Taurus New Moon Mandala painted by Sarah Berry
Line Mandala from Mandala Colouring Book by Barry Stevens
available at http://www.mandalas.freeserve.co.uk/colouringinbook.html

This is the sixth piece in an occasional series written about the expertise of each Sun Sign. I am still looking for the Capricorn who can write a guide to Ambition, and a Libran who can write a guide to Relationships. The articles will be found under the category “Zodiac Masterclass” so that eventually there will be 12 such articles, e.g. “The Cancerian Guide to Parenting”, “The Gemini Guide to Communication”,”The Leo Guide to Leadership” etc. Each article will be written by someone who has the Sun Sign in question.

Here guest blogger Georgie Cowan writes about unearthing the Inner Artist. I have known Georgie since ante-natal classes in the late 1970s and we explored past, present and future lives together until I left Watford in 1992.  Georgie holds an M.A. in Fine Art, and has taught art in schools and tutored individuals in the subject.

A word about the mandala: The line drawing in Barry’s colouring book which Sarah has interpreted in colour was originally painted as a mandala on Mull of Kintyre, around the time that Paul McCartney recorded the song of the same name. Here is a link to some of Barry’s early mandalas – see if you can spot which one Sarah has painted!

http://www.mandalas.freeserve.co.uk/earlymandalas.html

The Taurus Guide to the Inner Artist

by Georgie Cowan

The Bull is often perceived as a loner. It is left in a field isolated from others. It is a creature throughout history that has been venerated, feared, tormented and to this day treated as dangerous and unpredictable. But is also very much grounded to the land.

What makes an Artist

Due to an illness at a very early stage in my life I was separated from my family for over a year. A separation at this critical point leaves the individual a vacuum in which experiences are often transmuted. At what point did my imagination take root sprouting into creative thought. I only know that it seemed to have always there. I was given time on my own to escape into my invented world. With each book I read, each story of classical history, each piece of artwork that I was attracted to, with each colour that spoke to me my inner life grew. I remember dreaming and being discontented that the dream wasn’t doing what I wanted and began to change things, heighten colours, change backgrounds. As each fragment informed the next and the next the artist in me began to flourish.

Silences and War

But one needs silence also to have the space to speak to oneself. As a Taurean artist I am in touch with the ability to develop ideas, imagery and form abstract concepts. Like the Bull I can buck and leap to salient points of a developing theme and still have the space in my head to ruminate until the theme is fixed. The artist in me has no trouble relating to this world.

When I am painting I am in this world. I have dialogues with myself. I am at war with my work, struggling against the odds, overdoing certain colours, or the thickness of paint, losing the original theme – finding it again. Within this unpredictability I am looking for the moment of acceptance. Sometimes like the Bull I can be energetic or clumsy but sometimes I can catch glimpses of that ethereal magical world that is called art. And then my inner artist is at rest.

I caught up with Georgie at the British Library to ask her further questions on the subject:

Lana: How aware are you of having the Soul Lineage as an Artist honing your skills through several lifetimes? (my standard question to Artists!):

Georgie: It depends what you call a lineage, but I am aware of a line right through which is the love of nature. Certain lives relate to that in a larger form.

• My Native American lifetime connected to nature to a great extent
• The Orkney lifetime (in covered darkness) was blinding to the extent that I couldn’t relate to life on a visual level – I felt that loss very keenly. Eyesight, heart and nature are always there and connected with Vision.
• My life as Greek ship designer too, connected with the sea and nature

Art has a lot to do with how you relate to a subject matter, and how you approach or manage something.

Lana: How much do you think that Permission comes into being an Artist?

Georgie: Absolutely, it does!

I can think of 2 episodes from my own life which illustrate this.

• As a child, a teacher was putting me down, because other children imbued me with importance on account of being seen as the best artist in the class. No one should be thought of as superior. Some people feel they need to give you permission – I didn’t need it. I accepted it as a natural thing. There should be no ego involved.
• At one of my exhibitions an ex-Police Inspector in his early 60s told me that he had always wanted to draw and paint. I asked: “What’s stopping you? I give you permission to go to the nearest Art College and enrol!” You could not believe the expression on his face!

So there are examples of a negative and a positive expression of the Law of Permission regarding the Inner Artist.

Lana: What advice would you give to someone wanting to develop their Inner Artist?

Georgie: The first thing I would ask is “What do you enjoy doing?” And the second thing I would say is that Everyone is an Artist.

To develop the Inner Artist immerse yourself in other artists’ work. Not to copy, but to dip yourself in the essence of what it is to be an artist, or what it means to be an artist.

Everyone is, and you have to decide to be an artist.

The last lesson is to leave ego at the door. It is not about who is best at what, or better than someone else.

If someone tells me “I am not an artist” I start by saying “Can you draw a line? Then draw 2, then 3. Trace over that, then trace over the tracing…” and so the Inner Artist is born, or recognized.

Lana: Going back to your original introduction about Taurus the Bull: how important is the symbolism of the bull in understanding your inner artist?

Georgie: There are times when it has been nearly impossible for the Self to do something, but my stubbornness and need to explore something forces me through a kind of wall, and I think that’s true of a lot of artists. Art is hard work, hard graft. You need a lot of inner strength to survive as an artist. There can be a need to detach, too. I have read a lot of artists’ lives, and often they have to detach from their family or background. That is sometimes very necessary to build up “artistic muscles” and for the imagination to flow independently.

Lana: That I feel leads on to the question of what do you feel about the Archetype of the Artist starving in the Garret. Is it outmoded?

Georgie: Totally outmoded. Art is so universal now – so many millions of people have access to it. Of course the artist in the garret cannot afford the paint…but you can use any materials: objects, newspapers, anything to make Art. How you place the objects in your room is also Art. Bedsits can be Studios.

Lana: Lastly, could you imagine yourself doing anything else in this lifetime? Being anything other than an Artist?

Georgie: No.

I have done other things, but I could never resist picking up that pencil. The eyes are the extension of the Self. The Inner Artist cannot help it!

Lana: As a second part of this question, what is the earliest memory in this lifetime that your Inner Artist surfaced?

Georgie: At the age of two-and-a-half, in the back garden…I came from a large family, and spent hours in the sandpit or building yard making sandcastles. My sisters would jump all over them, but I would be driven to start again with my hands, creating shapes. I was in a romper suit with a teddy design on it, a hood with fake fur…I would be there for hours. They say you can leave artistic babies on their own to play a lot longer.

Lana: Well there you have it, the Inner Artist Child, to coin an Archetype

Note:  Georgie does not currently have her work available to view online, but if at some future date it becomes available, I will post the link

Aung San Suu Kyi

David Cameron’s memorable encounter this last week was with Aung San Suu Kyi.  Fresh from cementing his special relationship with Barack Obama recently, he has been basking in Burma in the reflected light of the iconic Suu Kyi.

What is it in her chart which points to the strength of character she has come to be known for?  Her North Node (karmic mission) is conjunct Saturn in Cancer, giving her resilience, forbearance and patience and a deep commitment and sense of responsibility towards her native land.  This conjunction is sextile Venus which adds love and grace to the way she has conducted herself in a personal history which mirrors to some extent Nelson Mandela’s.  Another important feature of her chart is an excruciating exact square of Chiron from Virgo to her Sun in Gemini, entailing a formidable mental battle in her life.

Her relationship with the chart of Burma is very telling, with significant symbolism of her incarceration under house arrest:  Burma’s Sun opposes her Saturn, and Burma’s Neptune squares her Saturn.

At the beginning of April, she was successful in parliamentary elections with Pluto transiting her South Node, a karmic transformation.  David Cameron’s Pluto is conjunct Suu Kyi’s Jupiter, a dynamic connection, and her Mercury is conjunct Cameron’s Midheaven which certainly means they could do business together.  Neptune is currently trine this conjunction point of David Cameron’s Midheaven/Suu Kyi’s Mercury, so the meeting may prove of mutual benefit: Inspiration and kudos for Cameron, and the lessening of sanctions for Aung San Suu Kyi.

Aspects

It was all systems go yesterday with Mars going forwards (several people I knew found a new impetus), but you may meet an obstacle today with Sun opposite Saturn.  There is a sense of having to knuckle down to something you would rather avoid, for instance.  You may be O.K. until teatime, but somewhere over the goat’s cheese tartlets with a rocket garnish you may realize that you cannot push forward in your plans without sorting out respite care for Great Aunt Ethel (or nearest equivalent issue for you). The issue, symbolized by Saturn in Libra, may be one of relationship, such as your own interests (Sun in Aries) being at a stand-off with another’s. This may be the focus of today.

Late tomorrow (16th) Mercury enters Aries and another step forward may be taken, and restrictions may be lifted. Suddenly, the mental fog clears and logical solutions present themselves. It’s a good day for teaching, accounting and practical ideas.

If you benefit from this surge of mental energy, you may want to tackle the subject of time travel as in Bronwen Rees’ guest blog entitled “Towards a Scientific Meaning of Past and Future Life Work”.  Here is the link:

http://www.lanawooster.co.uk/blog/2012/04/towards-a-scientific-meaning-of-past-and-future-life-work/

On Thursday (19th) the Sun enters Taurus, having spent the last month in Aries. By now, you should have a foothold in the new season, feeling the benefit of some accumulated vitamin D. With that new springlike energy, you can start ploughing into creative, artistic and musical projects. You feel more secure, mellow and relaxed (positively Caribbean) and such things should start to flow. This again occurs at teatime, so you may get inventive with your garnish.  Getting your creative juices to flow may crystallize in a new project later in the week.

The week continues to warm up, towards a New Moon on Saturday (21st) occurring at 1 degree Taurus . First thing in the morning,  get out of the right side of bed and seize the day! If you have been working on a creative or financial project, the New Moon will add its blessing. Whatever you choose to do will absorb and reward you throughout the day, and may provide an inspirational story to dine out on throughout the coming month!

The week in bullet points:

• Today – Knuckle down
• Monday – Renewed mental energy
• Thursday – Renew creative interests
• Saturday – New creative avenues

Our guest blogger Dr Bronwen Rees is a member of the Triratna Buddhist Order, a UKCP-accredited core process psychotherapist, and Director of the Centre for Tranformational Management Practice at Anglia Ruskin University. She has led retreats in UK and internationally, and also has written several books and articles. She is the founder of the East West Sanctuary, and is exploring connections between ancient wisdom and contemporary evolutionary science including physics, molecular biology and depth psychotherapy.

Towards a Scientific Meaning of Past and Future Life work

by Bronwen Rees (Sinhagupta)

Working with field energies: past and future regressions

For many people, the idea of past, let alone, future, regressions is absurd, or completely whacky. Certainly to any scientist who requires evidence of his or her senses from the empirical world for validation, anything that goes beyond the material would, by definition, not exist. Therefore those who participate in such activities must be, by definition, out of this world, mad.

I am in the fortunate position of being both a scientist, and also have undergone both past and future regression. I do not see this as communing with ghosts, past incarnations, necessarily, but in my experience this is what it can feel like. Whatever I do know is that what happens provides me with more information and guidance on how I live my life more fully and purposefully in the present.

It did take me some time, as a management scientist, used to employing the scientific method, to release my rational judgement of the exercise as it being something that I had completely made up, or fantasised. Firstly, from an experiential point of view, when an experience became real, there was always an embodied emotional counterpart. Working with this emotion in my everyday life and relationships, I would come to understand how I might repeat dynamics and experiences that were often left unresolved. Whether this was a past life incarnation speaking to me or no – the effects were palpable and transformational. The danger with such experiences is to cling to them, and fail to understand them in the present. The many people who have reincarnated from Cleopatra  or Joan of Arc, lay testimony to this tendency not to want to address problems in the current life! The Buddha himself on the night of his enlightenment, saw a series of visions of his past lives, and understood the nature of interconnectedness more deeply, but there is a constant warning in the scriptures not to ‘believe’ in these. The apparent paradox here is precisely this: these experiences can feel very strong and real, but by identifying with them, it is more likely to continue with the karmic cycles in this lifetime, rather than learning and moving on.

However, as humans, we understand stories, and we need these to make meaning of our lives, and work out future actions. And there are many people who cannot understand some of the patterns in the current life from the conditioning that they remember in this lifetime. So the value of going back to past lives can heal these woundings, and burn out the old karma.

Having always struggled with my own rationality taking over from and dismissing my ‘unusual’ experiences, I have since found a way of understanding these that could persuade any open-minded scientist of the value of past life regression and the possibilities in future regressions. There are several strands to this, and these have been discoveries and interconnections made in new physics, evolutionary biology and depth psychotherapy, in particular the works of David Bohm, Rupert Sheldrake and Carl Jung – to name in a way the sources of these continuing exciting connections.

Just for now, I am interested in the discoveries of new physics, and the differing behaviours of particles and waves, and their implications for aspects of the ‘field’, and how this may provide some useful interpretations of what happens in past and future life regressions for the benefit of those of you who think this may be wacky (mind you, if you did you would probably not be reading this page!)

It was the famous double-slit experiment that first showed physicists that the behaviour of electrons was not as anticipated, and brought into question the whole thorny question of: what is matter?

At the level of matter, if small pieces of matter, such as , say marbles, are fired randomly through a single slit, on a screen the other side, they hit as a single stream. When fired through a double slit, two lines appear as they have gone through each of the slits. If a wave was sent through, however, they hit the screen as an interference pattern, with a series of parallel lines. In going through the slit, the wave has separated out and cancelled each other out – the interference pattern showing as a line where they meet at the top, and nothing is seen where they meet at the bottom. So the behaviour of the wave is different from that of the particle when going through two slits.

What happens if we take this at a quantum level? An electron is a tiny particle. If a stream of electrons are fired through a single slit, and hit an opposing wall, a single line of electrons appear. So far, so good. When they are fired through a double slit however something strange happens, and the pattern transforms into an interference pattern as though it were a wave. Thinking that perhaps the electrons were bouncing off each other, the experimenters shot the electrons through one at a time so that they could not possibly interfere with each other. The same interference pattern arose.  So the only thing that could have happened is that as it approaches the slit, each electron separates out, and acts as a wave of potential, and appears to go through both slits. Mathematically, it appeared to go through, one, through both, through neither, so they decided to observe what was happening. They put up a measuring instrument at one of the slits to see which it was going through. As soon as a measuring instrument was set up at one of the slits the electron went through just one, thereby turning itself back into a particle. So, the conclusion was clear: as soon as it was observed the electron decided to act differently, as though it was aware it was being watched. So this raised the questions, what is matter, and what is the observer doing? It seems that the observer collapsed the wave potential simply by observing.

Metaphysically, this has huge implications for the way in which we view the world. It is not divisible into tiny pieces of matter – for at this quantum level, the particles appear to act like waves of potential – and it takes an observer for this to appear as matter. Waves turn into particles, and particles into waves! The world is not what we experience it as!

So what has this to do with past and future life regression? At the very least, it suggests that the materialist argument which has dominated thought for over 400 years is incorrect. And there are other strange happenings at the quantum level. Here, beyond measurement, we cannot predict what will happen with matter, but we do have probability equations, which suggests that at one point in time and space, matter, determined by time (which measures it) will act in a probablistic fashion – there is always predictability in the world. Things go on as normal, and we all repeat our usual patterns of behaviour.   However, we all know of those times when the unpredictable arises – our partner does not act as expected. We jump out of our comfort zone. Often this can result in positive transformation.  Jung called manifestations of this phenomenon, synchronicity – and they were always accompanied by increased emotional intensity.

All his life, Jung struggled to find some positive evidence for his quest after the so-called ‘paranormal’, which was part of his own inner experience – especially in the salons of Vienna, with table turning, book cases moving ( in one of his encounters with Freud)  and his own inner journey which was rich in visions. Towards the end of his life, and after a long dialogue with the physicist Pauli, Jung finally wrote his ‘Theory of Synchronicity’ in which he argued that causality, and non-causality stood in a mutual relationship and represented two orders of manifestation. Synchronicity is when two events take place outside of place and time yet which correlate with one another – as when a patient recounted a dream of a scarab beetle, just at the moment as a scarab beetle appeared at his window. For Jung the psychologist, the difference between a causal and acausal manifestation is that the latter is felt with great emotional intensity, and holds great meaning for the person involved. As it is outside time and space, it is acausal, cannot be measured or predicted.

So back to this quantum universe which only comes into manifestation when observed ( measured). The physicist David Bohm described this as a holographic universe, represented by infinite movement between one pole of and another (holomovement)  – just as the wave comes back and interferes with itself when going through the slits. The implicate (potential) universe is enfolded within the explicate (manifest) universe, and only when consciousness comes into contact with the implicate does it collapse into form or manifestation. In the explicate universe things seemingly act in a predictable way, but at times these change, and everything around changes. So, there are physics laws which work at the Newtonian level – that of matter, measurable by time and space, and there is a quantum universe below and within this which interweaves in and out. This may be described as the enfolding of the implicate and the explicate. They are in a constant co-creation – one brings the other into being.

Now, this implicate universe only comes into being when it is observed, or measured. So (now we’ve got there) when undergoing past or future regression what we are looking at is karma and potentiality. Back to the waves/particles again – when electrons have gone through the slit, they remain forever correlated with one another across time and space. When one is affected, the other will feel it – at a non-local space. This is similar to what is called telepathy. When, for example in a relationship, one party is thinking about something, it is possible that the other will also experience it – we will all have had experiences of this – synchronicity. It only happens when the parties are correlated in some fashion or another. This correlation can be compared at a human level to karma – people are correlated, and thus there will be a lingering memory that will come into potential at the right time ( Buddhists would call this the alaya vinahayan – the storehouse consciousness). Amit Goswami suggests that this very process can be compared with the progress of the soul across lifetimes. The soul is not a monolithic entity but is what he calls a ‘quantum monad’. In the enfolded and enfolding universe, however, all these events exist as transcendent potentia – it will manifest when consciousness collapses it. The individualised quantum monad has various human themes that need to unfold and become conscious before enlightenment, and the monad is correlated across different incarnations. At times of great stress, trauma, or strong concentration, these themes and lifetimes can be called back into conscious – thus acting as a non-local quantum, and can therefore inform the current lifetime.

So, following this, when we undergo past life regression we are calling back into our ‘quantum monads’ and seeking out that which remains to be healed or resolved, so connections can be released. When we are doing a future regression, we are looking at the future potential from the quantum monad, and so we can speed up our conscious spiritual journey at this moment in time.

I see these as unfolded waves within which lay nodes of experience, bodies of knowledge, old woundings, that surface unexpectedly. If we can contact these, then that can clarify and therefore transform our current behaviour, which takes us further along the road to freedom. If we can contact our future potentia, then by collapsing it through consciousness in the present, we can make more informed choices, thus relieving ourselves of unnecessary suffering in the present lifetime.

Such a process is what seems to happen in past and future life regressions, and I call it in my practice ‘field’ energies. In both cases, the process is somewhat the same. Lana may work with Western archetypal figures such as Archangels, or I may experience these as Buddhist symbols which I have been meditating on for years. However it is done, there is a lowering of the consciousness at a rational, fixed level, and an evocation of these deeper energies – deeper penetration into the implicate order. In this way the conditions are created for non-local phenomena to arise, which when held in conscious compassion can be related to and released. In my experience leading groups and therapy I would often have occasion to feel the presence of an ancestor, or spiritual support in the therapy room. This may manifest as a vibration, or a light, or simply a felt sense. That would depend on the person, and their individual qualities. The great thinker and scientific spiritualist Steiner would say the same – this is the manifestation of the implicate within the explicate, an interweaving of evanescent subtle form available only with those who have the eyes to see, and ears to hear. And above all, an intention for this to be an opportunity for movement and release.

I’ve attempted here to articulate past and future life regression in this way to try and convince doubters, or those immersed in more rational themes, that it is not just a feat of the imagination. The universe is a vast and complicated mechanism – anything that can shed light on, and thereby bring compassion to, will help each of us on our individual and collective journeys towards enlightenment.

Copyright Bronwen Rees 2012

For further details on the retreat please visit the webpage:

http://www.eastwestsanctuary.com/programmes/educational-retreats/tibetan-healing-in-an-evolving-world.htm

If you liked this article, there is more on the sister publishing page:

http://www.eastwestinterconnect.co.uk/

I am just creating the East West Sanctuary facebook webpage, so would invite you to link to like and follow us so that more of these ideas can be disseminated.

http://www.facebook.com/EastWestSanctuary

Venus sextile Uranus is the only aspect this week, and it occurs tomorrow.  After the shenanigans of last night’s Venus-Mars square, you may find that tomorrow afternoon, love, relationships and the arts will take an unexpectedly better turn.

Tomorrow (9^th), Easter Monday, you may bump into someone and have a great encounter.  I have long been interested in how people’s lives intersect and what brings them to meeting.  Venus sextile Uranus is not the only aspect under which such a meeting can take place however, and something of that nature can also take place a few days either side of the aspect, so be aware of such a possibility throughout the week.

I have noted over the years that some of my best friends (you don’t know who you are) have been first encountered under the aspect of Venus sextile Uranus.  Often the transiting Venus or the Uranus have significantly linked in with my chart or that of my friend.  It is an aspect which can occur approximately twice a year, and it may be your turn to link with this extraordinary aspect.  Venus will be at 5 degrees Gemini, and Mars at 5 degrees Aries, so if you have a planet which links in with either of those, it may be your lucky day in this respect.  The engineering behind these encounters is often assisted by a Jupiter or North Node aspect here and there.  The aspect occurs at 16.51 Hrs (UK time).

The meeting between Henry Morton Stanley and David Livingstone is one of the most memorable historical encounters of all time, and took place under a Venus-Uranus sextile.  It has all the hallmarks of this astrological event:  good will, fortuitousness and an element of the unexpected.  It took place in an exotic location – reportedly in a tropical forest near Lake Tanganyika, and produced a famous saying: “Dr. Livingstone, I presume”.  Stanley actually has Venus conjunct Uranus in his natal chart, which symbolizes the meeting for which he has gained fame.  The Sun/Mercury of the encounter chart were trine his Venus/Uranus conjunction and activating it.  Like Stanley, David Livingstone also had Venus in Pisces (a placing I associate with missionaries), but conjunct Chiron not Uranus.  This indicated a psychological wounding of sorts (being lost to society) to which Stanley’s Inner Rescuer responded.  The fact that Livingstone was an explorer is indicated in his chart by the wide-ranging energy of Jupiter trine Uranus.  Jupiter was trine his Sun when they met, and he also experienced a Mars Return (a significant meeting with another male).  He was also experiencing a Jupiter Return, and Uranus was close to his natal Jupiter.

Any such meeting may be a reunion from someone in the past, or actually getting to know someone who has been an acquaintance.

As it is a Bank Holiday, Easter Monday, there may be fewer opportunities for such encounters.  So perhaps knowing they may take place, will give them a helping hand.  If you have such a meeting, make note of the time, place and any potential famous sayings for my records.  The sad thing (for an Astrologer) is that often these gems go unrecorded…

Here are some possible meeting places:

A family barbecue – meeting a long lost relative

A D.I.Y. store – meeting a fellow enthusiast

Church – meeting your fellow parishioners

Meditation – meeting yourself

Cyberspace – meeting a real or virtual person

A Meadow – close encounter of an Andromedan

Planets Turning

On Tuesday (10^th) Pluto turns retrograde towards a meeting with Uranus in their forthcoming clash in the summer, making it a prime time to look at your psychological issues.  Such issues are traditionally thought of as being part of the past, but many people work in the Now, or on the eternal plane, or even with Future Life energy (which can have a very positive vibe).  Decide on your focus now (if you have a choice) and your modus operandi.  If you know what house in your chart Pluto is currently operating in, this will help your work.

As a famous example, take Tom Jones, who is a current panellist on the new talent show The Voice.  Pluto is currently in his 12^th House of the Unconscious, and he has been making headway choosing 8 female singers for his team.  He will now need to examine exactly why he did that.

Unlocking some of your psychological issues may release more energy, which contributes to a new momentum.  For on Saturday (14^th) Mars is stationary prior to turning direct, in the early hours of the morning.  Mars isn’t such a big player as Pluto, but also represents drive and energy, so in the space of a few days you may find yourself switching the main focus of your energies, activities and passions, in a definite reorientation.  Mars will be going direct, so your personal energies could be flowing better.  Again, if you know what house in your chart is operating in, this will help to make the most of the aspect.

Continuing with the example of Tom Jones, Mars is currently in his 8^th House of Sexuality.  Mars turning direct in this House is likely to raise the testosterone level to the hilt, which may impinge on his health.  I am hoping that he does not overdo it this week, and will be looking to see how glazed his eyes look next week.

And if you do have your own When Harry Met Sally moment, let us know!

The week in bullet points:

• Tomorrow – Special meetings
• Tuesday – Pull back psychologically, and examine your record
• Saturday – Full steam ahead again

Bradford Spring

George Galloway is back on the political map, currently starring in a Bradford by-election victory at the helm of his political party Respect.  He hails his victory as momentous and sensational.  According to the Guardian:  ‘…But he never held back on the religious imagery. Reflecting on his victory in the early hours of Friday morning, he said we had witnessed something “miraculous” – in the biblical sense of the word. “And as a religious man, I have to believe that there is some divine intervention in this – the retribution of the main parties for the treason against the country and against their supporters that they have visited is something sacred. Justice has been done.” ‘

Here is how George himself sees the victory, writing in the Guardian yesterday:

“This peaceful, democratic uprising comes from the same wellspring of discontent and alienation that fuelled riots in British cities last summer.  But it is a positive counterpoint – bringing forth a new generation of political leaders, not another cohort trapped in the criminal justice system. Every politician should take notice, as they did not last summer.”

But Andrew Rawnsley writing in the Observer today observes:

“…ungorgeous George proclaims himself to be the herald of a “Bradford Spring”.  It is a very advanced form of narcissicim to view a byelection upset in a parliamentary democracy as the equivalent of the moral courage displayed by those who have risked their lives in uprisings against entrenched tyrannies.”

In the book “Chavs: The Demonization of the Working Class” by Owen Jones, published in 2011 (Quick book review: this book and its author talks a lot of sense) the background of the niche George Galloway has found for himself is analyzed:

“The left continues to champion the most marginalized groups in society – as indeed it should – but all too often this has been in search of something ‘to replace’ the working class with.   A classic example is  the Respect Party founded by George Galloway as a left-wing, anti-war alternative to Labour.  Respect rightly took a stand against the rampant Islamophobia that has gripped Britain in the era of the ‘war or terror’.  But Respect’s electoral base was overwhelmingly in Muslim areas, such as East London and parts of Birmingham.  It did not pitch to working-class people as a whole; instead, it substituted them for a Muslim community that was understandably particularly angered by the brutal invasion of Iraq.  Class politics was abandoned for communalist politics. ‘The left has accepted that it’s still class based, but it’s gone off on single-issue campaigns and not related them back to the class issue,’ says left-wing Labour MP John McDonnell.”

George Galloway is a showbizzy Sun in Leo (purrrh!), with Sun conjunct Pluto on his Ascendant, so he comes with a serious message.  He has the Jupiter-Uranus entrepreneurial conjunction, which tends to take political opportunities (e.g. against Oona King in East London in 2005…and in Bradford this year) if not financially-focussed opportunities.  He has an uncanny ability to read the sensitivities of society, with Moon conjunct Part of Fortune in Pisces trine Jupiter in his 11^th House.The win in Bradford comes as transiting Jupiter trines his natal North Node in Capricorn (a political karmic mission), so surprisingly it is a karmic reward of sorts!  Maybe it is that the Lords of Karma find him to be a lovable rogue…But as with Jeffrey Archer who also has Pluto on the Ascendant, his life is full of ups and downs, and he should make the most of this opportunity, and learn the lessons of his failure to deliver to the people of East London.

The Aspects

As it is April Fool’s Day look out for the deliberate mistake… The week starts with a semi-sextile between the Sun and Jupiter on Tuesday (3rd) morning (UK time). You could receive a modicum of success in an ongoing venture so start the day with a swing, whether you are on the golf course, at the park, or working in your chosen profession. It may not be entirely smooth-sailing, as it may entail a movement off-piste to mix my sporting metaphors…later on, in the afternoon, Venus will enter Gemini and this will add even more lightheartedness. Venus in Taurus has been heart-centred but more serious. You might be starting to trust the Spring sun, let down your hair a little and share your heart. Some stargazing may also be a welcome activity on 3^rd.  According to the Guardian, at 15.00 Hrs Venus will be 0.5 degrees South of the Pleiades (“Binoculars give the best view as it brushes past the Pleiades early in the month, lying only 0.4 degrees below-left of Alcyone, the cluster’s brightest star, on the 3^rd“), and at 18.00 Hrs the Moon will be 6 degrees South of Regulus.

On Wednesday (4th) –  oh the relief! – communications start to unblock as Mercury is stationary prior to turning direct. Remember to write in your Mercury direct journal what you learned from this recent retrograde period. Has the phrase “Mercury retrograde” reached the Oxford English dictionary yet, I wonder?

Bask in the free air of Mercury direct for another day, before tackling Friday’s (6th) square between Venus and Neptune which takes place in the early hours, and which may occur in your dreams. It is an aspect which finds difficulty distinguishing between reality and illusion in relationships and may be something you need to examine in your personal life. If it occurs in your dreams, you may have such a vivid dream that on waking you may wonder if it was a dream or reality. On some level the event may have taken place. The tension and wonder may carry through for the rest of the day, working towards the early evening Full Moon in Libra, for which the theme is still relationship dilemmas. If you are not focussed on relationships the relationship dilemma may be lie within the self. A recent book has highlighted the hidden strengths of introversion (“Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World which Can’t stop Talking” by Susan Cain) and we all need to work on our inner journey, which always enhances the outer journey. A little goes a long way on such journeys, and this Full Moon also highlights the difference in the East and West pathways of consciousness, and how they might be brought
closer together, a marriage of the Right and Left Brain. For more information and inspiration, take a look at the website of the East West Sanctuary, linking different philosophies in holonomic enquiry, http://www.eastwestsanctuary.com/

Results of Poetry Competition

Last week’s Venus sextile Mercury Poetry Competition yielded a winner!

The result is a debut poem by Sarah Berry, entitled “Healing Process”.  Be inspired by her poem, which now graces the Poetry page of this website, especially if you are on a healing journey.

Stop Press!

Oops!  Missed a bit!  Very late on Saturday (7th) Venus squares Mars – Socially that means inappropriate behaviour: in other words, “don’t do anything I wouldn’t do”.  But it’s up to you…As it is very late on the Saturday night, this will also apply on Sunday morning.  It’s a good job Friday night is binge-drinking night in the U.K.

The Week in Bullet Points:

• Tuesday – a modicum of success; more lightheartedness; suggested stargazing
• Wednesday – breathing and communicating more freely
• Friday – be circumspect and discerning in relationships; connect your left and right brain
• Saturday – be circumspect and discerning in social behaviours

Sir Alan Sugar

Sir Alan always pops up around his birthday (24^th March), and we have just had the first of the new series of the Apprentice.  The Guardian called the candidates “ghastly”.  His firing this week was a surprise move, and caused much debate among my circle of Apprentice enthusiasts.  Last year I read his autobiography, and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I was looking for my Inner Entrepreneur at the time, which was hitherto virtually non-existent.  The title is “What you See is What you Get”.  Alan is just a textbook Aries, good with figures, straight talking, calling a spade a spade.  He has both the Sun and the Moon in Aries, and his engineering and electrical technology bias are shown in his chart by Mars (his ruling planet) square Uranus.  He is also from that aspect a risk taker, but he also has a cautious practical supportive trine of Saturn to his Sun, ensuring that money doesn’t run away from him.  It is quite clear from his autobiography that his approach to life, sales and invention is one of Aries simplicity and functionality.

Another First Decanate Aries

Singer Jessie J made her debut as a panellist last night in the new singing talent show “The Voice”.  She too has Sun in the early degrees of Aries (born on 27^th March).  She really shone last night, some of the contestants sang her songs, and she walked away with three of them to mentor.  She obviously is immensely popular right now, and her chart has a stunning exact trine between Venus and Mars bisected and sextiled exactly by the North Node.  This is certainly one of the secrets of her magnetism.  Jupiter is opposite her Pluto at the moment, pushing some boundaries for her.

The Aries Guide to Authenticity

For straight talking you can’t do better than Aries, so if you haven’t already done so read Deborah Wade’s own take on it, especially if you feel the need to enhance that quality for yourself:–

http://www.lanawooster.co.uk/blog/2012/03/zodiac-masterclass-series-the-aries-guide-to-authenticity/

A One Day Week

There is only one day this week, astrologically, and that is Thursday (29^th), so mark it in your diary.  There are two aspects on that day, Venus sextile Mercury, and the Sun square Pluto.  Also there is only one Fixed Star associated with this week, Algenib in Pegasus, which also aligns with us on Thursday as it happens,  so focus on getting the most out of Thursday’s crop, and meanwhile the rest of the week explore non-astrological paths of consciousness.

Venus sextile Mercury

The first aspect on Thursday (29^th) occurring at 17.43 Hrs in the U.K. is a sextile of Venus to Mercury, which is conducive to diplomatic talks, and artistic and verbal expression.  This aspect is one often found in writers, and indeed Jessie J (as songwriter extraordinaire) has it very widely.  It is also good for combining more than one Art form, such as illustrating and writing a children’s story book.

Poetry Competition

Dante Gabriel Rossetti, as the founder of the Pre-Raphaelites, had a close sextile between Venus and Mercury, and exhibited his paintings, as well as writing poetry.  I have a puny semi-sextile between these two planets, and have at times in my life written poetry, but not at the moment.  If the muse should move you this week, and you would like to submit a poem for this week’s poetry competition, the winning poem (or song lyric) can be posted on my Poetry web page, which currently sports a well-known poem by Yeats, together with a mandala of mine on the theme of fir trees.

Sun square Pluto

Less fun than the Mercury-Venus sextile, and slightly later on Thursday (19.55 Hrs U.K. time) is the square between the Sun and Pluto.  This may mean that despite good efforts from the Venus-Mercury diplomats, conflict may not be averted.  That doesn’t mean it wasn’t worth engaging in negotiation.  Opponents of intervention in Syria say we should try more negotiation…That seems daunting, but those who can try are to be commended.  It is always worth taking diplomacy as far as you can. The Sun-Pluto will remind you of the complex wrangles in your own life, and on the wider scale complex wrangles such as in the Middle East and the Eurozone. They are of course not going away, in fact they are slowly accumulating towards the Uranus-Pluto square becoming closer this summer.  So on Thursday you may be contemplating the end of something, and maybe also the beginning of something else if your Inner Phoenix is really on the ball.  The men’s team on the Apprentice decided to call themselves Phoenix, and managed to turn a disaster (messy merchandise) into a triumph, beating the much more creative women’s team.

Algenib

Algenib is the Gamma star of Pegasus, and is aligned with our Sun on Thursday.  According to “Starlight Elixirs” by Michael Smulkis and Fred Rubenfeld it represents the principle of creative visualization.  This is helpful to both the aspects occurring on the day.  The mechanism of creative visualization and Algenib’s role is described helpfully in the book:

“When a visualization is created through the mental body to connect the aetheric body in the physical body, there will be a consequent flow of energy.  The energy will at first flow from the physical body to the aetheric body.  The visualization through mental body energies will then create an intertwining effect and the combination of information and energy will take place.  This energy will then flow from the aetheric body to the physical body in the specific form that  was visualized.  The ability of the mental body to modulate and work with this is an important part of the healing process.”

If you have not got a whole raft of appointments in your diary for that day, I suggest you assemble your quality notebook and fibre-tip pen/or computer file, or alternatively easel and acrylics/or I Pad well before the Venus-Mercury aspect time of 17.43 Hrs, and await the muse.  Creative visualization will help imaginative writing or painting.  Have a tea break before 19.55 Hrs and the arrival of the Sun/Pluto aspect.  If a natural antagonist does not arrive, then you can use the square to confront your own demons, or watch what is going on in the news on 24 Hrs BBC.  The Sun /Pluto aspect will also be helped to find solutions by creative visualization and the star from Pegasus.  If like me you are not good at creative visualization, start by visualizing the winged horse of Pegasus!

The Budget

As an over-60 something who has been clobbered this week by the now aptly named “Granny Tax”…I am not even going to look at George Osborne’s chart this week.

Thursday in Bullet Points:

• Writing and broadcasting
• Tackling difficult subjects
• Creative visualization

Aries New Moon Mandala painted by Sarah Berry

Line Mandala from Mandala Colouring Book by Barry Stevens available at http://www.mandalas.freeserve.co.uk/colouringinbook.html

This is the fifth of an occasional series written about the expertise of each Sun Sign. I am still looking for the Capricorn who can write a guide to Ambition. The articles will be found under the category “Zodiac Masterclass” so that eventually there will be 12 such articles, e.g. “The Gemini Guide to Communication”, “The Leo Guide to Leadership”etc. by someone who has the Sun Sign in question.

Here guest blogger Deborah Wade lets us into the mysteries of being a straightforward Aries. As Aries is about individuality, we all in a sense need this process of becoming ourselves.

She is currently in that multitasking phase of her life known as motherhood-juggling-career, but combines left brain and right brain activity in an amazing way. I am glad for you to meet her!

A word about the mandala: I often give blue as a colour for Aries because it is the supreme balancing colour for their hotheadedness (Debs is an exception because of other factors in her chart). The fluorescent pink in the mandala represents the combination of red and white, both colours of the spiritual 1st Ray of Will and Power associated with Aries.

The Aries Guide to Authenticity

by Deborah Wade

“This above all: to thine own self be true,
And it must follow, as the night the day,
Thou canst not then be false to any man.”

˜  William Shakespeare

Who am I?

I’m a nearly 40 year old woman who has spent much of her life trying to be as unArian as possible. More on that later.

I divide my time as a Mum, a Software Engineer and a Bowen Therapist/Kinesiologist and I enjoy all of them. I have learned that I get bored quite easily and timeslicing and switching roles and activities works well for me. I also knit, spin wool, play the guitar and ride horses. I’ve also been known to paint the odd mandala.

What is authenticity?

To me this means walking your talk. Treading the path that feels like the right one.

The dictionary definitions include: undisputed credibility, genuine, real, free from pretense or hypocrisy, sincerity. The word “authenticity” comes from the Greek authentikos meaning author or origin.

Arian Authenticity

I am an Aries with Taurus ascending. You would think that with both Ram and Bull influencers and not a single water planet to be found in my chart that I would be strong a resilient and a leader of people and not in the least bit drawn to healing modalities. The truth is that these explosive, dominant and headstrong aspects only emerge when I am pressured. On the whole people find me to be balanced, gregarious, generous and philanthropic if a little tactless and unfluffy.

I have shared Arian experiences with other Rams and we concur that Aries tend to be actually fairly accepting of faults, mistakes and being given a hard time up to a point, but that is a point of no return and once this is passed the archetypal Aries explosiveness can be seen. That said, Aries tend not to bear grudges once the air has been cleared.

Most Arians don’t need a guide to authenticity; they need help in not being quite so authentic. Authenticity is all very well when it comes to following your own path, and the conversations and workings in your own internal world but when it breaks out into the wild then offense may ensue, albeit unintended.

I was visiting a good friend a few weeks ago and I complimented her on her awesome cardigan that she had crocheted herself. I particularly thought the colour suited her skin tones and I told her as much. She thanked me for my compliment and said how pleased she was that I liked it because I was personally responsible for the change in her wardrobe palette. I was reminded by her that over a year previously I had said that I liked her lime green top that she was wearing because it made a nice change from the dark browns and drab colours that I remember seeing her wearing!

I was of course mortified (but not totally surprised) at hearing my words repeated back to me. Those words, which could have been interpreted in a hurtful and unkind way, were not intended as such. My friend assured me that she hadn’t received them in that way and I wondered if it was as much a reflection of the temperament of the recipient as the deliverer. I don’t remember saying the exact words but I do remember thinking the thought. The problem with authenticity and Arians is that once a thought has occurred it’s pretty tricky to keep a lid on it.

And there you have it in a nutshell; the reason for the authenticity or more accurately, blatant tactlessness. We are quite straightforward uncomplicated people on the whole, and we expect the same from others. Deceit and untruths do really complicate life. This goes right from little white lies about how great your friend is looking in her new bright orange marshmallow dress right up to big blatant whoppers like lying on your tax return. Keeping track of what you said or what you didn’t say is pretty stressful. Better to be upfront and honest and then everyone knows where they stand.

I think it’s hardest for Aries to be Aries when they are children. As youngsters we are taught to be polite and speak when spoken to and do things we don’t want to. Aries are rebellious by nature and this when combined with childhood impetuousness makes for quite a difficult child to parent. I have always had a strong sense of ‘fairness’ on all sides and I think this is one of my primary drivers. Unfairness in any situation is something that does not sit comfortably with me. Unfortunately as a child lots of things don’t seem fair and on occasion I was left feeling quite hard done by.

In my early teens and with friendships both shallow and meaningful and through my dealings with teachers and relatives, what I learned as I grew up was one overwhelming message: “People like you better if you are nice”. It might occur to the sharp reader that this is very much at odds with being an authentic Aries. No matter, I didn’t really care about that at that point. Being nice opened doors, made situations easier and less stressful for all involved. On the inside I had to learn to swallow strongly negative thoughts and was careful not share insights I had that might upset others. I had to learn to integrate with humanity because teenagers are some of the cruelest and least tolerant people on the planet and standing out could have been social suicide. I wasn’t always successful on this front, my Arian tendencies to blurt out thoughts in my head would sometimes get in the way of being pleasant and unchallenging to people but on the whole this was how it was.

I carried this belief through University and my early career as a Software Analyst continuing to be overly nice to people but not respecting my own feelings or boundaries. I allowed boyfriends and friends to treat me badly and I forgave them. I eventually settled down in a cosy relationship with someone who I loved, there were frayings around the edges in this relationship but I glossed over them.

A changing point in my life in my late twenties was after being ill with a mystery illness for over a year I discovered a kinesiologist. She explained to me what my body had indicated the problem was (candida overgrowth) and what could be done about it. The treatment of candida did not just involve nutrition and diet, but also an extensive foray into Chinese traditional medicine, things called chakras and also examining many aspects of my way of being that I’d just never considered. Aries dive in with both feet when presented with a new challenge. I learned about boundaries in relationships and how it was actually OK to not put myself in a situation that I didn’t want to be in because I was no longer a child and could finally make my own choices. Quite a revelation, but in seemingly direct conflict with the ‘be nice to people’ lesson of my earlier life. To my surprise this approach worked brilliantly; it made me well again and gave me a thirst for more along the path of self-knowing.

I since trained in Kinesiology and I have met and helped many people with all sorts of issues but one of the things that comes through is that if you are living or repetitively behaving in a way that is at odds with your true self then it will manifest as some sort of malaise, be it physical, emotional or mental. This has helped me to make peace with the awkward and tactless inner Aries. This persona is trying in its way to help me to stay well by keeping me on the path made by my own paradigm for life.

How I came to blend these too oppositional concepts ‘be nice’ and ‘be true to yourself’, well I’m still working on it but I am getting there, slowly but surely.

For further information about Deborah’s work:

info@CambridgeBowen.co.uk http://cambridgebowen.co.uk/

The Special Relationship

President Obama and David Cameron “chose” the momentous Jupiter-Pluto trine to see if they could get their Special Relationship going, both in need of raising the quality of their profile at the moment, though not everybody found the energy of this huge trine so comfortable or manageable.  They had several issues to discuss, the Guardian assessing that the economy was top of their list, but Afghanistan was also high up there.

Is there a Special Relationship between the U.S. and the U.K.?  The historical link is undeniably unique, and the Astrological link between their charts is quite compellingly in favour of its existence.  The U.S. Uranus is exactly conjunct the U.K. Ascendant, which is symbolic of the breakaway nature of their original relationship history, as is the exact square between their Uranuses.  There are a couple of good sextiles in their synastry (astrological comparison), plus the U.K. Mars is conjunct exactly the U.S. Moon, so there is an emotional connection.

Can Obama and Cameron forge a relationship in the best tradition?  They may not have long, if Obama were to lose the November election (I hasten to reiterate my hope that he will obtain a second term).  It certainly was well staged, with David Cameron munching a hot dog with ketchup alongside Obama at the baseball game – an iconic image.  The male bonding is reflected in their synastry by David Cameron’s Mars being exactly conjunct Barack Obama’s North Node which is O.K. as long as Cameron keeps his Mars in check…Cameron’s chart receives a good link from Obama’s Jupiter, plus their Saturns are in sextile (promoting some sensible and co-operative behaviour e.g. in Libya, unlike some previous special relationships) but their Jupiters are in exact opposition (and some wild behaviours – more ketchup please!).  That may reflect their different politics – Barack Obama having his Jupiterian enthusiasm in cool and liberal Aquarius, opposite David Cameron’s more hedonistic and luxury loving Leo Jupiter.  One usually looks to Saturn for politics, but the opposition between their Jupiters may be more telling.  It is a reasonable match but not heart-stopping like some previous special relationships.

Not all serving Presidents/Prime Minister combinations are special.  For example, Gordon Brown was not accorded the same welcome as Cameron’s recent reception on the Jupiter-Pluto trine.

But notably, at least two relationships were!  Thatcher and Reagan were memorably portrayed as a “Gone with the Wind” style romance on a poster.  This week we touchingly saw doodles of Reagan’s from the Ottawa meeting, which Margaret Thatcher had handbagged.  Their karmic link is shown by Reagan’s South Node/Jupiter conjunct Thatcher’s Ascendant/Saturn (softening the dourness of her personality) opposite her Descendant and his North Node/Moon.  That does indicate a close connection, and they have several points of contact.  In their time, they are mainly credited with the achievement of having thawed out the Cold War.  But an aspect which is often overlooked in synastry is the aspect between the Parts of Fortune, and theirs are exactly opposite each other, which can signify a completion of happiness.  According to the Martin Schulman theory of Parts of Fortunes, this would mean that her Part of Impersonal Consciousness would be conjunct his Part of Fortune, and vice versa.

The other special relationship was that between Messrs. Bush (GW) and Blair, who are portrayed as having prayed together.  They gave us Afghanistan and Iraq.

Here is something I wrote earlier, in a blog of 5^th July 2009 on their interaction regarding war:

“When he [George W. Bush] came to power, this karma was re-activated, setting the stage for the Second Gulf War of 2003.  He enlisted the help of the sympathetic U.K. Prime Minister of the time, Tony Blair, through the magnetic attraction of Tony’s Pluto being exactly conjunct with George’s Venus.  The extra karmic and compulsive element was provided by Tony’s Pluto sextile George’s North Node.    In the chart of the Second Gulf War (20 March 2003) Pluto was exactly conjunct George Bush Junior’s South Node.  It was therefore an obsession that George could not ignore, to go to war.  Operation Shock and Awe was instigated, the successor to Operation Desert Storm designed to finish off what his father had started.”

Only time will tell how David Cameron and Barack Obama’s relationship will proceed, and whether Obama really will learn cricket.  But Barack Obama has transiting Neptune trine his natal Venus, which would make him sensitive in his attentions to foreign dignitaries at this time.

Hot Aspects

Today’s aspect we met only recently: Mercury conjunct Uranus. It has come up again because Mercury turned retrograde soon afterwards. So we have another opportunity to re-visit sparky/sparkly communication, surprise phonecalls, unusual journeys (not foreign travel) and original ideas. As Mercury is retrograde, communications at the same time may have an element of disruption. Tomorrow is a good day for exploring warrior past lives, with retrograde Mars square the nodal axis, e.g through civil war re-enactments, if that is your cup of tea…group activities need to be well -organized in terms of avoiding the strife getting out of hand or health and safety loopholes. If you are living purely in the now you may find it difficult to remain in your usual flow and keep coming up against obstacles, or find yourself getting irritable. Keep your Ekhart Tolle book available near you if this happens. Tuesday (20th) is the Spring Equinox, as the Sun enters Aries. If the weather is not co-operating by producing suitably spring like conditions (I may be able to predict a riot, but am not so good at predicting weather), you will need to nudge yourself into the requisite mood, by picking daffodils or visiting new born lambs.  If you are gathering with others for earth healing or other purposes, to establish intent and a plan for working in the new season, you should be able to sense and work with this renewal of energy from 5.14 a.m. onwards (U.K. time).  Wednesday (21^st) brings a conjunction between the Sun and Mercury in Aries: new thoughtforms and projects get the green light in line with the momentum of the Spring Equinox, providing a good start to your Spring initiatives, whether you’re a gardener sowing seeds, or an office worker taking stock of stationery.  New life may also spring forth in communication, but all that head energy may be starting to give you a headache, literally.  You may have been overdoing things or working too hard, and may need to take some pressure off yourself.  Factor in some relaxation, give yourself some space, and cut yourself some slack if this is the case.  There is also a minor aspect of a semi-sextile between the Sun and Neptune later that day, which may remind you to make sensitive adjustments to your bold plans – pausing for a slight dent in the momentum!  Thursday (22^nd) brings a New Moon in Aries, continuing on with the momentum again.  No tea breaks up to then – it will still be full steam ahead, but you should have the energy to match.  The energy will turn the next day, so if you are bent on achieving something, use the first half of the week to get it done, and in your diary schedule in some me time for Friday (23^rd) when Mercury retrogrades back into dreamy Pisces, and you may wonder where all that  oomph disappeared.  Here at last is a natural tea break, and proper time to ponder this week.  Communications may be less direct, and may need some gentle coaxing.   If you have a big day on Saturday, Friday may be a dress rehearsal, at least in your mind.  Finally, on Saturday (24^th) the Sun conjuncts Uranus, re-igniting the spark, e.g. in your own enthusiasms, in local issues, or in Syria.  You’ve had the rest day, and now it’s time to show them what you’ve got, especially if you’re an Aries or a Leo. Maybe you have an audition for a talent show, or a job interview. It’s time to showcase your panache, pzazz and va va voom, for tomorrow there may be a completely different aspect!

I am hoping to post the latest in the Zodiac Masterclass series on the Spring Equinox, or soon after, if you would like to renew your Inner Aries.

The Week in Bullet Points:

• Today – sparky minds, again
• Tomorrow – organizing inner warriors
• Tuesday – welcome the Spring
• Wednesday – bright new mental focus; minor adjustments
• Thursday – more enthusiasm and new projects
• Friday – dissipation of mental energy
• Saturday – re-igniting the spark

Our first aspect this week occurs tomorrow morning.  It’s that Mercury Retrograde again, so use today for catching up with communication.  Technically it’s not an aspect, it’s a planet turning round, and it’s a well known phenomena even to those who have minimal knowledge of Astrology.  I have long yearned to rehabilitate its reputation, as I think the negativity attached to it actually contributes to poor results.  Joyce Mason (The Radical Virgo) has written a splendid blog trying to rouse us to a new outlook on the subject, entitled “Down with Mercury Wrecko! Up with Mercury Respecto!”.  If you have any negative thoughts about Mercury Retrograde, click here to read her article:

http://www.radicalvirgo.com/2012/02/down-with-mercury-wrecko-up-with.html

Two pillars of the fabric of our society ruled by Mercury are currently under attack by a government that seeks to save money but may end up destroying them, which will probably end up costing more.  One is the National Health Service, and the other is the rail service, both dear to my heart (in that order).

National Health Service Bill

I haven’t written about the National Health Service since before the Coalition came to power, and at that time I did not dream that any government could seek to dismantle it in the way that our Coalition seems to be doing, although credit to some Lib Dems for trying to oppose the changes.  I innocently blogged in September 2009 that the N.H.S. was “a national treasure on which we have relied, and often taken for granted”, little knowing what would happen when the Coalition came to power.

More recently I was horrified to hear Rick Santorum, a Republican candidate in the U.S. heats for an opposition leader use scathing words about our N.H.S.

I am currently reading the third book by a young doctor named Max Pemberton who also writes a regular column in the Daily Telegraph.  He is a talented and compassionate writer, and wrote on the defence of the N.H.S. on 26 February:

“There are few pieces of legislation that have caused such debate, furore and confusion as the Health and Social Care Bill. Since I started writing about it more than a year ago, I have received many letters and emails about it. Readers are concerned – but also deeply confused. They are not alone. Fellow medics, managers and nurses have cornered me in the hospital canteen and quizzed me about it. I have even been invited by members of the House of Lords to meet and explain it to them.

… My only concerns are that access to health care is affordable for all and that it is equitable. For me, it is a fundamental part of living in a fair, just society that all members are free from the fear of destitution should illness befall them. When a cohort of people live in the shadow of the fear of sickness, society is impoverished and weakened. The reason I support the NHS is because countless pieces of international research have shown it to be the fairest and cheapest way of providing health care…”

To read the whole article: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/9106880/Read-this-and-prepare-to-fight-for-your-NHS.html

Rail Changes

While the government plans a high-speed railway at exorbitant cost which will benefit relatively few people, rail ticket prices continue to rise and the services do not improve despite promises.  Now it has been announced this week that the government seeks to close ticket offices, and remove the safety net of station guards.  Commuters face even higher charges for peak time travel, and the allure of rail travel is to be dented even further.  Contrast this nightmare unfolding with a charming film series being shown on television about the London Underground and the current project of reconstruction, entitled “The Tube”.  The series has covered many different aspects of life and work on this network, all entertainingly and fascinatingly presented.  Some of the issues covered have been serious (such as fatalities on the line) and some more lighthearted (if you can call the things that binge-drinkers get up to on a Friday night lighthearted), but all the staff interviewed have been natural and nice.  I have found it riveting, as a regular user of this service.

Tomorrow’s retrograde Mercury may make it easier for the government to de-rail the N.H.S. and make unhealthy changes to the rail service during the retrograde period, which lasts until 4^th April.

After Monday, it’s a good news week (!) – I can hear the dissenters now, and the patter of feet to the Customer Service desk…Tuesday (13^th) morning brings the most important aspect we have had for a long time: Jupiter trine Pluto.  I have blogged separately about it, and covered the unsavoury outcomes of the Jupiter-Pluto square of July 2010, and the hopes for the trine, which I have dubbed “Hope plus Courage”.  Read it, and work with it, and hopefully allow its gifts into your life.   It’s not often an Astrologer gets to give out good news, and as always it’s not even all good news (the Health bill could go through – an example of power being used to a destructive end unfortunately) but just better news than usual, so allow your positive imagination free rein.  It is a good day to get together in groups for meditation, or to work constructively on a personal or wider project.

We are in for a treat Wednesday (14^th) morning, with three trines and a conjunction that link into the Jupiter-Pluto trine, and also create a Grand Trine. In order, they are:- Venus trine Pluto, Venus conjunct Jupiter, Venus trine Mars, and Mars trine Jupiter:

Venus trine Pluto – Feelings and relationships are fully functioning, though at the same time in the throes of change.

Venus conjunct Jupiter – There are social connections bringing pure pleasure, even celebration.

Venus trine Mars – Sensuality and enjoyment of the Arts are favoured.  If the young lass who tripped up in her proposal on Leap Day wants to try again, the stars are with her.

Mars trine Jupiter – All energy is available to you for personal and wider projects.  A day of implementation.

An extra trine occurs on Thursday (15^th) in the shape of Mars trine Pluto, so efforts to act in constructive ways are favoured, but keep an eye on subconscious patterns which may act as the Inner Saboteur, or the weak link in a group chain which may have destructive subconscious patterns.  Though a trine is favourable, when Pluto is involved (as it is with the Jupiter-Pluto trine) you need to be super-aware of unconscious drives which may be countering what you are trying to achieve.

Having said that, these are the best set of weekly aspects we have had for a long time, or are likely to have for some time, so make hay!

Customer Service Desk opening hours: 10 am – 4 pm, Monday to Friday

The Week in Bullet Points:

• Monday – Communications starting to unravel
• Tuesday – Excitement, and achievement
• Wednesday – Social Whirl, very positive morning
• Thursday – A deepening of your work and activity, but be cautious

Jupiter trine Pluto, Tuesday 13^th March 2012, 4.43 a.m. in the U.K.

I have been encouraged to write about Jupiter trine Pluto since my blog of Jupiter square Pluto in July 2010 proved to be one of my most popular blogs. My focus was on the schism in society between atheism and religion, dark and light, as represented by the tension (square) between Jupiter (Religion) and Pluto (Atheism).  I thought therefore I would look now at what developments have taken place since then, and other applications of this astrological power struggle.  I will be updating the Jupiter square Pluto blog, looking at other implications of power issues which were learned from that square, glancing at some global issues, sketching what you might personally expect to experience, and finally looking at the Jupiter-Pluto cycle generally.

But first, a personal apology to any reader who has Jupiter square Pluto natally and does not consider themselves to be power-hungry or may have been offended by the term.  It may be that you have used power with integrity, and turned the square into the trine.

Atheism vs Religion

How far have we moved on since July 2010?

I wrote in my Jupiter square Pluto blog about the atheistic movement, spearheaded by Richard Dawkins (Sun in Aries, 26^th March) and Christopher Hitchens (Sun in Aries).  The latter has since passed away, and the religious landscape has changed.  With North Node (karmic mission) conjunct Neptune (spirituality!), Richard Dawkins now finds himself as the head of an anti-spiritual movement.  The two men were very close, and helped each other in their cause.  Why would two Aries men originate such a movement?  Firstly Aries is a warrior sign through its ruler Mars.  Secondly there is the faith in the self which Aries represents.  There is also a sense of life stripped to its bare essentials, symbolized by Dawkins’ seminal work “The Selfish Gene”.  Dawkins recently conducted some research concluding from his results that religion “is largely irrelevant, even to those who still label themselves Christian.” A recent Guardian editorial stated: “Richard Dawkins has rattled the cage.  He has succeeded in creating just the polarization that he was warning against.  The curious thing is that it already seemed he had pushed his argument too aggressively.”

The starkness of the dark vs light of Jupiter square Pluto as time has moved on towards the more constructive and transformative trine has brought more voices to the fore, so that the argument is less simplistic.

Enter Alain de Botton (Sun in Sagittarius, the sign of Philosophy), a philosopher of agnostic persuasion who seeks to balance the religious and anti-religious forces of society more peacefully.  He proposes a temple to atheism in the heart of London.

Enter Baroness Warsi (Sun in Aries, 28^th March) a Muslim, who recently went to see the Pope with her anxieties about what she called “militant secularism”.  Stirring up, perhaps, something which doesn’t need to be stirred…possibly the Aries warriorship at work, but also displaying the Aries quality of leadership.

George Cary, former Archbishop of Canterbury, agrees with Baroness Warsi that there is a threat, but from his Christian perspective says “there are deep forces in western society, hollowing out the values of Christianity and driving them back to the margins.”

Countering this paranoia the Rt Rev Vincent Nichols was quoted in the Guardian last month as saying: “Christians are not persecuted in Britain and should not claim they are, I personally don’t feel in the least bit persecuted.  I don’t think Christians should use that word.”

The writer Philip Pullman (Sun in Libra) seems to have taken up a Humanist position, and Humanism is also gaining ground in our society.  He asked “What does militant mean?  It means taking up and bearing arms, shooting, bombs, throwing stones.  No secularist I have ever met or heard of is doing that.”

The issue now emphasized is how far we are a Christian state, and the question being asked is whether we should be a secular state.  Even the Queen remarked on the importance of the Church of England in the first diamond jubilee event.  The debate now seems to be about separating religion and the politics of the state, which is something both sides ought to be able to agree on as it doesn’t actually harm anyone.

The Jupiter-Pluto trine will support interfaith work and the resolution of Atheism vs Religion.  Giles Fraser, the former canon chancellor of St. Paul’s Cathedral, has urged an attitude of “live and let live”.

Information as Power

What happened when Jupiter squared Pluto? We woke on the day of the aspect in July 2010 to find that Wikileaks had published a huge wealth of information which had been hidden (where Jupiter = Truth, and Pluto = that which is hidden).  This both shocked and delighted different spheres of society, depending on their stake in the information and on their beliefs about freedom of information.  There is no doubt that this unleashed power (Pluto) could be used in different ways.  Julian Assange (Sun in Cancer), at the helm of this power, is now facing extradition to Sweden, so his fate is still in the balance.  Governments and institutions were red-faced and forced to work more openly.  But other, more vulnerable people, have suffered because of this act.  At the first leak (Jupiter square Pluto) Uranus was trine Julian’s natal Neptune supportive to his surprise move.  As Jupiter trine Pluto Assange faces two hard squares: Neptune square his natal Saturn, and Pluto squares his natal Uranus, compounding the effect of the prevailing Uranus/Pluto square which all of us are now dealing with.

During the intervening period, another manifestation relating to power and information occurred a year later when Rupert Murdoch’s empire began to crumble with the phone-hacking scandal.

Power is a general theme for Pluto, and in the Arab Spring and elsewhere would-be tyrants or bullies such as Putin (Jupiter square Pluto) and Bashar Assad need to see they are part of the whole and not separate from their minions or victims.  They cannot rule indefinitely, at least not beyond this lifetime!

What transpired at the time of the Jupiter-Pluto square was non-divine revelation, or certainly uncomfortable revelation.  Jupiter represents truth, but Pluto represents truth which may be festering and in need of being revealed.

The American Scene

America of course has a huge religious force, some of the more rigid and dogmatic elements of which is helping to power the Republican opposition to Obama in the current Presidential race. The Democratic option and Obama himself, is on the level of higher spiritual principles – altogether more humane, upholding of freedom, and less judgmental in its values, if it had only been allowed to implement its policies in its first term by the opposition.

On the religious divide, the Observer has pointed out that “Dawkins is one of the stars of a group of thinkers sometimes dubbed ‘The New Atheists’ whose number includes the American thinkers Daniel Dennett and Sam Harris.”  We do not have a birth date for Sam Harris, but Daniel Dennett is another first decanate Aries, born 28^th March.  It is the early first decanate of Aries which has been stirred up in the last couple of years by the transit of Uranus and its square to Pluto.

The Personal Experience

This is a hopeful opportunity, which will prove lucky for some.  Jupiter in trine relationship to Pluto equals Hope (Jupiter) plus Courage (Pluto).  If Jupiter square Pluto represented a shock of the unpleasant kind, could Jupiter trine Pluto produce a shock of the pleasant kind?

For the personal application, you will need a project, and the chances are that the Universe has already handed you one!   Connect the balancing of these two principles which occur in two different areas of your life with what is going on for you.   The area of your life (House, in astrological parlance) containing Pluto will be one which is challenging you deeply, and the area now containing Jupiter will be assisting you and encouraging expansion. In working with the project and the planetary energies, hold the best possible outcome in your mind.  It goes some way to building some force in your life which could act as a bridge of positive energy during the year, to combat to an extent the difficulties of the Uranus-Pluto square which none of us are escaping at the moment.  New life can be kicked into touch, and reconstruction after old forms have been released.  The trine may enable the resolution of a problem or conflict which has occurred, particularly on a group scale.  The resolution may not entail one party winning over another, but rather a balance of needs and forces being achieved.  The day it occurs may or may not be marked by an actual outward event, but should entail psychological gain and philosophical change.

The resolution of your own personal problem may bring you to link in with a wider project, which is in the community, or even global.  You may then shift to working with others who may be undergoing the same fears, for instance.

Remember this is an Earth trine, with Jupiter in Taurus and Pluto in Capricorn.  Anyone born around the third point of this triangle in Virgo (1^st September) will hit the jackpot.  If your birthday falls on the Jupiter point (29^th April) the day may be lucky for you.  If your birthday falls on the Pluto point (31^st December) then it will be an opportunity to recognize and use your power wisely.  Unless Pluto is squaring one of your personal planets, people should feel the benefit, and even if it is you may still feel the benefit.

Babies born under this transit would have powerful personalities.  According to the Astrologer Alan Oken in Complete Astrology, for anyone having this in their natal chart “This is an excellent aspect for the type of philosophical mind which is constantly turning over the various contributions of the teachers of the ages and coming up with personal understandings.  It indicates a very lively mind, ever eager to dig deeply for truth.”

In the same way that Jupiter-Pluto in square brought revelation (see Information as Power, above) Jupiter trine Pluto can bring some experience of divine revelation, according to one’s own belief system: (e.g. through Maitreya in Buddhism, the Messiah in Judaism, and the Age of Aquarius in Astrology, or simply the experience of divinity within the heart).  When miracles occur, as they undoubtedly do, their revelation of divinity can convert skeptics.

Jupiter-Pluto Cycles

The last Jupiter Pluto trine occurred in March 1999, a time when fear was building up to the Millennium and the predictions of Nostradamus and the Millennium bug, just as we now have fear in society about the end of the Mayan Calendar, so dealing with apocalyptic fear is a theme common to both periods.  You may be able to recollect whether in your own life it was a year which defined your beliefs about life.

Since I started this blog in January 2007, I have covered the conjunction of Jupiter and Pluto, the sextile between them, and the square, prior to this endeavour.  And in August 2013 God(dess) willing, I would like to blog the next Jupiter-Pluto contact, which is the opposition.

To read Jupiter square Pluto click here:

http://www.lanawooster.co.uk/blog/2010/07/jupiter-square-pluto/