Under Three Stars, Going Forward Together

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Wednesday, 14th of April

Master Mouse Says:

The Lunar Lodge for today is THE TRIO, finishing the week of the Western Palace of the White Tiger.  The asterism for which this Lunar Lodge is named is technically the whole of the constellation Orion, The Hunter.  In the Chinese view, he was a Supreme General, displaying all the marks of character, bearing, and intelligence to make him worthy of the command of the entirety of the empire’s armies.  One of his many names was THE TRIO, after the trio of stars at the center (the belt, in the image of Orion) which are so note-worthy in the northern skies.

These three stars had many attributions:  the General and his Left and Right Commanders, the Three Ranks of Command (soldiers, petty officers, and staff officers),  and The Heart of the General (which of course, in Chinese, means also “mind,” that is to say:  strategic and reasoning power.)  In addition, they have association with the Three Gods of Happiness, as well as the Three Pure Ones;  they bear and represent the balance of attributes which make the Supreme General worthy of his command.

The character for this Lunar Lodge ( 參 Cān ) originally meant this particular trio of stars, the focal center of the figure of the Supreme General at large.  By extension from his attributes, the character now also means “resplendent,” “glorious,” “supreme,” “to reflect on,” “to consult,” and “to visit a superior.”  Accordingly, the auspices of THE TRIO are generally favorable, and highly supportive of activity taken in competent response to duty, or pursued with the proper sense of austerity over luxury.  The proper commander may be perfectly comfortable amidst the luxuries and intrigues of the court and palaces, but is more at home in a tent in the same field as his troops, more in his element matching wits with bandits, brigands, and would-be invaders.

The spirit animal for THE TRIO is the Gibbon, which has a special place in Chinese iconography.  It represents the quick wit and nimble mind of the Monkey, but without the knack for falling into (or creating!) trouble.  Perfectly at home in his lofty treetops, and without apparent interest in human affairs, the Gibbon was regarded as the “gentleman of the forest,” and according to one Daoist tradition, was capable of living a thousand years, and of finally becoming human.  As such, the Gibbon is an elegant embodiment in the animal world of the calm and reflective mind—poised well above petty affairs—which is the mark of the Resplendent General, and of the attributes of the day.

The Solar Index today is FULL, named for the first month of Spring in the agricultural calendar, from early February through early March.  While the onset of Spring, in the Chinese sense of the seasons, does not bring abundance of flowers and balmy weather, it has a vitality and promise which must be taken when offered, if the greatest results are to be obtained from the farmers labors towards the distant harvest.  Many plants are not ready to be placed in the soil, but still there’s much preparation to be seen to.  The lengthening days make working more and more productive.

The FULL day offers this same opportunity to “get things going,” so as not to miss warmer and more fertile conditions when they do arrive.  The character for FULL ( 满 mǎn ) also has the meaning of “entire.”  This day calls for whole-hearted commitment of mind and resources, and for the “gung ho spirit.”  This phrase ( 工 和 gōng hé “work together”) was, incidentally, brought into usage in the English language by the U.S. Marines, who picked up the phrase from the Chinese in the Pacific Theater of operations during W.W. II.  To coin yet another Marine usage, it’s a good day to “see the hill,  take the hill.”

Talk to the Animals

Born in the Year of the Rat: The Wood Horse on duty today has a youthful willingness, great resources of strength, and an open attention which the brilliant Metal Dragon Moon will be able to inspire to high accomplishment.  As awkward as Horse Days can be for you, this is still a good omen, as it gives the Friendly Dragon very concrete material to work with in his confrontation towards the Tiger’s coy hesitations.  If you regard the day as a new sports car, which must be dealt with as Something Uncommon, and tested through gradual increases of demand, and then conscientious assessment of results, you’ll feel a big swing into a new direction by the day’s end.  Move slowly, and don’t try to speed up.  Similarly, don’t wait for proofs or guarantees before you summon some confidence in taking action.

Born in the Year of the Ox: The Wood Horse on duty today has a youthful willingness, great resources of strength, and an open attention which the brilliant Metal Dragon Moon will be able to inspire to high accomplishment.  The incoming Dragon has some inspirations to offer you as well, but they’re not scheduled to be presented until somewhat later in the Moon.  Today’s Horse will most likely sucker you into thinking that the New Order of Things is going to be even slower than you like, since what activity there is going on, will seem wasteful and in several directions at once.  Avoid the opening to put your two cents in;  the Dragon’s more than competent to the task at hand.  Tomorrow’s Sheep will probably put your nose out of joint, but if you head into it with Already Diminished Expectations, that can be temporary and fairly harmless to the benefits you’re due.

Born in the Year of the Tiger: The Wood Horse on duty today has a youthful willingness, great resources of strength, and an open attention which the brilliant Metal Dragon Moon will be able to inspire to high accomplishment.  This is an extremely good omen for the Clan of Stripes and Fangs, signaling the beginning of the time when your inner ambitions will clarify, and your strengths will rise to levels that might even surprise yourself.  Keep your attention on what is actually going on around you—rather than what you suspect may be taking place behind the scenes—and respond directly and bluntly to anyone who seems to be making demands or offering service.  You’ll be allowed much wider scope to be irritated—and to express it—than you’re used to having in polite society, and trying to remain diplomatic is not the proper way to protect others from your wrath or decisiveness, at least not under this Dragon’s influence.  If you get over-stimulated today, get some time by yourself:  it’s the panacea for you this Moon.

Born in the Year of the Hare: The Wood Horse on duty today has a youthful willingness, great resources of strength, and an open attention which the brilliant Metal Dragon Moon will be able to inspire to high accomplishment.  With the entry of these two power-plugs, your whiskers are going to be buzzing and quivering as if they were over-stimulated radio antennae.  Try not to make rash responses, and certainly don’t sign anything today;  it will take you a few days at least to get the grasp of what’s afoot for the next four weeks.  Tomorrow’s Sheep will help you a great deal, and is a good time to allow yourself to be guided by others;  today is not.  If you’re asked to help with something, make sure you ask all the pertinent questions before you start taking action.  In that regard, be assured that today:  “There are no stupid questions.”

Born in the Year of the Dragon: The Wood Horse on duty today has a youthful willingness, powerful resources of strength, and an open attention which the brilliant Metal Dragon Moon will be able to inspire to high accomplishment.  Your task for the day will be to try to keep from happily jumping up and down on furniture, and gleefully waving flags out of windows, in celebration of the shift of energy this great good omen signals.  I’m fairly sure you’re up to that challenge, but I’d like to mention that it’s not the expression of pleasure that would be the problem;   it’s that you would be frittering away a great deal of Pure Available Energy through such premature festivities, when the fact is that you’re going to need all the energy you can muster to accomplish the Great Work this Moon will be making available.  So aim to keep your cool, and do all your bouncing about in a purely mental and interior form.  Select one thing to accomplish for the day, and you’ll see exactly what I mean:  lots of power requires lots of attention and sometimes lots of exertion to control.

Born in the Year of the Snake: The Wood Horse on duty today has a youthful willingness, great resources of strength, and an open attention which the brilliant Metal Dragon Moon will be able to inspire to high accomplishment.  This is a helpful condition for you, in which to make the transition from Fascinating Rabbit to Friendly Dragon;  it will make it easy for you to read the terrain, whether you’re trying to gain a place in the spotlight, or to slip unnoticed into a better position from which to exert your influence.  The dramatics and high energetics of the Dragon will put your attention to lower-key uses this Moon, and the more you aim to lower the emotional atmosphere around you, the better.  That goes double today, as this Youthful Horse will act as if he’s still in need of some training, and raising energy will only make his seeming inexperience more problematic for you.  You’re going to get a lot out of this Moon, but only by going along with it.

Born in the Year of the Horse: The Wood Horse on duty today has a youthful willingness, great resources of strength, and an open attention which the brilliant Metal Dragon Moon will be able to inspire to high accomplishment.  This condition may feel to you like the shock a mustang must experience when first sensing the presumptuous insult of someone actually sitting on his back.  You however will most likely not feel the need to start bucking, as the Dragon has a masterful touch and a commanding intentionality which calms the Clan of Hooves and Mane.  So if you give yourself even the slightest reason to “feel before following,” the direction in which you’re being led will be both quite obvious and perfectly agreeable.  This Moon has the capacity to astonish you with your own accomplishments, but rest assured that you’re not going to be running solo, this trip.  Between the Tiger and the Dragon, you’ll have no need to fret over choices to be made;  and once the choices are made and presented, you’ll have the zestful satisfaction of Making Things Happen.

Born in the Year of the Sheep: The Wood Horse on duty today has a youthful willingness, great resources of strength, and an open attention which the brilliant Metal Dragon Moon will be able to inspire to high accomplishment.  In spite of the potential for wrangling and disagreement that this Moon can bring to the Clan of Fleece and Horns, you’re to have the very best sort of introduction through the auspices of this Youthful Horse.  Consider your very important job to be that of simply standing by as a reference point, exuding calm and comprehension;  pay no attention to the fact that you feel all hurly-burly inside, and to the notion that you may need all month just to start sorting out the implications of the new state of possibilities introducing itself today.  Your nature is actually quite congruent with this Dynamic Dragon, and if you achieve a state of repose amongst the chaos—even if you’re just faking it—by dusk you’ll begin to see your way forward.  Tomorrow’s Sheep, of course, will be the perfect laboratory in which to try some new approaches and interactions, thereby developing your understandings in the most efficient way.  Consider getting a t-shirt printed up, bearing the teaching of the Great Yogi Berra: “You can observe a lot just by watching.”

Born in the Year of the Monkey: The Wood Horse on duty today has a youthful willingness, great resources of strength, and an open attention which the brilliant Metal Dragon Moon will be able to inspire to high accomplishment.  This is a superb condition in which to enter one of the brightest periods you’ll have under the relatively dark Time of the Tiger.  You’ll gain a renewed sense that your abilities to work things through have not entirely failed you, and that the world is made half of luck, half of daring.  Don’t press the issue today, though:  the Dragon will be looking out for you through the Moon, but will have his hands full today getting the Horse into the proper state of calmed agitation to run his race properly.  Wait until the Monkey comes on duty in two days before you even think of trying any daring-do, and satisfy yourself with the sense that today’s air is richer—and that your breathing is appropriately easier—than it’s been for some time.

Born in the Year of the Fowl: The Wood Horse on duty today has a youthful willingness, great resources of strength, and an open attention which the brilliant Metal Dragon Moon will be able to inspire to high accomplishment.  As high as the charge on the field of energetics this dynamic combination will produce, you might think it’s a day full of dangers on one hand, and demands on the other.  While that’s partly true, it’s deeper meaning for the Clan of Feathers and Claws lies in the feeling of Starting Over that the day will bring.  And in that sense, the higher energy level being inaugurated is going to put you back into Forward Drive, and end the sensation of Interminable Idling you’ve been suffering through for four weeks.  Don’t risk jumping into it too quickly;  small things taken on today will re-certify your confidence, and lead to more and more acclaim, and more significant responsibilities.  Give yourself at least two days before you expect to feel your Old Self re-emerging, and the day after to start demonstrating that to the expectant world.

Born in the Year of the Dog: The Wood Horse on duty today has a youthful willingness, great resources of strength, and an open attention which the brilliant Metal Dragon Moon will be able to inspire to high accomplishment.  As difficult as the entry of the Dragon—particularly one this dynamic—can be for you, at least there’s the beneficial omen of the Friendly Horse to give you guidance.  Follow his high willingness, imagine yourself borrowing from his pool of strength and resolve, and aim to get through the Dragon Moon simply by going through it.  The Tiger’s gaze will be on you as you do, and—you being his Particular Darling—you should trust that nothing actually beyond your capacities is going to be thrown down in your path.  It’s only an Obstacle Course, when you get right down to it, even if it is a Dragon that’s thundering at you to “Keep going!”

Born in the Year of the Pig: The Wood Horse on duty today has a youthful willingness, great resources of strength, and an open attention which the brilliant Metal Dragon Moon will be able to inspire to high accomplishment.  You have the rare knack of recognizing A Good Thing when you see it, and even though this Dynamic Duo has no particular affinity for the Clan of the Curly Tail, I remain confident that your knack is going to function perfectly, as they arise.  Tune your attentions to the new scale of sheer energy they are bringing in, and start to imagine the ways in which you can both guide and profit from the demands this new level is going to produce across the board.  Tomorrow’s Sheep will give you a much better grip on the definitions and meanings to be revealed this Moon, so spend today more in observance than in investigation, more in breathing in than in breathing out, more in catching than throwing.  Some of the best sports are of the spectator sort.

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Words to the Wise:

King Chǔ​ Jiāng presides over a mansion made of ice, holding deeper cold than can be endured;

And yet they must endure it—those who have murdered—trembling and shaking, without relent.

Frozen in ice, they shiver naked, until their bodies crack and fall into pieces, earning passage into the next Court of Hell.

Burn a paper for their quicker release, if only out of compassion;  you’ll send them not heat, but gratitude for their warning.

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“One finger pointing leaves three returning blame.”

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