Puttin' on yer Gear

I was reading through the latest Astrological forecast by Austin Coppock, and I got to thinking about some of the stuff he was saying, and how it impacts me personally. Because that's what people do. When they read forecasts. And horoscopes.

I read through his stuff every week. I love it. He includes planets that I don't believe in (Pluto doesn't exist), but in spite of such modernistic adaptation, his predictions are solid and reliable. I have yet to read a forecast that isn't accurate in my personal life in some way.

Now, I don't take it all literally, as if everything he says will come true for me personally. If you read it carefully, he doesn't even phrase shit that way. Instead what he does is explain the effects of the astrological factors that are going on throughout the week, and how they might impact someone who was not aware of the forces, and was not prepared.

For example, Mercury Retrograde is over Monday. How was your Mercury Retro this cycle? Calamitous? Lovely? Didn't even notice it? Personally, I had a few Mercurial issues arise, and when they did I conjured Mercurius. I had  martinis with him after he got me out of a bureacratic snarl I'd fallen into. Later in the week, I felt some Mercurial tension, and made another offering to him, not asking for anything, just spending time in his presence and giving him some gin. Things smoothed out rapidly. I was talking to a friend/student, and she was having some issues, and I recommended some Mercury work, and later she wrote thanking me, saying it was just what she needed.

See the trend? Bad astrological weather causes discomfort, so magic is done to make it better. I can do that, my student can do that because we have relationships built up with these spirits. We aren't the average oblivious folks suffering the pressures of the Fates.

Ok, shift gears. When you're packing to go on vacation, or travelling for business, you'll check the local weather forecast of the place you're visiting to get an idea of what to pack. If the forecast is for rain or snow, you'll pack your rain gear and rubber boots, scarves and warm hats and coats. You're not stupid. That's why you check the weather.

Astrological forecasts are the same way. When he talks about the Venus conjunction with Saturn on Monday, he talks about how the forces at play are going to influence you. Pay attention to that shit, it's important. Knowing what the forces will be influencing you to do, plan to accommodate them. Forewarned is forearmed.

If you were paying attention when Saturn went into Scorpio, you read Austin's warnings about what to expect in general over the next couple of years, and you've already planned on harnessing those forces and putting them to use in your Great Work rather than being their victim.

Do the forces at play have a tendency to build pressures up in relationship? Defuse those pressures now. Talk to your partner about stuff, check in with them, see how they're feeling, talk about how you're feeling. If someone you love is being snappish, defensive, or overindulging in pleasures to deal with the pressures, you understand they're under the influence of the weather, and you can guide them to more creative solutions.

And this applies to any kind of divination too, not just Austin's awesome astrology. Tarot readings, gematria, conch shells or crab claws, the things you see are mostly influences that you have to deal with, adjust yourself to interact with. It's a weather report, and if it's going to rain, you put on your rain gear.

And what I've found lately that works the best is a mix of specific requests as necessary, and propitiation rites in general at an appropriate time. A martini poured for Mercury in a Mercury hour on a Friday helps a lot. Scotch that tastes like graveyard dirt when Saturn's being all afflictive can do wonders. General propitiations work well enough, specific requests are also good. I found I had prepared well for the Venus Saturn stuff when it came to my favorite and most important relationship, but other stuff all fell to shit because I had only prepared in one area of my life. It doesn't just rain on you when you're with the person you love when it rains. It rains on you wherever you go. Oooopsie! quick rite to Anael (on the fly, in fact, and done astrally, and sealed with some port), and things were instantly better across the board.

Put on your gear when you know it's going to rain, magician. It only makes sense.