Depending on your persuasion, the wheel of the year is prefixed by many names — Celtic, Druid, Pagan or Wicca. The familiar graphic has near cult status, bedecking the walls, altars and journals of devotees of the cosmos. In more recent times the ubiquitous image has expanded and morphed into a mystical symbol shrouded in layers of occult, spiritual and religious mystery. Freed from the shackles of cultural and metaphysical associations the Eightfold wheel is more universally appropriate and immediately demystified as sun’s celestial journey mirrored via seasonal cycles.
Read moreArmchair Aesthetic + Feng Shui
Wikicommons CC01. . . .heaps more images online but licensed, surf the net as this pic doesn’t do it justice imo.
I'm a bona fida sucker for mid-century chairs. Honestly I can spot one at 40 paces. Not many things make me green with envy but the want monster comes out when I see a great armchair that fulfills both aesthetic and feng shui criteria.
Read more‘Happy Calendar Adjustment Day’
Back in Sept. 2, 2018 ‘Calendar Adjustment Day' fell on 'Father's Day' . But if we travelled back to Sept. 1751, dear old Pops would have slept through the Annual devotion to Dads! Not even an alarm clock could have prevented Dear Old Dad sleeping it out. #confused?
Read more2026 Half Yearly Review
Image via Unsplash. CC04
As any astro forecaster will tell you, we’re time travellers. Time lines blur, so patterns and themes can emerge. Despite owning a 10,000 year calendar; the struggle to recall the current year is real! But one constant is August 7/8; the Solar midpoint of the Chinese year. June’s Solstice is another halfway point, falling under Horse’s purview. Hence a timely midterm review of Fire Horse predictions. Noting forecasts were written in Mar 2025, eleven months before Fire Horse began. Many prediction themes have accurately transpired. So what did the trailblazer deliver to date and what might we expect in the second half of the year?
Read moreSOLAR + LUNAR ECLIPSES IN CHINESE COSMOLOGY
Embroidered Court Robe Qing dynasty via Robert E.Tod. Public domain
Sol and and Luna’s allure have captivated nations and cultures since the dawn of time. And the mystical obscuring of either celestial body’s illumination continues to beguile us today. In times past, the phenomenon of eclipses must have been scary when playing out in our skies. We’ve unpacked the cosmology and folklore behind the ominous occurrences. And the upcoming New Moon marking the Fire Horse’s entrance is solar ring of Fire Eclipse on 17 Feb 2026!
Read moreFull Moon + Hungry Ghost Festival
Spooky Moon Gates by Andreea C via Frozen stock Deviantart.
August’s Full moon lunation goes by many names*, depending on your domicile and cultural preference. Named the Red Wyrt, Corn/Barley Moon by Indigenous communities while Chinese folk refer to this lunation as Harvest moon. The calendar month is Osmanthus or Skills (flowers associated with Autumn). You’ll also hear lots of Lunar Eclipse chatter, not visible in Australia but on 28 Aug Luna is technically fullest at 2.18pm in Sydney*(more Full moon times below). Eclipse aside, it’s no ordinary Full Moon.
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