157. If one holds oneself dear, one should diligently watch oneself. Let the wise man keep vigil during any of the three watches of the night.
158. One should first establish oneself in what is proper; then only should one instruct others. Thus the wise man will not be reproached.
159. One should do what one teaches others to do; if one would train others, one should be well controlled oneself. Difficult, indeed, is self-control.
160. One truly is the protector of oneself; who else could the protector be? With oneself fully controlled, one gains a mastery that is hard to gain.
161. The evil a witless man does by himself, born of himself and produced by himself, grinds him as a diamond grinds a hard gem.
116. Hasten to do good; restrain your mind from evil. He who is slow in doing good, his mind delights in evil.
117. Should a person commit evil, let him not do it again and again. Let him not find pleasure therein, for painful is the accumulation of evil.
118. Should a person do good, let him do it again and again. Let him find pleasure therein, for blissful is the accumulation of good.
119. It may be well with the evil-doer as long as the evil ripens not. But when it does ripen, then the evil-doer sees (the painful results of) his evil deeds.
120. It may be ill with the doer of good as long as the good ripens not. But when it does ripen, then the doer of good sees (the pleasant results of) his good deeds.
Eclipses bring changes. Many believe that an eclipse is about ten times more powerful than a full or new moon. Most find times during eclipses are stressful, because, let’s face it, we don’t like change. The eclipses always occur on the New or Full Moons, and they usually come in pairs like we have coming in April 2014. But, occasionally we will get three eclipses in a row. The New Moon eclipses are always solar eclipses, and the eclipses that occur on the Full Moon are always lunar eclipses. Some of the changes eclipses can stimulate are the breakup of a “rocky” relationship, layoffs and cutbacks in industry, death of an elderly loved one, sudden accidents, and new babies being born. Change brings progress, even if it is sometimes very uncomfortable.
Mars is retrograde from March 1st through May 19th, 2014.
In Astrology Mars rules our energy and our sex drives, and in mythology Mars is the god of war. He is the lower octave of Pluto. Mars is the ruler of Aries, and he symbolizes new beginnings and a feisty temper. Mars gives us our reason to get out of bed and get dressed in the mornings. Mars breathes life into situations and then puts them against the backdrop of time to animate our world. When Mars is afflicted jealousy, resentment, envy, and rivalry rear their ugly heads.
Mars retrograde will probably be the big event for March. We might find that our energy is low, and projects we begin could end up much differently than we anticipated. Saturn will also turn retrograde and Jupiter will turn direct, so we may notice that some areas of our life are ending, and some are reawakening. Jupiter and Uranus will maintain, and even strengthen, their conflict throughout this month. Most of our day to day routines should go fine, but there could be a subconscious nagging, and even a few outbursts before March ends.
Mercury is a very small, but dense, planet that orbits the Sun about every 88 days and turns retrograde three or four times per year. All of the major planets, except the Sun and Moon, turn retrograde, but none turn retrograde as often as Mercury. That’s why you hear us astrologers chirping about Mercury’s retrograde so much.
When a planet turns retrograde either we (the Earth) are passing it, or it is passing us on our solar race track. And, just like when you pass a car on the highway, for a short period of time, the planet (auto) appears to be moving backwards. So, when a planet is in retrograde, it is closer to the Earth than it is in other parts of it’s orbit. Because the planet is so close to us, it’s gravitational pull will have a stronger influence on our personalities.
Ah, February. We are so ready for Winter to go away, that we pretend that a groundhog can bring us an early Spring. Its that time of the year, when Winter is beginning to recede, and our hearts and our minds turn to the romantic and the spiritual sides of life. This month the planets may aid in our desires for romance, and they may also mislead us. The big events for February are Mercury doing his retrograde thing throughout most of the month, and Jupiter and Uranus, at a stand-off (square), encouraging fanatics and incredible ideas. It could be a month of the sublime and the ridiculous, so grab a soda and maybe a snack, and enjoy the show!
We will have a little of everything in January 2014. The month may begin with extra challenges in front of us, because eight of the ten major planets will be lining up for battle in cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn). There could also be big mistakes and failures as January ends with Jupiter tugging on Pluto. However, we could find extra comfort at home mid month, under the Cancer full moon, but people could also get a bit touchy with Venus (still in retrograde) squaring off with Mars around the same time. We also have two New Moons this month with the second one beginning the Chinese New Year (the year of the horse), and Venus will turn direct as the month ends. All in all, January may bring a few challenges, but there will also be time to relax and be ourselves.
December is going to begin with a very majestic tone. The first twelve days of December could bring inspiration and strengthen our faith. But, around the first day of Winter, we may begin feeling a loss of control, and by the end of December we could be dealing with accidents, and fears and worries could be creeping into our thoughts.
December begins with the Sagittarius New Moon on Monday, December 2nd. There could be some pleasant surprises with Uranus beaming positive rays towards the Sun and the Moon. Also, people will be at ease and ready to laugh as the week begins, with Mercury dancing with Mars. It will be a great week for beginning new projects, but a fight between Mercury and Neptune may cause us to begin to lose our ambition by Thursday, December 5th, the last day of Hanukkah.