With Jupiter jumping ship from Pisces and into the fire of Aries, it is off with the old (3 U.K. resignations – Alan Johnson, Andy Coulson and Brian Cowen) and on with the new:  Ed Balls (with his Venus at the beginning of Aries) and gloriously clutzy Sagittarian Miranda Hart who received 3 trophies at the British Comedy Awards.  Three is the number for Jupiter in numerology, so maybe these patterns are his calling card.  Minor skirmishes before tea today, with Mars semi-sextile Pluto, but shortly afterwards diplomacy may reign with Venus sextile Saturn, enough to be able to sit at table and digest your meal.  Any lessons of diplomacy learned to day can be profitably retained for use later in the week, namely on Wednesday (26^th) as Saturn is stationary prior to turning retrograde, then square to Mercury bringing different lessons, but lessons equally about restraint and limitation.  So soon after trying out our Jupiter in Aries wings?  We have hardly got them off the ground.  Saturn turning retrograde signals that we have reached a certain point in our learnings, and need to do some revision.  We are being pinned down on something to define our truth, and have reached the point where we need to go back and review.   The square with Mercury reflects the need to draw up documents, contracts, plans and schedules, but this may not be an easy time to put that into practice.  Communicating your ideas may be equally fruitless.  It is a good time to make notes, in preparation.  It is a good time to observe what is going on, and to keep your counsel.  Identify your fears, so that you can work with them.  The next day, Jupiter squares the Mean Nodal Axis, and the urge for expression may become irrepressible.  Where a planet squares the North and South Nodes, there is more likely to be karmic interaction on a wider scale than the personal, in that it affects members of a soul group for instance.  So you have Ed Milliband’s hand being forced to allow back into the fold Ed Balls, undoubtedly a force in the current Labour Soul Group, who is already firing his opening salvos at the government economic policy.  With Pluto now sextile his Sun, the regeneration of power is returning to Ed Balls.  He also has Jupiter transiting his Saturn, the overcoming of a personal obstacle.  The duel we have this week between Saturn and Jupiter plays out in our psyche as the duel between fear and courage.  Jupiter in Aries is the courage of our spirit, and Saturn represents our fear and sense of lack and limitation.  You need the enthusiasm and inspiration and illumination of Jupiter in Aries to take you through the experience of your fear and beyond it, recognizing the lessons as speedily as possible, and being at peace with them.  Curiosity is one of the motivators you can use:  the openness and willingness to understand what you need to understand, in order to let life play through you and take out the fear.

People come to this blog in all sorts of weathers and moods.  If it is raining and I am talking sunshine, that can grate.  If you are up and there’s a deflating aspect, you could resent reading it.  The weather forecasters have told us to expect rain, and it is a sunny morning…Predictions interact with expectations, and interpretations vary.  Sometimes I will write something, and in a reader’s mind it will mean something entirely different from what I intended.  In the past, sometimes, I have written or said something, and it has been replayed to me years later in a completely different form, mythologized and maybe passed on two or three different times in the manner of Chinese whispers, and taken on a life of its own.  And I am astonished to hear it.  I am not sure what I am going to write now, and whether it will make sense, but here goes.  There were floods all over the globe last week: in Australia, Brazil and Sri Lanka, creating unexpected devastation.  I wonder if this presages the entry of Neptune into its own water sign of Pisces in April this year. Neptune is linked with Pisces through a double semi-sextile today, composed of Neptune (the waters) at 27 degrees Aquarius conjunct Chiron at 28 (or 29, Ephemerides may vary) degrees Aquarius semi-sextile Uranus (the unexpected) at 27 degrees Pisces and Jupiter at 28 degrees Pisces.  So there is some underwater and airborne intercommunication going on of a high order.  Time to listen to the dolphins, whales and eagles.  It could be an extraordinary day, so take your camera out for a walk and commune with the elements, or visit a newborn baby or an elderly wise one and look into their eyes.  Tomorrow (Monday 17^th) the Sun joins this complex, and semi-sextiles Neptune, and you may gain further information relating to the state of the Earth, or the state of the Soul, or Evolution in general.  Later in the day the Sun sextiles Uranus, and it’s a chance for all to become clear.  It’s after dark by then in the U.K. but there may be a symbolic parting of the clouds to let the sunshine in, or you can part the curtains and let the stars do the talking.  There is a deepening consciousness building to the middle of the week, and Tuesday (18^th) brings us a conjunction between Mercury and Pluto.  Some issue is trying to grab our attention, and may succeed by then.  Watch out for the signs, a Freudian slip, a grey squirrel crossing your path, two or three synchronous messages, and by the time you wake on Tuesday morning you may just have the truth which has been trying to wing its way to you.  And once you have it, you can run with it, or at least mull it over during the course of Tuesday.  Another message, or a deeper continuation of the same message, will follow with the Full Moon in Cancer on Wednesday (19^th).  It may be a message about water in relation to earth, or about your own family, or about the interconnectedness and sense of belonging of the human species.  In esoteric Astrology, the sign of Cancer is ruled by the planet Neptune.  The Full Moon tends to bring a flood of emotion, both individually and in a group, and this emotion can be harnessed through meditation and re-focussed for healing.  Later on 19^th the Sun sextiles Jupiter, and if you enjoyed the four sextiles last week you may find benefit and buoyancy in this one.  If you were able to release emotion at the peak of the Full Moon, you may be able to look at your life with a fresh eye.  Even if you did not resolve things at the Full Moon, the Sun sextile Jupiter may help you re-charge your batteries until resolution is achieved.  Thursday (20^th) affords another chance to start afresh if you haven’t already done so, for the Sun enters Aquarius, and also begins to come into alignment with the Fixed Star Altair.  If you would like to read more on that subject, I have written a separate blog.  It is a good day to renew and re-resolve your New Year Resolutions.  Now take a deep breath, for if that is not enough of a fresh start, Jupiter re-enters Aries on Saturday 22^nd.  That is a major recharge of energy/energies, enthusiasm, initiation of projects, and change.  Whereas the emphasis up to the Full Moon was on water, the climate change after the Full Moon emphasizes fire, and spirit.  Aries lives for the moment, and Jupiter loves life.  Some of you may have initiated changes in your life since Jupiter conjoined Uranus in Aries last June, and may now be living them.  Later in the year, in March, Uranus also enters Aries, upping the excitement (and volatility).  But for now, play along with Jupiter in his new playground, and master this component of the new energies.

The first degree of Aquarius is a breath of fresh air after the stringencies of Capricorn, no disrespect to that honourable sign.  I hope one day to write about one of the Fixed Stars associated with the latter, but am starting with Altair, a Fixed Star which is at one degree of Aquarius, in the constellation of the Eagle.  This degree is topical this month, as Mars enters Aquarius today and the Sun enters Aquarius next week on 20^th January.  If you are new to this topic, you might ask what is a Fixed Star? Fixed Stars are those stars within the bodies of the constellation which form a fairly fixed backdrop in the sky and in our charts, as distinct from the planets, which wander.  I will be meandering in this piece, but start with Bernadette Brady (“Brady’s book of Fixed Stars”) who equates Altair with the quality of boldness,  and Alan Oken (“Complete Astrology”) who emphasizes its connection with Mars and Jupiter (which planets are presently sextile to each other) bestowing courage, generosity and self-assertiveness.  Both Brady and Oken draw from the same traditional sources, and are similar in their conclusions, and Oken’s chapter is a good introduction to the subject, while Brady has made it her speciality.  “Starlight Elixirs & Cosmic Vibrational Healing” by Michael Smulkis and Fred Rubenfeld was written in 1992, and I was guided to this book in early 1993 and have worked with it since.  This work included leading a meditation group which sat once a week for two years in 2000 and 2001. We recorded our impressions of each star in a book with a silver holographic cover, which I have just unearthed.  The picture of Altair painted by Smulkis and Rubenfeld, and obtained through Jon Fox channeling the Master Hilarion, relates to the forces of resistance, potential and flow.  It states: “Saturn can bring a great teaching that takes place in overcoming one’s obstacles and in having the courage to move forward.  Altair can bring a far higher vibrational level of understanding of this into one’s awareness.  The combination of Altair and Saturn elixirs is useful when working with matters that are not only physical but have some spiritual component of resistance.  This may related to deeper understanding of your own patterns or a difficult family situation that has been repeated over and over.  You may then find that there is not only greater encouragement, but deeper awareness of the higher principles involved.”  Saturn is the ruler of Capricorn and the old ruler of Aquarius and is therefore very connected with this cusp.  Resistance is the gap between observing our problem and resolving it or gaining the illumination which enables us to move on from it.  Altair is one of the brightest stars as seen from Earth, and one of the first to be described in “Starlight Elixirs”.  Elixirs are not the only way of working with these stars, direct observation and meditation being other ways, in case you are panicking that you don’t have any in your fridge.  Another book which gives pride of place to the principle of resistance is “Ecstasy is a New Frequency” by Chris Griscom.  One of the cornerstones of the philosophy of this book is the idea that “Where there is no resistance, there is no harm”.  The first paragraph of the first chapter states: “Surrender and resistance are coupled energies.  In linear terms, resistance is first, surrender follows, and ultimately the two precipitate ecstasy.  The moment we embrace any of these energies, the torch of enlightenment is lit”.  When we go into meditation sometimes, we can experience the expanded energies which show us a higher way of seeing things, and this can help us through the resistance, the karma, or the Saturnian obstacle (Saturn having been the prime embodiment of karma in the horoscope before the outer planets were discovered).   One of the fascinating stories about Altair comes from the Paris fashion guru Paco Rabanne, who says he came from this “crystal planet” several thousand years ago.  In pre-Atlantean days, he said “`I travelled to Earth from the planet Altair. I simply came to help organise civilisation on this planet. There is no great mystery to it. Logistically speaking,’ he added, `that trip was simply a matter of applied physics.’  This story appeared in articles from the early 1990s and he has written about it in his books.   Mars entering Aquarius today connects us with the electrical energy we need to move spiritually, and the Sun entering Aquarius next Thursday connects us more holistically with our higher intelligence and the star Altair whatever that should mean for you in your experience, if you should wish to work with some of the ideas it is associated with during the course of this week.  I had written in our star meditation book on stardate 16/1/2001 “We have in our genes a little of all the stars which have in our far past had strong connections with the earth people!”  I have no idea if it is true.

Fine-tuning of the Royal Wedding plans occurred this week, with the announcement of a time of day – 11 a.m. on 29^th April.  This changes slightly earlier comments I have made about the wedding day.  Jupiter conjuncts Mars on the Midheaven of that chart now, denoting a public event backed by a good level of enthusiasm.  The Ascendant (previously calculated for Noon) is still Leo, and therefore Sun-ruled adding to the regal flavour, pomp and circumstance – no holds barred on this.  And the Venus/Mercury conjunction trines the Ascendant – a field day for the media!  The Moon squares the North Node at the Galactic Centre – highlighting emotionally the fact that the North Node will be at the Galactic Centre, which will give the event more karmic significance than might seem on the surface – definitely one for the history books!  The Imum Coelum (astronomically the Nadir of the sky) conjuncts William’s Pluto at that time, which is important for his personal psychological foundations.  He would benefit from the collective well-wishing.  All obvious observations really –  not much surprise there or depth of thought, just a holiday atmosphere, and an excuse for a knees up!  If you have been in a spiritual tiswas lately, tomorrow’s sextile between Mercury and Neptune may soothe your Soul, or enable your Soul to soothe you.  Conversations could be uplifting and surprisingly sensitive in nature.  Among the most delicate and poignant issues of the day is the attempt by impoverished and wartorn Southern Sudan to gain its independence and give birth to a new nation.  The chart of today, when voting starts in a referendum to determine independence, shows Mars conjunct the 12^th House Mercury of the original Sudanese chart, a decisive aspect.  The Moon squares its Nodal Axis, possibly showing power (of choice) to the people, or forcing an acknowledgement of karmic needs.  Here’s hoping this leads to a more peaceful era in this region, and an easier time for its inhabitants and aid work.  As with the original chart, the Sun is now in Capricorn, and in the original chart Chiron is on the Ascendant in Aquarius, which may indicate the internal wound which has led to the need for a new state.  On Tuesday (11^th) Mercury squares Uranus, which leads to a different mindset and a different conclusion from the start of the week.  People may begin to reassess the earlier ideas, and even change their minds.  Some may adopt controversial attitudes, maybe even just for the sake of it.  Not a good time to speak without thinking, because you don’t know if your words will stand up to scrutiny even a day later.  You need to balance the ideas of the head (Uranus) and the heart (Neptune).  Mercury also squares Jupiter on Tuesday creating further imbalance:  your mental horizons may have broadened or expanded, but your judgement may be out of kilter as other parts of you may not have caught up, or may be exaggerated, e.g. your emotional body.  Again, refrain from making judgements at least until Wednesday (12^th) when Mercury sextiles Chiron and a healing balance may be enabled.  Mars also sextiles Uranus on Wednesday, so there are two helpful sextiles.  Mars sextile Uranus does not support restraint, so if you are a man or woman of action you will be disposed to act.  If you are a thinker rather than a doer, you could be fired up with inventive ideas.  If mere being is your thing, you will really be!  On Thursday 13^th Mercury enters Capricorn, and thought becomes more structured and less idealistic, therefore more practical.  It is a good time to take the first steps in putting New Year plans into action, slowly and surely.  The next day, Friday (14^th) favours action in a more dynamic, full-swing way, with Mars sextile Jupiter.  You can really get going on a project, and motivate yourself and others.  It’s an interesting window of action, with Mars being at the very end of practical Capricorn.  For on Saturday (15^th) Mars moves into Aquarius, and there is a new atmosphere of working together and helping each other, and if you are on the same project, it will feel as though it has new energy and its significance has widened socially.  A good day therefore for team work at its best, focussed on love for a common cause.

“So this is Christmas

And what have you done

Another year over

And a new one just begun”

~ John Lennon and Yoko Ono

Some have a “to do” list for the New Year, but I am resolved to have a “what not to have to do” list and simplify my life and doings.  Last year I went into meditation to prepare my New Year’s resolutions, and was given just one resolution – to bring fun into my life.  I don’t know what will happen this time around, but I enjoyed that.  Someone asked me last week what the character of this New Year will be.  This last year has been one of complexity due to the T-square between Pluto, Saturn and Uranus.  This year will be less intense, though we come close to a square between Pluto and Uranus in July and need to prepare for the actual square.  But we still have the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction, and it assists us this week in ushering in our year.  But first on Sunday 2^nd January Jupiter is semi-sextile Neptune, which requires us to sort out what we truly believe in, what we have faith in, and what we currently hold as truth.  It is good to have this meditation before actually making your resolutions, which you might want to postpone until Big Tuesday (4^th), so that you are starting from your highest truth.  Big Tuesday holds a treasure chest of goodies to work with, including a double helping of fresh starts working from two different “houses” or areas of your life.

Schedule as per UK time:

8.27 a.m.: Venus square Neptune – Confused?  You may still be.  Trust is an important issue, especially in personal relationships.

9.03 a.m.: Solar Eclipse and New Moon at 13 degrees Capricorn – Fresh Start No. 1.  If you know which house this appears in within your natal chart, you will have a greater idea of its potential in your life.  If you are working with Earth Healing or esoterically, this is an initiation as per the sign of Capricorn.  For all it indicates a turning point of some kind.

12.53 p.m.: Jupiter conjunct Uranus – Fresh Start No. 2, and the main event in my book, though others may feel that the eclipse takes precedence.  Again, if you know which house this appears in within your natal chart, you will be able to work more consciously with it.  To give an example of how it can work, Oprah Winfrey has this conjunction in her 3^rd House of Media, and is starting her own TV network.  The New Moon/Eclipse is in her 1^st House, so she is able to utilize her personality for this innovation in her life.  This is the culmination of a long-held vision for her.  Though we cannot all be Oprah, it would be good to connect with your own vision and to support your own dreams and endeavour to sustain them this year.  Jupiter and Uranus together are innovative, fast-moving and exciting, and this is the third pass of the conjunction which began last summer.  Even if you do not know your Ascendant, you may have a sense of what area of your life has been moving towards this event.  Identify it, and seize the moment!

13.33 Hrs: Venus trines Uranus – Venus adds a touch of artistry to the changes you are making in your life.  Uranus brings about unusual meetings and telepathic contacts.

13.39 Hrs: Venus trines Jupiter – Celebration of the Earth and Humanity is brought about by the contribution of this combo to the whole mix of the day.  Unity and the honouring of all relationships is included in its potential.

So you might want to enter these times into your new diary…Friday (7^th) is another day of note, but not on the same scale.  Venus enters Sagittarius, which would be uplifting and sociable, if it were not followed by a square between the Sun and Saturn.  But some like a challenge, and though this aspect might be a dampener, there is always a purpose to each aspect under heaven.  The position of Venus opens our hearts, and the Capricorn Sun squaring Saturn shows us reality.  A day of balance perhaps, eyes and hearts fully open, as we set foot in the New Year.

Julian Assange was demonstrating the power complex of his natal Jupiter/Pluto sextile this week in a remark he made about it being unlikely that David Cameron would allow his extradition to the U.S.  His whole position in relation to the leaks all along has shown a man who is 100% confident of his own power.  Another figure who made reference to his own power this week is Vince Cable, whose private comments about being able to bring the government down showed a confidence in his own power.  But he does not natally have a Pluto/Jupiter link, and the leak of his remarks is more likely to be connected with his natal Venus square Neptune, Venus being his ruling planet and Neptune ruling leaks.  I wonder, though, if there is an element of the Freudian slip in the remarks he made to the Daily Telegraph?  A year ago he was the darling of the media, because of his financial prescience.  His party, the Liberal Democrat Party, were doing reasonably well, though its leader Nick Clegg was reluctant to acknowledge his brilliance.  Then in the Spring of this year we had an election, and he was thrown into the nightmare coalition scenario of having to lay aside his own integrity and go against the judgements and policies which he had believed in.  Something was bound to give, and this current crisis may have been a scream for help. Sometimes a Freudian slip is the loophole to enable a karmic event.  If he is unable to express himself in his current political role, his soul may be seeking alternative avenues.  So it was delightful to see how well he moved on the dance floor on Strictly Come Dancing on our TV screens last night.  Euan Ferguson in the Observer describes his moves as a “graceful, happy, dominating perfect lead with Erin (Boag)” and even Craig Revel Horwood was impressed.  In the early hours of tomorrow morning (Monday 27^th) we have the opportunity to ponder the issues which Christmas has brought up for us in the bosom of our families, or in solitary confinement, as the Sun conjuncts Pluto at 5 degrees Capricorn.  This is serious thinking, and we can come to a serious assessment of our lives, our restrictions and our blessings and the way ahead.  For many this last week has been a roller coaster of emotion, with the eclipse, the solstice and the Mercury/Jupiter square contributing to it.  On Wednesday (29^th) Mars squares Saturn, so we will be focusing on the blockages, restrictions and practicalities of our situations – whether they need to be there and which ones can be dealt with and which ones need a coming to terms.  Then on Thursday (30^th) Mercury is stationary prior to turning direct, and we will feel that we can start to move on our various projects, and see a way ahead.  In my last New Year blog I mentioned “remember to make one (resolution) for the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction, to express and bring on the lighter side of your life.”  Well it worked for me, so it bears repeating…Happy New Year!

Once again Julian Assange headlines on this blog it seems.  But Astrologer Dharmaruci of Astrotabletalk in “Wikileaks and Uranus-Pluto: America’s New Public Enemy No. 1”  on December 10^th http://astrotabletalk.blogspot.com/2010/12/wikileaks-and-uranus-pluto-americas-new.html has taken the thoughts directly from my head on the matter.  What I find interesting is that Julian Assange is manifesting or acting as an agent for some of the dramatic major aspects of the day.  His first wikileaking took place on the Jupiter-Pluto square, and the results of his work are manifesting the difficulties promised by Saturn in Libra, i.e. that diplomacy would become more tricky.  As I wrote in “Saturn in Libra – Karmic Dilemmas” (18^th October 2009)  “Such proceedings during Saturn in Libra need the utmost patience from diplomats, and the strength and resolve to keep going.”  Strangely Julian Assange is now in my county of Norfolk, ensconced at Ellingham Hall after being released on bail.  I cannot say I am feeling the presence, though Catherine Bennett in the Observer this morning refers to his great charisma.  Tomorrow (today in the U.S.) the Sun conjuncts Mercury  at 27 degrees Sagittarius, close to the Galactic Centre.  This may enable an insight directly into the heart of the Universe, for those of us who are able to take time out of the seasonal rush hour.  Mercury will be sextile Chiron, making it possible to focus mentally on healing ways and means.  However, later on Mercury squares Uranus, so there will be another twist requiring us to look at a problem from a different angle, on the road to wholeness.  It is not a good move to travel in treacherous or snowy conditions but especially so on Monday evening.  I would stay put, Julian.  An important day dawns on Tuesday 21^st, and whether you are out Earth Healing or having drinks with the neighbours, the day may make a lasting impression on you.  The day starts with Mercury sextile Neptune, so it would be good to start with a meditation even if it is not your routine, as valuable insights could begin to filter through and carry you through the day.  A lunar eclipse (and Full Moon) in Gemini follows, aligned with the Fixed Star Betelgeuse (popularly known as “Beetlejuice”).  “Starlight Elixirs” by Michael Smulkis and Fred Rubenfeld states: “This star provides substantial increase in communication with energies of a physical nature,  particularly with the Earth energies…Betelgeuse can significantly enhance the ability to perceive the difference between survival connected energies and true spiritual awareness.  As a result,  fears are lessened and insight into the source of the fears is strengthened.  An awareness of the purpose of such fears in one’s own life path is enhanced.”  We are now in end of the Mayan Calendar territory, exactly two years off from the much-heralded date of 21^st December 2012.  In the last couple of days two altered times have come to my attention:  Astrologer Victoria Peltz apparently has said that due to a mix-up in our western calendars it may be this winter solstice 2010 and not 2012 that is the end of the Mayan Calendar.  Then I read in “Serpent of Light Beyond 2012” by Drunvalo Melchizedek that it might be 19 February 2013!  Well I don’t understand enough about the Mayan Calendar, and in fact have twice attempted to set up an interview for this website and blog on the subject, and it has not yet come to pass.  So if any expert on the subject would like to be interviewed, please contact me.  What is certain is that this eclipse will have some resonance with the end of the Mayan Calendar, at least in human consciousness and anticipation, if not on a cosmic level.  Wednesday (22^nd) [21^st in the U.S.] brings a square between Mercury and Jupiter, which is good for astral travelling (a good way to do a reccy for Christmas shopping) or on a higher level, taking your Light Body vehicle (Mer-ka-bah) for a cosmic trip to an overview of where you need to go in your life or where the planet is in its evolution.  However, Mercury square Jupiter can overdo the travelling, leaving you feeling overstretched.  I don’t do it myself, but it would seem online shopping may be the answer at this stage.  If you are getting married on Friday 24^th, you have chosen a quite, creative space in which to do so, and a link from transiting Jupiter to your natal Venus may well be revealed… The rest of us will be worn out, sipping a non-alcoholic sherry with our feet up, as we can do no more.  A toast to you all!

For Astrologers there is a sequel to last week’s story on Julian Assange in that a birth time has been obtained, though not definitive.  If true, it puts the Nodal Axis in square to the Ascendant/Descendant axis in his natal chart, which is karmically provocative – sounds true.  Watch this space for any further updates on his chart.  The day to watch this week is Tuesday 14^th in the U.K. (Monday 13^th for the U.S.)… busy day >busy day>busy day…  You may have 3 engagements or more on the one day, and/or there may be a defining moment that day.  There are 3 aspects to note in rapid succession, the first being Mercury conjunct Pluto.  As Mercury is now busy retracing his steps, you may remember this aspect as recently occurring on Monday 6^th (quickly consulting your Mercury retrograde log book which should be well under way and backdated by now).  Looking back at my log book, it seems to have been a day when people were having to act quickly to retrieve objects or data.  Be one step ahead, and take preventative steps such as updating your computer anti-virus.  Next Mercury conjuncts Mars and words fly swiftly across the dinner table, and memorable quotations may be rapidly transferred to your diary.  If it’s not worth putting in your diary, don’t say it.  Lastly, and by no means least, Mars conjuncts Pluto.  This could mean extreme action, and again if you wouldn’t want it to appear in your diary, don’t do it.  You may have restless dreams overnight Monday/Tuesday containing dramatic symbolism.  With Mercury conjunct North Node on Wednesday 15^th (retrace this to Saturday 4^th) check crucial detail and facts and you may achieve or retrieve something worthwhile.  Again, prevention may be more effective than cure.  If it is your birthday for instance and you have a special outing, check your rail network website before leaving the house.  This could save you freezing on a cold platform for an hour after a cancelled train.  On Thursday (16^th) the Sun squares Jupiter, and here is another reminder to check detail, because you could so easily go overboard with an idea and miss the obvious loophole.  Enthusiasm abounds, but could be misdirected so try to look at other angles of the picture and not just those which hold special interest for you.  Saturday (18^th) has a mixture of influences: firstly the Sun sextiles the Neptune/Chiron conjunction, so there are possibilities for healing and spiritual attunement.  Try to get in the flow or in the zone, as it may help you with the more difficult aspect of Sun square Uranus which gives the advantage to the unexpected.  You may be able to anticipate the unexpected if you are in the spiritual flow, and use it to your advantage.  Mercury also retrogrades back to Sagittarius on Saturday,  and there may be a mind shift towards optimism, so switch on those Christmas lights, and whistle a happy tune.  And don’t forget to log it!

“Whatever is born or done at this particular moment of time has the quality of this moment of time”

~ Carl Jung

With a New Moon in Sagittarius today, we may adopt a new philosophical outlook for the day, the week, the month or the year.  Where will we find the inspiration, is the question.  Whether we will find it in our own minds or in role models or thought-provoking events?  Stacey Solomon won the Jungle Crown on the strength of her Libran likeability last night.  Elsewhere, eyes are looking out for Julian Assange , the enigmatic founder of Wikileaks, whose birth date first became available to Astrologers this week.  His first set of leaks, about U.S. military practices in Aghanistan, took place on the Jupiter/Pluto conjunction in July, which has not yet run its course because Jupiter retrograded back into Pisces.  At the time of those leaks, the Jupiter/Uranus conjunction was trine his natal Neptune (which represents leaks, mystery, and enigma).  Though he has made information available, he himself is not available at the moment.  And this week, with the second (and more extensive) set of leaks, he has a  more challenging aspect of Uranus opposing his Pluto.  His karmic mission as an I.T. Warrior is shown in his natal chart as a conjunction of Mars and North Node  in the I.T. sign of Aquarius.  I suspect that in February 2011 when Jupiter again squares Pluto, another stage of the story will unfold, and some of the consequences will become more known.  Tomorrow (Monday 6^th) Mercury will conjunct Pluto in Capricorn at 4 degrees, an area of the zodiac which is encountering intense activity these days, so if your birthday is on Christmas Day or thereabouts, life will be very intense at present.  Tomorrow’s conjunction is itself intense for most of us, with the North Node still close to this conjunction, forcing a karmic awareness even where we may not be disposed to such ideas. Thoughts and actions may be going round in a loop around this time, in order to be resolved.  You won’t be allowed to put a foot forward until you have solved the issue, and the stuck record may reverberate in days to come.  But its purpose is in order to solve the mental riddle.  Also tomorrow Uranus is stationary prior to going direct, and although Uranus has been in a challenging square to the Galactic Centre, its impending move forwards means that radical solutions may start to be found.  Tuesday (7^th) brings a steadier state: that of Sun sextile Saturn, and one that may bring a temporary balance or respite to this intense process of finding out what we really think, believe and know (Mercury conjunct Pluto) and how our social structures should be operating (the conjunction in Capricorn).  We cannot act until we truly know, and we are being put on the spot at the moment in order to truly know from deep within.  Later on Tuesday, after our rebalancing and respite, Mars enters Capricorn, ushering the arrival of a new set of energies stirring this conundrum.  More pressure to find out, know and then to act according to that wisdom.  Even those of us who are disposed towards the Taoist way of life feel under pressure to do something under this Martian influence.  Try to resist action until you have as many facts at your disposal as possible.  Wednesday (8^th) brings a sextile between Venus and Pluto, and some of the emotional components of your particular conundrum may fall into place.  You may be surer of your feelings and know the reasons for them.  Discomfort may be afoot for those who are not fans of Mercury Retrograde, for this is featured on Friday (10^th).  This scenario, as many of you know, can (but does not always) feature delays and frustrations to travel and communication.  If you are not a lover of Mercury Retrograde, try starting an MR Log Book, and register your experience, feelings and solutions, to be updated in future vicissitudes.  The same day brings a sextile between Mercury and Venus, which favours starting a log book, of any kind.  Additionally, the conjunction of Mars and the North Node at the weekend in Capricorn helps us to sharpen our personal and collective karmic focus.

“There is a tide in the affairs of men, which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune”

~ William Shakespeare

Mercury squares Uranus today and it’s a day for battling out mental ideas.  As many of the aspect dates this week are out of kilter with those in the U.S., I will try to provide both dates in today’s blog.  Accordingly, this aspect took place yesterday in the U.S.  Paul Harris in The Observer today reports about the religion debate between Tony Blair and Christopher Hitchens in Toronto.  It was remarkable for Hitchens’ (atheist) clarity of thought: “Blair outlined the work that religious groups in Northern Ireland put in on bridging the ‘religious divide’ in order to work for peace. Hitchens did not allow that one to slip by… Then he delivered the punchline. ‘Where does the ”religious divide” come from?’ he asked to another round of laughter from the crowd.” They apparently both agree that the Iraq war was justified…Just something to think about while you are snowbound in the U.K.  I have been wrestling with the question of which zodiac sign is represented by the animal totem Turkey.  According to the “Medicine Cards” of Sams and Carson, Turkey represents the principle of “Give Away”: “People in modern-day society should study the noble turkey who sacrifices itself so that we may live.”  In Norfolk, one of our few celebrities is Bernard Matthews the Turkey farmer, who died ironically on Thanksgiving.  Looking at his chart, I feel that his Turkey mission is represented by his North Node conjunct Chiron in Taurus.  Bernard Matthews contribution was to produce cheap poultry (Chiron conjunct North Node in Taurus being an economic solution).  His catchword about his turkeys is a curious one, “Boo-i-ful”.  It may represent his Sun/Venus conjunction in Aquarius, but strangely enough when I heard a clip from an interview on the radio, he was speaking in an impeccable BBC accent, and not the native Norfolk tongue which gave rise to “Boo-i-ful”.  Like Gillian McKeith, still surviving down under in the Jungle on “I’m a Celebrity” I am a committed vegetarian, and so have never partaken of the fruits of Bernard Matthews’ life purpose.  I am alone, I think, in feeling sorry for Gillian and thinking the public sadistic for voting her to do all those bush tucker trials.  I think it is a backlash for her trying authoritatively (she has Moon/Venus conjunct Pluto in Virgo) to make us eat healthily.  She has a very strict chart, and can become scapegoated with Saturn in Capricorn square her Nodal Axis.  Tomorrow (Monday 29^th) Mars is square Jupiter, so there is still a lot of aggro going on, but more good humoured slapstick than the serious intellectual divisions of today.  You may be caught between two passions or enthusiasms.  On Tuesday (30^th) [29^th in the U.S. and Toronto] Venus enters Scorpio, so the heart will decide between the passions and enthusiasms.  On Wednesday (1^st December) [31^st in the U.S. and Toronto] Mercury also changes signs, from Sagittarius to Capricorn, sobering up our mental outlook and making us decisive and realistic about our plans.  This paves the way later in the day for Mercury to catch Venus in a sextile, making it an excellent time for a tete-a-tete over coffee or dinner, and for literary events such as book launches.  Co-authors should make it a diary date.  On Thursday (2^nd) Mars sextiles Neptune and folks will be much more sensitive towards each other than at the start of the week.  They may consider that in order to co-author their books, they will need to compromise in order to take into account the other’s needs.  Book titles could be subtly changed, e.g. from “How religion informed war decisions” to “How we agreed about the war”, or “How I felt it was important to promote meat-eating” to “How it is important for people to choose whether or not to eat meat”.  On Friday (3^rd) Mars sextiles in turn Chiron in the Neptune/Chiron conjunction, and healing may be experienced on an energetic level.  Whereas Thursday’s sextile favours an emphasis on spiritual energy, the Friday energy will be more directly focussed on healing and problem-solving.  However, there could be crisis involved, because Mars squares Uranus later on Friday and that is a very incident-prone type of energy.  You may have everything as you like it, but someone may come along and want to do it differently.  The week ends with a conjunction of Mercury and the North Node on Saturday (4^th) [3^rd in U.S. and Toronto].  Life may point out to you a detail you may have missed or chosen to ignore, and a factor which could make all the difference.  It may set you wondering on all those intellectual dilemmas all over again…