It is difficult for the average Astrologer to extricate one square from the multiple T-square pile-up these days, but this coming Sunday’s Jupiter square Pluto seems to me to highlight light and dark, and faith and belief in our society.

Many of us are feeling exhaustion (from the Saturn square Pluto) at the same time as high energies (from Jupiter square Pluto) pulling both ways at us now.  Unlikely, but true.  The focus this Sunday (25th July) is on the rip-roaring energy of Jupiter square Pluto.

Most of the world was horrified by the exploits of Osama bin Laden, but a significant proportion saw him as a hero.  In the U.K. recently, Raoul Moat’s killing spree shocked most people, but sufficient members of the population sympathized with him to launch him as a hero on various websites.

The cosmos and the psyche are a hologram which we explore while we are in incarnation.  We all have a starting point at the beginning of each incarnation which is based on what has gone before.  We also have an agenda of what we want to explore in our experience for this lifetime.  Sometimes that involves a different extreme than before, for example a Jew can be re-born as an Arab, and vice versa.

Jupiter (planet of religion) and Pluto (planet of elimination) are important forces in our society, now as ever.

In our Western society there is a strong contingent of atheism and pride in human potential, which has an Aries flavour.  Aries scientist Richard Dawkins has popularity, intellect and charisma, and a huge following. I have close friends who base their life philosophy on his writings, notably “The Selfish Gene” and “The God Delusion”.  Hard on his heels is fellow Arien Christopher Hitchens, author of “God is not Great”, who according to the Observer “is a familiar presence on American cable politics shows.  He is a formidable participant in public debates, a regular on the lecture circuit.”  His religion planet Jupiter natally is beset by 5 squares and is unsupported in his chart.  Maybe it wasn’t always thus: somewhere in his incarnational history he could have been a crusader who became disillusioned when God failed to back him.  His pious Anglican Christian sibling rival Peter Hitchens started out as an atheist. No doubt they have travelled together many lifetimes.  They share a Venus-Mars conjunction, and Chiron (the “wounded healer”) in Sagittarius, the sign of religion.  Peter also has a difficult Jupiter natally, opposed by Saturn and the Moon.

Bush and Blair believed themselves to be the good guys in their religious crusade.  Many have turned against religion because of its promotion of war throughout history.  Both Atheists and the fundamental religious have at times turned against Astrology (it’s a funny old world…).  Those new agers working exclusively with the light are sometimes criticized by those who feel it important to embrace the darkness.  If you start out with the light sooner or later you meet the darkness.  The psychotherapist will meet the shadow self.  Incarnation has a positionality, which can dissolve into unity in the between-life perspective, or in meditation.  One man’s meat is another man’s poison, and we all have a starting point and a repertoire of experiences.  Our faiths (Neptune and Jupiter) often determine our path in life, and the wider our outlook the more choices we may have.

Before the discovery of the planet Uranus, the dualism of spirituality and materialism were seen as the struggle between Jupiter and Saturn respectively.  But with the discovery of the outer planets, the world is seen through deeper lenses.  Pluto has X-ray vision and sees through the material world.  Now in the scientifically advanced era of quantum physics and the contemplation of black holes, even Astrologers are on new thresholds of awareness: witness the travels to the Galactic Centre, the Super-Galactic Centre and the awareness of asteroids in the blog of Human Design expert Kim Gould (link on my Contact page).  Our horizons are wider, our choices more mind-boggling, and our responsibilities greater now..

If you have Jupiter square Pluto in your natal chart, this aspect is about power, and about power struggles within yourself and with other people.  It is about will, self-will, will power and divine will.   When you are locked into personality needs, this can be quite difficult, but it can become easier as you come into your higher consciousness.  At that level you are able more easily to see others’ needs and how they interact with your own, the needs of society, the needs of a group, the needs of the whole, and the Divine Plan.  It is a process where you might start with your own personality needs, but if they are blocked you work your way out in an expanded way, and if there is a complete block you may end up surrendering to the divine, or offering the problem to the divine because you just can’t work out or understand what the divine will is within the situation.  You’ve had a lifetime (this one!) of practice with this, and can more easily help those who will be struggling with it.

The Jupiter square Pluto experience  will challenge us to define our faiths, beliefs and choices.  We are likely to meet extremes, and choose between the light, the dark or the middle way.  All roads will eventually lead home, but some routes are more circuitous than others, and some consequences take more than one lifetime to undo.  Whether we use the prop of the Divine, or go it alone, that is the question.

If you have read the background in my blog “Saturn opposite Uranus – Phases 1 – 4” you will see that much of the focus of the first two phases at least, on the world stage, was in establishing Barack Obama in his role as U.S. President.  We knew at the outset, that this series of oppositions was going to be about dismantling old institutions and re-building.  The 3^rd opposition was centred around the Health Bill, and the comparison between the National Health Service in the U.K.  The 4^th opposition was around the cliffhanger of the General Election in the U.K.  Now we are at the final pass of this opposition, we have a new scheme for the National Health Service presented by the new Coalition government.  With Jupiter having joined Uranus in the opposition, the government are taking a huge gamble with our national treasure, in trying to get rid of bureaucracy and save money.  Seamus Milne wrote recently in the Guardian “We cannot allow the end of the NHS in all but name”.  He wrote: “Under the banner of Liberating the NHS, the health secretary Andrew Lansley this week unveiled a programme of dramatic change, promising to free the English health service from bureaucracy, put family doctors in the driving seat and hand power to patients.”  This could well lead to privatisation, and vital funds landing in the wrong hands. It could be that they are promoting the more destructive aspects of the Saturn-Uranus opposition, leading towards greater unfairness in our society.  Not the ending we’d dreamt of for this opposition. With the 5^th and final opposition taking place on Monday 26^th July, the day after the Jupiter-Pluto square, we may see some of the impact on our NHS quite clearly on Monday.

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

This was offered at the 4^th Pass of the Saturn-Uranus opposition, and is now updated. For those who like watching paint dry, I will update it again after the 5^th and final opposition, as an astrological archive.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

25^th April 2009: The New York Times said this week: “When he took office last year, President Obama told his foreign policy advisers that he had two baskets of issues to deal with.  The first would be the legacy issues left from his predecessor, like Iraq, Afghanistan and America’s image in the world.  The second would be his own agenda for the future.  After 15 months addressing the vexing matters he inherited, Mr. Obama is now aggressively advancing his own vision of foreign policy and defining himself more clearly on the world stage.”

The Saturn-Uranus opposition of this week is now coming more into focus with the square to Pluto (the “Cardinal Climax” or “Cardinal T-square”).  This implies a new force which has to provide co-operation between two or more components.  Voters would have to vote for Nick Clegg in their droves in order for him to be Prime Minister, but a sizeable vote could promote a hung parliament.  And a coalition of the three parties may be the new force of balance which is required.

On the last Saturn-Uranus opposition a friend of mine launched a knitting circle, which is flourishing and benefitting the community, so if things are done in accordance with the principles of the opposition and nature of the planets concerned, you can meet with success.

4th Saturn opposite Uranus: Monday 26^th April 2009

2^nd May 2010: Greece is the word…In European affairs this week it has been Greece as the Plutonian influence which has upset the delicate balance of the Saturn-Uranus applecart.  We are told that the whole European economy is threatened by this, and are pinning our hopes on the responsible Saturn structure of the German economy…

When I was a University student in the late ‘60s, early 70s, we used to go around wearing “Free Greece” badges, without necessarily understanding the issues…And what is it with the national karma between us that we are hanging on to their Elgin Marbles…?  One of the most beautiful products of their finest Age, and we can’t let go of them.  Maybe Germany could buy them.

5th Saturn opposite Uranus: Monday 26^th July 2009

This is a bread and butter week being served up as an hors d’oeuvres before a massive meal of Jupiter square Pluto and Saturn opposite Uranus early on next week’s menu.  Last week’s eclipse brought new twists to old news:  Here in the U.K. Robbie Williams re-joining Take That (transiting Neptune trine his Saturn and Uranus, forming a Grand Trine), and Coalition plans to revamp (or dismantle?) the NHS; and in the U.S. twin boosts for Barack Obama with the capping of the oil spill situation, and the pushing forward of financial reforms, both featured on 15 July.  Starlight wrote 2 days before on Nancy’s Blog (link on my Contact page) “due to this month’s Jupiter station sextile Obama’s Moon (3Gemini21) and square the US Venus (3Cancer06), as well as semisquare Obama’s Ascendant (18Aquarius03), July is bringing some successes and optimism to our beleaguered president.”  Neptune is on Barack Obama’s South Node, a long transit, insinuating oil karma but also speculation about his true character.  Tuesday (20^th) sees Chiron retrograding back into Aquarius, so healing initiatives may suffer a temporary reversal.  Counting Chiron as a planet (poetic licence, it’s an asteroid) that is the first of 3 planets to change signs this week, bringing subtle changes this week to the tone of life.    Wednesday (21^st) Saturn re-enters Libra, and we mean business in our relationships now (there is no going back to Virgo).  Next up on Thursday (22^nd) the Sun enters its own sunny sign of Leo, and it’s a good week for Leos to feel their essence.  For on Friday (23^rd) two favourable aspects to the Sun occur: a sextile with Saturn (stability and creativity combined), and then Sun trine Uranus (having established what the rules are, then bringing intuition into play, and expressing as much creativity as possible within those conditions).  A day when much can be achieved.  The same day, Jupiter goes stationary prior to retrograde motion, and recent successes or gains will need further research (e.g. if you are on a knitting project you may need to go back and pick up some stitches).  Don’t abandon hopes and dreams, you just need to realize what needs tweaking.  The week ends on a cliffhanger, for Jupiter is poised to square Pluto on Sunday 25th (power play on a large scale) and the 5^th and final pass of Saturn opposite Uranus is about to take place on Monday 26^th (a final judgement in politics and health reforms).  I will try to blog ahead of these two events, and whether or not I do will be my own personal cliffhanger.  Perhaps you also have one you already know about…

Of related interest:

http://www.lanawooster.co.uk/blog/2009/10/saturn-in-libra-karmic-dilemmas/

If your head was buzzing last night too full to sleep, the energy was coming from an early morning Sun sextile Mars.  This is good news if you live in a part of the world where you might have needed the energy for daytime activities, but in the UK the energy would have been used up in psychic processing.  However, this may be the launchpad for a good early morning start, burning up energy and calories on go-ahead projects.  It is a good start to an important day, and a good week for laying new foundations.  Buzzing our way through the day, the next aspect encountered is Mercury trine Jupiter, which is perfect for business, selling, car boot sales and craft fairs.  Perhaps, as previously advised, you have been setting out your stall for the past week.  The day’s transactions may have more importance than you thought, and the details are crucial.  How you place Aunt Maud’s jewellery could be vital in terms of who buys it when.  The day’s events are likely to unfold in a way that reveals its planning on a higher level.  Each step has to happen for the next step to be enabled.  The event of the day towards which we are working is the Solar Eclipse early evening (in the UK), one of those cosmic turning points.  It is a New Moon and as such your intentions are part of the mix of outcomes, but it is also one of those days which when you look back you will say “I could see it coming”, as you watch events unfold.  Depending on where the eclipse falls in your chart, you may find a new identity (if in the first house) or a new benchmark for a relationship (in the seventh house).  The New Moon Eclipse can bring big changes, and let us hope they are in the direction we desire.  Castor*, one of the Gemini twins, is aligned with our Sun today, and that represents the  use of the left hemisphere of the brain.  Although the New Moon falls in the gentle female sign of Cancer and emphasizes motherhood, there is an emphasis on the male side of life with Castor, Mercury trine Jupiter, and Sun sextile Mars.  Football fans and pundits all over the globe are gearing up for the final of the football World Cup today, between Spain and Holland (and refereed by Englishman Howard Webb).  Spain has Saturn trine its natal Sun, Uranus trine its natal Neptune;  Holland has Jupiter trine its natal Sun, Jupiter trine its natal Venus – aspects which brought them to the final.  Holland may have the joy at the end of the day, but Spain might have an enduring legacy, and I have little success in the field of sports prediction (but am still trying).  Howard Webb’s chart shows excellent footballing credentials: Moon conjunct Chiron in the football sign of Aries, and the karmic mission of a warrior (North Node conjunct Mars).  So he is capable of being partial, but what of the impartiality of being a referee?  He has Uranus in Libra (unpredictable in diplomacy) and square to Venus the planet of fairness…um not ideal.  Like Spain Uranus is trine his Neptune (which is at 0 degrees Sagittarius exactly conjunct Spain’s Neptune).  He may therefore have an unconscious bias towards Spain, which may be a past life thing, although it may not necessarily count against Holland.  Moving on, Venus trines Pluto on Tuesday (13^th) and if you emerged victorious from today you may be able to build on your success that day.  Tuesday favours making challenging emotional decisions, which may or may not be linked with the events of the eclipse, but may well bring lasting changes.  Wednesday (14^th) belongs to the other Gemini twin Pollux, and the other hemisphere of the brain, the intuitive right brain.  “Starlight Elixirs” explains: “Thought is manifested  on multiple-dimensional levels and then transmitted through receiving mechanisms to the physical form, and then manifests as electrical activity.  Because of this, the intuitive energies that connect to subtler realms have components that are lost in the translation process.  These lost components are still available, since thought in its true essence and form does not have the same constraints on time that three-dimensional processes, including electrical activity in the brain, must adhere to.  As a result, these thoughts that have not been fully received are able to remain accessible to the individual.  There is no time limit on this.  These thoughts don’t just fade away over time, but can become available as the person attunes to them.”  So if you have had some memory loss recently, there is a chance to recoup on Wednesday.  Last of the Fixed Stars to be helping us this week is Procyon (Canis Minor) on Saturday (17^th).  The emphasis with Procyon, as with the other two, is also about mental functioning.  Procyon seems to work with both concentration and left-brain processes and the intuitive side of the brain, and so can bring both together.  It works well with our Sun apparently.  To continue unashamedly quoting: “This connection is at a subtle vibrational level in which the Sun says: ‘I love you, I care for you, I share with you your life and your light’ “.  So to sum up the week, a huge step can be made to put your life on a new footing.

*Interpretations from “Starlight Elixirs” by Michael Smulkis and Fred Rubenfeld

with a little help from my friends

Cancerian Cheryl Cole has been in the news this week, having been diagnosed with Malaria.  She has had an intense public life.  She was the first girl picked for the girl band “Girls Aloud” (with North Node, Mercury, Mars and Sun in the 11th House of girl bands) for her showbiz quality (Venus rising in Leo).  We then wondered if she was a bit mouthy (Mercury conjunct Mars) when she was accused of attacking someone in a public lavatory.  She then became a WAG (a term she is not keen on) when she married Ashley Cole the footballer in July 2006.  From there she became the “nation’s new sweetheart” for her glamorous role on the X-Factor (another feature of Venus rising in Leo).  Now she has very unfortunately contracted Malaria, as Uranus in her 8th House (sudden shock to her life force) squares her Mars (a disease of the blood), curtailing (Uranus) her activities (Mars).  We only hope that her suffering will be minimal and that more research will be done into this disease ~ Lana

Meanwhile a homeopathic perspective from our resident homeopath Sarah Berry:

Many assume that malaria is untreatable, but it can be treatable with homeopathy.  It seems sad that Cheryl, despite receiving ‘allopathic’ prevention, has succumbed to Malaria.  Perhaps homeopathic intervention, with no risk of side effects, could have been, at least as and dare I say, more effective.  At the very least homeopathic remedies will address the whole person, on all levels, and help in so many  more ways.  I just came across a diary entry of mine from February 2009.  I was attending a homeopathy college, fending off disapproval from medically trained relatives, and I was accused of ‘supporting dangerous placebo versus tried and trusted medicine.’  The placebo argument is just not relevant.  Homeopathic remedies cost pennies and they work.  All practitioners have plenty of case histories to prove this but strangely antagonists are reluctant to consider this evidence.  Another misunderstanding I have several times recently come across is that Hahnemann ‘invented’ homeopathy.  Remedies occur naturally and are to be discovered, never invented.  I wish Cheryl a speedy recovery, whichever route she uses.    saraheberry@aol.com

And a fascinating voice analysis from our voice expert Felicity Cook:

Cheryl comes across as very confidant but I hear something in her vocal quality (spoken) which suggest to me she is a softie at heart and perhaps a good deal of sadness which she manages to cover up, on screen. Her heart is open but hurt and I would say that although there is clearly some spiritual connection coming through, her grief is causing the 6th chakra to be fixed and rigid. If she could link her open heart to her slightly unbalanced solar plexus (3rd) and brow chakras (6th) she would be a true spokeswoman for truth.  Being vulnerable from the slings and arrows of love’s ungrateful fortunes (sadness in the front of the heart chakra), she would have left herself unguarded for the attack from the outside into her life blood hence the Malaria.

If you are interested in having a voice analysis, please contact Felicity Cook at her website www.thevoicedbodymind.com

It is men’s finals day at Wimbledon, and my favourite shot of the week was the tender expression of Rafael Nadal when he beat Andy Murray in the semi-finals and gave him a hug.  He has Venus (affection) in Cancer (maternal), and that showed.  It is now time to turn our attention to the point in our birthchart of 0 degrees Aries.  This is a point of great vitality, and this year it is being stimulated to an unusual degree.  Tomorrow Uranus the planet of revolution revolves.  It will be stationary preparing to go retrograde, and recent revolutionary moves in your life will temporarily be suspended, and starting to turn over old ground.  The government is going through the motions of undoing various statutes from the previous government in order to implement their new policies.  If you are hazy about the 0 degree Aries point in your chart, it has already experienced the entry of Uranus (28^th May), the entry of Jupiter (6^th June) and the conjunction of the two planets (8^th June).  If you study the events in your life from those periods, you may gain some understanding of how this point is currently being used as a springboard in your life.  Venus opposes Neptune on Thursday (8^th).  This can bring confusion in relationship: you might suddenly wonder who someone is; and confusion in the art world: there may be a mystery over who was the artist of a particular work, or who is the perpetrator of an art theft.  So two questions of the day might be “Who are you?” and “But is it Art?”  A day of tantalizing mystery, and half-answered questions.  Friday (9^th) is an opportunity to exercise the mind, with an emphasis on Mercury.  We are working towards an eclipsed New Moon next Sunday, and useful work done now may pay dividends in getting your act together, and painting a cohesive picture for the New Moon in Cancer.  You are laying out the elements, assembling the pieces you need for this event, which could be a turning point.  It is not an art exhibition, but it is an emotional exposition.  You may be needing to explain your feelings, for instance, in an effective and efficient way.  Mercury sextile Saturn early on Friday (UK time) enables you to set out your stall, apply your mind, do your paperwork, connect your thoughts and ideas with practical methods.  At this time Mercury is at the very end of the sign of Cancer, and able to encompass the feelings: put your feelings on paper.  Mercury then enters Leo, so the practical phase has been dealt with and the focus next is how to display your material.  If for instance you are preparing for a craft fair, the creativity will start to flow.  Best aspect of the week is Friday evening (in the U.K.) when Mercury trines Uranus.  Brainstorming will bring up a cornucopia of ideas.  On Saturday, Venus enters Virgo and discrimination and good taste become acute, food tastes, fashion tastes, standards in friendship, colour sense, etc.  Your senses may be heightened.  You may find yourself walking a very fine path in choosing materials or in relationship negotiations, for Venus opposes Chiron and quincunxes Uranus, so there will be relationship crises, and egos may need to be massaged.  The right people need to be in place at the right time for the eclipse on Sunday, which is backed by a sextile and a trine, giving it an extra sense of purpose.  Whether you are a pawn in the game, a bit player, a choreographer, a scriptwriter, architect or director, you will have a sense that you are meant to be where you are and hopefully also know the reason why.

How was the Grand Cross for you yesterday?  I heard reports back from several people flattened on Chaises Longues, tiredness being an undeniable feature of the experience.  Hopefully, today can be a kind of rebirth, and certainly there will be mental challenges today with Mercury opposite Pluto, the results of which may bring a mental reorientation.  You may need to look at where other people’s rules, constructs and constricts are limiting your own beliefs, and keeping you held through fear.  Tomorrow (Monday 28) Sun is conjunct Mercury, so that can bring about a mental rebirth, favouring focus and travel.  Wednesday (30^th) brings a conjunction between the South Node and Mercury in Cancer, when the focus can profitably settle on the past (in this lifetime or previous ones) and insight may come forth in connection with family ties and soul groups.  Mental shifts are supported by the Sun’s alignment to the Fixed Star Alhena in Gemini: *“This star appears to offer individuals the ability to rapidly change modes of thought and to shift context.  This will give them the ability to see things in a whole new way and to utilize the information from a new perspective or to change their minds in a way that is appropriate for their own development.”  On Thursday July 1^st Mercury sextiles Mars, promoting quick thinking and intelligent action – a good day to get things done, and a good day to act on any new ways of thinking which emerged earlier in the week.  Wimbledon matches could be super-efficient.  The Ladies Finals are scheduled for Saturday 3^rd July, coinciding with a conjunction between the Sun and the South Node in Cancer.  The outcome could be karmic!  The aspects look more favourable towards Venus than Serena Williams, contrary to seeding positions, but maybe Serena has the strength to defy astrological odds or the instinct to work with them.  (See  my earlier blog ruminations on Wimbledon).  For life outside Wimbledon, quoting myself from last week regarding the Sun/South Node connection, we are individually and collectively “coming to terms with karmic issues from the connection with the Sun this week, not in the sense of retribution but of looking at causes and what you contributed and why,  so that you can move on.”

*Interpretations from “Starlight Elixirs” by Michael Smulkis and Fred Rubenfeld

As I observed in my radio show with Kim Gould in March (link on my Past Lives page), tennis seems to have come in 3 clear phases astrologically.  The first was before the mid-70s, when the Sun Signs of top players tended to be Cancerian or Libra, both genteel signs responsive to the ebb and flow of the art.  The second phase came in the mid-70s with the advent of the power serve, when the Fire signs were more in evidence; speed, muscle, brawn and athleticism to the fore. Nowadays there is an accentuation of Mercury-ruled signs Virgo and Gemini in the charts of top players, showing that they have added to the responsiveness of the first phase and the athleticism of the second phase, and learned to use the mind and cerebral faculties on top of this.  The amazing longest match took place last week between Isner and Mahut, Isner the enduring Taurean just about winning, due no doubt to his strong serve (Mars conjunct Chiron in Gemini, possibly).  This could have been a pre-birth contract set up, as  Mahut’s Mars (energy) is exactly trine Isner’s Jupiter (enthusiasm and triumph) – sort of pre-birth match-fixing (no karmic repercussions).  At the inception of the match, the Ascendant was on Isner’s Saturn, so this was a test of his endurance which he, just about, passed.  Andy Murray could make it to the final next Sunday, when Venus will be trine his Moon, and Mars on his Ascendant, which will bring out all his fighting spirit.  However, Mercury square his Jupiter could bring unforced errors,  and the Ascendant square Neptune may bring unrealistic hopes surrounding him.  Rafael Nadal has Mercury trine his Jupiter (accuracy) and Mars sextile his Venus (vitality and watchability) but I don’t think these aspects are strong enough for the title.  With the Sun conjunct the South Node, it will be Nodal, not Nadal (couldn’t resist it, sorry).   The finals will be more than usually karmic in outcome under this aspect.  Predictably (?) Federer has good aspects: Mercury sextile his Venus, and Venus trine his Neptune and sextile his Pluto, so he will be in the flow, and could well add to his records.  Andy Roddick could be overwhelmed with Jupiter opposite his Mercury, but Uranus trine his Uranus could give him lucky breaks and some intuitive shots.  Of the top two Williams sisters, surprisingly Venus has the better set of aspects.  Stacked against Serena are Pluto square to her Sun,  Mercury square her Jupiter,  Sun square her Saturn,  North node square her Saturn.  Her game slid a little bit this week (her words).  Can she overcome all odds?  (Probably).    She will be meeting Maria Sharapova in the next round, who has Sun and North Node square her Jupiter – perhaps next year may be better for Sharapova with Jupiter transiting all her Aries planets. Venus Williams (aptly named with Sun conjunct Venus natally) has Pluto trine her Jupiter  (power and luck) – this could be her year.  Another player who may do better next year is Jelena Jankovic, who has Venus/Mars exactly conjunct in Aries . This year Mercury trines her Mercury which is good for focus, but Neptune squares her Saturn , and Jupiter squares her Neptune, neither of which are easy.  I am not a betting sort, but if I were to twist my arm I would go for Venus Williams and Roger Federer as 2010 champions.

Apologies to those who like their blogs freshly laid on a Sunday morning.  I am writing this two days in advance as I will be away for a short break.   Some of you may be surprised at the moment to be feeling exhaustion as a result of the demands of the Jupiter-Uranus buzz.  If you are, try to restrict your activities to things you want to do, and cut out activities that drain you.  I hope you benefitted from the superb aspects early last week.  On the Venus trine Jupiter-Uranus last week, I had the good fortune to win an ebook of Chironic poetry , Poems to Heal the Healer: The 12 Chiron Signs by Joyce Mason on her website http://radicalvirgo.blogspot.com/ Joyce had asked for a name for a new species of human, and  I can reveal  that the next stage of human will be Homo Astrolopithecus.  I know many of you out there love to explore the healing dimensions of Chiron and poetry, and can recommend this book as a creation of beauty and inspiration.  There’s something happening every day next week!  Sunday (20^th) brings a spiritual tone to Father’s Day with a trine between Neptune and the Sun.  This may bring up a theme of the “absent father” which concentrates on the spiritual link between you.  There is a link between your father and the sea, so a good book title for the day is “The Old Man and the Sea” by Ernest Hemingway (or better still, the film).  On Monday (21^st) the Sun enters the sign of Cancer, ushering in the Summer Solstice, and conversely bringing a link with the sea and the mother, which may be archetypal or symbolic if you can’t actually take your mum to the seaside.  A minor step forward may occur in the oil situation in the Gulf of Mexico, but the situation will still be in the forefront of our minds while Saturn is quincunx with Neptune.  There is a square between the Sun and Uranus on Tuesday (22^nd) which adds an element of surprise to your seaside break with your parents.  This is followed by a square between the Sun and Jupiter on Wednesday (23^rd) so any surprises from the day before can be seen as silver linings.  The first half of the week’s activity is all based around the Sun, so Leos will be prominent this week, and possibly calling the shots.  The second half of the week sees much activity around the planet Mercury, highlighting the activities of Geminis and Virgos.  Thursday 24^th brings a square between Mercury and Saturn, which may be tedious for travelling (e.g. the threatened tube strike in London for that day) and for having to catch up with the detail of paperwork and documentation.  It’s just something that has to be done.  If you are still fatigued, do the paperwork then resume your position on your chaise longue.  This will be an advantageous position from which to enjoy the ensuing trine between Mercury and Neptune later the same day, which favours bringing dreams and inspiration into the conscious mind, and writing poetry.    For those who have advanced beyond the stage of the chaise longue, a spot of dancing may be enjoyed.  The Sun also aligns with the star Tejat in Gemini which “can gently and easily increase the ability to bring spiritual ideas into clear and expressible form as mental concepts and direct ideas to be shared with others”* This reinforces the action of Mercury trine Neptune.  On Friday (25^th) Mercury enters Cancer, presenting a united front with the Sun, increasing focus in some ways, but then Mercury squares Uranus which could produce mental overwhelm.  Added to this the same day Pluto opposes the Sun, and that is emotional and psychological overwhelm.  Keep up your meditational practice…The tension is building to the Full Moon the next day.  A more lighthearted square between Mercury and Jupiter on Saturday (26^th) may help us to see things philosophically, and someone may refreshingly play the Joker (there’s always one).  Shortly after is the eclipsed Full Moon in Capricorn, whose purpose is to help us to effect a turning point in emotional and social structures.  In the news, there may be an emphasis on Institutions which provide social services, and questions and answers as to how they may be improved and what changes need to be made.  It will be a busy week, so if you are a bit tired already, you need to have a chaise longue ready in between aspects.

*Interpretations from “Starlight Elixirs” by Michael Smulkis and Fred Rubenfeld