Growing a little tired of my own voice, and with Jupiter recently entering my 11th House of Friendship, I thought I would set up a few mini-interviews with people whose voices I have great respect for!

Asia Haleem has been a friend since 1986, when we discovered we had shared past lives as Astrologers in the Ancient world.  She’s a Sun Sign Virgoan.

Many years ago the embryo for Cosmokrator, based on a Stone Age ball in the Ashmolean Museum, was devised in discussion with the late mathematician, Charles Muses, a friend of Linda Goodman.  It has taken two decades to fully fledge.

Asia has recently revamped its website, and I thought it would be an opportune moment to launch my interview series and bring Cosmokrator to the attention of a few more people.

Lana: Could you describe the origins of Cosmokrator in your own words?

Asia: All my life I’ve been interested in gifted people who experience synaesthesia which means they see colours when they hear musical notes, or experience shapes when they taste different foods.  The idea that different levels of matter are linked in musical octaves goes back to ancient Egypt and Hermes Trismegistos’ famous saying As Above, So Below.

Lana: You’ve called it an instrument, an icon and a toy: can you describe it to me?

Asia: It is like a little football – a cuboctahedron with 14 coloured facets for the 12 signs plus the Black-White Polar Axis going from Pole to Earth.  Starting from a person’s Sun Sign you can play games by finding out how compatible you are with other people by locating their sign and colour on the model.  My own feeling is that once made, its beauty alone sets off all sorts of natural associations.

Lana: This product brings together many facets of your life’s work, as a teacher of iconography, researcher of ancient history, and of ancient astronomy.  Please could you let us know a little about your passion for these subjects?

Asia:  I find ancient knowledge quite riveting and relevant to our lives today: in a strange way very ancient and very modern people understand each other – extremes meet!  That’s why I now have degrees in art history and archaeology, and a particular interest in the extraordinary work of the Babylonian astronomers (Cosmokrator Book 7A) whose clay tablets, on display in the museums of the world, contain lists matching the Signs with colours, plants, materials, shapes and events.

Lana:  How do you define an icon, and specifically in relation to your creation?

Asia:  An icon is a support for contemplation, a doorway to higher worlds.

Lana:  For someone like myself, who is daunted by geometry, is it easy to use?  One of my friends, who bought one, describes it as impressive and exciting.

Asia:  The model is sent to you already drawn out, scored for folding and colour printed: all you have to do is assemble it.  No knowledge of geometry is required – just a tube of glue.  The website gives guidance. (If only we could afford the version suggested by Element books: made of interlocked semi-precious stones).

Lana:  Does it rest on sound astrological foundations?

Asia:  It is astrologically tried and tested for accuracy, based on ancient records.  I have one on my mantelpiece with the current sign facing up as we go through the year following the colours of the months.  It helps to show up the nature of World Age Axes (Aquarius-Leo is Mauve-Gold, for instance).  Ultimately it serves as a support for spiritual work, and provides alphabets of the universe that children could be taught from kindergarten.   It truly is a polyvalent instrument which can be light-heartedly used as a toy to start with – the best way to learn what it can do is through making and playing around with it!

Here are the links, which also appear on my Contact page:

Cosmokrator model explores Astrology/Colour/Sound/Music/Shape:

http://www.cosmokrator.com/

For more information about Asia’s life and work:

http://www.layish.co.uk/ (still under construction)

Today sees the second phase of the Pluto-Saturn square, which occurs in the evening in the U.K.  In your own life, you may be part of a group which is trying to resolve a long-standing dispute (Saturn in Libra), and today may see the group resting on its laurels, having recently made grand overtures from one side to another.  You may not even be aware of the group, or the dispute, as it may be something subtly played out on psychological levels over a wide area, such as within an extended family, the executives and non-executives within a corporation, or on a societal level such as the rich-poor divide.  There may be a sense of “It’s nothing to do with me” what the other side get up to or even the fact of their existence.  Two examples on the world stage are the overture from Karzai in Afghanistan towards the Taliban (while the world has a sharp intake of breath and tries to assess if it is a good thing, or not) and the current negotiations in Ireland on the subject of devolution.  So we are in the midst of delicate and complicated negotiations and bargaining, and these things cannot be rushed.  A Saturn-Pluto process is a long one, and a serious matter, involving deep psychologies.  One of the delicate balances in the art of Astrology is to give the proper weighting to astrological events, taking into account such things as the strength of the planets involved and the rarity of the planetary interactions.  At the beginning of this week we may see that recent overtures and efforts have taken a step forward, but things may still look bleak.  But at the end of the week, there may be more of a sense of triumph and progress, and this may be linked with the difficult enterprise of the early stage of the week.  A certain amount of letting go needs to be taking place at least until the middle of the week, e.g. mourning over compromises you might have made (for the greater good?) or wondering if you have shared too much (information must be shared if the human race is to evolve!).  But consequently around mid week you need to turn your mind around and work with the positive forces and hopefulness of the upcoming Jupiter-Pluto sextile at the end of the week; the turning of a bleak attitude into one of hope and looking forward to the future.  Do all you can today, and then rest on your laurels, or even take a step back and breathe.  Allow the mental processes to settle until mid-week.  Tuesday (2nd February) brings a conjunction of Mercury with the North Node.  This will allow you to coolly and mentally assess the karmic implications of any of the wider efforts in a partnerhip, group or organization.  I will be looking back on my 40 years as a student of Astrology.  It will be 40 years to the day since I picked up an Astrology text book in this lifetime, and realized that I already had this knowledge.  It was therefore also the beginning of my understanding and recognition of past-lives, my work in this sphere, and seeing its links and interaction with Astrology.  It will be a serious evaluation, as Mercury/North Node will be conjunct my Midheaven (Careerpoint) and trine my Saturn, but I hope to have some cake, too.  My birthday dinner party was cancelled because of the snow!  Wednesday and Thursday are suitable for acknowledging the difficulties in life but seeing that there is always a positive route to travel towards (in this case Jupiter’s sextile with Pluto at the end of the week, which is an attempt at rebalancing an intractable situation).  After you have faced the facts, you may for instance feel that you have a case for demanding a recount from your accountant or bank manager.  The Chilcott enquiry into the Iraq war will welcome Clare Short this week to give evidence, and she appeared on the Andrew Marr show hosted by Sophie Raworth this morning.  Clare gave a taster of her evidence, in the form of vignettes of coffees supped with Gordon Brown at the time,  and the extent to which he was not involved in the war decisions.  Clare is a no-nonsense Aquarian, and quit the cabinet at the time of the war, followed by Robin Cook.  I was fascinated at the time how they were born within a fortnight of each other in the same year, and both quit within a short space of time, as Saturn was transiting their North Nodes (their consciences not allowing them to continue to support the war).  Robin Cook sadly cannot give his story, as he died in 2005.  But his spirit may be one of those presiding!  By Saturday 6 February hopefully you will be actively able to do something to shift your personal affairs or to assist the unlocking of a greater deadlock.  Another more minor aspect steps up to lend assistance to Jupiter’s endeavours with Pluto: Mercury sextiles Uranus on the morning of Saturday 6th.  If you set your mental alarm to problem-solving in the second half of the week, the alarm may go off with a joyous ring and a brilliant idea for the way forward, which will assist and pave the way for the bright new plan of Jupiter sextile Pluto.  Jupiter sextile Pluto brings a breakthrough, not a cure-all, for Saturn square Pluto is a long slog.  But nevertheless Jupiter puts the wind beneath our wings for at least a few days, and we may have something to show for our response to it.

There’s a good solid aspect today for those who don’t trust the more flighty aspects: Sun trine Saturn.  It’s a day when you can get practical tasks done and tie up loose ends.  If you are a thinker rather than a doer, reflect on the serious issues in life and you will be rewarded.  Strike a pensive pose, and ponder the nature of frustration, limitation or depression and you may surface with a breakthrough.  This will also be good preparation for next Sunday’s Pluto square Saturn, Phase 2.  Phase l occurred in the middle of November last year, and you may want to ponder what it meant to you personally.  For me, it was at the time that I stopped wearing my glasses, and it is over 2 months now since I wore them.  There have been one or two occasions I have nearly reached for them, but divine interventions stopped me.  I was reading “Restoring your Eyesight – a Taoist Approach” by Doug Marsh this week, and came upon a description of what I was feeling at that time: “If people continue wearing their prescription lenses faithfully through adulthood, as most do, does this second GAS [general adaptation syndrome] phase continue until it reaches a point in retirement years when the eyes scream out, ‘That’s it!  We can’t take this tension any more!  Enough is enough’? ”  So today is for practical work, stocktaking and preparation time.  Venus opposes Mars on Wednesday 27th, bringing up issues such as the battle of the sexes, equal pay, double standards, whether men should have botox, and possibly more serious issues such as body dysmorphia.  It is a time to acknowledge the individuality of our sexual psychology, and be less judgemental about others’.  On Friday 29th the Sun is opposed by Mars, which could be a hotheaded day for some, especially those born under Aries, Leo and Aquarius.  So it will be a challenging day for diplomats and those seeking to calm or damp down the situation, such as the bystanding Librans or the Capricorns ready with the wet blankets.  The fires may rage within your own psyche as inner conflict, in which case you will need to find your own inner arbiter.  But deal with it, for the tension is building up with a Full Moon on Saturday 30th and Saturn square Pluto on Sunday 31st (overrunning my brief, but it is an integral part of the picture).  The Full Moon in Leo on Saturday pits the individual against the group, and actually I have just remembered a dream about this last night.  In the dream, I was toeing the line in a group, quite happily, willingly and conscientiously, and then the leader of the group released me from my obligations.  I then felt as free as a bird.  All dream interpretations on a postcard, please.  It can take a lot of energy, skill and compromise to perform well in a group while keeping your own individuality, and these may be some of the issues that come up for you at this time.  I wrote a blog about the power of the group on August 9th (“Balance in Groups”) at the time of the lunar eclipse in Aquarius.  Now the position of the Sun and Moon are reversed, and the emotional power lies within the individual (Moon in Leo).  Egos will need to be balanced, for the group to be balanced.  There just remains to make a few remarks prior to next Sunday’s Saturn square Pluto (Phase 2): the actual date of the last Saturn square Pluto was quiet, despite the hype, but American Astrologers have linked it with the Fort Hood shootings a few days before.  I have been asked this last week if I thought the Haiti earthquake is linked.  I personally think not specifically, but only in terms of the general climate.  There may be a separate marker of some sort next Sunday, but disasters are becoming more frequent generally.  The British government in recent days have raised the temperature, issuing a raised terror alert level.  If you want a realistic astrological interpretation of Saturn square Pluto, read Nancy’s New Year blog entitled “Times of Crisis: Saturn/Pluto”.  If you would like a more divine view of the times, read “The Crystal Rose of Peace: The Energies for January 2010 and the Coming Year” by Celia Fenn (both links are on my Contact page).  For balance, read both.

If one of your New Year’s resolutions was to build up your Astrology library or catch up on your reading, Chiron specialist Joyce Mason (the “Radical Virgo”) has just published a blog which could inspire and re-awaken your astrological brain cells.  She has taken a panel of 5 Astrologers (including myself) and amalgamated their favourite books into a top reading list.  It was fun for me to ponder which books I would take with me on a desert island!  Whether you are a beginner or a veteran, you’ll enjoy the list.  There are some titles there I haven’t read for almost 20 years, so I will be returning to those as well as reading titles I haven’t come across.

Here’s the link:

http://radicalvirgo.blogspot.com/2010/01/winter-astrology-reading-five.html

Last week the poor of the world got poorer and the event of the week was the earthquake in Haiti.  Several astrological factors seem to be involved, among them the approach of Saturn’s retrograde turn, and the approach of the Eclipse.  Looking at the 1804 chart for Haiti, there are two transits from Pluto at the time of the earthquake: Pluto conjunct the natal Mars of Haiti, and squaring its natal Saturn.  It seems likely that Pluto was at least partly responsible for knocking down the house of cards.  The Ascendant of the earthquake chart has Sirius rising, which is a puzzle since Sirius has a benevolent reputation.  Where are the Space Brothers when you need them?  Siriusly…It is hard to see a silver lining in this tragedy, but an open mind may reveal one some day.  Meanwhile our prayers go out, hope that the aid reaches its targets quickly, and praise for all those physically helping out there under such difficult conditions.  Jupiter entering Pisces tomorrow (Monday 18th) may bring good news for aid relief as it is a drive for compassionate action and signals a year of renewed vitality for charities.  This may offset some of the flagging support which has resulted from the credit crunch.  Promises, promises, you might say, but fingers crossed that Jupiter will deliver the goods during its stay in Pisces.  It rushes through Pisces over the next six months, then meets Uranus at the beginning of Aries, in a blaze of excitement, then retrogrades back into Pisces, ending the year square the Galactic Centre.  In your own chart it will increase your ability to mine the treasure of your unconscious mind, and this switchover of Jupiter from Aquarius to Pisces will highlight a a different way of dealing with the affairs of the house it falls in.  To give an example, if your Ascendant is Aquarius, it will fall in your first house, and you will notice a deepening of emotion and compassion, as contrasted with the more detached segment of your first house which is composed of Aquarius.   Another planet changes signs tomorrow, and as Jupiter leaves Aquarius Venus arrives there.  The quality of love which is expressed when Venus is in Capricorn is unsentimental but loyal.  Venus entering Aquarius will still be cool and slightly reserved, but will additionally have a humanitarian and idealistic quality, thus again supporting the world response to Haiti and any other natural disasters which may occur during its stay which lasts until 11 February.  It is a week of switchovers, and if you have your Ascendant or Sun particularly at the cusp of two signs, you may feel a shift of gears within yourself.  Wednesday 20th January reveals the third change of sign, that of Sun into Aquarius, by which time such O degree people will have a whole new wardrobe of identities to play around with.  The emphasis turns from straight to quirky, the route of sticking to old solutions transforms into seeking out new ways of doing things, and original ideas for problem-solving.  The first half of the week is markedly a climate of change.  On Friday (22nd) Venus trines Saturn, and this is a marker for honouring and respecting old loves, personal contracts, and expressing yourself with sincerity.  It may also be helpful in stabilizing and pinning down economic resources, including overseas aid.  By the end of the week, you may be better able to answer the question “Who are you?”  And/or the next question, “What do you stand for?”  A man who had to answer searching questions last week was Alistair Campbell at the Chilcot enquiry into the Iraq war.  We know that Tony Blair and George Bush did religion, but it is not yet clear whether Alistair (who quoted psalm 56) does religion.  The North Node, an agent of karmic reckoning, was acting as the presence of God, and trined his Jupiter inviting him to reveal the whole truth.  The search for truth, meaning, and silver linings goes on…

The Sun and Venus are coming up to a conjunction with the North Node tomorrow (Monday 11th) which is an accounting of our emotional lives.  People may be prepared to demonstrate, in acts of kindness or creativity, how much others mean to them.  It is an excellect day for creativity, performers and the Arts, though it may also be a day when art or music bodies may find out how much they are worth or how much the government will fund them.  I watched the new Arlene Phillips show “So you Think you can Dance” yesterday, and was astounded at how much the performers danced their hearts out, and was amazed at what they could do.  This conjunction of North Node/Sun/Venus takes place in Capricorn and represents the expression of our highest potential, often along the lines of our karmic mission.  This is then offered to the world (Capricorn) for valuation.  The valuation may or not match up to the performer’s own valuation of their work.  But it is a marker, and a test, on the pathway of evolving your own work and craft, even if it is not within the arena of the Arts.  What you then take away, and take to heart, will shape your future work.  This will be a theme for the week, because we are working up to an eclipsed New Moon which is also in the sign of Capricorn, and as Politicians are represented by Capricorn they too will be evaluated by the public that elect them.  The question is, in your karmic mission or in the divine plan (North Node in Capricorn) are you putting your heart and soul into what you do, or is some of your energy being diverted by other considerations such as social climbing (a province of Capricorn)?  One of our cats has a Capricorn ascendant and he has definitely been trying to use his charms this week to wheedle favours from us (he is the one that worries about global warming).  What he doesn’t realize, is that he doesn’t need to do that, he just needs to be himself.  Wednesday (13th) is another interesting day, which may have the pace of the quickstep.  Uranus provides the quick, and Saturn the slow.  The day starts with Venus sextile Uranus, perhaps an exciting social meeting (which may be unplanned).  Then Saturn goes stationary, prior to turning retrograde.  That might mean more slowing down, and more snow, for the U.K. at least (see my previous blog).  That is more reckoning and accounting, and as Saturn rules Capricorn, the issues again are Capricorn-related, including Institutions such as the Civil Service, Politics and government, as well as electioneering.  Progress may seem to go backwards, e.g. infantile mudslinging across and within political parties.  Then  another burst of quick, with Sun sextile Uranus.  Very quick in fact, so quick that you might do a double-take and wonder what did happen, and whether it did happen.  That could be performance-related, in that someone may use power or charm to perform a Derren Brown style trick, but so deft that you may end up shaking their hand and handing them the competition crown.  Uranus is coming from Pisces the sign of magic, and the Sun from Capricorn meaning that afterwards you need to stand back and evaluate whether you were impressed by the gloss or if the act or performance really means something and is sustainable in its usefulness.  In reaching a considered conclusion, you may then decide to take back the crown.  The important question is whose cause is more worthwhile and more necessary, not who can dazzle best.  Interviewers take note, and interviewers are key people this week (and a lot of interviews and examinations may be taking place).  Friday (15th) is no less important or riveting in terms of planetary activity, with an eclipsed New Moon beginning the day at 25 degrees Capricorn, and Mercury turning direct in the afternoon restoring timetables perhaps.  Now I am not an expert in eclipses, but Astrologers seem agreed that they are Very Significant, and some Astrologers do specialize in them.  Events now may be paired with events last New Year’s Eve, the previous eclipse.  A Capricorn New Moon is an important time for seeking interviews with those in authority,  and looking at your overall life direction and career plans.  It is significant for society in terms of politics and electioneering.  Eclipses are turning points, so there can be an element of coercion, e.g. a re-invention might be forced in political terms, or in your personal life you may have an insight (which you can’t ignore) into how things need to be in your life, and how you can take a step towards that.  It could be a pivotal eclipse: the Ukraine (Uranus/Neptune/North Node and Ascendant in Capricorn plus a climate to match) is holding elections shortly afterwards on 17th which may alter its relations with Moscow and Europe, and Jupiter goes into Pisces on 18th which may bring about more illusion, or greater compassion.  The will of the world is made up of all our individual wills.

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…