With a minimum of aspects this last week the U.K. ground to a halt because of snow.  For every statement, there is an equal and opposite statement, and the Guardian this morning disagrees, saying “a glance at motorway webcams yesterday showed the roads running freely” so it does depend on your perspective and your mode of transport.  But, schools and factories closed.  Earnings were lost.  Travel was severely restricted.  However, in some ways the less is happening the more is happening.  It is forcing us to go within and re-examine our needs and values and what we can do without, stockpiling notwithstanding.  And often we find inner resources we didn’t know we had.  While Jupiter in Aquarius this last year has been a theme of networking, especially internationally, the forthcoming transit of Jupiter in Pisces will mean the mining of our inner resources.  With less than 2 weeks to go before that event we are getting a taster of being thrown on our inner resources by this weather pattern.  My elderly mother-in-law has been marooned in an icy and ungritted estate for 3 weeks, unable to walk out of the door, and reviving her old survival skills, thriftiness and make-do-and-mend of war time, in her own company.  She was full of praise for online supermarket shopping this week!  Meanwhile, our local organic veg box man made it valiantly to our doorstep at ten o’clock at night.  With Jupiter on the cusp of Pisces and Aquarius we are experiencing very intensely that mixture of the old (Pisces) and new (Aquarius) associated with the cusp of these two ages and making our choices where we can, and becoming more conscious of why.  And what was the single most useful item this week?  My vote goes to the trusty old hot water bottle, followed in second place by the more recent invention of the sleeping bag.  Aquarius and Pisces are both collective signs in certain ways: Aquarius represents group consciousness and purpose; Pisces, while an introverted and often isolated sign,  connects with others through empathy and the collective unconscious.  When Jupiter moves into Aries later this year (it normally occupies roughly a sign per year) it will be more a case of back to basics, simplicity and individuality.  But for the time being we are to be deep sea diving creatures (our inner Porpoise) finding our buried treasure, coming up for air and sharing what we have found or learned for our common evolution.  My favourite Astrologer Alan Oken wrote on the cutting edge in 1975: “Perhaps the present energy crises will provide a way for people to slow down, focus their energy, and where possible repair their circuits for the next phase of life” – that is strangely apt, 35 years on.  More recently, another Astrologer Richard Tarnas wrote about the Uranus-Neptune conjunction (the ruling planets of Aquarius and Pisces respectively) that they represent “a new recognition of the psychological importance of healing the split between inner and outer, reconnecting psyche and world, recovering the anima mundi, mediating ‘the return of the soul to the world’. ” In transitioning between the World Age of Pisces to the World Age of Aquarius and now at a junction between the lesser ages of Jupiter in Aquarius and Jupiter in Pisces (going the other way round) we are almost suspended back and forth hovering between the two signs until we get the message.  When Jupiter was last at this point 12 years ago, many technologies available to us now were not in common use.  The message may be for us to be adaptable and open to both the possibilities of the old and the new in combination or merging, and sometimes exclusively one or the other.

The post-eclipse New Year dawned here in sunshine and snow, but the New Year is not an astrological marker, more of a collective and individual psychological one.  As such, it is a powerful time.  So in a way it is nice to note that there are only two aspects this week, both minor ones, so this blog may be short (something I always aspire to).  It gives us a chance to clear our mental decks and get into our own stride, and start the New Year in more thoughtful mode, without hassle from the more challenging aspects (unless for instance you are in the midst of a personal Pluto transit).  Does it mean there will be no news this week?  We shall soon enough find out.  So it may be a quiet start to the year, but it won’t be a quiet year.  It will be a year of extremes (again) with Jupiter conjunct Uranus in one corner, and Saturn square Pluto in another corner…The two aspects we have both involve the Retrograde Mercury, so it will be a chance to examine how Mercury Retrograde affects the two individual conjunctions, whether there is indeed a retro effect (e.g. harking back to the past).  Tomorrow (Monday 4th) the Sun is conjunct Mercury.  Certainly, those arriving fresh from a break to the coal face of the Office will be greeted with a backlog of paperwork, or just work if the Office is paperless.  The Sun and Mercury seem in a rush to collide as today the Sun is at 12 degrees Capricorn, and Mercury at 16 degrees moving backwards, and travel at twice their normal speed to meet this rendezvous tomorrow at 14 degrees.  What’s the rush?  There may be hastily arranged meetings tomorrow, working lunches, coffee breaks missed, brainstorming and information overload.  If you have an extra day off, it may be important to try to clear your thoughts, meditate, and write, broadcast or blog.  I once wrote 12 zodiac poems on a Sun conjunct Mercury in Capricorn.  Capricorn can organize a lot of thought into one system, so interesting work could be achieved tomorrow.  Writing is the theme of this week, and any babies born this week could have a gift for writing or oratory.  For the second aspect which occurs is Mercury conjunct Venus at 13 degrees Capricorn on Tuesday (5th).  Mercury conjunct Venus  in a birth chart is often the mark of a writer  who writes (Mercury) with feeling (Venus).  Arthur Miller, F. Scott Fitzgerald and J.K. Rowling all have this conjunction natally.  So if one of your New Year’s resolutions was to start your novel that you always knew you had in you, give it a go on Tuesday.  But it is also a good time to catch up on reading, if you don’t feel it is quite time yet.  Also this week make the most of social connections, while Jupiter is still in Aquarius, for it will soon move to Pisces (18 January) where its influence will be more subtle and inward-looking.  I am hosting a dinner party (inspired by back-to-back episodes of “Come Dine with Me”), hoping to bring back the art of conversation and bring together friends old and new.  The strange thing about Jupiter this year is that it will zip through Pisces in double-quick time to arrive for a rendezvous with Uranus at the beginning of Aries in the summer.  Make a move to snatch some quality time with friends this week or next, between novels.

At the end of 2009 we have Venus, Pluto, Sun, Mercury and the North Node in Capricorn.  It’s a sobering sign, but the Sun is always in Capricorn at this time of year, and Mercury and Venus often are.  Pluto and the North Node are additional and heavyweight features in Capricorn, and so we are taking serious note of where our individual and collective lives are heading.  This will inform our New Year’s resolutions, as well as the Saturn-Uranus opposition and the Saturn-Pluto square.  Can anyone still be ungrounded?  The coming year does have a fun factor though, in the shape of Jupiter-Uranus, and I would urge you to work with your Inner Clown to formulate at least one fun-factor resolution.  If you are unaware of what house this falls in natally, then you can see it as a general new bginning in 2010 which you are working towards now.  Astrologers will be blogging about this conjunction, which balances out some of the heavier placements.  There are no aspects today, so yesterday’s Mercury retrograde holds full sway.  However, I must report that travelling back from Christmas yesterday was not too bad, just a short and sticky patch on the M25.  Travel is not always bad when Mercury is retrograde, and it is not always good when Mercury is direct (is it sacreligious to say that?).  If there is a theme to the aspects of this week, I would say it is emotional processing, as it is what all the aspects have in common, starting with Venus conjunct Pluto tomorrow (Monday 28th).  It is possible that the social and family-orientated interaction of the Christmas period have given you much emotional food for thought to process and digest, and there are various aspects this week to help you or prompt you to do just that.  Venus conjunct Pluto digs deep into the psyche, and perhaps someone gave you a thought-provoking book for Christmas to accompany your own personal processing journey: I gave myself “Contented Dementia” by Oliver James (well, no one gave me the Bob Dylan CD…) which is a smoothly-written easy read about a method of coping with Alzheimer’s.  If you are going to read or write about such things, might as well make it palatable and hopeful, I conclude.  Tuesday (29th) brings a conjunction between Mercury and the Mean North Node, which may show up a literal rendering or accounting of karma, for instance you may find yourself returning an exact favour to someone without thinking about it, retrospectively realizing that’s what it was.  It’s also a good time to start a karmic ledger book now, but not for purposes of revenge, just interest (karma has such a dodgy press at the moment, it really needs re-defining).  Venus also squares Saturn, so you may be reminded of who or what was loved and lost in 2009.  It is the letting go part of the emotional processing,  of which the Venus-Pluto conjunction was the intensity of feeling.  And there’s more…tension builds up to the Full Moon, a Lunar Eclipse at 9 degrees Cancer on Thursday 31 December.  Moon in Cancer is one of the most emotional Moons there is, and an Eclipse is a turning point, so it is a high tide of emotion if not for you then for someone close.  If you have been on an emotional roller-coaster throughout the week, or the year, it is time to acknowledge this if you are a pent-up sort, and sit yourself down with a cup of tea and a full box of paper hankies (whilst apologizing to the rainforests).  If you have been processing and emoting throughout freely, then you may by now have emptied out enough to focus on your New Year’s Resolutions.  Yes, it is time to open your copy of “The Secret” or one of Esther and Jerry Hicks’ books (it doesn’t matter which one)…actually, you don’t need to open it, just have it there with you while you make your list of resolutions, and remember to make one for the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction, to express and bring on the lighter side of your life.  Happy New Year!

Venus was square to Uranus this morning, and if your social plans were disrupted last night, this would be the reason.  Perhaps you are in a different location than you’d planned.  Perhaps snow or strikes took matters out of your hands.  So your mind may be holding two realities: the one you had planned, and the actual one you find yourself in.  As we look forward to tomorrow’s much-hailed conjunction of Jupiter and Neptune, we may be confused about how much we have achieved.  We are certainly in confusion about how much has been achieved by the Copenhagen Conference on climate change, which began at the beginning of the third phase of the triple-conjunction of Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron (the planets argued as to who would have top billing and Jupiter won).  We are told that an essential beginning step has been made, and after all it isn’t easy for a whole world to agree on something.  We hear all sorts of scientific arguments about climate change, which baffle those of us who aren’t scientifically savvy.  And we hear that there won’t be another conference for another year.  It does all have an air of confusion, which is an element of the Jupiter-Neptune conjunction.  Let’s hope for clearer information in 2010.  At lunchtime today (UK time) Mars goes retrograde, which could mean more disruption, of a different kind.  If you have been rushing round like a headless chicken trying to complete your pre-Christmas chores you may come skidding to a halt, like a cartoon cat chasing a mouse who has suddenly given him the slip.  You may need to slow down, take the rest of the day off, and re-orientate yourself to your prey (which may be as diverse as the local supermarket Quorn section, or the location of your karmic mission).  It won’t do you any harm.  Enjoy the wintry view from the window.  Give some thought to your plans for the next few days.  Tomorrow (Monday 21st) is the crucial day (apart from Christmas Day itself).  Not only does Jupiter conjunct Neptune on that day but other planetary aspects contribute to making this a productive and important day.  Venus sextiles Jupiter and makes it an excellent time to invite the neighbours round for drinks and nibbles.  Venus sextile Jupiter provides the anticipation and enthusiasm we need to get through this pre-Christmas period.  It can also be the silly season – I bought a lovely pink Christmas hat from the Co-op last week which will go down a treat.  Inject a sense of fun and lightheartedness into your planning – you will be pleased that you did, when the physical and emotional work of Christmas begins.  Those little touches such as the silver party poppers might just make the grumpy old codger in the corner smile…But it’s all part of the journey, and the journey is the goal.  Venus also sextiles Neptune, bringing in the spiritual dimension, and particularly the devotional  element of whichever religion or religions you practise – be it the divine child of Christianity or the bhakti yoga of Hinduism or both if you are a Universalist.  It is kind and gracious of Venus to be the warm-up act for Jupiter and Neptune’s conjunction tomorrow, and adds a touch of human and personal warmth to the event.  This conjunction is the culmination of the triple conjunction activities from May this year, and is the ultimate union of religion (Jupiter) and spirituality (Neptune), a sublime combination which may touch the hearts of agnostics.  Although they may call it something else, humanity or nature.  But it will still mean something to everyone.  The Sun enters Capricorn (Winter Solstice) later tomorrow, so it is also a pagan celebration.  As far as seasonal greetings from the Universe goes, it is exceptional.  There is a strong element of compassion and charity about it, and you may find yourself opening your purse and handing out more than you intended to the Big Issue seller on the street.  It generates random acts of kindness and generosity, and if you are Scroogelike, you can skip to the redeemed and reformed character at the end of the story.  What you do tomorrow can speak volumes, so go the extra mile.  So there you have the spirit of the week, and Christmas Eve (Thursday 24th) begins the letter or practice.  The Sun conjuncts Pluto, and you are bound to be thoughtful on that day.  After all, there are absent friends and relatives to consider, and you know that there have had to be economies, and things are difficult for many people.  You may be contemplating Christmas very differently from even one year ago.  The arrangements you have made may not be ideal, but reflect only what has been possible.  Saturn in Libra squaring Pluto in Capricorn lately has resulted in some difficult choices, and for some losses.  The Sun conjunct Pluto brings a determination to make this a meaningful Christmas, one which brings out the joy of life without belittling the suffering.  Venus enters Capricorn on Christmas Day itself (Friday 25th), which softens and warms this seasonal sign, but at the same time leaves the extravert sign of Sagittarius to contemplate the loneliness of the human condition.  It can be a gregarious time, but the individuality can also make  it a solitary experience.  Each person needs to be acknowledged and honoured for who they are, and in the words of the Gestalt prayer:

“I do my thing and you do your thing…I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, And you are not in this world to live up to mine.  You are you, and I am I, and if by chance we find each other, it’s beautiful.  If not, it can’t be helped.” ~ Fritz Perls

This is reinforced by the message of Sun squaring Saturn later on in the day, presents unwrapped and Quorn turkey slices demolished.  There may be a longing in the heart for things to be a different way, but acceptance of what is is the only option.  Boxing Day (Saturday 26th) brings a Mercury retrograde situation.  You can’t expect public transport on Boxing Day anyway, so unless you are travelling by car or on your bike, it’s a case of staying and facing the music.  I am hoping that Bob Dylan’s CD “Christmas in the Heart” is in my Christmas stocking: it has a nice mixture of  elements to contribute to a holistic experience – Christianity, Jewishness, Charity, Nostalgia, Humour and more…

We are currently in the overlap period between the conjunction of Jupiter/Chiron and the forthcoming conjunction of Jupiter/Neptune, and there is a double event this week which reflects this.  The week will contain surprises (in some cases shocks), and some blessings.  Today the Sun is sextile Chiron, highlighting and to some extent creatively  solving healing dilemmas.  This evening Sound Pod (Cambs. U.K.) goes head to head with the X-Factor final.  Will we bravely forgo the X-Factor final, or will we switch on to see if our favourite Joe triumphs?  Healing values and priorities may be the issue today.  Is your lifestyle compatible with your own healing and well being, or is it being skewed by populist and technological activities?  The Sun squares Uranus tomorrow Monday 14th, when life may deliver the surprise verdict for you.  There could be sudden changes in lifestyle.  For instance, you may suddenly find you cannot physically reach for that extra pre-Christmas mince pie as your heartburn level dictates that you have reached saturation point.  It may be a turning point as you may suddenly see clearly what needs to change in your life. [Take note, Elliot from Holby City, we are seriously worried about your doughnut levels, and have been for some time].  In the early hours of Tuesday 15th (and therefore early evening/late afternoon in the U.S.) the Sun is sextile Jupiter.  Interestingly at exactly the same time the next morning (00.17 Hrs in the U.K.) the Sun sextiles Neptune.  Unless you are going for the unconscious option (let your dreamlife deal with it), you may want to stay up for both aspects, to see if there is an interesting resonance.  In both cases, Saturn will be rising, the Ascendant will be late Virgo, the Sun will be in 3rd House, while the triple conjunction will be in the 5th House.  Sun sextile Jupiter on Tuesday is a blossoming and a renaissance of self-expression, creativity and philosophical thought.  The linked event on Wednesday 16th Sun sextile Neptune is a dusting of icing on the cake, inspiration and grace.  Make of it what you will, and make the most of this double rainbow event of the week, which together can have spiritual overtones.  So what an amazing stage is set for the New Moon later on Wednesday 16th at 24 degrees Sagittarius, the Pantomime Fairy wielding a wand (that’s  “baguette magique” in French, I was reminded this week).  If you have global or personal wishes on climate change, or the manifesting of abundance in the face of seemingly overwhelming odds, make them on Wednesday.  It is a day to step out on a new footing, and be large-hearted and magnanimous.  Even if you have no Sagittarius in your chart (but everyone has a Jupiter), you can wear an honorary Sadge badge for the day.  Thursday 17th has a different agenda – high romance, a trine between Venus and Mars.  Mars is persuaded to take a courtly role.  A good day for finding the gift for the love of your life, romantic dinners whispering sweet nothings, and yogically the union between the male and female halves of ourselves, finding the harmony within.  It’s the last aspect of the week, and guarantees a passionate finale for your inner Bruno Tonioni on Saturday evening.  The outer manifestation Bruno, the judge on Strictly Come Dancing, is an excitable Sun in Sagittarius, with a spontaneous human combustion conjunction of Jupiter/Pluto in his chart.  May you have an interesting week.

This week I will be retiring at the age of 60 from the day job, and taking the state pension.  This will mean a change to my astrological services.  I will try to whittle down my 3-month waiting list as soon as possible, and then be free to offer an instant service.  That’s the plan.  The regression work does not have a waiting list, unless linked with astrological work.  I hope to undertake more research on the links between both sides of my work, bringing together the karma with the astrology more comprehensively.  The timing of this event in terms of my own chart is amazingly accurate: the triple conjunction of Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron in my 10th House reaches an exact sextile with my natal Sun (a liberation to pursue my creativity).  At the same time Saturn transits my natal 6th House (loss of the workplace and workmates) squaring my natal Uranus in 3rd House (at the same time losing daily contact with my rail commuter group).  So the emphasis in the blogs will move from paperclips in the office, and wildlife glimpsed from the train and in the train, over to home baking balanced with a love for raw food preparation (are the two compatible?  I hope to find out) and handy tips for managing on a state pension (supplemented by Astrology) in the credit crunch.  There’ll be more blogging about current events, and more researched articles.  Enough about me already.  Let’s look at the week ahead…

This week we re-visit the triple conjunction of Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron which has been a feature of this year.  In looking back over the year, you may remember economic stringencies, ecological wrangles and psychological challenges of Pluto in Capricorn.  You’ll also remember the crumbling institutions, erosions of structures and tugs of war of the Saturn opposition with Uranus.  But was there an area in which you excelled and made progress, maybe effortlessly through innate talent?  Go on, admit it – stop me if you’ve heard me say it all before – It may not have been in an area you would have liked, but it would have been evidence of the Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron effect.  Jupiter conjuncts Chiron again tomorrow (Monday 7th) at 22 degrees Aquarius, emphasizing the miraculous.  The recognition and blossoming of Susan Boyle is a classic picture of the hype of this aspect.  No matter that her time and even date of birth have been under contention.  The phenomenon itself is in the nature of, and a clear case of the action of this triple conjunction, and the timing of her entry onto the global stage was at the time of the first meeting of these three planets.  She struggled with working out the healing crisis of Chiron in her life during the second phase, and now as the third phase is beginning she has been crowned with a number one album in the U.K., the U.S. and Australia.  She has been forced to grow (Jupiter) and has been at the mercy (Neptune) of the process.  Among the great Exhibitions of this year (another manifestation of the triple conjunction) is the new Turner Exhibition at Tate Britain.  I visited this “magnificent and hugely ambitious exhibition” (accolade by The Times) yesterday, and was reminded of his mastery of light and colour, nebulosity and luminosity, and of how he lifted early 18th Century British art.  He was a Taurean (one of the birth signs associated with art) but again, his birth date is nebulous, generally thought to be late April 1775.  The Exhibition continues until 31st January 2010.  The third phase of the triple conjunction continues on 21st December when Jupiter conjuncts Neptune, continuing the billowing nebulous theme.  At the beginning of January the triple conjunction will linger, so if there is extra mileage to he had, you need to recognize and honour the opportunities and make the most of them, while also recognizing the pitfalls and the more serious issues prevailing.  The other aspect which occurs tomorrow (Mercury conjunct Pluto) reminds us of the latter.  The weight of the economic and ecological issues are undeniable (though the climate change deniers are having their day).  It is as though on this first day of the week, at 9 o’clock in the morning, the Universe means business.  All the extremes of light and shadow are out on display.  On the one hand all that we have before us in trying to deal with the serious issues, and all the divine light and spiritual resources on the other (if in doubt pick up a self-help book).  Some deny the economic crisis, talking of green shoots, some deny the climate change, and some deny that we have souls and are divine in nature.  It feels more whole to acknowledge them all and to use our spiritual resources to back up our lack of material resources and our efforts to solve our personal and collective problems.  Tomorrow is both a reckoning and a possible launch pad to a new effort.  Mercury as the planet of weather, a component of climate change, is assailed again on Tuesday (8th) by a square from Saturn.  Those who have tried to put forward constructive and enlightening strategies on Monday may be deflated or knocked back and forced to retract slightly on Tuesday.  Their “reach may exceed their grasp” as Browning put it, but the push was necessary to progress.  Mercury squaring Saturn is a reality check, showing you exactly what you have yet to achieve, and highlighting the difficulties of this transition period.  Sometimes in a transition you are needing to do twice the work: implementing the change and propping up the old structures until they can safely be put away.   That applies to our psychological structures, too.  Friday 11th starts with an energetic trine between the Sun and Mars, fire planets in fire signs.  You will have more than enough fuel for the day, if not beyond.  On Saturday 12th Jupiter is semi-sextile Uranus which, though uncomfortable, may show you the potential of next year’s Jupiter-Uranus conjunction.  In showing you in a grand way what is not working, it may provide the Vision you need to power you through next year.  The triple conjunction has been linking with Uranus in this way for most of this year.  And Jupiter and Uranus together are also carrying the seed of working constructively with the T-square of Pluto-Saturn-Uranus over the next two years.  Like Susan Boyle you may have a dream…but your dream needs to encompass the depths as well as the heights of living on this planet at this time.  Shall I compare the triple conjunction to a skyscape by Turner?  On reflection, yes.

Signs that Saturn in Libra is well under way are former leaders being brought to book (Saturn) for war crimes (against Libra sign of peace).  Tony Blair, who natally has Mars (the mythological God of War) on his Ascendant, is being scrutinized for his part in the Iraq war.  Meanwhile the former Bosnian Radovan Karadzic (bizarrely turned New Age healer, with natally a squaring Sun distorting Chiron the planet of alternative healing) re-starts his trial in the Hague in March 2010.  Saturn during its stay in Libra will transit Tony Blair’s Neptune/Saturn and Radovan’s Neptune and Moon, having already recently transited his Chiron at the end of Virgo earlier this year.  This morning Mercury sextiles Jupiter so theoretically blogs should flow today.  This aspect favours writing, communication and travel of all kinds.  Mercury also sextiles Chiron so add healing to communication and such combined activities should also flow well.  If you can combine writing about travel and healing, you will really be expressing this combination of planets to the max.  Seems like a good time to reveal that I have not worn my glasses for 3 weeks now.  My eyes are much more relaxed and I have lost some of the bags from under my eyes (not all).  I am not sure though that my fellow commuters are comfortable with being stared at so intently, but they haven’t got to put up with it much longer.  Do make the most of the good communication, travel and healing vibes today, because tomorrow (Monday 30th) Mercury squares Uranus.  That means disrupted communication and travel, just when you were hoping to get to work smoothly at the start of the week.  Trains were cancelled on my route last week, and as far as I know the disputes haven’t yet been settled…Watch what comes out of your mouth tomorrow as people may say bizarre things, and sometimes might not realize they are saying them.  The most eventful day of the week, aspect-wise, is Tuesday 1 December, starting with Mercury sextile Neptune.  This may help to resolve and smooth out some of the bizarreness of crazy Monday, but bear in mind that there are tensions building up to the Full Moon on the following day.  Mercury sextile Neptune helps us to express our spiritual needs and insights.  Next up on Tuesday is Uranus standing still before turning direct.  If a techie project of yours has been causing problems lately, this may signal a turning point.  Venus then enters Sagittarius, and the soul-searching period of Venus in Scorpio comes to a close and the party season begins.  Magnanimity flows and Christmas shopping starts in earnest.  The Full Moon occurs on the morning of Wednesday 2 December, a Gemini Moon opposing the Sagittarian Sun.  Again the theme is communication of all kinds.  You will need to see a particular piece of information in its context in order to get the full picture.  Don’t be careless with words, unless you have the full picture, in which case you can throw caution to the winds. But when will you know if you have the full picture?  You probably can’t be sure…It may be best to file the information away for the time being.  Thursday 3rd is an ideal day to file information away, for there are many minor aspects, and it could turn out to be a day when you are busy doing nothing.  Or many small acts contribute to an accomplishment.  If you are looking for commitment this week, Friday 4th could be your day with Venus sextile Saturn.  It is also a good day to clinch that perfect gift you have been after for someone: a gift at the right price, not too frivolous.  I have a gift suggestion for those who are artistically inclined.  It’s the new Mandala Colouring Book by Barry Stevens, available online at his website (the link is on my Contact page).  Socially, we may be opening our hearts this week with Venus in Sagittarius, but mentally we are going to become more discerning next Saturday 5th with the entry of Mercury in Capricorn.  We are likely to be analyzing the true worth of things, and thinking before we act.  Politicians and public servants may be coming under more scrutiny.  Soon we have the final phase of the triple conjunction of Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron in Aquarius, and we are judging the extremes of what we can accept as truth, from the stark realities of Mercury and Pluto in Capricorn to the flights of fantasy and faith offered by the triple conjunction

There may be comfort in knowing you have come through the initial Saturn-Pluto square.  For many people, the crises occurred during the week coming up to 15 November.  However, undoubtedly the Saturn-Pluto crisis in the U.K. was experienced in Cumbria a few days after with floods of “biblical” proportions.  The repercussions, as with all flooding, will be worked out over months and years.  I am already being asked about the delights of the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction of next year, but first we have the last phase of the triple conjunction between Jupiter-Neptune-Chiron over the next month or so.  It will be third time lucky for some, understanding and making use of its complex balance.  The key to this I feel is developing a healthy Neptune principle in your psyche and life.  For those on the Mystic path, this will make greater sense and may be easier.  Before I leave these wider themes to focus on the week ahead, I would just like to put in a formula: take your lessons from Pluto square Saturn + your lessons from Saturn opposite Uranus and that will = your future sense of the T-square between Pluto, Saturn and Uranus over the next couple of years (the “Cardinal Climax” as coined by Raymond Merriman).  All that opens up more blogs later…Today the Sun entered Sagittarius, bringing greater zest for physical and mental journeying over the next month and liaising well with Mars currently staying at the luxury hotel of Leo for 8 months.  I travelled back (without glasses) from Wiltshire to Norfolk today reading “A Taste of My Life” by Raymond Blanc, who currently has a series of The Restaurant on BBC2 and who turned 60 a few days ago.  If you like Raymond, food and life I thoroughly recommend reading it.  If you love all three, you’ll need no encouragement.  I did of course have to extract the references to meat from my consciousness (he is not a fan of the raw food way).  His chart is a well-coordinated mixture of Scorpio lights, Capricorn shrewdness and Virgoan pursuit of excellence.  I don’t think I’d have the patience to strain fruit through muslin, when I retire from the day job in December, but I will certainly try the French onion soup.  Tomorrow (Monday 23) Venus squares Jupiter which has some similarity to last Thursday’s Venus square Mars, that of “social gaffes and unlikely pairings”.  This brought the unlikely pairing of Hillary Clinton and David Milliband.  I can’t resist the full-blooded Scorpio quote from Hillary: “Well if you saw him it would be a big crush.  I mean, he is so vibrant, vital, attractive, smart.  He’s a really good guy.  And he’s so young.”  Her Venus conjuncts exactly his Neptune, so if he has charisma she will be mesmerized by it.  On Tuesday (24) Sun sextiles Saturn which echoes and follows through on  the sensible Mercury-Saturn sextile last week, but is more at the creative level where the Mercury aspect was merely at the ideas stage.  Venus is also square to Chiron that day, so if you are trying to recover from an affair of the heart, you may need to retrace your feelings, and find a more holistic healing route.  This course of action (letting go) could be rewarded on Thursday (26), not in clinging of old ways and loves, but in finding new pathways in love and meeting new loves or new forms, with Venus trine Uranus.  Those unconventional pairings which were frowned upon earlier may even get some blessing from the Universe, for a moment of time or on a different level, or prompt new understandings.  Mercury is also trine Mars on Thursday, so with two varied trines on that day, much could be accomplished.  Mercury-Mars combine favourably to bless any active projects and any quick-fire communication, such as texting competitions.  You might find communications crossing over, people are so falling over themselves to get their message across speedily and efficiently.  However, a cautionary note ends the week on Friday (27) as Venus squares Neptune and the illusory side of romantic relationships comes to the fore.   What may have seemed like a breatkthrough on Thursday (Venus trine Uranus) is likely to have some of the gloss removed, and what you have left will be the truth revealed about this relationship now.  The search for love and truth is as eternal as life itself, this week’s wisdom is under the belt, and next week’s wisdom awaits!

I’ve been staring at too many screens lately: television, computers, commuter screens, mobile phone, i-phone and cinema (the wonderful “Bright Star” depiction of the life of John Keats – with Ben Whishaw divinely cast as the archetypal poet)…knowing that all these electrical vibes are interfering with my natural state of being.  Ten years ago I was just fighting a paper war, and this is more detrimental.  Saturn in Pluto today could highlight on a physical level where your environment is out of alignment with your physical body and you may take a radical step in thinking of a solution.  I have stopped wearing glasses this week, and tried to pare down to the minimum my staring into screens.  In the past I have had 5 years’ worth of lessons in the Bates method of natural eyesight, and attended a Meir Schneider workshop and read countless books on natural eyesight, enough to engrain the fact that glasses can distort your (inner and outer) vision.  So now, this week, I am learning to trust my eyes again after nearly 50 years of wearing glasses.  If you spot any typos, please bear with me…The Pluto-Saturn square will not solve your problems overnight, it will merely highlight and define problems, and help you to acknowledge and state them, or face them.  If the problem involves another person, you may acknowledge stalemate and ascertain what level of good will there is to work with so that the next step can be achieved.  On the world stage this morning the powers-that-be acknowledge that there will be no progress before the conference on climate change in Copenhagen in December.  They are therefore considering another summit in the Spring.  This illustrates the Saturn-Pluto stuckness, but all that seemingly can be done is to re-affirm the commitment to the process.  Two other aspects occurring today provide some of the detail, though not the main drama: early on, the Sun trines Uranus, and after the Saturn-Pluto square mid-afternoon in the U.K. (15.20 Hrs), the evening brings a square between the Sun and Neptune (23.11 Hrs).  It seems to follow that if a planet pleases Uranus at the moment it immediately falls out of line with Neptune and vice versa because these two planets have been in semi-sextile relation to each other this year.  There will be a feeling that you can’t please everyone, therefore.  That doesn’t mean you can’t go as far as you can to meeting mutual needs, and it doesn’t mean that you stop caring.  You may agree to differ, but you can still care, and keep that heart expanding.  The harmonious Uranus angle helps certain aspects of communication, while the inharmonious Neptune aspect triggers  glamour and illusion of the sort we will be seeing on our screens (I shouldn’t watch) on X-Factor tonight and next weekend: will Simon Cowell be true to his integrity, will the twins win the nation over despite their better judgement, will Louis Walsh hash up some more rules and regulations to keep up the aggro, and will the right act be eliminated?  Yes or no, it’s the illusion of public power that decides.  Tomorrow (Monday 16) offers the chance of a fresh start, with Mercury entering Sagittarius early on and then in the early evening (early afternoon in the U.S. and early morning in Australia) there is the prospect of the New Moon in Scorpio.  Are you listening to the messages of your body?  Have you come to terms with the X-Factor result?  Can you put behind you the disappointment of the intractability of the climate change situation, in order to start afresh with renewed vigour on the best way to proceed?  Mercury in Sagittarius offers a fresh optimism and a new voice.  Tuesday 17th  offers a  constructive start in a sextile between Mercury and Saturn – the fresh voice of Mercury mediating on behalf of realism.  Thursday 19th could be socially inept with Mars squaring Venus.  Another social gaffe perhaps from Gordon Brown?  Last week’s gaffe (the untidy letter to the mother of a boy killed in Afghanistan) was turned to his advantage, despite any effort he might have been making to shoot himself in the foot.  Andrew Rawnsley writes in the Observer today: “What threatened to be another awful week for Gordon Brown has superficially turned out rather better than it looked at the start because he has attracted sympathy”, but this is not likely to be a new trend, as I think it is nothing more than a passing transit of Mars to his Moon (keywords for which are relationship with the public, mothers, and sympathy).  Thursday’s Mars square Venus is the type of aspect which results in people overstepping their social boundaries, and may result in unlikely pairings, such as that of  Tess Daly and Ronnie Corbett on Strictly Come Dancing.  Did I declare that I am cutting down on my viewing?  Can I do without Strictly Come Dancing…?  We’ll see.  I’ll text ya.