Eurovision Song Contest 2017

As you may know, there is a tradition of writing about the Eurovision Song Contest on this blog, and this year is no exception.  So look away now if you are not an enthusiast!

Salvador Sobral

The winner of this year’s contest last night was Salvador Sobral, from Portugal.  It was a sensational win for several reasons.  It was the first win ever for Portugal (in 53 years), he won by a mile (gaining 758 points), and he had been unable to perform the first rehearsals because of a serious heart condition, plus the performance and presentation was stripped down to the basics.

Salvador has 6 of his 10 planets in Capricorn (Uranus, Moon, Sun, Neptune, Saturn and Mercury), and certainly managed to convey the pathos of that sign in his performance.  He was born on a New Moon in that sign.  He has the Rebel Archetype (Sun closely conjunct Uranus), but also great sensitivity and vulnerability (Sun conjunct Neptune).  His heart condition (or at least strain on his heart) shows up in his chart through difficult aspects to his Sun (the heart): oppositions from Jupiter and Chiron, and the complex conjunction with Uranus and Neptune.  His emotional sensitivity, which comes through in his singing, comes from a conjunction of the Moon and Neptune.  His Mercury is unaspected, and I suspect that enables him to bypass the mind when he is singing.  He has Jupiter exactly opposite Uranus, the mark of the Opportunist, who knows when to promote himself.

Writing in The Telegraph, Alice Vincent explains the evocative appeal of the singer and song:

“…his whispery, mouth-of-marbles vocals tugged on heartstrings despite the language barrier. Amar Pelos Dois pays tribute to Portugal’s folk traditions, borrowing from the Fado style, an entire genre that mines mournfulness, and Sobral’s vocals were nearly overshadowed by swooning strings and twinkling keys.”

The transits for his win highlight his physical struggle: Uranus square his Mercury (health interference) and Jupiter square his Saturn (overcoming obstacles).  He seemed to take it all in his stride casually, perhaps as a man who has more important things on his mind, for not only did he have the health struggle, but he is a campaigner on behalf of refugees in the European migrant crisis.

The triumph for Portugal itself is registered in the transits by Pluto exactly sextile its Venus (Song), and Uranus opposite its Uranus (a rebellious, no frills performance).  Salvador’s Jupiter is exactly sextile Portugal’s Moon, and he really brought them luck and success.

The song was called “Amar Pelos Dois” (“To love for the both of us”, in English), and was written by his sister Luisa, who performed it with him after the win had been announced.  She also performed it in the early heat when he was indisposed.  Amazingly, it stood out as one of the few songs which were not performed in English.  The subject of the song is about lost love, and was described by Salvador Sobral as “a sad song”.

The win was as much a triumph for Luisa and their partnership as for Salvador and Portugal.  She is a Virgo, which works very well with Capricorn.  She has Mercury sextile exactly Saturn in her chart, amplifying the Virgo precision and application in her work.  She has Venus exactly conjunct the South Node in musical Libra, and was very likely in her past life or lives a singer and songwriter, as an ingrained way of life; they may have been troubadours in the middle ages.  The poignancy of her love song is seen in her Venus square Neptune, Venus square Chiron, and Mars square Saturn, reminding me of the old line of a song “chagrin d’amour dure toute la vie“.  She has Jupiter trine Uranus (The Entrepreneur) which is even more able to make the most of an opportunity as her brother’s Jupiter opposite Uranus.  Their relationship sparks a lot of energy, with  his Pluto sextile exactly her Mars. As to her transits at the win, the North Node trined exactly her Jupiter, producing a karmic reward!

Lucie Jones

Our United Kingdom entry “Never give up on You”, by Lucie Jones, was not expected to do well, because recently we have been at the bottom of the leaderboard, and it was thought that Brexit would severely affect the result.  The song was not brilliant, but Lucie sang it to the best of her ability and with heartfelt emotion,  it gained 111 points, and came in just under halfway at No. 15, much better than we (or Graham Norton presenting) had imagined.  It was our best result since 2011, despite the fact that our usual stalwart allies Ireland and Malta did not vote for us in the Jury section of the voting.  We seemed to draw support from all over Europe, and gained the top 12 points from Australia.

Lucy has a confident Sun in Aries trine Jupiter (quite lucky), with the Sun also loosely square Mars.  She came to fame in the X-Factor contest in 2009, where she lost out to Jedward in week 5.  At the time of this opportunity, she had Jupiter square her Pluto, Uranus square her Mars and Neptune trine her Mars.  She is of the same generation as Salvador Sobral: he was born in 1989 and she was born in 1991.  They both have the complex Uranus-Neptune conjunction in Capricorn of that time.  At the time of her performance in Eurovision, she had Pluto sextile her Pluto, empowering her to sing from her deepest emotion.

17 year olds

Curiously, three 17-year olds took part in this year’s contest, they all performed well and scored well.  Bulgaria’s Kristian Kostov came second in the entire contest.  He has Venus exactly conjunct Mercury in Pisces, a mellow voice for someone so young.  For the result, Kristian had Neptune sextile his natal Saturn.  Ellie Delvaux for Belgium and  Isaiah Firebrace for Australia both had Saturn trine their natal Jupiter.  Hopefully, it is a good indication of the talent rising up the ranks for future Eurovisions (do I hear groans?).

Aspects

Today Mercury is trine the North Node, and you may hear some karmic information to your advantage.  Hopefully, the results of the cyber attacks worldwide are gradually being dealt with, ready at least for the NHS to re-open its doors tomorrow.  I wrote under comments for last week:

“You might be wondering about yesterday’s cyber hacking of the NHS computers and other systems round the world. Because of Mercury retrograde then direct around the planet Uranus in Aries, the conjunction with all its glories and hazards has been lingering for an unusually long time. Coupled with that, experts on the asteroids assure us that this conjunction is also conjunct asteroid Eris, which represents chaos. I was not 100% convinced about the latter, but this event has made me think.”

So today is about recalibrating mentally, and re-aligning with your original plans and purposes.

On Tuesday (16th) Mercury re-enters Taurus, from Aries, which favours following through on artistic, financial, cookery (perfecting your ice cream quenelles technique) and gardening projects.  Mercury is in Taurus, assisting the mental application to such matters, until 6th June.  If it is your birthday on 16th, you may receive a special influx of mental energy.

Thursday (18th) brings us the gift of a sextile between the Sun in Taurus and Chiron in Pisces.  Any creativity we have fostered during the time that the Sun has been in Taurus, is touched by a healing quality and application.  Not only can you bring healing to your creativity, but healing can benefit from creativity.  Your creations truly heal you, coming from your Soul.

Friday (19th) is the most important day of the week, aspect-wise, bringing as it does a trine between two of the big guns, Saturn and Uranus.  This can be an immensely constructive time, perhaps testing out a big project or structure which you have been building in your life.  This trine is good for combining the old and the new, the innovative and the well-worn, moving forward without throwing the baby out with the bathwater.  It is especially good for engineering projects, as well as social projects.  It is about testing the elements of strength in what you have put into place, and hopefully finding that they hold.

Also on Friday, the Sun squares the Nodal Axis, and power issues within groups could be evident.  The fair distribution of power may come up for you in a situation, or may in some way be implied in issues which come up in the U.K. election campaigns.  This is something not easily achieved, but you may be in a position where you have to tackle its complexity.

In the afternoon, Venus opposes Jupiter, and there may be some light relief in the form of humour, intended or unintended.  It is always good to have a laugh that comes out of the blue, and reminds you of its therapeutic value.  As often though, someone may be the butt of the joke, and if so bear in mind that one man’s joke may be another’s misfortune.  Keep it clean.

The Sun enters Gemini on Saturday (20th), and what we lose in Taurean patience and productiveness, we gain in sparkling mental communication and the enlivening of debate.  In the coming month, the emphasis will be on chat: chatting over the neighbour’s fence, exchanging points of interest on social media, developing mental interests etc.  There may also be initiatives regarding Transport and Education, no doubt promoted by one or other of the political parties promising improvements.  Talk is cheap; look at their record, and where their real interests lie, I would think.  There is communication, and there is communication, and some of what we hear in the course of the day is superficial and passed on undigested.  It is an opportunity to be a mindful, clear channel of information!

The week in bullet points:

• Today – useful information
• Tuesday – mental application in practical tasks
• Thursday – creativity and healing combined
• Friday – strength and progress, power issues, and some laughter
• Saturday – moving onto the mental plane

 

“The Pre-Raphaelites – Lizzie Siddal”

This is the fourth in my series about the Pre-Raphaelites.  In no particular order, the others are:-

^{11/9/2009: “The Pre-Raphaelites – A Soul Group”}

^{14/10/2012: “The Pre-Raphaelites – John Ruskin”}

^{12/1/2013: “The Pre-Raphaelites – Dante Gabriel Rossetti”}

^{As you can see, the last one was four years ago!  But I still intend to write about them all.}

“A most beautiful creature with an air between dignity and sweetness with something that exceeded modest self-respect and partook of disdainful reserve; tall, finely-formed with a lofty neck and regular yet somewhat uncommon features, greenish-blue unsparkling eyes, large perfect eyelids, brilliant complexion and a lavish heavy wealth of coppery golden hair.”

^{~ William Michael Rossetti}

Birth Chart

Lizzie was the foremost model for the Pre-Raphaelites, and in particular Dante Gabriel Rossetti.  She had a very creative chart, with Sun/Saturn/Mars and Venus in Leo, but was disposed to depression (Sun conjunct Saturn) and ill health, so although she drew, painted and wrote poetry herself she was not able to fulfil her potential.  With 6 Fire planets and 5 Fixed planets (out of 10), she was fiery and strongwilled.  Her will danced with that of Dante Gabriel Rossetti (Sun in Taurus) in what was a stormy relationship.  With the Sun conjunct Saturn in Leo and loosely trine Pluto, her Leo creativity was on the dramatic side.

Her North Node (karmic mission) was at 1 degree (the essence of) Libra, the sign of beauty, and she was the muse for Dante Gabriel Rossetti as well as others in their group.  Lucinda Hawksley’s biography of Lizzie is subtitled: “The Tragedy of a Pre-Raphaelite Supermodel”.  She also had great charm.

Curiously, Venus (planet of beauty) is largely unaspected in her chart, perhaps leaving her some freedom in this respect, but as we do not have a birth time, it may be prominent on one of her angles in a full chart.

She had Jupiter sextile Uranus, The Entrepreneur Archetype, together with Uranus trine her North Node, and did have two major opportunities in her life: that of becoming the artists’ model, and the opportunity of patronage by Ruskin.  Jupiter was also trine closely Pluto in her chart, giving her great personal power.

Ophelia

She was linked with several of the artists of this group, but was initially introduced to them through Libran Walter Deverell who began to use her as a model.  However, it was sitting (or lying) for the painting “Ophelia” by John Everett Millais which made her famous, and launched him as the most successful of the Pre-Raphaelite painters.

The main events of Lizzie’s life are well-known, but fascinating when looked at in detail.  For the famous scene from Hamlet, Lizzie was required to lie in a bath.  Apparently, Millais’ mother devised a way of heating the bath from underneath using lamps.  Unfortunately, John Millais became so absorbed in his work that he did not notice the lamps going out.  Lizzie subsequently caught a severe cold.  According to Millais’s son (in a biography) she soon recovered, but Lucinda Hawksley notes that it was not long after that when sources reported on her ill health.  The consequence may have led to much of the tragedy of her life: the laudanum addiction, for example.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti

In relationship, and in art, Lizzie is primarily linked with Dante Gabriel Rossetti, the founder of the Pre-Raphaelite movement.  His sister Christina Rossetti wrote a poem about her eternal role as his sitter:

“In an Artist’s Studio”:

One face looks out from all his canvases,

One selfsame figure sits or walks or leans:

We found her hidden just behind those screens,

That mirror gave back all her loveliness.

A queen in opal or in ruby dress,

A nameless girl in freshest summer-greens,

A saint, an angel — every canvas means

The same one meaning, neither more nor less.

He feeds upon her face by day and night,

And she with true kind eyes looks back on him,

Fair as the moon and joyful as the light:

Not wan with waiting, not with sorrow dim;

Not as she is, but was when hope shone bright;

Not as she is, but as she fills his dream.

~ Christina Rossetti

The ubiquitous image we have throughout his paintings is of this swan-necked red-headed icon of Pre-Raphaelite beauty.  He was devoted to her, but not faithful to her, and was constantly travelling to be by her side through her numerous health crises.  In their synastry, her Sun was opposite Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Uranus, showing his need for freedom.  Her Mercury was opposite his Mars, depicting their constant arguments (they couldn’t live with or without each other, there was so much nervous tension between them).  Her Pluto was trine his Saturn – she had a hold on him, and he recognized at some level a need for commitment.  This may have been karmic.  Her Pluto squares his Venus – a heartwrenching element of their relationship.

He did not want to marry her (partly due to the disapproval of his family), though constantly dangled the possibility before her.  Therefore their close relationship needed some sort of respectability, and he took her on ostensibly as a pupil.  She showed promise, and he was able to secure patronage for her from the art critic and philanthropist John Ruskin, champion of the Pre-Raphaelites.  From 1855 he began to provide a regular allowance for her, which he did for several years until her health broke down to the extent that she could not work, and in all honesty could not continue to take his money.  Ruskin was very fond of her, and his mother too was a champion of her art, and keen that Rossetti should marry her.  Lizzie’s work was included in many exhibitions of the time, usually the only woman included.

Eventually, after the severest of her health crises, Rossetti did marry Lizzie, on 23rd May 1860.  Psychologically, this was a big deal for him, with Pluto on his Mercury at the time and opposite his Jupiter.  Saturn was exactly conjunct Lizzie’s Venus at the time, indicating a major relationship commitment.

Her health did settle for a while after marriage, and their relationship did improve.  However, on 2nd May 1861, Elizabeth suffered a stillbirth, well into her pregnancy.  The pregnancy had progressed reasonably well despite her innate delicacy.  Chiron was square to her Jupiter at the time.  Pluto was still on Dante Gabriel Rossetti’s Mercury, indicating intense worry.

Laudanum

For many years, Lizzie had relied on laudanum to help her sleep and ease the pain of her many episodes of ill health.  It was a widespread remedy, the cannabis of its time.  The mental and physical pain of the loss of the baby increased her dependence on it.  That she may have had a predisposition to addiction may be linked with Mercury opposite Neptune (drugs) in her natal chart.

One night, they dined out with the poet Swinburne (a great pal of Lizzie’s).  Like Lizzie, he had red hair (their Marses were exactly conjunct in Leo), and they had the same sense of humour.  Their karmic connection was shown by his Nodal Axis exactly square her Sun (ruling planet). The next morning 11th February 1862, however, she was found dead of an overdose of laudanum, which was probably accidental. Neptune (drugs) was transiting her natal South Node (karma) at the time.

Exhumation of Poems

Rossetti never really recovered from the tragedy of Lizzie’s death.  Grief was mixed with guilt over his infidelity throughout most of their relationship.  In his grief, Rossetti buried a volume of his poetry with Lizzie in her casket.  A few years later in 1869, however, he realized that this poetry ought to be published, and he sought and (amazingly) obtained permission to exhume the casket, and retrieve the book of poetry.  This permission was obtained through a connection with the Home Secretary.  Rossetti’s friend Howell performed the exhumation overnight, and reported (in a possible exaggeration) that Lizzie still looked perfect and her hair had grown voluptuously.

“Severed Selves”

Two separate divided silences,
Which, brought together, would find loving voice;
Two glances which together would rejoice
In love, now lost like stars beyond dark trees;
Two hands apart whose touch alone gives ease;
Two bosoms which, heart-shrined with mutual flame,
Would, meeting in one clasp, be made the same;
Two souls, the shores wave-mocked of sundering seas:—
Such are we now. Ah! may our hope forecast
Indeed one hour again, when on this stream
Of darkened love once more the light shall gleam?—
An hour how slow to come, how quickly past,—
Which blooms and fades, and only leaves at last,
Faint as shed flowers, the attenuated dream.

~ Dante Gabriel Rossetti

Bibliography:

“Lizzie Siddal” by Lucinda Hawksley

“Desperate Romantics” by Franny Moyle

 

Aspects

Tuesday (9th) brings us a trine between the Sun and Pluto, good for settling deep psychological issues.  Creativity thrives through an injection of meaning.

On the same day, the True Node enters Leo, which you may register with a similar effect as on Friday 28th April:

“You may be called to a new creative project, or a leadership role, under this influence.  In international relations, power will be even more of an issue. ”

The North Node will remain in Leo for approximately eighteen months, so plenty of time to practise power issues.

Wednesday (10th) brings again that recent chestnut Mercury conjunct Uranus, by virtue of the fact that Mercury has just turned direct.  Communications should be stunningly clear and crisp.

In the evening, there is a Full Moon in Scorpio, one of the most intense Full Moons of the year.  If you want to avoid entanglements and the glare of emotional intensity, it would be a good time to practise meditation.  Set out your calmest environment for meditation, and apply its soothing qualities to your mindset and if successful to the issues of the wider world.  Don’t overextend yourself, inside or outside meditation, if you feel that you cannot handle the energies.

You may need more meditation on Thursday (11th) when Mars squares Neptune, as you may feel split over the application of your actions and physical energy in relation to your spiritual life and energies.  It may take work for them to come together, and again, meditation could help.

By the evening, you may have more mental clarity to assist you, in the shape of Mercury trine Saturn, and may be able to apply yourself to more demanding mental tasks, such as sorting out documentation.

The week ends on a high, for we have a trine between Mars and Jupiter on Friday (12th) a green light for action and enthusiasm.  Hope and optimism abound!

The week in bullet points:

• Tuesday – profound creativity, satisfying for the soul; possible power issues
• Wednesday – mental innovation, intense emotion
• Thursday – confused energies; later application of mental energy
• Friday – the green light

A Compatibility Guide for Taurus

Are you Taurean, or do you have a friend, relative or partner born under that sign? People usually value the Taurean as the rock in their lives!  Is that true for you?  In this, the last in the Compatibility series, you have a chance to examine the nuances of Taurean relationships.

 Taurean Sun with Aries Sun

As neighbouring signs, they may share planets in each other’s signs, and understand each other well.  This partnership tends to work very well if the Taurean allows the Aries to lead, and enjoys supporting the Aries. Traditionally, Aries is ruled by Mars and Taurus by Venus, so John Gray’s book: “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” would have much to say to these two, whichever way round the sexes may be, or indeed whether homosexual, bi-sexual, transgender, pan-sexual or any other combination.

Famous Example: Victoria Beckham and David Beckham

Taurean Sun with Taurus Sun

These two can create a fortress of strength together, or keep each other in a rut!  As same signs, they could well share all the varied interests and talents of this sign: art, music, finance,  and gardening.  They would make good business partners.  And in a strong relationship, they can be very supportive to others.

Famous Example: Judy Finnigan and Richard Madeley (T.V. co-presenters)

Taurean Sun with Gemini Sun

People of neighbouring signs often have planets in each other’s sign.  Gemini can be too cerebral for Taurus, and Taurus can be too practical for Gemini, but if they have planets in each other’s sign, they can blend energies well.

Famous Example: Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip

Taurean Sun with Cancerian Sun

These two both enjoy domestic activities, so the combination can make for domestic bliss, or a great team in the kitchen.  A harmonious pair, who can create a nurturing and supportive environment for others.

Famous Example: Anita Dobson and Brian May

Taurean Sun with Leo Sun

Taurus’ natural style is to support, and Leo’s is to lead, so this relationship can work so long as Taurus doesn’t harbour a desire to lead.  There may be some friction, as these two signs are squared, but at a certain level of relationship the two Souls can unite in harmony, and achieve much together.  They may share cultural interests, and practical forms of creativity.

Famous Example: Dante Gabriel Rossetti (founder of the Pre-Raphaelites) and Elizabeth “Lizzie” Siddall (his muse)

Taurean Sun with Virgo Sun****

This can be an ideal combination, and full of mutual admiration.  Virgo can admire Taurus’ artistry, while Taurus can admire Virgo’s craftsmanship, so a good working partnership.  There can be a great deal of harmony between them, but it is possible for them both to get in a rut without outside interests.

Famous Example: Rebecca Miller (film maker, daughter of Arthur Miller) and Daniel Day Lewis, married 21 years

Taurean Sun with Libra Sun

Both these signs are ruled by Venus, so they both enjoy the Arts, including music, and harmony.  When collaborating on an artistic or musical venture, they each contribute to their strengths: Taurus contributes form, such as in pottery and sculpture, and Libra contributes composition and design.  Therefore they can start an art gallery together, or a singing choir.

Famous Example: Dennis Thatcher (the ultimate Taurean support) and Margaret Thatcher

Taurean  Sun with Scorpio Sun

You often find these two together, opposites as they are, and complementary.  The Taurean is more laid back, but has the stamina for Scorpio emotions and schemes.  There may be a tension between them, but this can also be a strong bond.

Famous Example: Caroline Flack and Olly Murs, a great friendship, with its ups and downs!

Taurean Sun with Sagittarius Sun

Not a natural blend, but there should be plenty of good will with Sagittarius ruled by jolly Jupiter, and Taurus ruled by Venus planet of love.  A positive vibe.

Famous Example: Ernie Wise and Eric Morecambe, comedy duo

Taurean Sun with Capricorn Sun****

This can be a relationship of great mutual support.  Taurus has a tendency to take the supportive role in a relationship, and Capricorn can have a great moral rectitude which provides stability.  They may share an interest in the earth and earth’s treasures, from gardening to pottery to archaeology.  They can also be a very successful partnership on a material level.

Famous Example: Martin Luther King and Coretta Scott King

Taurean Sun with Aquarius Sun

There could be some dissonance, especially speedwise, with these two.  Aquarians like quick results, and Taureans don’t like to be pushed.  They are both strong willed, so may run into problems if their wills are not flowing in the same direction.  But, as with all squared signs, they can rise above their differences and create something quite progressive and talented between them.

Famous Example: Amal Alamuddin and George Clooney

Taurean Sun with Pisces Sun

This is a  harmonious pairing, and both may  be gentle souls.  Together, they could achieve a quiet life, if that’s what they want!  They may also both be talented in the Arts, and could set up a cottage industry along those lines.  The Piscean will be very inspirational in such an enterprise, and the Taurean more hands on.

Famous Example: Liza Minnelli and David Gest (separated after a year of marriage!)

 

A full compatibility analysis details every component of the two birthcharts in relation to each other, not just the Sun sign.  As there is a lot of work involved, it is my most expensive service, at £45.

Aspects

Today sees the Saturn-Chiron square at a peak, with Saturn being at the Galactic Centre.  This may be crunch time in terms of having to solve a problem which has been plaguing you lately.  It is also important to take good care of yourself both physically and mentally, and protect the young and vulnerable.

Better news on Wednesday (3rd May), which sees the end of Mercury retrograde, Mercury being stationary and preparing to go direct.  Hopefully, that means all systems go once again: rail, telephone, etc.  If you have had problems on these lines in the last three weeks, then you may feel a sense of relief.

Best aspect of the week comes on Thursday (4th) with Neptune sextile the Sun, though its benefits could start to be felt the previous evening.  If you are planning the perfect artistic or spiritual expression, then late Wednesday/early Thursday is the best time to pull off your piece de resistance.  This especially applies to creative, artistic or musical endeavours, and the world of dance, and even more so if there is a spiritual element.  Put the icing on the cake.

The week in bullet points:

• Today – solve that problem!
• Wednesday – move on with your communications
• Thursday – achieve perfection (or nearest equivalent)

UK General Election 2017

“Not that she wanted to be seen as a prime minister who didn’t keep her word.  The problem was the opposition.  They were doing the wrong thing by opposing her.  Never mind that they weren’t being very effective, the problem was that they existed at all.”

 ~ John Crace, The Guardian

Theresa May

Theresa May caught everyone on the hop this week when, after walking in Dolgellau Wales with hubby Philip, she decided to call a general election after several times over the last months protesting she didn’t need one.  She is hoping for a stronger mandate for her Brexit mission, and although she must be feeling very confident, and notwithstanding that the Labour Party are very weak at this time, it is still quite a gamble on her part.

At the time of her calling an election, there was a plethora of transits to her chart, so the Universe was really activating her!  But the majority of transits were minor ones, so she may have been feeling a bit hyperactive without any deep seated cause.  Indeed, many have pointed  out the contradictions in her thinking, mainly around how much support she has for her Brexiteering.  Uranus was trine her Venus, she felt ripe for a change.  Neptune was on her Mars, she felt a spiritual stirring for action.

As to her relationship with the Conservative Party, when she came to power, I wrote of this relationship: “Theresa May’s own relationship with the Conservative Party reveals her North Node conjunct the Party Venus (a close personal tie, and karmic), her Saturn square its Jupiter (she will keep it in line!), and her Jupiter trine its Ascendant (very favourable).”

I also looked into her relationship with the U.K. chart: “In her relationship with the U.K., her closest interaspects with the 1922 chart are Venus square Venus (needs some work to achieve harmony) and her Uranus on its I.C. (stirring and fairly uneasy, perhaps indicative of her decisive cabinet changes).”  With the U.K. Union chart of 1801, its Jupiter trines her North Node, fortuitous for her, and Uranus sextile her North Node (symbolic of her sudden and unexpected acquisition of power), plus its Neptune sextile her Jupiter (there may be something about the national character which chimes with her religious outlook).  There does not seem to be a strong tie with the 1066 chart, going back further in time, however.

The May 4th local elections may prove crucial as the results may sway public opinion one way or another.  Theresa has Mars trine her Sun, she’ll be going in all guns blazing; Uranus still trine her Venus, so she’ll still be confident on a personal level, and Neptune still on her Mars, inner conviction and drive intact.

Jupiter will be sextile the U.K 1922 Mercury, there will be seen to be some good news depending on the eye of the beholder.  Saturn will be sextile the U.K. Mars, solidifying opinions.  Mars will be square the U.K. Uranus (some level of upset, presumably for those who don’t like the good news), and Mars on the Ascendant, stirrings of emotion and action.  For the 1801 chart, Pluto sextiles the U.K. Neptune, showing a deep sea change going on psychologically.  For the Conservative Party, Pluto sextiles its Sun, which could be important for accumulating power.

Moving forward to the big Election itself, the following day of results shows a Full Moon (polarizing emotions again), but Jupiter turning direct, showing a new intake of breath and more momentum.  Theresa will have Saturn trine her Venus, which could bring her new commitment, and Neptune still on her Mars (so she will still be drawing on her inner inspiration for her action).  The Conservative Party has Jupiter square its Uranus and opposite its Neptune, so there may be new divisions and battle lines drawn.  Saturn will square its Chiron (new headaches), but Neptune sextiles its Pluto (so there will also be new sources of inspiration).  Pluto will still be sextile its Sun (stronger power, perhaps).  For the U.K. (1922 chart) Jupiter opposes its Chiron, so division will still be rife (the Brexiteer versus Remoaner feelings may still be running high), Saturn will be square its Nodal Axis (a grim task ahead and hard work for the prime minister), Uranus sextile its Mars (momentum) and Neptune square the U.K. Sun (more uncertainty).  As much as the election will solve things for some, there will be more frustration it seems.

Jeremy Corbyn

Well, it seems that for Jeremy Corbyn leader of a very much divided Labour Party, life has been one long campaign to prove himself these last two years.  Two leadership campaigns, and now the test of all tests – is he electable?  He seems up for the fight, and was in good fettle on the Andrew Marr couch this morning.  Labour is the largest of the anti-austerity parties, opposed to the bashing of the poor these last 7 years of Conservative rule, and their destruction of the N.H.S.  Alan Johnson (once tipped for the top) was quoted as saying in the Guardian on Saturday “Labour should be saying we are willing to work with other parties – through a coalition if necessary.”  The Greens certainly favour this option, and it could defeat the Conservatives.  However, in the Observer this morning Tim Farron of the LibDems has quashed the idea, no doubt stung by the coalition his party made in the first five years of Conservative power.

The Labour Party has two charts, one for 1900 and one for 1906, and seems so split now that not many people rate its chances against the Conservative machine.  The split may cause a formal division in the future, if the Corbyn and anti-Corbyn divide is not resolved. Jeremy’s relationship with the first chart finds a friendly intellectual sextile between his Mercury and its Venus.  This Labour Party Pluto sits on his Venus, indicating a long but arduous path for him, but his Mercury/Venus on its South Node shows a karmic dedication.  His Uranus trines its Mars, so he is able to breathe life into it from one angle, and he has revived the true socialist ideal.  His Neptune sextiles its Uranus, again bringing a great deal of idealism.  His Pluto sextiles its Pluto, so he is able to string together the deep principles of one generation to another (e.g. through his old friendship with Tony Benn).  The second chart also shows affinity (e.g. Mercury trine its Mercury) and difficulties (its Saturn square his Sun).  His Pluto brings a trine to the 1922 United Kingdom chart, which is profound, and his Pluto brings a trine to the 1801 North Node, but again makes little connection with the 1066 chart.

For the local elections in May, which will be crucial to Labour morale and determination to fight,  Jeremy has Jupiter trine his Venus, Pluto trine his Mars, the North Node sextile his Uranus, and Jupiter sextile his Pluto.  Therefore he may do better than people expect, but that in itself may bring a backlash in those who see him as lacking in leadership material for the top job.  The first Labour Party chart transits show Mars square its Sun (highlighting conflict), South Node conjunct its Mars (ditto), Mars opposite its Jupiter (fighting spirit), Jupiter trine its Pluto (some heart) and Neptune square its Pluto (also some disappointment).  There are a lack of transits to the second chart, but one bring point in Chiron sextile its Jupiter, some healing experienced.

Going forward to the big Election day, Pluto is still trine Corbyn’s Mars (he will give his all), but Chiron will be square his Uranus (ultimate solutions may be lacking), though Jupiter will be on his Neptune (he will feel he has been true to himself). For the Labour Party (mark 1) Mars opposes its Saturn (stuckness and abrasiveness), but Uranus sextiles its Jupiter (maybe there will be surprising gains in Scotland), disappointment from Saturn opposing its Neptune, and more confusion with Neptune square its Pluto.  The Nodal Axis squares the Jupiter of the second chart, which could be buoyant, but not enough to ensure the success they need, I feel.   It could be that the Brexit issue will completely dominate the result.

Tim Farron

Tim Farron, leader of the LibDems, has a chart which is strong on Air signs (5 planets in total), and in his upbeat way is striving for a revival of fortunes for his party.  He has an exact trine between his Sun and Uranus, so tries to think outside the box, but his Sun squares closely the Nodal Axis so he may have a difficult karmic relationship with power.  His Mars trines exactly Jupiter, so you can’t fault him for enthusiasm.  The Sunday Observer seems to have taken him under its wing this morning.

His relationship with his party has a sextile between its Mars and his North Node, so he is destined to play a part in trying to revive its energies, but his Chiron squares its Neptune, so his approach may not be quite exactly what it needs.  He does not look like the leader who will take it on to victory.  In his relationship with the 1922 U.K. chart his Mars squares its Nodal Axis, so harmony may be difficult to achieve, but Jupiter trines its Mars so if sincere effort counts he would win points.  His Pluto conjuncts its North Node, which is difficult karmically.

For the local elections, Uranus will be sextile his Mars, so again he will display a lot of energy and enthusiasm for his task.  Saturn will be sextile his Jupiter, so he will be steady and display good leadership qualities.  The Nodal Axis will be squaring his Neptune, so he may not have a true grasp of what is needed, however.  The fortunes of the LibDem party on that day may be complex, e.g. unexpected wins in some places, but disappointments in others.  Neptune will be on the Sun of the party chart, creating confusion.  Saturn will be trine its Venus, so there will be loyalty displayed in some ways.

For the main event on 8th June, Neptune will be sextile Tim Farron’s Mercury, so he will be more focussed than in the local elections, his antennae will be sensitive.  Uranus opposes his Jupiter on that day, which can bring shock or upset, but the North Node sextiles his Jupiter, so in some areas he will have the credit due to him.  Chiron will be trine his Neptune, and so he will be able to rise about the smaller picture in some ways, and may even bring about some healing, e.g. to the reputation of the LibDems.  More disappointment shows up in Saturn squaring his Pluto, which sounds overall as though it bears defeat.  But that of course depends on expectation.

Paul Nuttall

Sagittarian Scouser Paul Nuttall heads up the motley crew of the UKIP party.  This weekend it was reported that their former leader Nigel Farage had been visiting Julian Assange in the Ecuadorean Embassy, at a time when the U.S. and Donald Trump had re-asserted their intention to prosecute Assange.  But in ebullient Sagittarian style, Paul Nuttall was interviewed by Andrew Marr this morning and appeared upbeat about his prospects, and his policy of banning the burka.  With four planets in Sagittarius, Paul has the Warrior (Sun conjunct Mars) and the Trickster (Sun conjunct Neptune) combined in his chart, and he has been caught out on the subject of whether or whether he was ever at Hillsborough on the day of its disaster.  He has a very fiery chart (6 of his 10 planets in the Fire element) and  could be hot headed.  He has fairly favourable ties with the UKIP party chart, and some surprisingly dynamic and engaged aspects with the 1922 U.K. chart.

For the main election, Pluto conjuncts his Venus, which could be personally damaging, Neptune squares his Neptune (disillusioning), but on the plus side Jupiter (his ruling planet) sextile his Neptune (keeping his faith) and conjuncts his Pluto (he may get a seat if he chooses his location well – he says he will be selecting a location this week).  The performance of UKIP in the election may be quite complex, with Pluto on its Uranus and Neptune.  There is clearly still a lot of support for the party, and tied in with the support for Brexit.

Caroline Lucas

That stalwart for the environment Caroline Lucas, joint leader of the Green Party, wrote a brilliant account of her first five years in parliament (“Honorable Friends?”) and continues to uphold the need to consider the environment, policies which seem to be low down in the priorities of other parties.  The transits for the General Election are not enormously encouraging for  Sagittarian Caroline, though a friendly sextile from Chiron to her Venus ensures that she is able to uphold her central message about the Earth.  For her Co-Leader Jonathan Bartley the North Node will sextile his Mercury, so he will be prominent in campaigning and the public will get to know him better.  But there are no stand out transits for him.

Nicola Sturgeon

This is a crucial election for Nicola Sturgeon of the Scottish National Party, who was riding high at the last election, with the collapse of the Labour vote in Scotland, and the Scottish Referendum being a close run thing.  However, she may have recently lost ground as there has been some disillusionment on the home policies, such as the state of education in Scotland under her guard.  Also, the Brexit vote has hugely complicated her brief as she and a large number of Scots want to stay in the European Union, so tough negotiations lie ahead, and there has been little co-operation from Theresa May on their dilemmas.

Uranus squares her Sun at Election time, which could bring a huge upset, e.g. she may well lose some ground.  Uranus also opposes her Jupiter, so her hopes may also be bruised.  The Nodal Axis squares her Neptune, which is disillusioning, and Saturn squares her Pluto, which is disappointing.  She is a plucky lady, so may pick herself up and dust herself down, but certainly the planets are not very supportive at the crucial time, and she may have a lot of thinking to do.

I may return to the subject before the election!

Aspects

Today Mars squares the Nodal Axis, so it is the day for preparing your lines of action.  Karma may dictate that you cannot sit and lounge around this Sunday, you’ll be prompted to action, whether willingly or unwillingly!

Tomorrow morning Mercury trines Saturn, which is good for concentration and knuckling down to the tasks of the week.  In the office, it will be a case of keeping your nose to the grindstone, and your shoulder to the wheel.

On Wednesday (26th) there  is a New Moon at 6 degrees Taurus, honouring the Earth and all things related to it.  Maybe Theresa May will renounce the policy of fracking, or Caroline Lucas will gain a practical victory in the Commons.  If you have a project in relation to the Earth, your practical intentions will be supported by this New Moon.  It’s a good day for gardening, or sitting out in the garden enjoying the fruits of your (or someone else’s) labours.

Friday (28th) sees Venus re-entering Aries after its period of retrograde motion.  You may feel that you can make progress with personal desires, if you have recently felt held back.  There is a change from subtlety to warmth and dynamism in the energies of your relationships.  Venus first went into Aries in February, so you may feel that you recover some lost ground from that time.

A little later, Mercury conjuncts Uranus at 25 degrees Aries, an aspect which last occurred on Mother’s Day if you can relate back to that time of ” surprises and inventive ideas..Meetings could bring some lightning flashes of wit”.  Mercury is retrograde this time, however, so messages could get more garbled than you intend, so be clear.

Later still, the Mean North Node changes sign, from Virgo to Leo.  The North Node stays 18 months in a sign, and moves in retrograde motion.  The North Node represents collective karma as it moves along the evolutionary path, so it will be moving from mental application (Virgo) to more creativity and expression (Leo).  You may be called to a new creative project, or a leadership role, under this influence.  In international relations, power will be even more of an issue.  You may register this new influence in two stages, the first at the end of this week, and the second time when the True North Node enters Leo in the second week of May.  The North Node and the Nodal Axis are subtle influences, and you may perceive the two ingresses differently, or one more than the other.  The important thing to bear in mind is how your own karmic mission dovetails into the collective evolutionary path.

The week in bullet points:

• Today – karmic action
• Tomorrow – application
• Wednesday – new beginning
• Friday – warmth and selfishness, bright ideas, and a karmic sea-change

Emmanuel Macron

France goes to the polls today, in the first round of their national elections. Following on from my blog two weeks ago about Marine Le Pen, I would like to concentrate on the other front runner, centrist Emmanuel Macron.  Since that blog, the other two candidates have come up in the ratings, and now there is only 4% in the polls between the top four candidates.  However, there is a chance that Emmanuel Macron may be the next French President.

“A victory for Macron would be the best outcome for the French and the least worst option for us too.” – Martin Kettle, writing in the Guardian.

Emmanuel Macron is only 39 years of age, which is very young for a French candidate for the presidency.  He has had a meteoric rise in politics over the last few years, and while he worked within the socialist sphere (he was a former adviser to President Hollande) he now declares that what France needs is for someone to bring the country together in the centre.

Martin Kettle goes on to say:

“There is a Macron-shaped hole in the centre of British party politics.  Corbyn doesn’t want to fill it.  May probably can’t.  Tim Farron isn’t strong enough.  yes somehow, some time, someone will have to fill it.  At least a Macron victory would prove it can be done.”

Marine Le Pen, leader of the Front National is an extreme right politician, Francois Fillon is also to the right, and Jean-Luc Melenchon is to the far left (the Corbyn and Bernie Sanders territory).  Needless to say, the choice of French President will be crucial for the EU, the Brexit process and globally.

Birth Chart

Mercifully for the Astrologer, all four French candidates have available birth times, so you can see the full picture of their chart.  Emmanuel Macron has an extremely strongly integrated chart in my view, with 10 exact aspects between planets and with angles.  The Sun is conjunct exactly with Mercury, giving him the capacity for concentrated thought, at the end of Sagittarius in his 12th House of Inner Vision. He studied Philosophy (Sagittarius) at University, and in debate has a considerable mental agility.  The capacity for application and hard work is further accentuated by the Sun/Mercury trine Saturn.  His Ascendant is in Capricorn, the sign of Politics.  Mercury trines exactly Chiron, making him a good problem solver (codebreaker Alan Turing had this).  He has plenty of electrical energy, with Mars square Uranus, and Mars is exactly sextile the North Node, strengthening the leadership and warriorship within his karmic mission. Jupiter sextile exactly Saturn, gives him the capacity for good balanced judgement, and together with the North Node/Pluto in the sign of Libra, characterizes his tone of centrism or “the third way”.  There is a constructive exact trine between Saturn and Chiron, with Jupiter at its centre point, adding the potential for healing to that balance of hope and realism.  Not that his chart doesn’t contain challenges: Saturn from 8th House squares exactly the Midheaven/I.C. Axis, and Pluto conjuncts the North Node, so there are constraints in his life and the inner drive for what he does to be meaningful.  He is standing for his own party “En Marche!”  He was endorsed this week by Barack Obama.

His transits for the first round today are:-

Mars square his natal Saturn in Virgo in 8th House, Jupiter sextile his natal Neptune in Sagittarius in 11th House and Jupiter on his Pluto in Libra in 9th House, which is promising.  His transits for the second round on 7th May are not so striking, with Mars sextile his Mars (mildly strengthening) and Mars trine his North Node (a renewal of karmic purpose), plus the more weighty Neptune sextile his Moon (spiritual and emotional satisfaction).

Marine Le Pen

For a more in-depth analysis of the Le Pen dynasty and Marine Le Pen’s chart, please read my full blog of 9th April: “it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that the far right could take over the government of France.  This would be a huge game-changer, cementing the populist attitude on immigration in the world, and sounding a death knell to the E.U… The Sun strengthens her Ascendant and personality with a sextile, and the Sun also sextiles her North Node exactly, so leadership is part of her karmic mission and she has a strong sense of destiny as being born to lead.”

“… On 23rd April Mars is sextile Marine’s Mars and Chiron, giving her plenty of fighting spirit.  Jupiter will be on her Ascendant, giving her a good share of luck.  Saturn squares her Uranus and Uranus conjuncts her Saturn, so there may be some shock too.  Uranus trines her Venus, bringing an upbeat personal confidence.  However, Pluto shakes her foundations with a transit to her I.C., so while influences are mixed that may be the deciding factor.  If she wins, there may be public riots.”

Her hand may have been strengthened this week by the killing of a policeman in Paris, and her subsequent denouncement of the lack of border controls which she links with terrorist attacks.  In the second round, Mars sextiles her natal Mercury (she’ll be buzzing!), Uranus trine her natal Venus (on a personal high), but Uranus will still be on her Saturn (still the capacity for a shock), Saturn still square her Uranus (not all going the way of her will), but Jupiter on her Ascendant may provide the luck she needs.

Francois Fillon

Right wing (or more accurately centre right) candidate Francois Fillon had a setback in January, a scandal relating to using public finances within the family, but has experienced a very recent upsurge in popularity.  In his chart, he has 6 Water planets, suggesting great emotionality, 0 Earth planets (possibly ungrounded), and 6 Mutable planets (highly adaptable).  He was born on a New Moon in Pisces, so is able to start afresh from time to time.  The Sun square Mars gives him some warriorship, and highly charged energy in a T-square with Jupiter, and Mercury square Mars could make him quite irritable and quick to react verbally.  His Mars in 3rd House reinforces this.  He may have a predisposition to scandal, with Neptune square his Nodal Axis.  He does have considerable political experience, having acted as prime minister under Nicolas Sarkozy’s premiership.

As a complete aside, there is a fascinating symbolism in his chart in relation to his birth place, Le Mans, and his brother.  The 3rd House in a chart represents short distance travel and Mars represents cars, and he has Mars in 3rd House representing the location of Le Mans as a sportscar racing venue.  The 3rd House also represents siblings, and he has a brother (Mars in 3rd House).  The brother himself, Pierre, is represented well in the chart in the 3rd House, for he is an Opthalmologist (Mars also represents the eyes) and is President of the Automobile Club de l’Ouest in Le Mans (where Mars = cars).  Coincidence, or divine symbolism, you decide!

Sorry about the digression…getting back on track, in the first round his transit are:- Neptune on his Sun in Pisces in 6th House (confusion), Jupiter trine his Jupiter in Gemini in 9th House (some success) and Pluto opposite his Uranus in Cancer in 10th House (some chaos in his affairs).  In the second round, should he reach it which seems unlikely: Neptune still on his Sun in Pisces in 6th House, Pluto still opposite his Uranus in Cancer in 10th House (a possible reversal of fortune), Uranus opposite his natal Neptune in the1st House in Libra (more uncertainty), and Mars trine his Ascendant on cusp of 9th House (he may need to put his energies into a holiday).

Jean-Luc Melenchon

The left wing candidate, under the platform “Unsubmissive France”, who has also come up in the rankings in the last fortnight, is Jean-Luc Melenchon.  With Sun conjunct Pluto in Leo in 11th House, he wants power but he also wants some form of revolution.  His is not a wishy washy agenda.  With the Moon in Pisces at the end of the 6th House, close to the Descendant, he is all for the people and the workers in a highly idealistic way.  He has an original and keen mind (Mercury sextile Uranus), and a strong Teacher Archetype from past lives (Mercury conjunct South Node).  Leadership potential is shown in his chart by the Sun trine Midheaven, Uranus trine North Node, and Mars sextile the Ascendant.  He is also an opportunist, with Jupiter square Uranus.  He also has some difficult squares in his chart, including Chiron square his Ascendant and conjunct his I.C. so he would be used to battling his way through life.  He is a strong supporter of the underdog, and critic of socio-economic inequalities.  Like Le Pen, he is also a critic of the European Union.

His transits for the first round of elections shows Uranus trine his Sun, surprising support, Mars sextile his Mars (encouragement), Mars trine his Saturn (again mildly supportive), but Saturn square his Ascendant (personal difficulties) and Chiron opposite his Ascendant (more headaches, like where to go from here).  Transits for the 2nd round, in the unlikely event he would reach that, are: Uranus still trine his Sun (favours a regrouping of his life and aims), and Saturn still square his Ascendant (more struggle).

France Chart

With the chart of the French Republic (1792), its Venus conjuncts Emmanuel Macron’s North Node, indicating a karmic tie.  His Jupiter sextiles its Saturn, which is a good balancing act; their Saturns trine, again bringing stability.  There are other very positive aspects, plus a more difficult conjunction between Macron’s Chiron (the problem solver) and France’s Saturn (its blocks) which provide scope for resolution.

Marine Le Pen has Mars sextile France’s Sun, and would act as a warrior queen in putting barriers against the rest of the world.  Her Pluto conjuncts the French Mercury, so she could also bring new headaches to the nation.  Her South Node conjuncts its Venus, so there is a past life tie, but perhaps not entirely comfortable.  Her Moon sextiles its Jupiter, so she has a genuine love for the country.

Francois Fillon has an exact tie between his Ascendant and France’s Venus, and indeed he has already served in a top capacity; whether or not he has already fulfilled his karmic brief is a moot point.  His North Node trines the French Mercury, another sign of his service.  His Chiron trines its Mars, so he had a useful role, but that does not necessarily mean he can make a comeback.

Jean-Luc Melenchon has a more fraught relationship with his country, and indeed was born in Tangier so may not be as in tune as the others.  His Uranus squares its Venus, which is not such a comfortable match.  His Sun squares its Mars, which points to some conflict, e.g. he may have faced some opposition.  His Mars squares its Saturn, again some abrasiveness.  The most positive interaspect is his Moon trine its Mars, indicating a genuine caring.

Election Dates

How are the imminent changes reflected in the chart transits for France?  For the first round, today,  the North Node trines its Saturn, indicating this is an important turning point for France.  Saturn sextiles its Neptune, so this period may usher in more realism, and the letting go of illusions.  For the second round, Chiron sextiles its Ascendant from the 2nd/3rd House cusp, which could bring some healing and a totally new change of direction, the end of one economic direction and a new mindset.

Book Review: “The Boy Who Knew Too Much”

by Cathy Byrd published by Hay House, 2017

It’s a commonly accepted phenomenon in India, that children remember their past lives when very young, but still astonishing in the Western world.  In one of the best documented and validated cases, mother Cathy Byrd tells a gripping tale of how she came to believe that her very young son Christian was a reincarnation of famous baseball player Lou Gehrig.

Christian Haupt was only a year old when he saw children playing baseball in the street, and was instantly hooked, and by the age of two he was showing remarkable prowess in the sport.  A video of him playing went viral on You Tube, and he was invited to play in a film by Adam Sandler at the age of three.  When he had just turned four, he became the youngest player to ever throw the ceremonial first pitch at Dodger Stadium.

Christian’s Birth Chart

In the book, Cathy Byrd states only that Christian was born at the end of August 2008, which is good enough to work with and get a sense of his character and connection with his past life.  Christian’s chart has the interesting karmic triple conjunction of 2008 in Aquarius of the North Node/Chiron/Neptune, which is conducive to accessing past lives as it is a concentration of focus of spiritual, karmic and healing energies.  The conjunction between his North Node and Chiron is particularly tight, and indicates that he has come into incarnation with a karmic mission of healing.

With Mercury conjunct Mars, Christian has excellent hand-eye co-ordination, and Mars square Jupiter gives him over-the-top enthusiasm and energy (he is absolutely obsessed with baseball).  Jupiter closely trine Saturn gives him balanced judgement and poise.

Revealing his past life

His mother took Christian to a baseball game between the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox.  While there, he saw a large portrait of a 1920s baseball star.  He told his mother “I don’t like that man there.  He was mean to me”.

His mother was slow to acknowledge that he was talking about a past life, partly in denial because she was a staunch Christian.  As his messages became insistent, she confided in others in her circle, but was rebuffed and discouraged from talking about it because the subject of reincarnation was frowned upon.

From photographs, he identified his rival as “Babe Ruth”, a prominent baseball player of the 1920s, and he identified himself as Lou Gehrig, another very successful player.  He told her she was his mother (Christine) in that lifetime.

Lou Gehrig

There are a few similarities in the charts of Lou Gehrig and Christian.  I am always thrilled, as a Karmic Astrologer, to get any kind of birth date between lifetimes, though in this case I have only birthdates, and one of them approximate.  Physically they are alike, having markedly similar dimples and both being left-handed, with a similar style of play.  Astrologically, they both have 5 Mutable planets, are Mercury-ruled, have Mars in Libra, and have Sun-Jupiter aspects and Mercury-Mars aspects in their charts.  Lou’s Mercury was closely trine his Mars (excellent hand-eye co-ordination), and he was an outstanding baseball player.  Lou also had Mercury trine exactly Saturn, giving him good concentration, and forming a talented Grand Trine in Air with Mars.

His Moon was conjunct the South Node, indicating a strong karmic connection with the mother: both Cathy in this life, and Christine in Lou’s life were totally involved in the world of baseball and their son’s progress in the field.  His Mars was conjunct with the North Node, showing a karmic mission as a sportsman.  Venus was opposite his Saturn, and he did have a disappointing love life: his wife was a factor in the falling out with Babe Ruth.  Lou Gehrig died of a neurological condition, which became named after him, and his Mars square Neptune may have been an astrological factor in that.

Babe Ruth

Arguably, the most accomplished baseball player of all time, we do actually have a birth time for Babe Ruth!  Though successful, he was not popular in personal terms, and a contrast with the gentlemanly Lou Gehrig.  He was very emotional (5 planets in Water signs), with an early Cancerian Ascendant and the Moon rising.  He was said to have lived a life of excess, and his Mars in Taurus opposite Uranus may point to that, as well as the Sun squaring exactly on to Mars, creating an aggressive T-square.  There was no doubt that he was a difficult character.  He did have a more charitable side which entailed him visiting orphanages and hospitals, and this is shown by Neptune, Pluto and Jupiter in 12th House (of Hospitals and Charities), while the interest in children comes from his Moon rising in Cancer.  The two men did not speak for 7 years, and only broke the silence on 7th July 1939 when Lou Gehrig announced his retirement due to ill health.  Lou Gehrig’s speech that day has been described as “baseball’s Gettysburg address”.

Dr. Jim B. Tucker

One of the things that fascinated me about this book was about the various people who came into the life of Cathy and Christian to facilitate healing, after quite a long period where no one would believe Cathy and during which time Cathy was suffering guilt in relation to her religion.  It also interested me to see her choices of who to work with and when.  For example, quite early on she contacted Carol Bowman, author of “Children’s Past Lives” (another book I would highly recommend) for reassurance.  Although Carol was a practitioner of past life regression for children, she did not choose to have Christian regressed until much later, and that was with another lady.  Cathy also, at a later stage, undertook three regressions on her own behalf, to verify her life as Christine, Lou Gehrig’s mother.  She found anomalies in the accepted history, which after further research she found to be true facts.  I had the strong feeling from her account that the people she chose to work with were meant to be involved karmically, and the timing of Cathy’s choices were also meant to occur in the sequence they happened.  One of those people involved in their story was Dr. Tucker, Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Neurobehavioral Sciences at the University of Virginia School of Medicine, who took over Ian Stevenson’s prominent research work in the field of investigation of children’s past lives.

In an extraordinarily precise statement of time, Cathy writes “Dr. Tucker knocked on our door at 9 am on Wednesday 2 April 2014”.  Pluto (deep psychology) was transiting Christian’s Jupiter (philosophical expansion), and his story was about to be examined by an expert.  Jim Tucker himself has a triple conjunction of Jupiter/Mars/Mercury in Sagittarius, the mark of an exploratory truth seeker.  This meeting was one step towards healing for Christian and his mother, and the synastry between Christian and Jim included Jim’s Jupiter sextile exactly Christian’s Chiron (Inner Healer).

On Cathy’s website cathy-byrd.com, you can hear excerpts from Dr. Tucker’s conversations with Christian, including the extraordinary account of how he chose his mother pre-birth.  Christian’s story is literally a film in the making, too.

Lou Gehrig’s Disease

also known as Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis

from: Louise L. Hay:

Cause

“Unwillingness to accept self-worth. Denial of success.”

Affirmation

“I know I am worthwhile.  It is safe for me to succeed. Life loves me.”

Lou Gehrig began to exhibit tiredness and symptoms of this degenerative illness (which included respiratory symptoms) by early 1939, and died in 1941.  As mentioned, Lou’s Mars square Neptune may have been an astrological factor in that, as well as Sun, Pluto and Mercury in Gemini relating to neurological and respiratory health conditions.

Christian suffered from asthma in this lifetime. Mars conjunct his Mercury and Pluto square his Mercury, may have put a strain on his nervous system. Of his death as Lou Gehrig, he told his Dr. Tucker: “My body stopped working, and I didn’t feel anything”.  Towards the end of this spiritual journey, the asthma was laid to rest by a past life regression Christian undertook with therapist Mira Kelley in January 2015.  Since that time, when Saturn by transit was trine his Mercury (respiratory system), Christian has let go of the need to recall his past life, resolved his breathing problems, and got on with leading this life as talented baseball player Christian Haupt.

Lou died at 10.10 p.m. on 2nd June 1941, Bronx, N.Y.  At that time, the rebirth as Christian may be seen astrologically through Christian’s Pluto (re-birth) being exactly square Lou’s Nodal Axis (karmic path).

There is much more in this book, if you have found this account interesting – it is full of detail.  If you would like to convince the most hardened of sceptics of the truth of reincarnation, buy the book!

Last word from Lou Gehrig: “There is no room in baseball for discrimination. It is our national pastime and a game for all”.

“The Boy Who Knew Too Much”, by Cathy Byrd published by Hay House, 2017

Aspects

Happy Easter!  Today may be dynamic for healing, with Mars sextile Chiron.  You may get to grips with a healing mission, with heart and gusto.

Tomorrow Venus sextiles Mars, so there is another helping of heart and gusto, delivered with passion and love.

Later tomorrow, around lunchtime, Saturn trines the Sun, and planning and deliberation can pay off constructively.  You can lay foundations for the rest of the week, which may be an asset in the office.

On Tuesday (18th) Mercury trines the North Node, which benefits karmic steps you may take in relation to documentation or information.  Communication matters may make progress (though nothing the planets do seems to benefit the hapless Southern Rail, these days).

The Sun enters Taurus on Wednesday (19th) in the evening.  Impulsiveness may give way to a more placid mindset, more willing to take measured steps towards your goal.  You may take more time, literally, to smelling the roses during the next month, although other flowers are more in season.  Relax, and breathe, anyway…

On Thursday (20th) morning the Sun conjuncts Mercury at 0 degrees Taurus.  Your perceptions of smelling the roses (or other flowers), relaxing and breathing, will be heightened, so it is a good day to enjoy the senses and savour the Now.

By lunchtime, however, you may start to sense that Pluto is stationary, prior to turning retrograde, a long term psychological investigation and condition which lasts until the end of September.  So note that more work will be required along those lines, while still enjoying the moment.  Allow any insights to arise, and do what you can to honour them, but look upon their teachings as a positive contribution to your growth.  Maybe you are comparing yourself unfavourably to another: whatever it is, acknowledge it, try to determine the source of the feeling, then let it go.

At teatime (cue cakestand and cucumber sandwiches) Mercury enters Aries, retrograding from Taurus.  There may be a feeling of something not completed, or even a sense of impatience or panic.  There is just a need to account for the more rational, simple and direct solutions for the time being.  Go for the obvious, if you are presented with a hasty dilemma or decision.   You don’t need to deliberate too much.  As you can see, this is a week of minor twists and turns.

Friday (21st) brings another switch, this time Mars entering Gemini (so Mars in Gemini is in mutual reception with Mercury in Aries, in each other’s sign).  This is quite a high energy placing, with a great deal of mental and physical energy.  You might feel that you can get a lot done, in everyday terms, nothing too heavy.

Next, the Sun trines the North Node.  You may be able to link this with karmic developments from Tuesday, when Mercury trined the North Node.  Whereas the karmic developments then were about information and communication, the karmic developments on Friday are likely to be about power and creativity, but may build on events from Tuesday.

Late morning, however, brings a recurrence of Venus square Saturn (because Venus has just turned direct).  You don’t need to go back far to remember the last square, which occurred on Saturday 8th April.  You may need to face reality in connection with a relationship issue, but it would be something you have been working on recently.  This time, Venus being direct, will enable some progress in the matter.

The week in bullet points:

• Today – healing activity, active healing
• Tomorrow – sense and sensibility
• Tuesday – karmic information
• Wednesday – a gentler pace
• Thursday – concentration, psychological throwbacks, brisk thought
• Friday – dynamic, power karma, and letting go in relationships

 

Marine Le Pen

The first round of the French presidential election is due to be held on 23rd April 2017, and Europe is holding its breath.  After last year’s triumph for Brexit and the election of Donald Trump to the White House, it is not beyond the bounds of possibility that the far right could take over the government of France.  This would be a huge game-changer, cementing the populist attitude on immigration in the world, and sounding a death knell to the E.U.  What in the heyday of her father Jean-Marie Le Pen seemed unthinkable, is now thinkable.

2012 Election

For the 2012 French Election, I wrote:

“In France Marine Le Pen who was handed the baton by her father Jean-Marie Le Pen, is still going strong.  Certainly, she has had to tone down her politics a little, as in the recent race-linked violence at a French synagogue.  Her father created and founded the party out of a hard-line but deeply patriotic mindset of Mercury-Pluto conjunction in Cancer.  There are congenial personal astrological bonds between father and daughter, but the baton was passed on through some tight karma: her Mars conjunct his Moon,  her Saturn conjunct his Mars, and her Nodal Axis square his Mercury.  The Guardian wrote last year that she has inherited his bigotry and intolerance, but she still has a great following in France.  She has a wide anarchic conjunction between Uranus and Pluto, and in her own way wants to overturn the existing order.”

Since 2012 her influence has gained steadily, and her message has become more fashionable for our times, especially among the growing poor in France, who it is reported in this morning’s Observer say that her party the Front National is the only party listening to them.  In November 2016, she sent a supportive tweet to Donald Trump on his election as U.S. President.

Birth Chart

Taking a closer look now at her chart, we are blessed to have a birth time, as they are recorded on the continent.  A Sun Sign Leo, Marine has 0 Air planets, and thus relies heavily on instinct, though she does have an analytical conjunction of the Sun with Mercury in Leo.  Her chart has many strengths, and ambition is a strong feature: the Sun/Mercury in Leo is competitive, is suited to leadership, and is placed in her 10th House of career.  The Sun strengthens her Ascendant and personality with a sextile, and the Sun also sextiles her North Node exactly, so leadership is part of her karmic mission and she has a strong sense of destiny as being born to lead.

Her Ascendant is in Libra, exactly in the middle of Libra to be precise, and she studied and practised law, the traditional occupation for that sign.  Her Moon is strong, and the female principle strong in her life: she is the youngest of three sisters (Moon in 3rd House of Siblings), and has two daughters of her own (and a son).  Her children have 7 female cousins.  Her Moon is in the early degrees of the ambitious sign of Capricorn, trined with Venus, Jupiter and Saturn.  On the more difficult side, her Moon squares Uranus and Chiron.  Her Mercury in Leo likes to win an argument, and is closely trine her North Node, giving her extra conviction.  Mars in Cancer in 10th House describes a warriorship role in the world, and squares Saturn, bringing some coldness in these dealings.  However, her warriorship has some effectiveness, with Mars sextile Uranus and trine Neptune and Chiron.  Saturn square the Midheaven could bring some level of infamy, depending on which side you are looking at – very much a marmite situation, when you are looking at extreme politics!  She has the anarchic energy of the Uranus/Pluto conjunction in Virgo of the mid-60s, pulling away by 1968 when she was born.  Pluto closely sextiles the Midheaven in her chart, which is undeniably powerful.

Jean-Marie Le Pen

Head of the Le Pen dynasty, Jean-Marie founded the Front National in 1972.  He was born on 20th June 1928, and we also have a birth time for him.  Although Marine has followed him into the family business, their charts do not show a lot of strong similarities, and indeed she has distanced herself from him and tried to make his policies more acceptable.  He had been convicted of xenophobia and anti-semitism, and of inciting racial hatred which included Holocaust denial.  He is a Sun sign Gemini, with Ascendant in Taurus and Moon in Cancer.  He has 5 planets in Cardinal signs, which shows leadership, as well as the North Node sextile Uranus.  He also has Mercury conjunct Pluto, which can turn thoughts to negative interpretations of facts.  According to Wikipedia: “His controversial speeches and his integration into public life have made him a figure who polarizes opinion, considered as the ‘Devil of the Republic’ among his opponents or as the ‘last samurai in politics’ among his supporters.” Emotionally, he is quick to react, with Mars square his Moon, and in fact he has a very strong Mars (Warrior) in his chart.  Mercury square Uranus makes him unafraid to be controversial.  Like Marine, he has power, which is shown by an exact sextile of Pluto to his Ascendant.  He has 4 planets and the Part of Fortune in his 2nd House of finance, and in 1977 Le Pen inherited 30 million francs, with Jupiter transiting his 2nd House of Gemini.

In his relationship with Marine, which has been both symbiotic and stormy: Her Mars is conjunct his Moon, touching off his touchy emotions, her North Node squares his Mercury which makes their relationship an ongoing karmic debate, and her Saturn conjuncts his Mars bringing out her cold Mars/Saturn square.  There is an emotional bond as her Venus makes good contacts with his chart, but his Pluto exactly square her Ascendant also blows up the relationship in their life interaction.  Interestingly, her chart keys into the chart of the Front National which he founded in numerous significant ways, most tellingly her South Node on its Sun, a past life karmic bond.  Jean-Marie probably set up something similar and involved her in a past life.

So the politics of hatred can be seen in some of the policies of the Front National, as well as within the family dynamic, and she expelled her father from the party on 20th August 2015.  Jupiter was strengthening her emotionally with a trine to her Moon.  Uranus was squaring her Midheaven, describing a political estrangement in her life.  Neptune was opposing her Jupiter, so she may have been experiencing some poignant inner conflict.  Pluto was exactly square her Nodal Axis, another huge ending shown in her life path.  Mars was square his Chiron (a healing crisis for him), and Neptune squared his Nodal Axis (a spiritual severance).  For the chart of the Front National, it looks like a repair job and a strengthening, with Jupiter trine its Jupiter: it allowed the Front National to forge ahead.

Marion Marechal-Le Pen

Up comes the third generation, in the shape of Marine’s niece Marion, and as sometimes happens, the main alliance is with the first generation, i.e. Marion’s closer bond is with her grandfather Jean-Marie, and she did not support his expulsion from the party.  She was elected as an M.P. in 2012 for the Front National, at the tender age of 22, the youngest M.P. in modern France.

There are some family parallels in their birth charts.  Her Mercury/Uranus conjuncts Marine’s Moon in early Capricorn.  Like Marine, she has 0 Air planets (instinctual, rather than mentally focussed), and like her grandfather Marion has 6 planets in Cardinal signs indicating leadership, with the Sun sextile closely her North Node (leadership with a karmic basis).  She has a controversial Mercury/Uranus conjunction, exact in her chart.  Both grandfather and granddaughter have a conjunction of Jupiter and Chiron.

More individually, she has 6 planets in Earth, so is more grounded than her aunt and grandfather.  She has been quoted as saying:

“Contrary to what everyone thinks, in my family we didn’t talk about politics at home and we were free to make our own choices. I became interested in politics around 15 or 16 and in various approaches, not necessarily FN”. After hearing Nicolas Sarkozy speak publicly, she said “I very quickly came down to earth.”

Mars is exactly sextile her Ascendant, which is the Warrior, and loosely conjunct Pluto adding power.  Sarah Palin has compared her to Joan of Arc, and Trump colleague Bannon has called her a rising star.

Cecile Alduy, writing in The Guardian on April 2015:

“With Marion, you have a paradoxical character”

[Opposition between Jupiter /Chiron and Saturn/Neptune/Uranus].

“While she projects an image of a young woman who is modern, friendly, nice and smiling, her discourse is much more conservative than that of even Marine Le Pen: very strong, sometimes aggressive.”

[She has 4 planets in Capricorn]

In her synastry with Jean-Marie, there is a telling exact sextile between their Plutos: a sure fire sign of the legacy of the generations being passed down.

Election Day

On 23rd April Mars is sextile Marine’s Mars and Chiron, giving her plenty of fighting spirit.  Jupiter will be on her Ascendant, giving her a good share of luck.  Saturn squares her Uranus and Uranus conjuncts her Saturn, so there may be some shock too.  Uranus trines her Venus, bringing an upbeat personal confidence.  However, Pluto shakes her foundations with a transit to her I.C., so while influences are mixed that may be the deciding factor.  If she wins, there may be public riots.  Marion’s transits are not so dramatic: Neptune gently sextiles her Saturn, so she may do well but not ground-breakingly at this point in history.  Jean-Marie, looking on from his place of expulsion, does not look so happy, with Jupiter squaring his Pluto, Saturn opposing his Sun, and Uranus on his Mars.

Emmanuel Macron

Marine’s main opposition, Emmanuel Macron, an interesting character in his own right who has experience a meteoric rise politically, has a lot going for him, transit-wise on the first round of the elections.  Depending on what this week throws up, I may take a more in-depth look at him next Sunday as well as a look further on to the astrological picture of the second round of the elections in May.

Aspects

It is quite a dramatic, heart-wringing time emotionally, with the Sun square Pluto, and Venus conjunct Chiron.  The good news is that the Sun squared Pluto in the early hours of this morning, so whatever the issue is, or was, you know what you are dealing with, and may have been dealing with it in your dream life overnight.  There may have been a dilemma disturbing your night hours, and profound in its importance, coloured by a poignancy from Venus conjunct Chiron.

There is a new focus this evening, which is more mental than emotional, and that is the changing gear of Mercury stationing before turning retrograde.  I always try to advocate a calm atmosphere going into Mercury retrograde (whether I manage it, I am not sure) regarding frustrated communications and being clear.  This week I watched a short You Tube video by Robert Ohotto, a colleague of Archetype pioneer Caroline Myss.  His approach is quite sensible, advocating a non-Victim mentality, and pointing out that we are working with the energy of the Archetypes of the Trickster and the Saboteur.  To work with him on this in greater depth, you are invited to subscribe to his programme.

On Tuesday (11th) the Moon is Full in Libra, and opposes the Sun in Aries.  This may result in a stand-off between your own needs and another’s, and possibly your own conflict over your own needs and wanting to be there for another.  How far do you need to look after your own needs, and how far do you need to look after the needs of the relationship unit, and how far will the other compromise?  You will always need to be authentic, so that may be the bottom line.

Friday 14th (Good Friday) brings a fresh energy, in the shape of a conjunction between the Sun and Uranus at 24 degrees Aries.  Change will definitely seem to be in the air, and that may be very dynamic.  New frontiers may be crossed, and it may bring out your Inner Rebel or Inner Pioneer.  You can bring something fresh to the table, such as a raw food menu.

Saturday (15th) brings a welcome change of direction for Venus, or a restoration of the natural order in relationships, with the end of her retrograde period.  You may breathe a sigh of relief with the return of the prodigal son, or some such symbolic reunion in your life.  Saturday 15th should be good for the heart.

The week in bullet points:

• Today – some lingering emotional processing; communications need attention
• Tuesday – emotions at a peak
• Friday – innovation
• Saturday – more peaceful

A Compatibility Guide for Aries

Are you an Aries, or do you have a friend, relative or partner born under that sign? Here is how you engage with the other signs.

 Aries Sun with Aries Sun

A dynamic duo, who probably believe in having a daily argument to clear the air!  They may put a lot of energy into expressing their views, but can put aside and forget their differences fairly easily.  Needless to say, there  is a lot of passion in this relationship, and perhaps a shared interest in physical activities such as sport, e.g. football.

Aries Sun with Taurus Sun

As neighbouring signs, they may share planets in each other’s signs, and understand each other well.  This partnership tends to work very well if the Taurean allows the Aries to lead, and enjoys supporting the Aries. Traditionally, Aries is ruled by Mars and Taurus by Venus, so John Gray’s book: “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus” would have much to say to these two, whichever way round the sexes may be, or indeed whether homosexual, bi-sexual, transgender, pan-sexual or any other combination.

Famous Example: Victoria Beckham and David Beckham

Aries Sun with Gemini Sun

Good and lively compatibility.  Aries adds energy and activity, so providing they have shared interests, such as sport, they can do a lot together. They are a dynamic duo, an action team!  In this partnership, Aries initiates a physical work-out (as in “let’s go to the gym”!) and Gemini brings about the mental gymnastics (as in “why are we going to the gym?  Let’s go hiking or biking, or play chess.”). If some of their planets meet in Taurus, they may have artistic or musical interests in common.

Famous Example: Elton John and Bernie Taupin (song-writing duo)

Aries Sun with Cancerian Sun

The approach to life for these two are poles apart.  The Aries wonders why the Cancerian has to make life so complicated.  It’s straightforward isn’t it?  And the Cancerian wonders how the Aries can fail to get emotionally involved.  The Crab may sometimes judge the Aries pronouncements as insensitive.  It is not the easiest of connections.

Famous Example: Neil Kinnock and Glenys Kinnock (married 50 years)

Aries Sun with Leo Sun****

Here’s a really sunny combination, but these two are both born leaders, so they might need to take it in turns to lead.  Or they may create a group around them who are happy for them to host gatherings.  They can create a really feel good ambience.

Aries Sun with Virgo Sun

These two have very different energies, but can bring out what the other needs.  The Virgo could have a quiet energy, with a patient attention to detail.  In contrast, Aries can be impulsive and fiery.  They can both be practical, though, in different ways.  Virgo can persuade the Aries to slow down, and Aries can influence the Virgo to flow more and not get bogged down.  Virgo practicality brings realism, and Aries practicality brings physical momentum, so in this way they can work together.

Aries Sun with Libra Sun

These two signs pull in opposite directions, but can balance each other.  Libra can bring peace to Aries, and Aries can bring energy and movement to the equation.  The colour for Aries is red, and the colour for Libra is blue, so the combination in purple or violet can bring the two together in unity.

Famous Example: Ola Jordan and James Jordan, dance partners and married 13 years

Aries  Sun with Scorpio Sun

These two can be quite a go-ahead partnership, with plenty of drive to get things done.  They are both very passionate, too.  Occasionally, this can make for a quarrelsome duo, however, which may not work.  Others may find them quite forceful and full on, if they can’t match their energies.

Famous Example: Debbie McGee and Paul Daniels

Aries Sun with Sagittarius Sun****

A good blend of two fire signs, with plenty of warmth between them.  There may be some anger issues, especially if Aries is in a grump, but generally these two can accomplish anything.  Aries forgives easily, so any issues tend to blow over quickly.

Famous Example: Jeremy Clarkson and Richard Hammond (shared love of fast cars)

Aries Sun with Capricorn Sun

These two signs are in squared relationship to each other, so may not be easy to work out.  Both can be self-centred, and may not put the relationship first.  Capricorn may put up emotional walls, and Aries can be a battering ram.  Factors other than the Sun may help to make the relationship work, such as sympathetic Moons.  Aries can bring warmth to the Capricornian, and Capricorn can bring discipline to the Arien, which may be exactly what the other needs.

Famous Example: Mary Archer and Jeffrey Archer

Aries Sun with Aquarius Sun

This is a dynamic combination, very active and quick-moving.  Aries moves fast physically, and Aquarius thinks at the speed of light.  They both have leadership qualities, so can initiate projects and get things going, though they may vie for top dog.  Never a dull moment!

Aries Sun with Pisces Sun

These two may have planets in each other’s signs, being neighbours, and that may give them some common ground.  Otherwise, they are very different: Aries is all action, and Pisces is all dreaming.  They can certainly learn from each other, being such extremes.  And they may also admire each other.

Famous Example: Pattie Boyd and Eric Clapton (married 9 years)

 

A full compatibility analysis details every component of the two birthcharts in relation to each other, not just the Sun sign.  As there is a lot of work involved, it is my most expensive service, at £45.

 

Aspects

Venus re-enters Pisces in the early hours of tomorrow morning, so for the rest of today enjoy the straightforward refreshing vibe of Venus in Aries, telling it like it is from the heart.  Venus in Pisces is idealistic, in an emotional and devotional way, e.g. immersing itself in the ideal of perfect love, or the unconditional love of the expanded heart, and you may find yourself teary in a sentimental way.  You may be harking back to old models of love, e.g. old patterns in your life, or literally old historical patterns such as courtly chivalry.  The emancipation of modern times may need to be weighed against old-fashioned values, if only to discard them.  Venus hovers at the end of Pisces for the rest of the month, returning to Aries for another fresh start at the end of the month.  This gives you a chance to review your love life, and what your heart desires.  If you are an Aries, today’s blog may be of especial interest in this respect.

Later on, Mercury trines the North Node, which may offer you information leading to a more constructive karmic avenue.  You may receive insights along these lines.  There may be a sense of destiny about the day, and you may make a gesture of intent.  Progress can be made through writing, communication and publishing ventures. The North Node, which retrogrades, is in the first degree of Virgo, about to enter Leo, so if you have any Virgoan karmic projects (e.g. health, study, crafts) they may be completing their cycle of being at this time, and there may even be an element of perfectionism in their execution.  North Node in Leo will be a different kettle of fish, and again this change will come at the end of the month, or into May if you take the True Node reading.  I will therefore write about this at a later date, but for now be aware of completing some aspect of karma related to Virgoan concerns.

The most dynamic day this week is Thursday (6th) which is impacted by a trine between Mars and Pluto.  If you can utilize this trine, you may find you have huge reserves of energy, a real power source, with which to deal with a major concern or activity, which may be practical or psychological.  Some people may find the reverse, that the huge energy of this aspect actually wipes them out as they cannot integrate it: if you find this is you, try to take time out to rest, observe what is happening, and process.  You may be able to oversee those who are doing the hard physical graft!  Or just make the tea.

There is a counteractivity going on that day (and both events occur early in the morning) in that Saturn is stationary prior to turning retrograde.  So there is a strong current of inertia pulling alongside the drive of the Mars-Pluto trine.  You may find there are actually two contingents working, or not working, alongside each other: the go-aheads, and those standing in the way of progress (who may have good reasons).  This is a long-term feature, as Saturn does not go direct again until late August.  It is a period of review, and stuckness in some ways for some area of your life (Saturn is in late Sagittarius, if you know which House it falls in for you).  Saturn is also hovering at the Galactic Centre, which makes it a more heavyweight consideration.  It poses a definite “Why are we here?” question.  How you deal with Saturn retrograde depends to some extent on your relationship with Saturn at this stage in your life, e.g. are you impatient to hustle events on, or can you wait for them to happen in their own time?  Are you willing to look at the blocks or research the reasons behind delays?  Some of us prefer the “devil we know” realism of Saturn to the “chancer” that is Jupiter.

Friday (7th) Jupiter opposes the Sun, which may be good-humoured enough, but not necessarily on the right track.  It is one aspect of the prankster, where one person may think something is funny, but someone else may not share that view.  You may be tempted to let rip, or make a bid for freedom, but need to weigh up the consequences.  Freedom is a great ideal, but the circumstances may not be right, or it may not sit well with someone you have made a commitment to at this time.  You can do something positive with that desire and energy, such as plan or book a holiday break in the Sun for later in the year.  Or use that energy to cheer someone on who is not quite feeling it.

Not the cheeriest of endings to the week, Venus squares Saturn on Saturday (8th), so you will need some of the Mars-Pluto and Jupiter-Sun energy lingering in your system glowing into Saturday.  Venus interacting in this way with Saturn helps you to see what elements in relationships you need to let go of.  For example, some gradual deterioration of an elderly person in your life may get you down, and set you thinking.  The song “Let it Go” from Frozen may do the trick for you, but personally I find it annoying!  Just let go, with grace, however you need to do it.  You do need to face reality on Saturday though, because the following day (Sunday 9th) brings a square of the Sun with Pluto and a new cycle of Mercury Retrograde, so you need to clear a path emotionally on Saturday.

The week in bullet points:

• Tomorrow – sentimental; karmic information
• Thursday – energetic in some ways, inertia in other ways
• Friday – upbeat; inappropriate laughter
• Saturday – let it go

 

Westminster Terror

On Wednesday, Westminster Bridge was the scene of a terrorist incident and Parliament and its surrounding buildings were in lockdown. A British born man, Khalid Masood, drove into passersby then tried to enter the gates of Parliament, and stabbed a policeman to death.  Five people died in total, including the perpetrator, and fifty people were injured.  Though many potential attacks have been foiled since, this was the first attack of its scale in London since 7/7/05.  There are many questions yet to be answered and issues raised, such as whether he was acting alone, what were his motives, and how far he was influenced by radicalization by ISIS, whether police in the City should be armed, and how far the police can keep tabs on all suspects. I will have a brief look at the charts of some of those involved, though crucially some important dates are currently missing, such as the birth date of the brave and heroic policeman who lost his life, Keith Palmer.

Chart of the Attack

The attack happened at 2.40 pm. in the centre of political life in London, with 14 degrees Leo rising, and 27 degrees Aries at the Midheaven, exactly trine Saturn at the Galactic Centre.  The chart is dominated by a T-square between Jupiter in Libra, opposing Mercury/Uranus in Aries and squaring onto Pluto/Moon in Capricorn.  It was two days before the Mercury-Pluto-Jupiter T-square was to become exact.  Themes of travel (Mercury) and destruction (Pluto) are involved, and Jupiter may represent the many tourists who were caught up in the incident (there were said to be 12 countries involved).  The Moon in Capricorn (the sign of government) was exactly square Uranus (planet of disruption).

Khalid Masood

The birth date of the killer, Khalid Masood, was clearly announced on the evening news on Thursday as 25th December 1964.  His age of 52 was remarkable as being untypical of the usual young radicalized Moslem involved in incidents of this type.  So far they have not established that he was working with a team, and there may be a strong element of mental illness involved. These rogue factors make it difficult for the police to identify who constitutes a strong risk.  Over the last year or two, there has been a pattern of cars or lorries on the continent driving into pedestrians, a method of killing which does not require sophisticated planning.  There was a copycat such incident the next day in Antwerp.

Masood’s planets show 6 in the Earth element, 0 planets in Air (tending to work on instinct), and 7 out of his 10 planets in Mutable signs (perhaps indicating a rudderless existence).  He had Mercury square Mars, which often exhibits a quick temper; Mercury square Pluto (some morbidity of thought, and an aspect he shares with Martin McGuinness); and Mercury square Uranus (mental unpredictability).  Pluto, Uranus and Mars were conjunct in Virgo, which of all triple conjunctions creates the most explosive cocktail of planets.  He had a few convictions in the past, where he had lashed out at people, and spent short bursts of time in prison.  But these were not serious enough to be within the police radar for potential terrorist offences.  Mercury was conjunct the South Node in his chart in Sagittarius, and this fits his sporadic profession as a language tutor, particularly abroad in Saudi Arabia.  The North Node in Gemini, indicating a path of language teaching.  But Mars (conflict) is exactly square the Nodal Axis, so violence is likely to be a pattern brought in from past lives.  With Mars trine Jupiter, he is often portrayed by people who knew him in the past as jolly, so he could have a deceptive exterior; others picked up that he could suddenly change and reveal a dark side.  His Jupiter has interesting aspects: it trines Uranus (also like Martin McGuinness), so he has an opportunistic streak; Jupiter opposes Neptune, so there is confusion or delusion in relation to religious matters (it is not clear when he was radicalized); and Jupiter was exactly trine Pluto, so there was a great deal of latent power in his make up.  He may have seen his last act as an ultimate power trip.  His first criminal offence took place in November 1983, when Pluto (the planet of power) was exactly trine his natal Saturn (Sun ruler), pushing at the boundaries of his inner sense of self.

On Wednesday, at the time of the attack and also when he died, Pluto was sextile his Neptune (also pushing him, this time concerning spiritual boundaries), and Jupiter was sextile his Mercury (he was said to be cheerful coming up to the event, by those who met him at the hotel he stayed at in Brighton the night before).  In his own mind, he may have been convinced of the rightness of what he was doing, especially if he was sold on the doctrine of the rewards of jihad.

Theresa May transits

We do not have Theresa May’s birthtime, but it appears that the North Node in early Virgo may have been close to her natal Moon, karma requiring her to step up to the plate, and bring out her Inner Statesman/woman. It was certainly her greatest challenge so far since taking over her role as Prime Minister.

Sadiq Khan transits

As London Mayor, the challenges of the event do show up in his chart.  Saturn squares his Pluto, which describes the seriousness of the occasion.  Sadiq has significant links with the charts of London (of which there are at least three), and the U.K. charts, and has certainly been a very involved Mayor, much more hands on, I would venture to say, than his predecessor.

Tobias Ellwood

There are heartening features surrounding the response to this attack: the speed at which the police responded, and the many people who tried to help.  One such was the Conservative M.P. Tobias Ellwood, who had formerly served with the Royal Green Jackets.  He sat quietly in the House of Commons the next day, as described by John Crace in the Guardian:

“All the while, Ellwood stood at the back of the chamber, arms crossed, holding his feelings in, as colleagues praised his actions.  he looked in pain; as if he would much rather be anywhere else but knew he couldn’t not be there.  As MPs drifted away, many, including Jeremy Corbyn, stopped to touch his arm and thank him for what he had done.  Ellwood half-smiled, but gave little away.  Whatever he was thinking and feeling was for him and him alone.”

He has in his chart a helpful conjunction of Mars exactly conjunct Jupiter in Cancer, and a compassionate Neptune on the South Node.  He tried, as did others, to help Keith Palmer, but his efforts were sadly in vain.  Chiron was exactly conjunct his natal Chiron at this time, i.e. he had his Chiron Return in Pisces.  This experience will stay with him, and shape his Inner Healer in the future.

U.K. Charts

This week the South Node (karma) was conjunct the Pluto (destructiveness) in the 1801 Union chart. Khalid Masood’s Mercury is conjunct the Mercury in this chart, and his Neptune (confusion) is exactly conjunct its Neptune.

Khalid Masood also has interesting links with the 1066 chart of the coronation of William I.  He has the same birthday (Christmas Day), so the Suns are conjunct.  Uranus (disruption) was square the Venus of this chart on Wednesday, and in the transits of this chart Saturn was conjunct Saturn (i.e. a Saturn Return was being experienced), i.e. a challenge to the structures of society.

“Upon Westminster Bridge” by William Wordsworth

3/9/1802

Earth has not anything to show more fair:

Dull would he be of soul who could pass by

A sight so touching in its majesty:

This City now doth, like a garment, wear

The beauty of the morning; silent, bare,

Ships, towers, domes, theatres, and temples lie

Open unto the fields, and to the sky;

All bright and glittering in the smokeless air.

Never did sun more beautifully steep

In his first splendour, valley, rock, or hill;

Ne’er saw I, never felt, a calm so deep!

The river glideth at his own sweet will:

Dear God! the very houses seem asleep;

And all that mighty heart is lying still!

This poem was written in a moment of inspiration when Wordsworth stood on that bridge, Venus touching his own inner healer, Chiron.  It is a vision of Westminster Bridge at its most serene.  Time will never erase what happened there this week, and there are mothers on this Mother’s Day who will be missing their loved ones as a result of what happened, as well as the children missing their mother who died at the scene, but it is good to remember that place in a spirit of healing.

 To read also about Martin McGuinness, please click the link to the right or read below

Aspects

Happy Mother’s Day to you all!  Mercury conjuncts Uranus today, which could make it a day of surprises and inventive ideas.  You may have been inspired to an unusual turn of phrase when writing your card(s).  Meetings could bring some lightning flashes of wit.  Telepathy between mothers and children, or between siblings, may occur, e.g. identical gifts could be offered!

Tomorrow Mars sextiles Neptune, starting the working week with the opportunity to combine physicality and spirituality.  Time to organize that lunchtime office tai chi, quijong or Yoga group you’ve had in mind lately…  If you need to put your point across or assert yourself in the workplace, you can find a way to do it sensitively but authentically.

The New Moon at 7 degrees Aries on Tuesday (28th) is another new beginning along the lines of last week’s Spring Equinox, very much getting down to the basics of what you would like to create in your life, with the Spring energy.  Practical tasks are now easier to envisage, initiate and formulate.  You have permission to concentrate on your own needs from the Universe; pleasing yourself may also create pleasure for others.

Mercury trines Saturn on Wednesday (29th), good for continuing practical projects and planning the detail.  It is an aspect of concentration and precision, so mental faculties are efficient.  Travel is slow but sure.  It is the day Theresa May is planning to press the Brexit button, so that pressing may be O.K. but…

The next day, Thursday (30th) brings a recurrence of the Jupiter-Pluto square, and although that does not occur on the actual day, it is a far weightier measure of the energies that will be unleashed by the triggering of Brexit, being a major aspect.  Difficult power struggles in a nutshell, and that is likely to be the long term characteristic of this endeavour, so very relevant.  It will be two years of tough negotiation, so at some point I will look at the two year mark astrologically to see how the planetary land lies.

On Friday (31st) Mercury enters into Taurus.  It leaves Aries and the initiatory mental energy it displayed in that sign, so you may be expected to put some work into projects you  initiated on the earlier days of the week.  Projects need to be sustained and supported (Taurus), not just initiated (Aries).  This work may literally fall to the Taureans, whom many describe as their “rock”.  Virgoans and Capricorns are also good at following through, and honouring the practicalities of work, and so you may also see them on the coal face.  It’s also a good time to get arty, such as in music, pottery or sculpture.  Ideas that come while Mercury in Taurus are likely to be realistic and realizable.  Mercury retrogrades on 9th April, then re-enters Aries on 20th, so make good productive use of this window.

The week in bullet points:

• Today – wit and surprise
• Tomorrow – physicality with spirituality
• Tuesday – new beginning
• Wednesday – look at the small print
• Thursday – power struggles
• Friday – practical mental directions

Martin McGuinness (1950 – 2017)

“Martin was also a deeply committed Irish republican activist who in his youth was confronted by the naked sectarianism and injustice of the British state in Ireland, and stood strong against it. As a result he was imprisoned and spent long periods on the run”. ~ Gerry Adams

Terrorism

The theme of this week was terrorism.  From the beginning of the week people were evaluating Martin McGuinness not only as a peacemaker, but in his original profession as a terrorist.  Then in the second half of the week, we saw a terrorist attack in the heart of London.  In the days of the IRA attacks in England, most notably in the early 1970s, the chosen weapons were bombs.

Martin McGuinness Birth Chart

Martin McGuinness was a complex man.  Not only was his life one of two halves, but in looking at his birth chart, we are also looking for the Warrior and the Peacemaker.  As we do not have a birth time, we might be missing a crucial piece of information in this quest, in relation to a planet on an angle of the chart.

His Sun in Gemini weakly trines Mars in Virgo, which indicates some warriorship, but is not a major factor.  His Sun squared Jupiter, indicating the passion and enthusiasm with which he embraced his cause.   The Sun also sextiled his North Node, showing karmic leadership.  He had Mercury trine Mars, giving him quick mental reactions, and Mercury square Pluto which can give rise to dark, brooding thought.  Venus in his chart opposed Neptune (which some might equate with personal deception) but trined his Pluto (showing also the deep loyalty he showed his Catholic compatriots), in a constructive Fire Grand Trine with Chiron.  Venus was also exactly trine his Chiron, showing the potential for reconciliation and healing, and Chiron sometimes takes time and maturity to show in a person’s life and psyche.  Jupiter was  trine Uranus, making him an opportunist.

Northern Ireland

Martin McGuinness’ roots lay in the Bogside area of Londonderry, Northern Ireland.  His life path, first as a terrorist, and then as a peacemaker, mirrored the history of “The Troubles” as the Irish revolutionary period came to be called.  Born in 1950, he was 18 when one of the significant early events occurred, the civil rights march in Derry on 5th October 1968, which ended in violence.  Pluto was conjunct exactly Martin’s natal Mars at the time, and may well have ignited a taste for a violent way of proceeding with the causes he cared about.  It was a call for greater equality on behalf of the Catholic minority against the predominant Protestant population in the area, and the Ulster Unionist Party.  By 1969 he had been appointed second-in-command of the Derry brigade of the Irish Republican Army.

Political violence in Northern Ireland escalated over the next three years, and reached a peak in 1972.  That year Jupiter formed a trigger-happy opposition to Martin’s natal Uranus.  The newly formed Provisional I.R.A. was more committed to armed struggle against British rule.  On 30th January 1972 thirteen unarmed male civilians were shot dead by the British Army at an anti-internment rally in Derry, and this event came to be known as “Bloody Sunday”.

In 1973 Martin McGuinness was imprisoned for six months, after being arrested near a car carrying explosives and ammunition.  After his release, he married Bernadette Canning, and claims to have withdrawn from an active IRA role, though he was implicated in later events.  Some soul-searching may have taken place at that time, with transiting Pluto on his South Node.  Around that time, he also became more involved in the political activities of Sinn Fein.

On 27th 1979 Lord Mountbatten was killed by the I.R.A. by a bomb on his boat, at a time when Martin McGuinness was their chief of staff.  Transiting Pluto was exactly lined up with both Martin’s natal Pluto and Mountbatten’s natal Pluto, a huge event which was bigger than both of them.  In some ways, this event was the apotheosis of the violence, as there was a waning throughout the 1980s, and by 1983 McGuinness’ buddy Gerry Adams was beginning to seek a negotiated solution to the conflict.  Adams says of their relationship:

” He and I first met over 45 years ago behind the barricades in Free Derry and we have been friends and comrades since that time.”

At some point during this period, then, Martin McGuinness must have had a change of heart, though Gerry Adams himself denies that this could be pinpointed:

“Reading and watching some of the media reporting of his life and death, one could be forgiven for believing that Martin, at some undefined point in his life, had a road to Damascus conversion and abandoned his republican principles, his former comrades in the IRA and joined the political establishment.”

Would that we had a date or time for this change, to see what was going on for him astrologically…[sigh].  By 1993, McGuinness himself was said to be involved in secret talks with the government, trying to effect change in a different way.  In that year, Jupiter was transiting his South Node, which would have been a time of looking to more positive ways to move karma on.

Many had been affected by the violence of the I.R.A in its heyday, including the Conservative M.P. Norman Tebbit, whose wife had been paralysed after the Brighton bombing of a hotel in 1984.  Controversially, Tebbit claims that McGuinness’ change of heart was due to cowardice.  He  believed McGuinness became a man of peace because he feared being taken to account for a “number of murders which he had personally committed”.

The Omagh bombing of mid-1998 however was the single worst incident in Northern Ireland, and for McGuinness Pluto squaring his Jupiter will have showed him the worst extremes of the use of power.  But he had by all accounts by then embarked on a new pathway.

The process bore fruit in December 1998 with the Good Friday agreement, when Neptune was exactly trine his natal Sun in Gemini, a significant spiritual development for him personally. Self-government was granted to Northern Ireland on the basis of power sharing. U.S. President Bill Clinton had played a negotiating role in this agreement, and Pluto trine Bill’s Mercury at the time pays testament to this.

Alistair Campbell provided an insight into the roles of McGuinness and Adams in negotiations: “Adams and McGuinness made an interesting double act.  Adams would often talk in grand terms, and then McGuinness would come in with an absolutely chiselling point about what they wanted right there, right then and why they needed it right there, right then.  They were difficult to deal with, but also somehow very straightforward.”  In their synastry, Gerry’s Mercury (communication) trines exactly Martin’s Jupiter (positivity and philosophy).

However the transformation came about, from terrorist to peacemaker (as others, such as Martin Luther King, had taken that path before him), it is often said that great strength is needed in that role, and it is undeniable that his strong links with the I.R.A. and their trust of him played a huge part in his unique role as a go-between.  It has been said that no one else would have been in a position to achieve this.

“There was not a bad Martin McGuinness or a good Martin McGuinness.  Martin believed in freedom and equality. He resisted those who withheld these by military means, and then he helped shape conditions in which it was possible to advocate for these by unarmed strategies”

 ~ Gerry Adams

On 8th May 2007 Martin McGuinness took up a true power-sharing role with the Democratic Unionist Party leader Rev Ian Paisley.  Martin became deputy first minister.  The two, from being adversaries, became firm friends, known as the “Chuckle Brothers”, as exemplified by Ian’s Jupiter sextile exactly Martin’s Venus.  The transits at the time were quite healing for Ian Paisley: Chiron sextile his natal Sun, and the North Node trine his Pluto.

On 8 December 2007, McGuinness stated: “Up until the 26 March this year, Ian Paisley and I never had a conversation about anything—not even about the weather—and now we have worked very closely together over the last seven months and there’s been no angry words between us…. This shows we are set for a new course”.

Martin McGuinness  has in recent years worked tirelessly on behalf of Northern Irish communities to achieve reconciliation, and took a special interest in educational reforms.  In a startling event of 2012, he shook hands with the Queen, telling her their meeting was a “powerful signal that peace building requires leadership.”  Neptune (reconciliation) was trine his natal Uranus (surprise) at the time.  How was it for the Queen?:  there were positive transits from her Saturn (duty), and Mars opposite her natal Uranus portrayed the element of controversy and risk involved.

Illness

In December 2016, McGuinness was found to have a rare degenerative disease amyloidosis, which affects the heart and other organs.  With Uranus trine his Chiron (change linked with health factors), he resigned his political roles.  He was hospitalized on 6th March 2017 and died on 21st March, loved by many but also resented by many.

Karmic Thoughts

Though he spent many years working on the peace process, the bloodshed he was involved with earlier in his life obviously bears a great deal of karma, and there are many who will not forgive him in this lifetime.  From an evolutionary point of view, he probably has spent lifetimes as a warrior, and has just in this lifetime realized that violence does not work, and started the evolutionary climb upwards from violence.  What is interesting is that his karmic Nodal Axis runs along Aries and Libra (War and Peace) and is almost exactly squared by Uranus, the Rebel and the Disruptor, showing what a fine and skilful line of balance needed to be trodden in the years he was trying to please both sides of the conflict.

Bill Clinton speaking at his funeral:

“If you want to continue his legacy, go and finish the work he has started.”

Final quote from Martin McGuinness:

“The lesson from the conflict here is the same for everywhere else.  There are no military solutions – dialogue and diplomacy are the only guarantee of lasting peace.”