Peace and Terror

In the UK at the moment, we seem to be in a peculiar situation - the threat of terror has never been so immediate, and yet we hear yesterday that the IRA has renounced violence for good, seeking to achieve its goals through the ballot box rather than the bullet and the bomb. One threat that we have lived with for so many years seemingly disappears overnight, whilst another one explodes into our lives causing disruption, death and mayhem.

My local astrology group, Aquarius Severn (named after the group's sun-sign and the UK's longest river, which happens to be only a few miles away), makes forecasts for the world ahead each December, and this year one of the notable astrological events we picked out was the series of three Jupiter-Neptune trines (see Live 8, below), the third of which becomes exact in a few weeks time. Whenever Jupiter and Neptune make contact in the sky by way of certain angular relationships (called 'aspects' in astrology), 'peace processes' seem to hit the headlines, be they in the middle east, the ex-Soviet Union or in Northern Ireland. With the trine (120 degree) aspect, you can expect sudden and powerful breakthroughs. I hope it isn't premature to say that this is one such case.

Interestingly, Saturn is crossing the UK's Jupiter and Neptune is crossing the UK's Neptune simultaneously this week, so one might expect the UK to be hitting the world headlines at this time. Saturn crossing Jupiter can of course bring a temporary loss of confidence (it's in Leo, after all), or a loss of stature in the world. It can also bring a conflict between opposing principles, and with new anti-terror laws being debated at the moment, the conflict between security and civil rights is giving rise to very difficult choices for our leaders. Neptune crossing Venus seems apt for the recent Live8 events, bringing enjoyable group creativity (Venus in Aquarius and the fifth house of the 1801 UK chart) and compassion (Neptune) together to act as one. And a few weeks ago, the whole of The Independent's front page was devoted to a story about the trade in antiquities in our prestigious auction houses. Apparently, as befits Neptune, which also rules scandal and illusion, most of them are fake!

Brain Retrograde

Doh! I have had a contract sitting in my inbox for the last week for me to read and sign, and of course since Saturday Mercury is now doing it's thrice-yearly backwards shuffle. Yes, it's Mercury Retrograde time again, folks! I always counsel clients to avoid signing documents until Mercury goes Direct again, which it won't until August 16th. Should I stall signing and upset those waiting for me to sign or should I simply be extra careful and read it and re-read it so that I don't overlook any items of 'small print' that could trip me up later on? I know which I want to do and I think I will have to explain to the person concerned that since I'm an astrologer he will have to wait. I'm sure he will undertand.

Actually, talking of Mercury Retrograde, I seem to be super-sensitive to them for some reason (maybe because my Sun is in Virgo, which, along with Gemini, is ruled by Mercury, or maybe because Mercury is my 'strongest' planet in terms of essential and accidental dignity). In the past, when Mercury has been in one of its retrograde periods, I have had letters put out in the street for me to collect by an ex-flatmate (how sensible! How considerate!), bicycles stolen, scooters conking out, innumerable postal delays (including a letter that took three weeks to travel three miles), cancelled holidays, email overload and misunderstandings. Just this morning the printers told me my magazine, Gloucestershire Connections, will be published a day late, but then of course, I expected that.

Only last August when Mercury was retrograde and I went to Barcelona for a four-day break were there no hitches or delays. Perhaps that's the best thing to do when Mercury goes retrograde. Take a holiday! Tell the boss it's better for all concerned that he or she shuts down the business for a few weeks, or at the very least to make no decisions and spend the time instead constructively brain-storming or playing leadership games out in the wilderness. The resulting mental synergy and productivity could be astounding!

A Stately Ingress

Last week I travelled to Hartlepool for the wedding of my friend John to his fiancee Anita. They live in Taiwan, and had flown over to be married in the country of John's birth and to honeymoon in Europe. The wedding service took place aboard a wonderful two-hundred year old ship called the HMS Trincomalee docked in Hartlepool Marina, which looks like 'The Bounty' of Mutiny fame - complete with cannons, rigging and masts. It took place exactly 24 hours before Saturn's ingress (entry) into Leo, through which it will travel for the next two years. Saturn takes around 29.5 years to complete an orbit of the Sun, and the same amount of time therefore to go round the twelve signs of the zodiac. Given that John has in his natal (birth) horoscope, the Sun and two personal planets in Leo (he is a comedian and comedy script-writer), it seemed apt that he should enter into the Saturnian commitment of marriage at the same time as the planet enters 'his' sign.

During a discussion evening at Aquarius Severn last Thursday, on the topic of Saturn's passage through Leo, a group of about 23 explored what lessons we and the world might face over the next two years. Saturn is the planet of structure, lessons (sometimes painful) and the realities of life such as work, responsibilities and duties. Leo on the other hand symbolises our creative spirit, self-expression, fun, entertainment, love and children.

Would Saturn in Leo bring a welcome end to so-called 'celebrity culture'? Would we all be challenged to be truer to ourselves and become more authentic? Would the creative arts generally become more serious, pared-down, rigourous, less concerned with brashness, shock-value and gigantism? Will the plight of caged lions make headlines? Will more and more children be placed under curfews or will we finally begin to take a more rounded approach to education, realising that values of respect for others, respect for nature, appreciation of beauty and practical life-skills are as vital as academic achievements? Will leaders (Leo) be held to account for their past actions? Will self-confidence be in short supply? Will large-scale entertainments be hedged with many more security restrictions (or will there be fewer of them) thanks to the threat of terrorism?

We also looked at what happened the last time Saturn was in Leo, in the mid 1970s. Over the next couple of years we will have the chance to discover the ways in which our world, and we, deal with Saturn in Leo this time around. Let's hope we make a good job of it.

Bombs Return to London

It may seem crass to offer astrological comment on yesterday's terrorist attacks in London, but I see the world astrologically, and if there is any insight astrology can offer the situation, I think it is right to do so. But before going ahead, I would like to convey my sympathies to all those injured in the attacks, and to the families of those who were murdered. Such atrocities are despicable, cowardly and can achieve nothing unless we allow them to.

The first and most obvious question is - did any astrologers predict this?

My answer is that I do not know of any, although I have just this morning read the latest Visual Astrology newsletter, which contains a prediction by the excellent Australian astrologer Bernadette Brady, of 'a return of terrorist activities in Europe' during July to late August. When Bernadette speaks, I listen, as she is one of the few astrologers I know who take the time to do painstaking and thorough research before making any statements. She is also a superb speaker. If you get the chance to attend one of her talks or workshops, you'll be inspired. She bases her predictions on ancient techniques used by the Chaldeans 2500 years ago, of simply looking at the night sky and reading it's visual story.

Now is not the time to elaborate - if you are intrigued, I urge you to subscribe to the Visual Astrology newsletter for yourself. In June's, Bernadette talks about the olympic games, and predicted that Britain would win the bid, partly because of the rumour-mongering of one of the contestants (President Chirac take note!).

I can see nothing in the UK's chart to predict what happened yesterday, nor in more general terms in the sky (unlike 2001/02, when Saturn was opposite Pluto three times). The only notable thing at the moment is Mars about to cross the recent (April 8th) Solar Eclipse point of 19 degrees Aries. In Mundane Astrology (the astrology of politics and world affairs), this is generally held to be a moment when the energy of an eclipse finds an outlet.

I don't think it's crass to search for astrological correlations to disasters. If we could foretell them, then maybe warnings could be given and lives could be saved. However, I think that's a long way off.

A Crab Morphs into a Lion

At a delightful and thoroughly English garden party on Sunday, where we sat in the afternoon sunshine next to tables covered in cakes, my friend M said that she was still not sure whether she was Cancer or Leo Rising. Her birth time gives 29 degrees of Cancer, but had she been born two minutes later, the sign rising up over the easter horizon would have been Leo - quite within the realm of possibility, given the drama of giving birth, watches and clocks not necessarily being accurate to the minute, and the tendency to round times up or down (or simply forget them) unless written down in the moment. Also, when is the moment of birth, astrologically speaking? For most astrologers, it is the the first breath that defines the moment of truly independent being, when the individual's connection with the cosmos gets 'locked' into place.

When I had first met her 20 years ago, I had cast M's birthchart. Apparently I had also cast her personality (via her Rising Sign) as Cancerian, although she had never felt entirely comfortable with this. Being a Sun/Mars Aries person, maybe she wouldn't be. However, 17 years later, when we met again after a long absence, I was looking at her birthchart again and noted that she could after all be Leo Rising. Given that she's an artist, has a wonderfully sunny personality, and by her own admission is not especially maternal, it seemed entirely likely to me. Apparently, hearing that her Ascendant might be different from what she had believed for 18 years had been a huge relief. No more introspective walks on beaches famous for their fossils, no more wallowing in emotion - the spell was broken and she was, in her own words 'set free'! Out has gone the wardrobe of protective Cancerian colours, the blacks and the blues (one could also include white and silver, but I'm not sure she wore those), and in have come clothes that are colourful and bold in design, often purple, pink or red, like her fabulous cape and her very long Doctor Who-style scarf. Very Leo. Given that they suit her down to the ground and she looks great in them, I think the case is made.

Live8 and the Jupiter/Neptune Trines

Bob Geldof has certainly chosen his timing right to launch Live8 and the Make Poverty History campaign, coming as it does during the current series of three Jupiter/Neptune trines.

The first of these took place at the end of November 2004, the second in March this year and the third coming soon in August. Although technically out of orb for the moment (mid April to Mid July), the trine has formed a backdrop to the events of the past 8 months, symbolising as it does mass action with the aim of peace, compassion or justice. One could see it as the 'theme' of the year, much as the heavy and confrontational Saturn/Pluto opposition was the theme of 2001/02.

At the end of November 2004 people stood peacefully, day after day in Kiev's Independence Square, to protest at the recently-rigged election. At the beginning of the year the world reacted with generosity and compassion towards the people affected by the Asian Tsunami, whilst now we see a global call for an end to poverty and trade justice for Africa. It's interesting to note that the most recent opposition between these two planets took place the very weekend of the protests against the war in Iraq, in February 2003. In Britain, nearly two million people marched on London, the largest protests in our history. It's also interesting to note that the previous opposition between these two planets occurred when the Berlin Wall was breached and communism began its collapse, in autumn 1989.

It's my belief that when Jupiter and Neptune aspect each other in the sky, people's desire for peace and justice is heightened, and there is the opportunity to act in unity with other people to achieve goals common to all humanity, rather than those of particular countries, organisations or individuals.

Welcome

Hello, welcome to my blog. I have been into astrology since I was 18 (much more interesting than schoolwork!), and it has remained a major part of my life ever since. My aim with this blog is simply to record observations on life, the world and people around me from an astrological perspective. I hope you enjoy it, and please feel free to add your comments. Skeptics welcome!