After a week where I found that some political animals lost interest and others suddenly found their inner political animal, where we have a new government of a blue-yellow coalition in the UK, and two sets of twins being paraded in the political arena, it is time to take a rest from politics here.  Besides, there are no less than 14 astrological features to report on this week, after only 2 last week.  In order to help you digest the contents of next week, I think it best to present the material as an astrological diet menu.  Where I have skipped meals, do feel free to substitute with pure clear water or your favourite indulgence.

17^th – Monday brunch: Venus square Jupiter – You may have been out late, be hungover at the office, or have eaten inappropriately.  You feel restless, and start the working week with a coffee and croissant.

18^th – Tuesday early hours of the morning: Sun sextile Jupiter – You are hyped up from the coffee, and can’t sleep for vibrant new ideas going through your head.  The toaster beckons, topped with soya marge and honey dripping over the edges.  So far, so unhealthy…

Breakfast: Venus square Saturn – Oh the regrets at the diet so far…better skip breakfast altogether.  You have had a misunderstanding with one of your favourite friends, and are waiting for a reply from your apologetic text.  However, duty calls and you have missed the early morning commuter train and risk being late for work.  You are hoping that the roller coaster is due to smooth out.

Late Night Supper: Venus trine Neptune – You got to work late and worked through your lunch hour, skipped lunch, hypoglycaemia kicked in on the way home as you failed to get a seat on the train.  But now you are feeling light-headed, and virtuous, almost saint-like.  Channelled music was filtering into your head, or was that the sound of someone else’s ipod?  No matter, you feel serene and ready to have that perfect late night snack: Home made butternut squash soup, with a thin slice of gluten free bread if you must.  You are doing well.

19^th – Wednesday early hours of the morning: Sun trine Saturn – Awake and aware, when you should be asleep.  You have been up and down with your astrological diet and now feel ready to stabilize and build a more sensible approach.  You realize that the ultimate in see-saws, Jupiter opposite Saturn, is occurring at the weekend, so now is the time to lay down sensible regimes and routines (if you believe in regimes).  Another round of toast while you plan this, or if you are already implementing the sensible regime perhaps a banana, if you don’t have a banana allergy.

Tea-time:  Sun square Neptune -You couldn’t sleep again, woke up late again, missed the early morning train again, had to work through lunch again, have the opportunity to make the tea but because of the erratic habits you have developed this week find yourself unable to focus, and even fantasize about eating fish again after so many years of being vegetarian.  You are split between the totally ascetic path of taking a fast, or just cramming the first thing that emerges from the fridge.  Doesn’t seem like a sane evening’s eating is going to be achieved.

Tea-time Part 2: Mercury trine Pluto – But half an hour later the picture looks different.  The moment of confusion has passed, and you receive a clear and deep insight into your eating habits, and your psyche.  You may even have the bones of your next book.  The way to go, of course, is not to revert to pescetarianism, but to pursue the raw food path you always really wanted to achieve.  You take out all the organic vegetables from your fridge, slice and chop them all finely together, and allow the juices to form a natural dressing for the salad.  Eat, and enjoy…(warning: potatoes are the only vegetable too toxic for you to eat raw).

Tea-time Part 3: Venus square Uranus – An hour later, you still feel virtuous, if a little flatulent.  What’s this?  A little tummy ache…?  You perhaps ate too much of a good thing, and have a little trouble digesting.  A drop of peppermint tea will go down a treat now.  You have been good, your karma surely must be on the up?  An old friend calls you up to tell you they have lost 2 stones.  You tell them they have done well, and their karma surely must be on the up.

20th – Thursday early hours of the morning: Venus enters Cancer – Your body clock is out of synch again, and there are still rumbles in the digestive department but Venus entering Cancer is much more conducive to natural nurturing.  If the peppermint tea isn’t working though, seriously I recommend sipping plain boiled water, and if you are into crystals, tiger’s eye applied to the solar plexus.

Venus trine Chiron in addition ensures that you are well on the way to your healing path for the week.  You are coming into synchronicity with your own cosmic food plan.

Evening Meal: Sun sextile Uranus – You are eating late tonight because you’ve had the day off work, have spent the day in nature, re-establishing your own natural rhythms, and were waiting until you were really hungry until eating.  This is the natural way of things.  Oh if only you had known at the beginning of the week what you know now.  What you know now could lay down the foundations for the perfect astro-nutritional lifestyle.  What is more, you feel perfectly in tune with your intuition.  With the intuitional diplomas you are holding in your hands right now, you feel you could heal anything.  Make a note of what you do eat tonight – your intuition will have led you to the perfect meal.

21^st: Friday early hours of the morning: Sun enters Gemini – There is a pattern this week of early waking or late sleeping.  This is because your guides want to keep you awake in order to inform you of the nature of these early morning aspects, and to bring you ideas to enhance your life.  Especially this morning, as the Sun enters Gemini, stimulating your mind.  If you are a teacher, a writer or a scientist, you may need to jot down ideas and will definitely need a notepad by your bedside.  By this time you may be so exhausted, that you might not have the energy to run downstairs for the toast.  You may fall asleep with exhaustion, or have too much on your mind to think about food.  Just visualize the toast and honey you had earlier in the week.

To sum up: a busy week around the clock, no respite for aspect-watchers.  Some challenging aspects, with a few highlights.  It’s all teaching us flexibility and seeing things from different angles, preparation for Jupiter opposite Saturn on Sunday next (23^rd) when we are being required to hold a balance in our lives and to understand the forces which constitute the checks and balances.  That includes the dynamics of our own psyches, and how we hold situations while staying open to new information which would re-arrange things.

With Mercury retrograde until the evening of Tuesday 11^th, parliament in the U.K. may continue to be hung until that time or beyond.  The next hope for a fresh start after that is the New Moon on Friday 14^th, but there are no guarantees of resolution this week.  The thoughts and will of the British people have created a no-win situation for any of the parties, and that may be what is right and necessary.  The blinkered approaches of the two main parties which exclude other voices have failed to prove themselves, and people did not have the confidence to vote for the approach of the Lib Dems.  Our politics had to change, even though we need strong government and we know financial hardship is to come.  Polly Toynbee wrote hopefully yesterday in the Guardian: “The buzz among cabinet ministers and others yesterday was of a coalition of the heart, not of mere opportunism.  Take the best of the Lib Dem and Labour manifestos and they blend well, better than either on its own.”  The people of Brighton did have the courage of their convictions however, and voted in a first, a Green MP, the emerald gem of Caroline Lucas, who proclaimed: “Thank you so much for putting the politics of hope above the politics of fear…It’s where a whole political party takes, for the first time, its rightful place in our parliament.” The Earth is the Esoteric Ruler of Sagittarius (her Sun Sign) in the Esoteric Astrology of Alice Bailey.  Caroline’s astrological chart shows  a fine exact powerful trine of Jupiter and Pluto, balanced by a spiritual sextile of Neptune between the two.  She will serve with dignity and integrity, and though her influence is not wide, it will be powerful  by example.  And if you look at her Human Design chart, you find that she has all her centres filled in, which is the first chart of its kind I have seen since I started to look.  I wonder what Kim Gould of Love Your Design  http://www.loveyourdesign.com/blog/ would make of that?  Anyway I am sure that politics isn’t your whole life, and this hiatus in your own life before Mercury turns direct can be used as preparation for all systems go, for the green lights of the Mercury switch and the New Moon later in the week.  What would you like to move forward with in your life, and what can you let go of in the interests of change?  As with the government and other crises around the world, you may have complicated crises going on in your personal life, and need to  expand your perspective  to see what your highest good would look like.  Would it look like a hung parliament?  Would it look like you would need to negotiate with two other parties?  Does it look like you need to take a hard look at your finances?  Where in your life can you vote green?  Mercury is strictly speaking stationary on 11^th and turns direct on 12^th, so by then you should be able to see your way to turning around some issues which have been plaguing you for the last few weeks.  The New Moon in Taurus on Friday 14^th focusses on the Earth, and the beginning of any projects linked with it.  Take a walk in your garden or local park and enjoy what is there, cultivated or wild, and find inspiration for your New Moon wishes.  This New Moon aligns with the double star cluster H and Chi Persei, also know as Capulus.  According to one of my favourite tomes “Starlight Elixirs” by Michael Smulkis and Fred Rubenfeld: “This can give some remembrance of past lives and some awareness of the time before birth in which contracts were made with individuals one is yet to meet”.  It is a time of soul searching, but specifically in connection with this incarnation on this Earth.  So can Nick Clegg, David Cameron and Gordon Brown work together for the good of the nation?

Greece is the word…In European affairs this week it has been Greece as the Plutonian influence which has upset the delicate balance of the Saturn-Uranus applecart.  We are told that the whole European economy is threatened by this, and are pinning our hopes on the responsible Saturn structure of the German economy.  Meanwhile the applecart of our hung parliament/coalition line up in the UK as represented by the Saturn-Uranus-Pluto T-square was also upset by what is being called Gordongaffegate, as we come up to the election of Thursday 6 May.  Opinion polls are still recording a level pegging situation, but there is no doubt that the nations’s fortunes have turned on the midweek Full Moon event of Gordon Brown being overheard to call a lifelong Labour voter a bigot.  Does anyone out there have Mrs Duffy’s birth date, please?  In its absence, we can turn to the chart of the moment Gordon emerged smiling from her doorway at 3.02 pm Rochdale last Wednesday, explaining that it had been a misunderstanding (Mercury was at that time semi-square Jupiter at that time, Jupiter being at the mid-point of Gordon’s Venus-Mars conjunction:  I occasionally do jargon inappropriately).  Did anyone else have a sleepless night that night over the humiliation of Gordon Brown and the embarrassment of Mrs Duffy?  What karmic resonances did that speak of?  A Soul Contract for her to bring the government down perhaps?  Consequent to that event, Nick Clegg has spoken of a two-horse Lib Dem/Tory race… Any good news?  Well, there has been a step towards producing an agreement in the postal dispute last week.  And a baby was born at 00.24 Hrs yesterday morning to Denise van Outen (television presenter) and Lee Mead (reality TV winner turned wearer of coat of many colours).  Today we have further precoccupations with Saturn quincunx Neptune, a plummeting in weather temperatures here, rumours of sleaze in the snooker world, and top of the agenda the consequences of the oil spillage in America; where Saturn here = coldness, loss and disappointment, and Neptune = oil, water and scandal.  Some of these conditions will be added to or mixed with the Saturn-Uranus opposition situations of last week, and some will be new situations emerging.   If it is your birthday today, you will be holding a delicate balance for yourself and others throughout the year, which may be through the structure of your work.   Mercury is trine Pluto tomorrow (Monday 3^rd), an echo of Tuesday 4^th April when Mercury was about to turn retrograde.  Now Mercury revisits that aspect as it is about to turn direct and you may be able to tie up important business matters and gain more understanding into psychological processes: it is a good day for cathartic writing or putting into an article your recent psychological insights.  On Tuesday (4^th) Sun squares Mars and the election processes may turn pugilistic in the desperation of the 3 U.K. contenders to earn the public vote.  They may know deep down that the voters are impressed by cool, but won’t be able to resist a pot shot at their rivals, while the voters may be in the mood to throw an egg or two.  John Prescott may be called to play his part.  Thursday Election Day May 6^th dawns, and it is time for the British public to cast their vote.  I am intrigued to know where all the votes on benefits are going to go, because David Cameron has pledged to cut their benefits if people won’t work.  How much effect does this have on European fortunes? – It seems that Germany, the financial strong man of Europe has a strong work ethic, while in Greece there is a softer approach, with workers reportedly retiring in their early 50s. At the beginning of this week, it does look as though David Cameron has the edge, but there is still a chance of a hung parliament and/or a coalition force.  Of the three PM/Chancellor combinations the Nick Clegg/Vince Cable dream team may look the most appealing.  But the astrological picture does still look very even-handed. By Friday evening (7^th) the mood is mellower, almost celebratory, with a sextile between Venus and Mars.  Perhaps that speaks of the harmony of a three-way balance, with the Conservatives and Labour conceding that they would have to now be nice to the Lib Dems again.  If it should mean the demise of our Prime Minister Gordon Brown may I just say he is likely to go down as well-meaning (Sun in Pisces) but a little unlucky (Saturn conjunct the Part of Fortune), having had to wait (Saturn/Part of Fortune) for a chance to prove himself, and being beset by many crises out of his control.  Jeremy Paxman was absolutely merciless in his interview this week, but Gordon did venture a few refrains of “Come on Jeremy, you know full well it wasn’t like that…”  And as for Greece, in the 1974 chart of the country, Pluto is currently squaring their Moon/Pluto in the 4^th House (civil unrest).  When I was a University student in the late ‘60s, early 70s, we used to go around wearing “Free Greece” badges, without necessarily understanding the issues…And what is it with the national karma between us that we are hanging on to their Elgin Marbles…?  One of the most beautiful products of their finest Age, and we can’t let go of them.  Maybe Germany could buy them.

One effect of the Mercury retrograde last week was the panic of the British newspaper presses (Mercury) after the surge in popularity of Nick Clegg.  Having vested interests one way or the other (Conservative or Labour) it was unthinkable to them that the Lib Dems might be in the running, or that there might be a hung parliament.  They then set out to discredit the Lib Dems and their leader Nick Clegg with outraged headlines easily obtained from the smear campaigns of the Labour and Conservative factions.  They must redress the imbalance!  Meanwhile it is clear that the British public are not at all worried by the idea of a hung parliament, and may even be warming to the idea.  However, Nick Clegg was not able to uphold the huge surge and his popularity has slid back a little, so much so that the leaders are now running almost neck and neck.  This is the state of play as the 4^th Saturn-Uranus opposition kicks in tomorrow (Monday 26^th), the most important astrological feature of this week.  Meanwhile today Venus enters Gemini: perfect for slick and smooth-talking politicians on doorsteps or in the hustings halls.  But as Venus does so, she runs into a square with Chiron, so politicians may express themselves, but find that they manage to offend others even where they hope to impress.  The weaknesses in their arguments may be exposed: for instance a policy purporting to promote a fairer society seems to detract from the poorer element.  In your own life you may be forced to see where in trying to be sensitive to one person, you may be insensitive to another.  This is compounded by Mercury squaring Mars which may force words out of your mouth before they have been duly thought through: a politician may quip about another politician, but throw more light on his own character.  Generally this could be a clutsy day, no matter how well-intended, certainly up to a point.  For a trine between the Sun and Pluto takes over later in the day, which has more clout, and can pull together the threads of people’s sensitivities and enable a larger psychological picture come into view.  Tomorrow is the 4^th pass of the Saturn-Uranus opposition.  I have selected a blog record of the story so far, and also separately blogged about this 4^th phase.  Suffice it to say that consciousness will be stretched tomorrow, and the 4^th phase of dismantling and regeneration is occurring, hopefully by now the balance tipping towards regeneration projects.  On the last Saturn-Uranus opposition a friend of mine launched a knitting circle, which is flourishing and benefitting the community, so if things are done in accordance with the principles of the opposition and nature of the planets concerned, you can meet with success.  The adjustments required for changes occurring tomorrow may add to tensions building to the Full Moon in Scorpio on Wednesday (28^th).  You may feel slightly uncomfortable on Tuesday without necessarily being able to put your finger on why.  The Full Moon in Scorpio requires you to be fully present to your emotions and their effect on others.  If someone doesn’t deserve to be stung, process your resentments on your own.  If forgiveness needs to be involved the excellent book “Radical Forgiveness” by Colin Tipping can have an airing from your bookshelf, or a download from Amazon.  Later the same day, Mercury joins forces with the Sun (and versus the Moon) in Taurus, and a practical plan can be hatched in the mind for the benefit of the body and soul.  As with the Sun trine Pluto today, everything needs to be brought to wholeness from psychological anarchy.  That means British voters need to make up their minds!

If you have read the background in my blog “Saturn opposite Uranus – Phases 1 – 3” you will see that much of the focus of the first three phases, on the world stage at least, was in establishing Barack Obama in his role as U.S. President.  Rufus Wainwright was singing and playing on the Andrew Marr show this morning.  He first came to our notice (well mine at least) when he played “Going to a Town” disillusioned by his American heritage before Obama was elected.  This morning he proudly unveiled the title track to his new album where he is coming back home to New York, after the election of Obama.  Ironically, I missed seeing him perform live in Cambridge in 2007 because I was flying out to New York that evening.  Obama was elected the day of the first Saturn-Uranus opposition and still finding his feet at the second, but at the third opposition he was getting to grips with the Healthcare system reform.  The New York Times said this week: “When he took office last year, President Obama told his foreign policy advisers that he had two baskets of issues to deal with.  The first would be the legacy issues left from his predecessor, like Iraq, Afghanistan and America’s image in the world.  The second would be his own agenda for the future.  After 15 months addressing the vexing matters he inherited, Mr. Obama is now aggressively advancing his own vision of foreign policy and defining himself more clearly on the world stage.”  Having established this man of principle on the world stage, the rest of the world needs to upgrade its political thinking, and at this 4^th stage Europe and the U.K. are in the spotlight for the political upgrade.  The Poles are going to the polls on 20 June, facing elections arising from their national tragedy – let us hope that there is a worthy future president to guide them through this period.  Britons and Poles have had a fair bit of karmic interaction in the last few years with Polish immigrant workers flocking to our shores, but now starting to turn back to their homeland.  Our own election looms large on Thursday May 6^th, and the second televised debate between our three party leaders last Thursday showed Prime Minister Gordon Brown (who had tried to befriend Nick Clegg of the Lib Dems the previous week) fiercely on the attack.  The Guardian asked this week “Is Clegg really the new Obama”?  Well, no more than Raj Patel is the new Maitreya.  But  Clegg and Patel could be reflections of the potential of Obama and  Maitreya.  They have the sympathetic principles and freshness to break the mould of society.  The Saturn-Uranus opposition of this week is now coming more into focus with the square to Pluto (the “Cardinal Climax” or “Cardinal T-square”).  This implies a new force which has to provide co-operation between two or more components.  Voters would have to vote for Nick Clegg in their droves in order for him to be Prime Minister, but a sizeable vote could promote a hung parliament.  And a coalition of the three parties may be the new force of balance which is required.  Gordon Brown has the baggage of Tony Blair and the Iraq War, and David Cameron cannot shake off the inequities of the Thatcher legacies.  A coalition would be difficult, but none of the three have all the qualities needed, and astrological indications support the level-pegging direction of the polls.  In your own life, is there a situation where cooperation is being forced involving two, three or more parties?  And in your own psyche you may have a similar dynamic going on, a delicate balancing but worthwhile in order to bring in new energies and forces which require more finesse and a wider canvas.  For instance, you may recently have been brought together with new acquaintances for new work using your collective expertise.

The 4th Saturn-Uranus opposition is on Monday 26th April.

Selections from my blog may trigger your own memories and impressions and enable you to see the flow and currents of this opposition.

14 September 2008: It is less than 2 months until the Saturn-Uranus opposition, on the day of the US Elections.  This is being seen by Astrologers as a close contest between the New (as represented by Obama and Uranus) versus the Old (as represented by McCain and Saturn).  I feel inadequate to see past the posturing, and do not feel qualified to comment about this unprecedented line-up and crew of candidates…

1^st November 2008: I don’t have the facilities for sound on this website but if I was playing a song to accompany this update on Saturn’s opposition to Uranus and its dismantling of structures, it would be “Something’s gotta Give?” sung by Frank Sinatra, which starts: “When an irresistible force such as you…”  Please hum along as you read.  The Saturn-Uranus opposition arrives on Tuesday 4^th November, and the next two or three days we have left is a space for plea-bargaining with the Universe…

2^nd November 2008: Citizen Smith, and the Tooting Popular Front, your time has come!  Actor Robert Lindsay, who played Wolfie Smith in the TV sitcom back in the 1970s, has (like me) his second Saturn Return this week, and his past role may come back to haunt him (pleasantly I hope).  For the Saturn-Uranus opposition which has had us all in a nutcracker grip for some time finally reveals on Tuesday the nut or fruit within, the truth behind the form.  We can see this squeeze at work in our lives, in the lives of those around us, and of course in the fascinatingly-staged US Presidential Election…

1st Saturn opposite Uranus: Wednesday 4^th November 2008

8^th November 2008: A new US President necessitates a new blog.  I haven’t written any analyses of his chart yet, because I have been hedging my bets.  So please forgive and excuse anything you may have read ad nauseam in other astrological blogs about the man.  Sun in Leo in his chart represents his power and charisma and the influence of the dreams of his father…

…Future aspects of his work will require different dimensions of his character to be brought into being – words will not be enough – and he needs worldwide good will to achieve the next stage.  His election was the manifestation of Saturn opposing Uranus.  The rest will be his and humanity’s initiation of Pluto into Capricorn.

29^th January 2009: It is no ordinary week because on Thursday (5^th) Uranus makes its second opposition to Saturn.  If you have been following the process, you will know that the first time was on the U.S. Presidential Election Day (November 4^th).  If you haven’t, then try to get the gist.  So just remember when and where you were and what you were doing on that day, and what issues were in your life (other than the Presidential Election.)  The same principles apply: “groundbreaking change” being a good summary.  Whatever was going on at that time, will come up again for consideration and the next phase of change…

2^nd Saturn opposite Uranus: Thursday 5^th February 2009

8^th February 2009: Are you reflecting today on the impact of last week’s opposition between Saturn and Uranus?  Some will have experienced a window of opportunity for change and others will have had the way cleared for a breakthrough.  Some will have been shown the way to go, and others will have been shown clearly what was not the way forward…

13^th September 2009: A new world order was ushered in on November 4^thth House)…. last year when President Obama was elected by the American people desiring real change, on the very day of the first Saturn-Uranus opposition.  If there is such a thing as a world horoscope, this was a defining moment in relation to it.  There are 5 passes altogether for this stand-off between two planetary giants: a duel between Saturn which holds the structure until the time is right for Uranian liberation.  The second pass of the opposition took place in early February, during the honeymoon period when the freshly-twice-sworn-in President of the United States was establishing his new position.  Saturn-Uranus tussles were happening all over the globe, but what of our own politics in the U.K. in relation to this opposition?  Our Prime Minister Gordon Brown was trying to take the lead (his Ascendant in Aries) on the world economy (a Pluto in Capricorn issue) and climate change (one of the issues of Saturn in Virgo), and convening world leaders to this end (the triple conjunction of Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron in his 11th House)…

…American Astrologers are agreed, and rightly so, for it is as plain as day, that the current pass of the Uranus-Saturn opposition represents Obama’s thrust to bring in a new health care system.  It represents the human right to health without which quality of life cannot be lived, and protection for those in poverty.  For Saturn is in Virgo (the sign of basic physical health and healing, general practice in community health) and Uranus in Pisces (the sign of compassion, mental health, chronic health conditions and palliative care).  There does not need to be a comparison with the National Health Service in the U.K. for that is a national treasure on which we have relied, and often taken for granted, a real responsible and committed Saturn Institution…

13^th September 2009: The major aspect this week occurs on Tuesday (15) with the third pass of the Saturn-Uranus opposition.  This is the aspect responsible for the dismantling of Institutions which first occurred on 4 November last year, then returned on 5 February.  I have blogged on the bigger picture separately, but in your own life what issues were current around those times and how did you deal with them?  The issue now may be a continuation, or it may be a fresh strand to work on.  The good news is that you will have been feeling the changes for some time, and will have some idea of what is going on for you, and aware of the need to access your intuition.  Know what you need to keep in your life, and why, and what you need to change, and why, and how that can constructively be achieved….

3rd Saturn opposite Uranus: Thursday 15^th September 2009

18^th October 2009: There is also the delicate balancing going on with Uranus and Pluto demanding their share in a T-square with Saturn.

14^th March 2009: It would seem that the symbolism of the T-square is encapsulated in the current political situation in the U.K. coming up to the election with the Conservatives (Saturn) opposite the Labour Party (Uranus, Old Labour in its close-to-Socialism purity, and New Labour dislocated from its moorings) squared by the Lib Dems (Pluto, now holding the balance, and the balance of power).

4^th Saturn opposite Uranus: Monday 26^th April 2010

Last week was an exercise in finding your European gene.  As we are confronted with Mercury retrograde today, we struggle to make sense of the Polish plane crash which was in the news at the start of the week and the grounding of planes in Europe by the end of the week due to the eruption of Icelandic volcano Eyjafjallajökull.  Has she spoken for Gaia (yes), and is there any connection with the financial relations between Iceland and the UK, given the wound sustained to Iceland’s banking system? (maybe).  Starting with Poland’s  tragedy,  Uranus was opposing the natal Mercury in Poland’s 1989 chart, an indication of an air accident.  The poignancy of the event for the nation could not be ignored, and even Russia rallied to the cause.  In the UK on Thursday as we struggle to find our political identity Nick Clegg surprised the political pundits by forging ahead in the polls after his performance.  The North Node was transiting his Sun, bringing a moment of destiny but we do not have a birth time and do not know in which house of his chart this is placed.  Katherine Whitehorn states in the Observer this morning: “I want a hung parliament.  Then laws will actually have to be passed because parliament has so decided, not because they seemed a good idea on the sofa in 10 Downing Street.” And as for the Icelandic saga, both charts I looked at for Iceland have significant Saturn transits.  Throughout all these difficult events this week, Saturn has been sitting on the Ascendant for the chart of the European Union.  So the question to put to Mercury if you were interviewing him this week, would be: “Is there  any way things can get better while you are retrograde?”  How much of the phenomena we ascribe to Mercury retrograde is due to the fact that we now have Mercury Retrogradophobia, now that it is almost a colloquial term?  Mercury represents communications and weather, and we need to own our personal contributions to unclear communications and global warming, starting with the things we can change.  Also today the Sun sextiles Neptune, and we can acknowledge the fog in our collective psyche, as we look at its current symbol in the form of the volcanic ash cloud.  Looking at your own illusions can be a near-impossible task, but like the cloud we know it is there even though we can’t actually see it.  So give a nod to the inner illusion and/or the volcanic ash, and keep asking “Why are you here?”  On Tuesday the Sun enters Taurus, the sign of determination, and is sextile Chiron, so more of the same questions, but problem-solving and healing could become closer, for instance on the restoration of air flight in Europe.  Thinking outside the box may produce answers, and according to some ephemerides Chiron enters Pisces that day so the waters contain the answer for some.  The collective psyche becomes an answer for many questions, where people had looked to their own lives and localities as the be all and end all.  There will be much more of a feeling that we are all in this together during the era of Chiron in Pisces.  Venus squares Neptune on Friday 23^rd, and the waters are muddied by financial scores to be settled.  In our personal lives we take another look at romantic illusions, on the way to seeing the real value of relationship and friendship.  Efficient handling of this square could reap rewards for Saturday 24^th, when Venus restores good relations with two of her heavenly compatriots: Saturn and Uranus.  She first sextiles Uranus, which allows an intuitively led turnaround in relationship and finance, and seeing these in a higher way.  Then she trines Saturn, bringing about a balance which includes reality, but may exclude romanticism.  At the end of the week, loyalty wins the day.  Despite this, can Nick Clegg hold on to his lead after the second televised debate on Sky on Thursday?  A Hung Parliament and Vince Cable for Chancellor are still on my wish list.

So we have an election in the UK very shortly…It became clear 31 years ago I did not have a talent  for correctly predicting the outcome of an election.  I was writing a column for “Good Life” magazine (circa 1977-1980) and was invited to an Editorial luncheon at the Café Royal near Piccadilly (circa 1865-2008) where Astrologer Roger Elliot (1937-1993) was giving a talk.  He said Sagittarians would have airline tickets in their handbags, and I wondered if he had x-ray vision, because I did have.   Afterwards the Editor of my magazine asked me who I thought would win the forthcoming election.  I plumped for James Callaghan, on the grounds that Saturn would be going through Margaret Thatcher’s Sun sign the following year…Thirteen years later I watched an Astrologer friend very meticulously analyse the election prospects and technically argue that a Labour win would be written in the stars.  The Conservative stronghold was to continue another five years…Since then, I have just left it to the experts in Mundane Astrology.  Marjorie Orr writes on all sorts of subjects, but has a high degree of accuracy in political assessment in her “Astrology of Today’s News” and Political section of her website.  Whatever you are analyzing in your life you may see the intricate interweaving of events and perhaps even gain an overview on Tuesday (13^th) with a semi-sextile between Uranus and Neptune.  This semi-sextile has been around us for at least a year, but this is one of those times we can see it with something approaching crystal-clear precision.  It is one of those times that you can appreciate how much the larger plans of life can be dependent on small details or the roles of folks who keep a low profile, and even any creature down to the tiniest insect.  You can see the orchestration of the Universe under such an aspect.  Wednesday (14^th) brings a New Moon in Aries, and you may be able to trust that the new season and the new astrological year is here, and hear the songs of Spring.  It is a new beginning in nature, and in our experience of ourselves.  We see ourselves anew, and envision the possibilities for the new year, make plans, and obtain glimpses of where we are going and growing.  Between Masterchef series, we may be at a loss for television viewing, but if we are interested in the future of our country Thursday (15^th) brings a live debate at 8.30 pm on ITV for the three who are hoping to become Prime Minister, and of course it is a first in terms of emulating the American style of debate.  Will any of them exhibit oratorial skill?  I could not possibly say.  If you have a special social event to attend on Saturday 17^th, you could not have much of a greater blessing that the Venus sextile Jupiter which graces the evening.  Jupiter in Pisces could add a touch of magic, while Venus in Taurus ensures warmth and affection.  You could get swept away by new acquaintances.

Time travel is a regular feature of my work as a past-life therapist, but I couldn’t help being fascinated by the metamorphosis from one Dr Who to another.  I have been fascinated ever since I incidentally saw David Tennant transform into Matt Smith at 9 pm on New Year’s Day…David Tennant at that moment had the North Node on his Moon/Mars and so fate decreed that he relinquish his title.  Matt Smith was of course destined to succeed with Pluto the planet of transformation opposite David Tennant’s Sun.  So when Matt (he of the Scorpio deep-sunken eyes) began his mission on our screens at 6.20 pm last night Saturn (the Lord of Time) was exactly on the Ascendant trine the Part of Fortune on the cusp of the 9^th House (the Joys of Time Travel)…It is a week of metamorphoses, with major movements from some of the heavier heavenly bodies.  First of all, Chiron changed signs over Easter, from Aquarius to Pisces.  What was Chiron through Aquarius all about?  Chiron entered Aquarius in 2005 which laid out new patterns of working in groups to achieve healing.  What will Chiron in Pisces be about? It is about working in a deeper way to achieve healing, rippling out from the group consciousness and taking the explorations to a deeper level.  Often healing is achieved on one level, then the experience returns to be healed at a deeper experience. On an individual level, there will be an examination of the issue of selfishness vs selfishness because Chiron in Pisces is about giving oneself; how much one is prepared to give, how much one needs to give, and whether that is healthy.  If you were reading last week, you may be wondering how Venus is doing.  We last left her dallying with the gardener in Taurus, and promised to catch up.  She is in a respectful trine with Pluto tomorrow (Monday 5^th) when balance can be achieved on a deeper level in relationship.  Metamorphosis and transformation come up again, specifically in relationships.  An hour later Mercury squares Mars, so the relationship shifts trigger an effort to understand by the rational mind, and in the frustration, hasty words could ensue.  Geminis and  Ariens may need to process before they react, and listen to the understanding of Pisceans and Scorpios.  By the end of the day, most signs will have a fuller picture to draw upon.  On Tuesday 6^th the mental understanding catches up with the emotional understanding, with Mercury trine Pluto, and may even be in a position to write a thesis or dissertation on the subject.  “Eureka!” will say the Gemini scientist.  A metaphorical light bulb will shine on some scientific mysteries.  Having beamed its searchlight up to 5 degrees of Capricorn, the next day (Wednesday 7th)  Pluto turns retrograde, and it may be a good time to survey the themes of Pluto in Capricorn in your life. What has Pluto in Capricorn been about?  Pluto entered Capricorn in January 2008, and now is the time to do your review.  The area of your life in which the transit of Pluto falls has given you a chance to really understand, and test out your understanding in a particular area of your life, and now it’s revision time.  Going over old ground can seem like a chore, but if you want a second chance, it is a good opportunity.  Time travelling, and reframing earlier decisions and contracts, and changing old patterns of perception, will benefit from this retrograde phase of Pluto.  Later the same day Saturn, having toured Libra to the 4^th degree and squared Pluto, now re-enters Virgo in its retrograde motion.  What has Saturn in Libra been about for you?  Again, it may be a good time to survey the themes of Saturn in Libra in your life, and its karmic dilemmas in relationships. Saturn entered Libra in late October 2009, and you may have noticed understandings and traditional models of relationship being tested by the square to Pluto and the loose opposition to Saturn from Uranus.  These are long-term processes and part of the Cardinal T-square we are working with over the next two years.  The first step is understanding the problem, and that is the phase we are now in.  With Saturn now turning retrograde, we look to the past to see what was wrong with the old models and why they don’t stand up.  In this lifetime, outside forces such as economics may have shaped a relationship.  In a past lifetime there may have been pressures from the karmic group.  If you are searching for more authentic relationships, a little time travel wouldn’t go amiss here.

As a card-carrying member of CND in an earlier incarnation, I was very pleased to hear that Barack Obama announced Friday that he and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev had agreed to nuclear cuts.  The Sunday Observer this morning is full of praise for Obama, on this and other issues: “suddenly the rest of the enormous canvas on which the modern US president operates seems broken with shafts of light”.  Over on that beacon of astrological rigour “Nancy’s Blog” she comments: “Nothing like a Mars station to make Obama seem really tough and on top of his game to the world: first opposite his Jupiter for the first three weeks of March and then slowly all this week through next Tuesday conjunct his Mercury.”  Saturn is also trine his Jupiter, cementing his reputation as a man of principle.  What President Obama brings to the U.S. chart is that his Mars stimulates the Neptune (spirituality) of the U.S. chart.  It is interesting that the proposed plan was announced on Friday when the Sun was square to Pluto (which represents nuclear energy).  That is a good example of turning around a difficult aspect to bring it up to its highest expression.  Life goes on, and tomorrow Venus is sextile Neptune which is good for setting social and romantic ideals, fine-tuning what you believe in heartwise.  The Moon is at the full in Libra in the early hours of Tuesday (30^th), when you may be able to keep things on an even keel, and take one step towards peace, with whoever else is attuned and staying up to watch her.  This Moon aligns with two fixed stars in the constellation of Virgo: Vindiematrix and Porrima, both of which relate to the assimilation of new ideas, according to “Starlight Elixirs” by Michael Smulkis and Fred Rubenfeld.  The light of stars is further illuminated in my interview this week with Kim Gould who works with the Human Design System.  The link to her website is currently down, but do persist as it will be well worthwhile. On Wednesday Venus glides into Taurus, leaving the wrangles but also the passion of Aries behind her.  She will be on home territory, home and dry and earthed.  She will be relieved, but some might find her more dull and boring.  She will be able to get on with her gardening, and moneymaking, and doing things in her own groove in her own patch.  It will be easier for her to focus on what matters to her.  If you are strongly Venusian you will enjoy the naturalness and harmony of Venus in Taurus.  On April Fool’s Day Thursday 1^st,  Mercury sextiles Neptune, not a good day to try any tricks because it’s a sublime day to reveal truth and separate it out from illusion.  The antics of Derren Brown, David Blaine and other illusionists would be irrelevant.  On Friday 2^nd, Mercury enters Taurus, so Venus acquires a helper in tending her garden, and one who can help her to articulate her feelings.  Good influences for writing nature poetry, documentation, public speaking or anything which allies feeling and written or verbal expression.  Things may get a little out of hand on Saturday 3^rd though, with Venus squaring Mars.  There may be some tittle tattle about Venus and her gardener, and Mars may experience a little jealousy.  The tabloids will have a field day.  Can Venus redeem her reputation?  Tune in next week to find out.