most likely find this situation lacking in advantage or gamesmanship;  even if you do find something that will be profitable or pleasureable for you, it’s likely to lack that certain zing, on account of being too little of a challenge to inspire a sense of satisfaction or accomplishment.  That being said—and considering that it’s the 19th day of the Moon—the field is wide open for you to apply your famous insight and practicality for the purposes of Great Compassion.  There’s a great deal of emotional healing needed as the year comes to its close, and only your cool heart—with its clear and complete understanding of appropriate tactics—can stay correctly and efficiently on task, to see that the proper procedures are fulfilled without romanticism or weepy commiseration getting in the way.  If you find that you’ve become a sounding board, insist that the “sounding” be brief, and then tell them what to do.

Born in the Year of the Horse: The Water Sheep on duty today has a definite will objecting to the Ox’s command of things, but not much strength left by this point in the year, much less an ability to gain a solid footing.  Still, this situation could cause you some disturbance, and add to your sense of burdens and confusions, even though they are actually diminishing as the year wanes.  Don’t be afraid to slow your pace today, if it means you can calm yourself enough to consider your own personal list of complaints for the year without adding “hopelessness” to the list.  Your greatest mistake as the Tiger enters would be to imagine that your experience of yourself and your affairs during the Ox Year is “The Way Things Actually Are.”  Within a month, the list you draw up today could be re-titled “That Was Then, This Is Now.”

Born in the Year of the Sheep: The Water Sheep on duty today has a definite will objecting to the Ox’s command of things, but not much strength left by this point in the year, much less an ability to gain a solid footing.  Today’s your final opportunity to sink down and feel Officially and Justifiably Really, Really Awful about the Ox Year.  I’m thinking you should take the opportunity, sit comfortably, and have a deep burrowing down into it.  If you don’t trust yourself to make a completely clear mental list of the grisly and gory parts, then by all means do it on paper.  You’d benefit enormously from the feeling that you’ve gotten it down in print, and—it’s to be hoped—off your chest.  And once the list seems complete, ask yourself: “Do I really want to drag all this into the Tiger Year?” If the answer is “Yes,” you’ll get no argument from me.  If the answer is “No,” then accept the next 11 days as the time to imagine the entire list of items vanishing, as if you’d written them on damp sand at low tide.  Come to think of it, that wouldn’t be a bad idea!

Born in the Year of the Monkey: The Water Sheep on duty today has a definite will objecting to the Ox’s command of things, but not much strength left by this point in the year, much less an ability to gain a solid footing.  The energy flow under this circumstance is going to feel like the sand being pulled from under your feet while wading at the seashore.  The wave goes out, and the basis of everything changes;  if you don’t change with it, then you’ll lose your footing.  Children, of course, do this for enjoyment, squealing with delight, and you can too.  But just remember not to try to obstruct the ocean, and to let the change happen today:  it’s all about setting you up for the final Monkey Day of the year.  All the Going With the Flow you practice today will empower the magical feats you’ll be able to perform tomorrow.

Born in the Year of the Fowl: The Water Sheep on duty today has a definite will objecting to the Ox’s command of things, but not much strength left by this point in the year, much less an ability to gain a solid footing.  None of the strain and seriousness evidenced by such a situation will make much sense to you, particularly since your Benefactors, the Dynamic Ox Duo, seem entirely unaffected.  You can, therefore, take the day as an opportunity to wander through life and its duties, rather than one in which you must keep to the straight and narrow path.  It’s highly auspicious for you to journey to new places, or go to familiar places with no particular aim in mind.  If you meet old or new friends along the way, don’t be surprised if they Need To Talk about themselves, their concerns, their troubles.  They won’t need much response from you, and they don’t want Suggested Solutions.  Well, they might want solutions—but not ones that are delivered today.  Take scrupulous notes you can refer to on Thursday, when the last Fowl Day of the year gives you a podium.

Born in the Year of the Dog: The Water Sheep on duty today has a definite will objecting to the Ox’s command of things, but not much strength left by this point in the year, much less an ability to gain a solid footing.  Sheep Days usually hold at least some capacity for you to lighten your load a bit, if only by appealing for advice and feedback.  Today, however, offers no such chances for the Canine Clan:  you’re going to have to get through things on your own, with whatever resources you already have conveniently at hand.  That being said, you’re also going to be on your own where the evaluation of your progress is concerned, and I think you should be an easy critic on yourself, and a light task-master as well.  You’re going to get to slip free of the choke-collar you’ve been shackled with, once we get past Friday’s Dog Day, the last one of the year.  Until then, it’s the old Army rules:  1.) Don’t volunteer for anything. 2.) Don’t make others carry your pack. 3.) When they call “At ease!” get immediately off your feet.

Born in the Year of the Pig: The Water Sheep on duty today has a definite will objecting to the Ox’s command of things, but not much strength left by this point in the year, much less an ability to gain a solid footing.  The situation is going to be murky and muddled, pretty much across the board, and if you want to get much accomplished, it’s going to have to be you who is accommodating, acquiescent, and adult.  Your breadth and comprehension of view will see you through the day, but only if you use them tactically, instead of as points of instruction.  Everyone’s going to be choking on their own inner agenda, so you won’t be able to feed them anything—no matter how delicious or medicinal—until they’re fully done.  Don’t over-express your concern, or you’ll just make matters worse.  Great Compassion most powerfully demonstrates itself in its appearance of being extremely calm and well-centered in itself.

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Words to the Wise:

Willows of tomorrow are still sleeping, buds tight like little soldiers arrayed in military order along the twigs.

Willows of the past hang down, their long branches glumly brushing the ground, or slapping violently in storm winds.

Long ago, I broke a slender bough for a token, and watched for a long time, looking down the empty road.

Years before that, I waited for a long time, eager for the velvet fur of the willows to pop, and show off their happy-yellow catkins.

•

“Only the very old and the very young find it easy to grasp Fate.”

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Guard the Dragon’s Heart

Monday, 1st of February

Master Mouse Says:

The Lunar Lodge for today, THE HEART ( 心 Xīn ), is named for an asterism composed of three of the stars of the constellation Scorpio, the Scorpion, and includes the brilliant red star, Antares.  This asterism marks the “Heart of the Dragon,” (that is, of the Azure Dragon of the Eastern Palace.)  As such it represents the emperor, whose protecting emblem is the dragon.  The brilliant red star in this asterism gives it another name: “Great Fire” ( 大火 Dà Huǒ ).  This name is almost a redundancy;  it refers not just to the red color of Fire, but to the heart’s function as well, since that organ maintains the action of the Phase of Fire, and also bears the title “Emperor” among the Five Organs.  In ancient China, there were many regional festivals associated with this asterism, which included ritual bonfires to celebrate and encourage the increasing warmth of weather, and the increased activity in the natural world.

Days ruled by this Lunar Lodge are inauspicious for activities not devoted to honoring the respectful place of humans in the natural world, or the place of individuals within the imperial social and political structure.  Placing personal ambition before social duty and routine responsibilities is to be regarded as “damaging to the emperor,” and through him, damaging to the entire empire.  One could equally say:  ”damaging to the heart,” and “damaging to the entire body.”  It is a favorable sign for distant travel—to the “far-flung corners of the empire,” as it were.  In pursuit of one’s routine duties, it is highly favorable today to request support and guidance from superiors, including through divination.

The spirit animal for THE HEART is the Fox, which in Chinese folklore has many iconographic meanings.  In the north, the Fox is a trickster, capable of invisibility, and devious in all his ways.  In some southern traditions, however, the Fox is an emblem of longevity;   through intelligence, collected teachings, and dedicated practice, the Fox is capable of living many lives—as many as a thousand—and eventually achieving immortality.  In this attribution to THE HEART, the Fox represents the height of human attention, which must be disciplined in order to reach its greatest accomplishments.  Devotion to ambition, or a “me first” attitude, may seem attractive and perfectly justified, in the moment;  but they only serve to cut off access to this higher road.

The Solar Index today is MAINTAIN, named for the first month of Summer in the solar calendar, from early May through early June.  This is the time in the agricultural year when work falls into a regulated rhythm, focusing on whatever minor matters may require attention to keep human engagement in step with the state of the crops and the conditions of the natural world.  The character for this Solar Index, ( 执 zhí ) can also be translated “hold,” “grasp,” ”guard,” or “manage.”  So the task at hand, at this point in the cycle, is to “grasp” what has been arrived at, and “manage” its natural progress forward through time, potentially to the benefits of a bountiful harvest.  Today it is auspicious to keep a watchful eye, a meandering path, and a ready hand.  Let the actions of the moment spring up in direct response to the conditions as they arise.  Proper solutions will be suggested by the problems themselves, and cannot come from some over-arching ideology, or from a pre-determined plan of action.

Talk to the Animals

Born in the Year of the Rat: The Water Horse on duty today has great strength of heart but a flickering will, and is rather demoralized by the Ox Duo still holding the reins.  Do not try to exert your will in lieu of the Horse’s;  the Dual Oxen have you well in mind, and only require your congruence of aim, and harmony of spirit, to glide you towards the objects of your desire.  Making your vast library of information and technological approach available to those who are interested will heal the anxieties of your heart;  reaching out to those closest to you will bring repose.  This is not a day to be obtuse and indirect;  you would be entirely misunderstood.  Speak directly from the heart, and listen with both ears.

Born in the Year of the Ox: The Water Horse on duty today has great strength of heart but a flickering will, and is rather demoralized by the Ox Duo still holding the reins.  Don’t make things any more difficult by adding your insistence or indifference to the mix today.  You must sense by now that your Grand Labors for the year are done, and the work towards your Long Aims has been 99-and-44/100ths percent accomplished.  Surprise the Horse spirit by placing a goofy hat on your head—the better to mask your horns—and do your best to act demoralized yourself.  Everyone today, if truth were told, is in need of a buddy, and there’s no-one more satisfying in that role than you are.  No work needs to be done;  only your physical presence is required to achieve the very best results available.

Born in the Year of the Tiger: The Water Horse on duty today has great strength of heart but a flickering will, and is rather demoralized by the Ox Duo still holding the reins.  You have strength of will to spare, and delight in offering a guiding star to the expansive but delicate powers of the Clan of Mane and Tail.  Don’t over-reach today—if you can catch yourself before you leap, that is—and remember that among your armaments, your great muscularity of energy and wisdom of patience have the greatest power to heal and help.  Taking action, per se, is wimpy in comparison;  it’s the Majesterial Stare and the Over-powering Indifference in your command that will make the biggest differences.  Remind your friends that “All is well.”

Born in the Year of the Hare: The Water Horse on duty today has great strength of heart but a flickering will, and is rather demoralized by the Ox Duo still holding the reins.  There’s nothing of import you can accomplish on a day like this, and you’ll be fully excused—and perhaps, by some, fully appreciated—if you refuse to clock in, and spend the entire day on Ambulatory Leave.  Tomorrow, you’ll have a much more structural placement in the accomplishments of the day, but today you’ll benefit everyone—most especially yourself—if you just stay out from under foot.  (If anyone challenges you over your “abandonment of duty,” just tell them that Master Mouse gave you permission…)

Born in the Year of the Dragon: The Water Horse on duty today has great strength of heart but a flickering will, and is rather demoralized by the Ox Duo still holding the reins.  You have enough “will” available to more than make up the deficit, but you’ve also got your own qualms about the Regime of the Hooved and Horned, and I can’t advise you to complicate things by stepping in to try to resolve matters.  The time is not yet ripe.  That being said, there’s no harm in making silent partnership with those around your who seem to be confused or puzzled.  Put the finger to your lips, and stare at them confidently, and they’ll fall into line, and thank you for the favor of your authority.  You’ll seem less agreeable to the world tomorrow, but Wednesday you’ll have a free will and carte blanche as to your heart’s desires.  Consider well before making statement of purpose, and handing out the orders to all concerned.

Born in the Year of the Snake: The Water Horse on duty today has great strength of heart but a flickering will, and is rather demoralized by the Ox Duo still holding the reins.  The Horse’s deficits, whenever they appear, inspire your interest, your ambition, and—in some sense—your pity.  Don’t get too gushy over the apparent lacks of the day, as they are more theatrical than real, and aim instead to bring your cool calculation and honesty of purpose to the day.  The Ox Year still has some bon-bons in store for you before it departs, but it will be much better if you find them casually, like Easter eggs strewn about the garden;  you shouldn’t risk looking relentless in their pursuit, or too triumphant in their accomplishment.

Born in the Year of the Horse: The Water Horse on duty today has great strength of heart but a flickering will, and is rather demoralized by the Ox Duo still holding the reins.  You’ll no doubt find yourself troubled by the tentative attitude of your clan-mate, but there’s no need to take your own sensations or the disruptions of the day too seriously.  The Tiger will be arriving quite soon, and settling all your accounts on a completely different basis than you can appreciate at present.  So bide your time, and don’t let your sensitivities run away with you.  Tomorrow, you’ll have access to sage advice, and a set of directions as to how to survive the departure of the Ox;  don’t listen to any admonishments encouraging a sense of revenge or retribution.

Born in the Year of the Sheep: The Water Horse on duty today has great strength of heart but a flickering will, and is rather demoralized by the Ox Duo still holding the reins.  You’ll feel quite poignantly your function in the world, but you’ll most likely feel also that you lack the resources to fulfill it.  Relax.  Breathe in.  Breathe out.  Welcome to The Human Condition.  If you can summon some courage against the commanding vastness of the insurmountable universe, you’ll see quite clearly that you also need to recognize and honor an equally expansive sense of your own failings, seasoned with a sprinkling of Why the Hell Not.  Today is a kind of rehearsal of access to your deepest resources, but it will do you no good at all if you don’t remember that there’s no audience watching, no critics scribbling their acid notes, no colleagues counting coup at your expense.  Ha!  It’s entirely possible that not even the director’s paying attention!

Born in the Year of the Monkey: The Water Horse on duty today has great strength of heart but a flickering will, and is rather demoralized by the Ox Duo still holding the reins.  Where “will” is in short supply, you tend to offer curiosity and presti-digitation.  On a day like this, these diversionary measures will be quite well received, and they’ll have the added benefit of relieving those who are Taking It All Too Seriously of the gravity of that delusion.  The Ox Year is waning, and anyone who agrees to play “the waiting game” will find an agreeable path before them.  Don’t act too sharply, but act with confidence and surety, and you’ll have a Very Good Day.

Born in the Year of the Fowl: The Water Horse on duty today has great strength of heart but a flickering will, and is rather demoralized by the Ox Duo still holding the reins.  You’re a partisan of the Clan of Hooves and Horns, so even your best ideas and most careful attention towards the deficiencies of the day are liable to be viewed with great suspicion.  Better to remain silent and—if it should come to that—mysterious about your attitudes, intent, and expertise.  By Wednesday, you’ll regain the rightfulness of your reputation, and on Thursday, you’ll have full command of the Way of Things.  Today, however, you should be banking your fires, calming your hand, and biting your tongue.

Born in the Year of the Dog: The Water Horse on duty today has great strength of heart but a flickering will, and is rather demoralized by the Ox Duo still holding the reins.  You can’t do much more than offer commiseration on a day like this, and in truth, you should be highly cautious against it turning into a Total Pity Parade.  The Horse spirit needs encouragement and re-assurance, not a parallel litany of all that you think is wrong with the Ox Regime.  If you find you can’t resist sinking into a re-iteration of your grand and honorable sufferings endured through the Ox Year, at least remember to add the reminder—with ears perked up, and a gleefully expectant smile—that the Tiger is about to pounce, and bring its blessings in abundance to those with whom it holds harmony and affection.  ”Woof!”

Born in the Year of the Pig: The Water Horse on duty today has great strength of heart but a flickering will, and is rather demoralized by the Ox Duo still holding the reins.  Your studious silence yesterday will have earned you a place of stillness and repose today, and if you wish to demonstrate the fullest measure of your wisdom, and the highest demonstration of your influence, you’ll wait until tomorrow to step out of it, and take action.  Tomorrow’s Sheep is going to need your clarity, understanding, and knowledgeable restraint, in order to exit the Ox Year with whatever tattered remnant of self-respect might still be available.  Be very small in your actions today, and very soft in your commentary or advice.

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Words to the Wise:

Some trust in horses, and some in chariots, and some trust only in the twinklings of Fate.

The gods have no desire to do harm, no investment in the world of human concerns,

And equally they seem indifferent to appeal, deaf to even the most heart-felt entreaties.

Let thunder roll over the great abyss;  let friends go their way, enemies have their will.

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“If you ask for tea, present an empty cup.”

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Edge of Winter, Center of Spring

Sunday, 31st of January

Master Mouse Says:

The Lunar Lodge for today is THE ROOM, named for an asterism of four stars, which form a line perpendicular to the ecliptic of the zodiac.  In modern astronomy, they’re part of the constellation Scorpio, the Scorpion.  In its attribution to the center day of the week-long Eastern Palace of the Azure Dragon, THE ROOM represents the position of the Spring Equinox.  The character for this asterism ( 房 fáng ) also means “house.”  It was also called, more poetically, “House of the Sun,” in the sense that at the Spring Equinox, the Sun crosses the ecliptic and begins to be visible in the sky longer each day than it is hidden through the night.  These four stars were also called “The Celestial Four” ( 天 四 Tiān Sì ), or “The Celestial Horses” ( 天马 Tiān Mǎ ), and were seen as drawing the shape of the chariot of the Sun.

The spirit animal for THE ROOM is the Rabbit, which in the Twelve Animal cycle is associated with the month of the Spring Equinox.  Rabbits and hares are symbols of fertility across the globe, and in Chinese culture further represent the balance of a gentle demeanor wedded to a warrior spirit.  The Spring Equinox rituals in ancient China made appeal to the Sun—crossing the skies in his warrior chariot, and moving towards his most extreme strength—kindly to show his gentle and beneficial face on the crops springing up in the fields.

This Lunar Lodge is therefore extremely advantageous for indoor work of any kind, and rites or ceremonies in particular.  As it represents the “center of Spring,” it is auspicious for new ventures, moving house, and taking of herbs for medicinal benefit.  The well-balanced but increasing Yang gives extra potency to such delicate or influential activities, and diminish the naturally inherent potential dangers that may accompany them.  Conversely, THE ROOM is awkward for finishing things (so untimely when the world is awakening and bounding forward in growth), particularly divorce proceedings.  Hurrying and impatience are inappropriate, and are regarded as likely to produce difficulties and mistakes.  The Yang is moving forward;  but like its increase at the time of the Spring Equinox, progress should be made only with “all deliberate speed.”

The Solar Index today is SETTLE, and represents the third month of spring in the agricultural calendar, from early April through early May.  This is the time when the previous two months of heavy labor show appreciable results.  The character for SETTLE ( 定 dìng ) is a picture showing “moving things until they’re in the right place in the house,” a jostling of things until they’re brought into the correct arrangement.  It could also be translated “fix,” “stop,” “determine,” or “arrange.”  It indicates a time when work can be eased off enough to reconsider the options for work going forward, and adjustments can be made aiming to capture the best benefit.

This is a time to re-tune the intentions laid down during the time of DESIGN, and make sure they stay responsive to the turnings of reality and chance.  As such, this Solar Index is a very bright indicator for the day.  As long as one can shake off any influence of nostalgic pride in “the way it was planned,” there’s still time to meet things as they are with creativity and engagement, and to yield great result.  But the brightness of the day comes partly from the fact that a great deal of the work has already been done.  Don’t drop back and re-design the whole thing;  jostling into position is what’s called for.

Talk to the Animals

Born in the Year of the Rat: The Metal Snake on duty today is tightly bound, slightly irritated, and perhaps a bit resentful for the fading of the Ox Year.  Fortunately for you, the rest of the auspices today are quite bright, and the sinking down of the Ox Qì comes as a welcome completion of your long year of labors.  Take the day slow and easy, and don’t take up any tasks before letting your own qì drop down in harmony with the Ox.  Only that way can you soak up the vitality that’s available.  Your tenderness of heart can be a valuable perspective for dealing with people, but don’t waste it by trying to fix anybody, and that includes yourself.

Born in the Year of the Ox: The Metal Snake on duty today is tightly bound, slightly irritated, and perhaps a bit resentful for the fading of the Ox Year.  As you’ve been carrying the brunt of the year’s burden, you will most likely feel not resentment, but relief.  As your labors are lightening, it’s time to turn your attentions to others and show them that docile and sweet nature that’s been powering the Big Push all along.  It will seem like a small matter for you put your shoulder to someone else’s wheel, but small matters can make big differences.  These last two weeks of the Ox Year are the most powerful, and can recast others’ opinion of you, and reform your own opinions of yourself.

Born in the Year of the Tiger: The Metal Snake on duty today is tightly bound, slightly irritated, and perhaps a bit resentful for the fading of the Ox Year.  Be careful today not to be too open with your opinions and emotions.  The time for you to roar out your truths will be coming quite soon, but there’s a delicacy of feeling abroad today, and everyone is going to be sinking into their own inner sanctum, trying to work out details, discard justifications, and settle their own inner equations.  Most of the issues about which you might feel resentment are going to be resolving on their own with the passing of the Ox Year, so that itchiness you may be feeling today has its roots in expectations of the future, and can’t be scratched by raking through the past.

Born in the Year of the Hare: The Metal Snake on duty today is tightly bound, slightly irritated, and perhaps a bit resentful for the fading of the Ox Year.  You’re in a loop of free-wheeling for these last two weeks of the year, and won’t have any significant energetic duties until the Tiger has fully entered.  That being said, you have great contributions to make today—and quite happily, too—simply by standing around, or seeing to the well-being of others.  Those who are comforted “by the kindness of strangers” will be gravitating towards you with their sorry state clearly registering on your radar.  They may not know that they’re looking for succor or support, but your gentle deftness in matters of emotional weight will bring their clarity out.  You might do well to carry a box of tissues around with you today.

Born in the Year of the Dragon: The Metal Snake on duty today is tightly bound, slightly irritated, and perhaps a bit resentful for the fading of the Ox Year.  You’re going to feel right in harmony with this doleful and constrained representative of the Serpent Clan, and are likely to find yourself muttering “good riddance!” should the topic of the Ox’s departure come up.  You’ve born much more frustration this year than any Snake you could shake a stick at, so it will be ironic if you come across one:  they’re going to be appealing to you for commiseration and support.  But don’t take offense.  Think of it as role-playing, and deliver to them exactly the things you most need said to you about your unrecognized contributions, your super-human forebearance, and your unrecompensed depletion of inner resources.  Conclude with insistent instructions about “getting back into your own bones,” and plan on following them to the letter for the next two weeks.  Eat simply today, but very, very well.

Born in the Year of the Snake: The Metal Snake on duty today is tightly bound, slightly irritated, and perhaps a bit resentful for the fading of the Ox Year.  This will no doubt affect you in a very strange way, turning yesterday’s sense of festivity and accomplishment into a feeling that “something is not quite right, after all,” and leading you to the suspicion that your height of feeling has been completely illusory, as flimsy, insubstantial, and transitory as a soap-bubble.  This apparent sense of deflation is highly appropriate, and actually quite healthy for you at this point in the year, but it is also completely temporary, and merely a momentary interpretation of subjective experience, and not a reading of actual facts in the case.  Your appetites and cool pragmatism will return tomorrow, restoring clarity and re-establishing trust in your innate sense of direction.  For today, let your vision and comprehension expand by allowing yourself to examine the “worst case scenario.”

Born in the Year of the Horse: The Metal Snake on duty today is tightly bound, slightly irritated, and perhaps a bit resentful for the fading of the Ox Year.  You’ll have to make a fair trade today by giving up the sense of What You’re Doing, and accepting instead the feeling you can do Anything You Want.  This is not the happiest of exchanges for the Clan of the Mane and Tail, but it won’t be nearly as challenging as most of the interminable false-choices you’ve been faced with through the year so far.  Most likely, What You’ll Want will be to strengthen connection with friends and family, particularly with any you’ve felt you’ve lost touch with.  I’d say that’s a fine use of the day’s freedoms.  Just make sure that you don’t drag the somewhat doleful attitude abroad today into your reunions.  There’s so much to enjoy before the weekend’s over, it would be a shame to sour it by turning pessimistic or down-hearted.

Born in the Year of the Sheep: The Metal Snake on duty today is tightly bound, slightly irritated, and perhaps a bit resentful for the fading of the Ox Year.  You, of course, have your own well-earned resentments, but they have nothing to do with the departure of the Ox, as his energy wanes.  You’ll find it easy to ignore the doleful demeanor of the day’s guardian, and will more likely be frisking about in an almost unaccountable state of frivolity.  Now, we’re still under the influence—diminishing though it may be—of the Dual Oxen, so don’t think I’m talking about some sort of ethereal out-of-the-body state of transfiguration;  I just mean you could have a Really Nice Time, if you just aim for one, and plan on keeping things simple.  We’re not yet in conditions when your Highly-Tuned Universal Managerial Circuitry should be plugged in and fired up.

Born in the Year of the Monkey: The Metal Snake on duty today is tightly bound, slightly irritated, and perhaps a bit resentful for the fading of the Ox Year.  Normally, I’m advising our friends of the Clan of the Long Tail to avoid sinking into the depths of melodrama and self-commiseration.  Today, however, is that rarest of times, when diving into the deep end of the pool and coming out sobbing would do you a world of good.  You’ll have to be careful who you take along for the ride, and scrupulously avoid those who might take you seriously.  This is going to be like a crazy ride in a very, very strange amusement park, where the whole idea is to get unaccountably morose and dejected, over matters that actually have nothing to do with you.  Or you could just cuddle up with a box of tissues, and watch a movie:  ”The English Patient”?  ”The House of Mirth”?  ”Brokeback Mountain”? The list goes on and on….

Born in the Year of the Fowl: The Metal Snake on duty today is tightly bound, slightly irritated, and perhaps a bit resentful for the fading of the Ox Year.  Most others today are going to have to make a choice as to whether they want to settle into harmony with this doleful Snake, or rise up high like a balloon lofted into the sky by the bright auspices for the day.  You, however, can flicker back and forth from one side to the other, wringing full use out of the day, with no difficulty at all.  Don’t let anyone talk you into trying to get both things happening simultaneously;  you can’t do it that way, and it would give you a cracking headache even to try.  In fact, it’s a good idea not to let anyone talk to you today at all.  You have a lot to say, and you should find the one—or ones—who are eager to listen.  Tell everyone else to take a balloon ride.

Born in the Year of the Dog: The Metal Snake on duty today is tightly bound, slightly irritated, and perhaps a bit resentful for the fading of the Ox Year.  Spending the day trying to figure out how the day can feel so bouyant and uplifting, and you can feel so down and out, is a waste of your time;  that equation really has no solution in the Canine Universe, and attempting to crack it will only make you drowsy-headed and morose.  Instead, think of this as an extension on the Empty Space you got to play in yesterday.  That one was produced by the Dragon and Ox running off in opposite directions;  this one is brought about by the energetic guardian of the day being too doleful and inattentive to properly fulfill his duties.  You don’t have to spend the day playing—at least not playing at a high level of exertion—but please don’t do any work that you can get out of.  I shouldn’t think you’d need me to say that twice.

Born in the Year of the Pig: The Metal Snake on duty today is tightly bound, slightly irritated, and perhaps a bit resentful for the fading of the Ox Year.  This means that, for once, you may be able to slink through a Snake Day without the usual muddles, mayhem, and melodrama.  There is, however, a cost:  you’ll going to have to do your very best to sneak through the day with as little extra energy, and as little disturbance to The Way Things Are, as you can muster.  This is a supreme test for the Clan of the Curly Tail, as there are so many things, in almost any situation, which you feel could benefit from your abundance of information, your careful eye, your delicate touch, your deft commentary.  All these things are perfectly true about you, and—given the aspects of this day which are supplying bouyancy—you’re really going to want to step in and “make your contribution.”  Please, don’t.  I say:  ”Let sleeping Snakes lie.”

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Words to the Wise:

Don’t rouse the old man by knocking on his gate;  he might be sleeping, or deep in his studies.

He hates to travel:  departures make the trees in his garden seem lonely, the little bench under the eaves look neglected.

You could take him a pot of winter roots pickled in sweet brine, and leave it with a note wishing “Happy Spring and Long Life!”

Or, send a basket of snow brought down from the peak to honor the passing of winter, as he can’t go up there himself anymore.

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“Impatience is the brother of apathy;  hurrying, the sister of delay.”

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