Those born around 19^th February have, as was mentioned in a recent blog, a great deal of confusion going on at the moment.  An example of this is the President of Argentina, Cristina Kirchner, who has Neptune transiting her Sun at 0 degrees Pisces right now.  Astrologically her state of mind would be described as confused, although she may not think so.  It certainly seems to have a touch of Neptunian paranoia…She has gained ground politically in recent times, with Neptune and Chiron forming trines to her Neptune and Saturn in the last decanate of Libra.  As well as her Neptunian process, she also has Pluto squaring her Mars at the moment, firing up her desire to act, which is resulting in the current move to rekindle the Falkland conflict.  The original conflict in 1982 was a vehicle for Margaret Thatcher’s Inner Warrior because she was experiencing a Mars Return at the time!  This Mars Return was exactly trine the U.K. Ascendant. Cristina Kirchner followed her husband Nestor Kirchner into power as President.  During his term of office, he managed to turn the Argentinian economy round from its parlous state.  He then became Secretary General of the Union of South American Nations.  The South American States (including Brazil and Chile) are now behind Cristina in her endeavours.  Nestor Kirchner died of a heart attack in 2010 but some say his wife is an even more powerful political force.  This week she announced that she would appeal to the U.N. over the matter.  Certain points of the zodiac are particularly sensitive in connection with the Falklands conflict, though I do not have a chart for the Falklands themselves.  Karmic involvement is shown by the Sun/Mercury of the U.K. chart being conjunct the South Node of the Argentine chart.  Individual entanglements include Margaret Thatcher’s Nodal Axis square exactly the Argentine Jupiter, and certain aspects to Prince William’s chart.    People in the U.K. tend to feel passionately one way or the other on the issue of whether we should keep the Falklands: I remember arguments with friends 30 years ago on the subject, and indeed this household is currently split on the issue!  But in a poetic twist Prince William has been cast as the knight  in shining armour, flying to defend the area, and incredibly his natal Mars is exactly in the same position as Margaret Thatcher’s, and therefore in the same relationship to the U.K. chart.  However, he has more harmonious natural links with Argentina.  And at this point in time Neptune is forming a Grand Trine with his natal Jupiter trine Sun (very apt for connecting with foreign islands).  So hopefully his presence there might prove more constructive than it looks.  It would be good if President Kirchner invited him to tea and found him to be a nice boy.

Tomorrow a trine between Mercury and Saturn which occurs at tea time favours ventures which have been well planned or thought through.  So if you’re reading this today, Sunday, if you haven’t already done so get yourself a plan! And if you already have a plan, think it through.  It’s a good day for serious and realistic communication, so if you are sitting face to face in discussion, have your bullet points ready and don’t waste each other’s time. This marker of the story so far and where you’re at is especially vital and poignant in relation to events and aspects later in the week which complicate matters.  For in the early hours of Valentine’s Day Tuesday (14th) Mercury enters Pisces.  The collective mindset will change more radically than on the usual annual ingress of Mercury to that sign around this time of year, because Neptune ruler of Pisces is at that early stage of the sign.  Usually, it would indicate a change from crisp, progressive thought, to a more mystical and imaginative understanding. Instead we find ourselves going from mental flights to being plunged into depths of emotion which are then to be processed through our mental equipment, and some might have difficulty with that.  Unless you have insomnia this is likely to take place during hours of sleep and may infiltrate through dream symbolism, e.g. flying and swimming dreams…Then, unless you are an early riser, just as your consciousness is surfacing for the new day Mercury conjuncts Neptune, and intensifies the new process.  No longer are you in a transition, with access to the previous mode of thought – instead, you are fully immersed and merged in the world of the emotions and imagination.  Again, some might find this overwhelming, but stick with it.  The third feature to note on Valentine’s Day is Jupiter sextile Chiron.  This lifts the vibration to an extent.  It brings about a focus on healing, miracles and manifestation.  If you are considering Valentine gifts for a loved one, I would recommend preparing two gifts, a material one on waking and a spiritual surprise one later in the day.

Having got through the astrological schedules for Tuesday, we are faced with a square between Venus and Pluto on Wednesday (15^th).  All that hard work on your relationship on Tuesday, then a depth to plumb on Wednesday (take it slowly).  The mental submergence in emotion of the previous day may leave you vulnerable or depleted for Wednesday’s challenge, unless you have managed to rehabilitate through the Jupiter-Chiron miracle-process.  So really, give yourself TLC on Wednesday, as you can’t give it to anyone else in a depleted state.  And someone may ask you for it, by teatime [Apologies for mealtime fixation on which to hang aspects].  You may feel more confused or overwhelmed than ever.  You feel you’ve done your best, but your relationship(s) and/or your finances (also Venus) don’t look or feel how you’d like them to!  They are as they are, but you need to work a little more on your own process, remembering you can only do what you can to at any given time.

Thursday (16^th) brings the opportunity to look at things in new ways and see more facets of the picture.  Though Mercury is still immersed in Pisces and conjunct with Neptune, it now joins with Chiron in Pisces to look at mental health and psychological issues you may not have considered.  This may initially be challenging or even shocking, but by afternoon tea you have the confidence and mental buoyancy to deal with this new angle, through a sextile between Mercury and Jupiter.

At the end of the week on Saturday (18^th) we have two helpful influences to lift us from the pressure encountered earlier in the week.  In the afternoon, Sun trines Saturn and the plans initiated at the beginning of the week can flourish – you can put your whole heart into them.  Then in the early evening Mercury sextiles Pluto and everything you’ve struggled with over the week can come together in useful and meaningful productivity – the emotional depth combining with constructive communication: while you thought you were drowning, you were learning the tools of success.

If you’ve always admired Aquarians and want to emulate them, please read the latest in the Zodiac Masterclass series:

http://www.lanawooster.co.uk/blog/2012/02/the-aquarian-guide-to-being-ahead-of-the-game/

This morning we are saying goodbye to Whitney Houston, whose health struggles are well-documented in her birthchart.  But my abiding fond memory about her is the song “I will always love you…” which was put on replay very loudly by our next door neighbor for about three months when we first came to live in Norfolk twenty years ago.  It reminds me that she is the champion Valentine balladeer.

This Week in Bullet Points:

• Tomorrow – planning and thinking through
• Tuesday – emotional and mental overwhelm; healing
• Wednesday – new deluge just when you thought you were coming up for air…
• Thursday – new healing perspectives; bright communication
• Saturday – cementing plans; consolidating resources

Aquarius 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 fourth of an occasional series written about the expertise of each Sun Sign. I am still looking for the 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 Taurean Guide to the Inner Artist”, “The Cancerian Guide to Parenting”,”The Aries Guide to the Authenticity” etc. Each article will be written by someone who has the Sun Sign in question.

Here guest blogger Felicity Cook writes about being a futuristic Aquarian. She is no stranger to this website and blog – indeed, she is one of the people in my life without which it would not have come into existence and have kept breathing.

She is a top vocal teacher in the U.K., and is currently in training as a Body Psychotherapist as well as having a huge following on Facebook. I don’t know where she finds the time – she has probably borrowed it from the future!

A word about the mandala: it is one of my very favourites, and somehow conjures up for me an embroidered Tibetan flag or wall hanging (thangka).

The Aquarian Guide to Being Ahead of the Game!

by Felicity Cook

“You just don’t get it do you?” asked a workshop leader of me a very long time ago.
What he didn’t realise and what I was too lacking in confidence to say was that my Aquarian mind was already a few light years ahead, piecing his information together with the material I was already working out for myself about the physiology of the voice and the link with the psyche. I knew I couldn’t make public my thoughts as it was ground breaking work over which he had already implied was nonsense once before, dismissing my ideas verbatim.

We Aquarians are built to be in the kitchen creating Heston Blumenthal sci-fi menus, metaphorically speaking, but don’t ever suggest we get out if it gets too hot because we simply won’t! Could we be aloof? Maybe, but perhaps it’s more that our airy heads (I said airy heads, not air heads, thank you!) that we know we’re on to something. Mess with a Uranian and you could just be tampering with the blue touch paper, so I suggest you step back until invited to light it! The ideas can zoom in from nowhere. For example: 7.30 (or earlier) in the morning when their partner is sleeping, they may suddenly wake up and pose some ethereal philosophical view about the world and or vocalise how unjust it all is. In the meantime, you feel you’ve been run over by a steamroller and on a Sunday morning! Sigh…..

Part of the charm of the Water Carrier, though an air sign, is that they live up, way up in the clouds…. they know what every particle is that makes up that cloud and therefore don’t let any scientist try to challenge them…. the thing is, their cloud is made up of more than small droplets of water or ice crystals that are spread out from each other, they know theirs is the ‘real’ world and have little or no concept that others see it any other way. However, should they realise they or someone else has wronged a fellow traveller, then they would be the first to speak up for justice!

“Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere.”

~ Martin Luther King

A person with an Aquarian Sun is not a straight forward beautifully transparent individual. Anyone who takes on such a person could well be in for an interesting journey with them….. Eccentric, exuberant and usually outgoing, their other side is often hidden; this is the deeper thinker. This is one reason why it can be quite challenging living with an Aquarian….. their ideas have wings and if they haven’t done much in the way of personal processing, you may find it hard to keep up with them as they will leave you at the starting post! When the personal development work has been done you will find yourself with a considerate (usually… and don’t quote me to your stubborn Aquarian lover!) and compassionate individual who has found a way of being able to fly without having to fight the constraints of the establishment and is also able to be pragmatic about their actions too.

So….. how do you learn from the Aquarian? How do you allow yourself to be ahead of the game?

1. Don’t throw the rebel out of the classroom because she/he doesn’t fit what the establishment want….. LISTEN to them instead. They may have something a bit off the wall to move things forward. YOu could develop that too!
2. Don’t take it to heart if they appear aloof. They are just off on their latest non conformist idea and getting a real buzz from it….. they’ll get a kick out of telling you about it if you can show you don’t reject their eccentricity! What would be so wrong if YOU also allowed your wackiness to come forward and be creative?
3. Do allow the Aquarian space to be an individual as their habit is in the Heavens not hemmed in on the ground…. they could help you fly!
4. If you want to know the direction the fiscal health of the world is going, ask an Aquarian….. they can tell you, so you might want to listen!

That’s all folks …… I have a Light Beam to catch…….

Here’s an interview Felicity did earlier:

http://www.lanawooster.co.uk/blog/2010/02/interview-series-no-2-felicity-the-voice-cook/

The Neptune in Pisces watershed in the U.K. seems to have been marked by a surreal covering of snow.  Rather like at Christmas time, people were coming home early to bunker down, carrying armfuls of supplies from supermarkets on the way.  I was urged by my mother to hurry home from Salisbury to Norfolk before the curfew.  On the way, I left my handbag on the train, then ensued a mad dash to the rail terminal where my handbag was waiting, everything left in it.  An old gentleman had handed it in.  Within an hour, the blizzard had started here.  So as I sit typing here with fingerless gloves, I am still dazzled by how lucky I was (transiting Jupiter is currently square my natal Jupiter).  Yesterday, 4^th February, may have been lucky in a different way for someone who believed in the power of the number 4.  Astrologer Linda Goodman assigned the number four to Uranus, but I wonder if it has a resonance to Neptune, given its current prominence.  In the lottery numbers yesterday, not only did the number 4 come up, but four of the other five numbers were in the forties.  I am making a supreme effort not to make mention of reality TV this week, as one of my customer complaints was about that.  Therefore I will plough straight on with the week’s aspects.

If you wish to achieve clarity in your thinking about an issue, you have 2 days to mull it over, then turn it over to the conjunction of the Sun and Mercury in Aquarius on Tuesday morning (7th) for crystal clarity to zap your brain and connect your synapses. It would be ideal for you to be up and conscious, e.g. over a breakfast coffee, to be eligible for and open to its benefits. You need to be up in a reasonable time on Tuesday as you have 3 astrological features to attend to during the course of the day. Just after lunch, Saturn is stationary prior to turning retrograde. If you felt a sense of relief that it was leaving Libra, the sign of relationships, you will need yet more patience (it seems an age ago since I wrote the blog ” Saturn in Libra – Karmic Dilemmas”). Saturn just gets to the brink of Scorpio, and turns back. So there is more to learn and negotiate about relationships, it seems…we are now going over old ground in our relationships, including our relationships with ourselves. Creativity and individuality will be the issue at the Full Moon in the evening. Best deal cleanly with the other 2 features of the day before the evening, then you may be able to meditate on the Full Moon at a higher level in the evening, without all the emotional baggage, i.e the mental issue of the morning, and the relationship issue of late lunchtime. The issue of Full Moon in Leo is that of holding your individuality within a group you are a part of ( it can be the family) as the Moon opposes the Sun in Aquarius. The individual and the group both need to be honoured.  At this point, Venus will still be in Pisces, and its unconditional universal love vibration is still available as a prominent resource in your process.  Wednesday (8^th) sees the entry of Venus into Aries, which could be a slightly uncomfortable passage for Taureans and Librans.  Naturally peacemakers, they will need to dust down and brush up their Inner Warrior for a while, which is easier for some than for others (try summoning up your past lives on battlefields, if you’re stuck).  There’s a little test that day to limber up: Venus semi-sextile Neptune – last chance to slough off any baggage resulting from illusion around relationships or a relationship (that maybe is currently high on a pedestal).  By Friday (10^th) you’ll all be ready for a more substantial test: that of Venus conjunct Uranus.  If you’re ready for some excitement and unpredictability in your social encounters, you’ll take to it better than most.  In the Arts, originality will flourish.  And a final test for Venus exam week occurs on Saturday (11^th) with Venus semi-sextile Jupiter, which could bring a pleasant, though maybe superficial interlude of socializing and smiling…which could be just what you need – a good laugh, with no strings attached.

The Week in Bullet Points:

• Tuesday – Mental Gymnastics; Old Relationship Issues; Individuality versus the Group
• Wednesday – Peacemakers out of their Comfort Zone
• Friday – Too Exciting on the Social Front
• Saturday – Light Comedy

David Hockney

The Observer reported “Everybody is coming out with a smile on their face” from the David Hockney exhibition.  Accordingly, we took photos of ourselves before and after, and indeed there was a look of great exhilaration after seeing the grand and colourful landscapes, stunningly portrayed.  Of all British artists of the last century, I would venture to say his works are easiest on the eye, and I have always held the thought that I would be comfortable with Mr and Mrs Clark and Percy on my wall!  David Hockney has Sun conjunct Mercury in Cancer, so he very much processes through his emotions: even his mind processes through his emotions. The colour in his artworks is an attempt to express the emotion he feels.  In the current exhibition, his landscapes and love for his native Yorkshire are on display.  Rosie Bramley, Head of Art at local school Driffields has said: “He’s an incredibly talented observer but when he introduces colour he’s clearly capturing his feeling about a place – and I think that does relate to how we view the Wolds.”  His ruler the Moon, also governing emotion, is trine Saturn, so he is a shrewd operator, and is able to turn his emotion into practical use.  This aspect would also give him proficiency in drawing, and his artworks are very clearly delineated, sometimes almost cartoon-like.  Martin Kettle wrote in the Guardian: “It is a statement about the primacy of skilled drawing and painting in the visual arts and about the challenge of doing them with originality in the 21^st Century.” Venus in sextile to the Moon and Saturn, in between their trine, gives a feel for beauty, and this makes his paintings easier to relate to than the majority of British art arising in the last century (unless you are Charles Saatchi).  Added to this, his Sun exactly sextiles Neptune giving him a precise and intense degree of inspiration.  The trine of Mars to his Sun/Mercury conjunction accounts for his prolific output.  So overall, he has the constructive chart of someone who has been a mainstay of British art.  I am working on a separate blog about the Exhibition (which may stay as a pipe dream), but in the meantime would urge everybody to try to see it!

Aspects

As there are only 4 aspects to mention this week, I can make the U.S. and Australian adjustments to each. If one of these weeks there is only one aspect ( as did happen once) I could expand to other locations… I left my last U.K. blog at a Saturday night party, and further to this on Sunday in the early hours we have a square between mercury and Jupiter. This indicates wild exaggeration about what a business contact can do for you.  You were networking at the party, and one or the other of you made wild claims, raising expectations.  Either you continued the discussion through the night, or when you took these ideas into your dream world they became more fantastical.  Keep the excitement, but also keep your feet on the ground.  This aspect occurs on the evening of the 28^th in the U.S., so becomes more of a conscious interaction, e.g. you may be at a political fundraising event and may get swept away by a candidate’s promises, or have a vision of the future which may seem impossible at this moment in time.  If you’re in Australia it occurs early afternoon (29^th), so on sunny Bondi Beach you may need to apply extra sunscreen, as the temperature may unexpecedly rise and it could be a scorcher, if you’re a Brit on holiday.  If you’re a regular working Aussie in an office, the air conditioner could be playing up.

On Wednesday 1^st February at tea-time in the U.K. Mercury semi-squares Pluto, and you will be forced to fine-tune your business plan, perhaps involving concessions.  “Tea” could be a little tense or terse, with undercurrents, so keep it light, with not too much to digest.  Suggested lite-bite:  rice cake and tahini.  This aspect occurs in the U.S. at lunchtime, so you still need to be cautious about business ventures and calorie intake, though you may be over the original euphoria and into a more sober stage of planning.  Aussies will experience this aspect early in the working day on 2^nd, and that may entail actually calling in the workforce to mend an appliance or system, such as the air conditioning.

Aspect 3 occurs late on 1^st in the U.K., and it’s Venus opposite Mars, a battle between the sexes among other things.  In the U.K. you might be burning the midnight oil again, even though you’d planned a mundane evening of TV viewing, and even though you might have work the next morning.  For some reason, you couldn’t resist an invitation, but excessive indulgence such as drinking ginger wine may tip you over the edge, and unbalance your system.  You may take this out on your other half, or if you don’t have another half, then that means the other half of yourself.  If you need to be functional the next morning, take heed.  Our man or woman in the U.S. will experience this at tea-time, but they may not call it “tea” [please enlighten me, someone!].  So the yin and yang interaction may take place over this meal time.  If you are dining out you may be tempted to send back your meal with the waiter or waitress, as it may not be quite up to scratch.  But at the same time, work on your inner polarity issues.  Where do you feel yourself to be out of kilter?  Too much salt or sugar, not enough water…?  A slight adjustment here or there could make all the difference to the rest of your day.  And the Aussie outlook will take place late morning on 2^nd.    Whether jogging on the beach, or sweltering in the office, it’s a good time to just observe how you are doing with your nearest and dearest, and with your sugar and water levels, and make adjustments accordingly.

Last but definitely not least, Neptune enters Pisces on Friday (3^rd) at tea-time in the U.K.  This will be a very different atmosphere from Wednesday’s tea-time.  You will be much less on your guard, much more chilled at the end of the week, and possibly in the mood for a liquid evening: Soup of the day (fish soup for pescatorians) rather than tahini and rice cakes.  Neptune did dip into Pisces last year, but with a 14-year cycle through a sign, it’s a good time to take stock of your emotions, both the personal ones and your empathy regarding world level concerns – how much compassion can you encompass without falling apart through overwhelm?  It may be a fine boundary for some.  In the U.S you’ll be lunching, perhaps on a fish which is not threatened by over-fishing.  Accompany that with a watery cucumber salad dressed with watercress, if you’re feeling really virtuous, and in the spirit of the event.  It truly is a watershed moment, so make a ritual of your lunch and use it for a meditative contemplation, washed down with copious amounts of mineral water.  The questions for this moment are centred around the heart: where would you like to see your personal heart centred over the next 14 years, and where would you like to see your  impersonal heart consciousness centred for this period, or at least for the start of the journey?  If you are born around 19 February, as is the musician Seal (who has split up with his wife of 7 years, Heidi Klum), you may be suffering emotional confusion with Neptune on your Sun at 0 degrees Pisces.  Aussies in the early morning of 4^th could be planning for a barbie on the beach, communing with dolphins…But those in the continental interior may look to other sacred spaces to define this important ingress (change of sign by a planet) and to honour the Earth.  The prayer to Water of Masaru Emoto is as relevant as ever now (see under my Prayers category), and there are populations who do not have access to clean water.  We may pray about the balance of our earth and waters, for past victims of tsunamis, and hope that the effects of future tsunamis be minimized.

Website

If you haven’t looked at my website lately, it has had a bit of a revamp, with some new mandalas and a new page for “Future Lives”.

Here is the link for the main entry:

http://www.lanawooster.co.uk/

I am still working on the “Pay Pal for Dummies” and the wrinkly photo – the current one was taken when the website was first set up, six years ago!  The blog followed a year later.

Dancing on Ice

And I haven’t given up on the Dancing on Ice commentary (my Taurean Ascendant stubbornness ruling here!).  There were some superb performances again last week. Chico had a good choice of song: “You’ve Lost that Loving Feeling” by the Righteous Brothers – it wouldn’t have mattered how he had skated, but he scored well.  I have now found a birth date for him, and he has the Sun conjunct Chiron in Aries square Mars and opposing Uranus, so he’s an oddball who intrigues people, and loves to live on a fast vibration, and to surprise others.  Jupiter was conjunct his Mercury at the beginning of the competition when he had just stepped in for Chesney Hawkes, so he was off to a flying start.

Sam Nixon, presenter friend of Mark Rhodes (I am gradually getting to know them…) was Kung Foo Fighting on the ice.  He is another dare devil Sun in Aries, and currently has Jupiter transiting his natal North Node (good karma), another Aries doing well.  He also has Mars in Sagittarius conjunct Uranus (an electrical energy).  As his presenting partner for his children’s TV show has now gone out of the competition (before I had a chance to blog about him) – that means I will have to make a substitute.

Andy Whyment is a third Aries male, indeed another 2^nd April with Chico!  He has a tight conjunction between Venus/Mars/Sun which is expressive, but Jupiter conjunct Saturn in Libra sometimes holds him back.  His unaspected Uranus may be the reason he keeps surprising the professionals! Jayne Torvill told him “I was shocked how good your skating was” and Katarina Witt followed with the comment “You keep surprising me”.

For our fourth, let’s look at one of the new judges, Katarina Witt herself, who we remember (if we are old enough) as an international ice skating competitor during the heyday of Torvill and Dean (circa 1984).  What a gracious lady!  She always tries to make a constructive comment, and is full of enthusiasm where she has enjoyed a performance.  She has a natal Uranus/Pluto conjunction:  a complex high energy conjunction from one born in the mid-60s, opposed by Saturn/Chiron and squaring her Sun/Mercury conjunction in Sagittarius, forming a T-square which must have been difficult for her to manage. This current opportunity in her career is shown by a trine of transiting Saturn to her Jupiter.  That’s all Folks!

The Week in Bullet Points:

• Today – Keep the enthusiasm, but don’t overdo it!
• Wednesday – Deep thoughts, but lite-bites; later male-female balancing
• Friday – in at the deep end, spiritual swimming

At the time the Costa Concordia ran aground, Uranus was squaring Italy’s Mercury in the 8^th House in Cancer (a shock to its coastline).  Italy suffered a double shock that day, because on the same day, Italy’s credit rating was downgraded by Standard & Poor (the 8^th House also represents financial dealings with others).   When Silvio Berlusconi departed from office last November, Uranus (extreme change) was also squaring Italy’s Mercury (a challenge to its mindset).  The Costa Concordia was originally ordered on 19 January 2004, under a Moon conjunct Pluto trine Mars, which might have raised some Health and Safety issues.  Be careful what aspects you order a sailing vessel under, such as a Royal Yacht.  But ours is still at the discussion stage, I believe, so no astrological chart to be drawn just yet.  On the night that the Costa Concordia ran aground, Venus was on the cusp of Aquarius and Pisces, conjunct with Neptune.  Mercury was also conjunct Pluto – both conjunctions of the deep.  There is a sense of fatefulness when the chart of the disaster is compared to the chart of the ordering of the sea vessel: Pluto was opposing the ship’s Saturn (destruction by grounding).  What of the role of the Captain, Francesco Schettino?  Schettino was born three days before Jonathan Ross in the same year.  Ross has now relaunched himself, after a cavalier prank in 2008.  It could be the role of their Pluto conjunct the North Node to live on the edge.  Of Schettino’s relationship to Italy, his Neptune (carelessness) squares Italy’s Pluto, but it is quite a price to pay for carelessness.  Perhaps we will find out more about his state of mind in due course.

The Sun sextiles Uranus today: A bright start to a bright day.  Maybe you slept unexpectedly, contrary to your usual insomnia pattern, and feel re-aligned.  The Sun also squares Jupiter, so there is a possibility of overreaching yourself in enthusiastic efforts, e.g. pruning the bushes in the garden.  Just know your own boundaries, and those of your neighbours.  Tomorrow the New Moon occurs in the sign of Aquarius at 2 degrees – Another bright start to another bright day.  A time to launch or relaunch social initiatives, and look at life in a new, and perhaps whackier, way.  Group consciousness is favoured, and mind-melding.  Subsequently, Mercury trines Mars and an energetic trek or fitness drive may be supported by the Universe.  If you have strident words to say, you may find clear but inoffensive ways to say them. This time you can set things precisely right, if you have been awkward in your past efforts.  On Tuesday (24^th) Mars is stationary prior to turning retrograde – having taken two steps forward this week, plans may begin to stall, leaving you only one step forward.  The expert on retrogrades Erin Sullivan says of Mars retrograde: “When transiting Mars stations and turns retrograde, all externalized drive and focused energy reverses its direction.  The daily progress of which one normally takes no note suddenly becomes filled with effort.”  As if to illustrate this, Friday (27^th) brings a square between Mercury and Saturn, which could bring beaurocratic delays to your documentation, rather like a retrograde Mercury action or non-action, but shorter and sharper and more embodied in a particular event.  Plans may take a step backwards but remember if you made the most of the headway early in the week, you are still one step forward from where you were at the beginning of the week, the snakes are now behind you and there are a couple of ladders in sight!  Mercury then goes into Aquarius in the early evening of Friday, bringing a fresher mental outlook, and stimulating discussion if you are socializing.  If you are spending a quiet Friday night in, it is a good time to actively start a new project, rather than sit mesmerized in front of the television (I hope I will be able to walk my talk).  Mentally you can turn things around now, because another boost arrives on Saturday (28^th) in the shape of Mercury sextile Uranus.  Again it’s at tea-time in the U.K., so again more socializing is on the cards, and some of it could be quite electrifying.  If  you are having a traditional tea, it won’t be sedate!  If you are having a housewarming party there could be some welcome surprises.  And if you are attending a reunion, mentally you will be reeling.  Estrangements may be healed.

In your Dancing on Ice update for this week, the stand out surprisingly wonderful performers of last week (Chico and Matthew Wolferton) have proved elusive in the search for birth dates. Maybe these will emerge as the series continues.  Jennifer Ellison, who skated first last Sunday, won the culinary challenge Hell’s Kitchen a few years back in 2004, when Uranus was exactly square to her Uranus.  With Sun/Mars (high energy) opposite natal Jupiter/Uranus, she relishes a challenge and is a risk taker.  She has made a good start, and should do well.

Veteran fitness guru Rosemary Conley (my age bracket) according to the commentator performed a tortilla wrap (I could manage one in the kitchen).  Natally she has Venus conjunct Jupiter, a very sociable feature, and called Dancing on Ice: “The Most Wonderful Show on Earth”, which is a superlative befitting her Venus/Jupiter enthusiasm.  If you’ve ever wondered where she gets her inexhaustible energy from – it’s directly from the Centre of the Galaxy where she has her Sun (she’s a rare creature, and I wish her well in the competition!).  Like Jennifer Ellison and Heidi Range, she has the high energy conjunction between Mars and the Sun (it is not that common!).

Holywood actor Corey Feldman  was lagging behind in training – making 2 films at the same time – and appeared in the skate off, possibly not for the first time.  He has a sensitive chart, with Sun in Cancer square Chiron, and Jupiter conjunct Neptune.  His partner Brooke Castile has Moon conjunct Jupiter and  the Sun, Chiron and Mercury in Gemini.  The pair have their Venuses conjunct, plus his Uranus trines her Sun.  Uranus currently trines Corey’s Neptune, so he may be learning personal and impersonal lessons of sensitivity through his participation in the show, whilst multitasking in his film ventures, Uranus stimulating his ability to take on complexity (Neptune) which may not enable him to stay long in the competition.  It’s a spinning plate he may not be able to maintain.

Sebastien Foucan, a French runner specializing in freerunning and parkour, is someone I was unaware of, not being of a sporty disposition.  But he seems to have taken the contest by storm, with an unusual twist in that his fierce independence (natally Mercury/South Node trine Uranus) created distance between him and his skating partner Brianne Delcourt.  He performed well, and it is intriguing to see whether he takes note of his partner in his next performance.  Philip Schofield said he brought passion to the contest, and this may be his Venus/Chiron conjunction in Aries, but in many ways he has a private chart.  Incidentally, he is a Gemini, and running is the sport most associated with Gemini.  I associate ice dancing with Pisces.

The Week in Bullet Points:

• Today – Bright and enthusiastic (up the ladder)
• Tomorrow – New ventures and energy (up the ladder)
• Tuesday – Take stock (down the snake)
• Friday  – Slow down and assess things carefully early on (down the snake) but later offers a fresher mental outlook (you could have a cat nap in between).  Up the ladder again
• Saturday – Electrifying! (definitely up the social ladder)

It’s time to consider that there may be a contender pitted against Obama in the U.S. Presidential Election in November.  After Sarah Palin bowed out, and Michelle Bachmann has left the scene, and a few others came and went, Mitt Romney emerges as a possibility after his triumph in Iowa and New Hampshire.  I have to say that I still feel that Obama has the stature for the role of President – that he has not performed as well as hoped I feel is because he has not been allowed to by the opposition, in the same way that I feel that in British politics David Cameron has not played fair with Nick Clegg.  Not that Nick Clegg is in the same league as Obama, but that he has been scapegoated and disempowered by a Prime Minister who has not played fair.  If Politicians are continually fighting, nothing helpful ever gets done.  They put the power play before health, education and peace, and rarely do you find a sense of co-operation even for important projects for the good of all. In the Guardian yesterday, Jonathan Freedland talked about the gridlock experienced by the current U.S. administration, calling it “an abuse of the system, a consequence specifically of the march rightward of the republican party“.

So…looking at Mitt Romney’s chart, I am not bowled over, but then, as I say, I am biased!  He has no Earth planets, so could be said to be ungrounded.  He has the past-life Warrior Archetype in the shape of the Nodal Axis square to his Mars, and may be part of a warrior group.  On the plus side, he has the Moon exactly conjunct Jupiter, which is buoyant, and has been labeled “guilelessly optimistic” in the past.  He also has a balanced Jupiter trine Saturn, but a dark Chiron square Pluto.  On the date of the election, neither Romney nor Obama have easy aspects, but Pluto is trine Obama’s Pluto, and if he were to win it would mean he would be coming into his own power, and may have more of a chance to deliver on his original ideals.  Jupiter will be trine the U.S. Saturn, and so there may be a sense of uplift in the mood of the continent.

Nancy’s Blog (see my Contact page for the link) said spookily accurately of Mitt Romney on 2^nd January, before Iowa:

“Mitt Romney does well in Iowa but may share the winnings with Paul and Santorum. He has a very strong win in New Hampshire.  South Carolina and Florida are disappointing, but he remains very aggressive throughout January and February and regains his strong momentum from mid-February onward, winning Super Tuesday (March 6) decisively. May is likely to be his official crowning as nominee.”

This morning Venus sextiles Jupiter, making it an excellent day for socializing, wining and dining.  Tomorrow, Venus conjuncts Chiron and healing hopes could be raised, and in some cases realized.  On Wednesday (18^th) we have a recurrence of Jupiter semi-sextile Uranus, which last occurred on 13^th December, if you can resurrect your old diary.  At that time, I wrote:

“Jupiter from 0 degrees Taurus is semi-sextile Uranus at 0 degrees Aries [they have now reached 1 degree], very fundamental positions being tested against each other.  Some Gandhi-like negotiations might be needed, in order to avoid the collapse of the whole.  In your own life one area may look to be holding up, but faces a challenge from another area of your life which somehow you know could go either way.  Expand your consciousness and see things from a larger perspective, where things are already unified and whole.”

In actual fact, I found it to be a buoyant, co-operative and productive day on a personal level and between people, so the contact between Jupiter and Uranus can work well, in such a mildly uneasy aspect.

On Thursday (19^th), there is a square between the Sun and Saturn, and there may be a little nugget of inertia infiltrating your plans, so you may need a little nugget of persistence and optimism to overcome this.   Unless the signals are prohibitive, you should be able to proceed. Friday (20^th) brings a change of Sun Sign, from the sluggish Capricorn to the more dynamic Aquarius.  Overnight, people may have slept on the difficulties of the previous day, and dreamt the solutions, and brought new energy to the table.  For instance, if you baked a Mary Berry recipe the day before and felt disheartened, you might try it again with a new twist on the Friday, surprising everybody.  Later the same day, our positive input will be rewarded by a supportive sextile between Venus and Pluto.  While reviewing events of the day, there is a sense of deep fulfillment, especially when reviewing baking.  People will understand more easily where others have been coming from.

A new series of Dancing on Ice has begun, and anticipating tonight’s show I thought I would look at a random batch of contestants’ charts – there are always a great number at the beginning, and that is twice as many if you look at the charts of the professional skaters too.  The four I have chosen are all female, partly because I hardly know most of the men’s batch, but my interest usually warms up as the series goes on.  Heidi Range was a co-founder of Atomic Kitten with Kerry Katona, many years ago.  She always has a dazzling smile, and performed well with her then partner a few years ago on Mr and Mrs.  In the first show of this series, Heidi was in the skate off, and so we could lose her in an early round.  She currently has her Saturn Return, and in addition Neptune is trine her Saturn, so she feels tested but will find herself through the experience, though she may not stay long in the competition.

Charlene Tilton, who was Lucy Ewing in Dallas in the 1980s, impressed me with a gracefulness that Lucy never showed.  She has a difficult and high energy Grand Cross in her natal chart, but the chart is balanced by some strong trines as well.  She was off to a steady start somewhere in the middle of the leader board, with Mars trine her natal Mars in support, and the North Node conjunct her Venus.

Jorgie Porter from Hollyoaks was enormously popular.  A Christmas Day baby, she has great character as shown by Sun/Mercury/Venus/Neptune in Capricorn, a line-up of great talent.  She has balance (Jupiter trine Saturn), which is always a good quality on ice, inspiration (Neptune close to her personal planets) and a revolutionary spirit (Uranus exactly square her Nodal Axis).  Jupiter is working up to a transit of her Sun, which happens on Sunday 5^th February, so expect a spectacular performance around that time.  There are positive links between her chart and that of her skating partner Matt Evers.

Chemmy Alcott, as expected, has high-energy features in her chart: Mars conjunct Pluto and square the Sun, but they are tempered by the involvement of Saturn.  She impressed the judges last week, but they took into account her brave recovery from a leg injury sustained while ski-ing just over a year ago as a professional Skier.  She has no up close and personal aspects to Chiron (the wounded healer) and so her courageous re-building is even more impressive from an astrological point of view.  Her astrological transits are quite buoyant at the moment, including Uranus (surprise) trine her natal Uranus (risk).  Her professional skating partner Sean Rice has a trine at the moment between transiting Jupiter and his natal Jupiter, which contributed to a good start. There is good co-operation between them as his Saturn trines Chemmy’s Saturn.

The Week in Bullet Points:

Today – Come Dine, or Party Party

Tomorrow – Healing initiatives

Wednesday – Seismic shifts and tectonic plates in the human experience; Possibly buoyant, co-operative and productive day on a personal level and between people

Thursday – slow and steady wins the race

Friday – the tide turns more briskly

Few people could have been unmoved by the dignity of Doreen Lawrence this week, waiting 18 years for justice for her son Stephen Lawrence.  She has been the epitome of the positive strength of Sun in Scorpio.  Her contribution to the justice system has been outstanding – perhaps she will be honoured in the next set of New Year’s honours.  Her husband Neville has also contributed so much during that time, but we do not have his birth date.  The 18-year cycle is very significant karmically, as the North Node (carrier of the karmic records) takes 18 years to travel round the zodiac.  Thus Stephen Lawrence (in her own words to be remembered as a “bright, beautiful” boy) had natally the North Node at 14 degrees Sagittarius, and at his death aged 18 it had exactly returned to this natal position, then 18 years later it was at that degree during the trial, and the True Node was exactly at 14 degrees during the conviction of Dobson and Norris for his murder.  Duwayne Brooks, the friend who was with him at the time and who endured much at the time of the attack, at the hands of the Police, and as a witness in Court, has his North Node close by at 13 degrees Sagittarius.  The United Kingdom has its Sun at 14 degrees Sagittarius (in the 1922 chart) and this is why the case has been so significant for our society.  Sagittarius is one of two signs which represents the law, the other of course being Libra.  Racism is still an issue in our society, being one of the issues which was brought up by the riots last year.  It is a subject which still has a great subconscious charge, hence the Freudian slip by Diane Abbot on Twitter this week, where she appeared to be criticizing white society.  A pupil at Stephen Lawrence’s school (Abolanie Salvador) was quoted in the Guardian yesterday as saying: “I always feel like there’s  a purpose to everyone’s life, and though he did die early I think his death was significant – it made change, and that what he should be remembered for.”

Today Mercury enters Capricorn, and we leave behind the frivolity of the holiday period and knuckle down to our New Year purposes.  Mercury trines Jupiter, which broadens our minds, magnifies the benefits of our transactions today, and ensures good movement in business and sales.  Our minds are able to reach out and expand, especially if we are working on serious projects.  But there may be pitfalls, as later on in the day Uranus squares Mercury, and we need to be sure of our intent and aware of possible loopholes.  It is as if the Universe entices us to dream big, then shows us where the failings are in our plans.  We need to be aware of the trees as well as the wood.  Two heads are better than one in this respect, as one person may be able to spot something the other would miss.  Insomnia may occur overnight for that reason, and because there is a Full Moon in Cancer tomorrow – too much to digest mentally and emotionally.  You definitely need to ask your Guides to process some of it for you, until you can encompass it all!  If you are good at emotion, ask them to process the mental stuff tonight, and if you are good at intellectual gymnastics ask them to siphon off some of the emotion for the time being.  If you are always a good sleeper, your Higher Self may process it all effortlessly overnight.  Either way, the focus tomorrow will be on the emotional content of the issues in your life, perhaps family affairs.  It is an emotional high tide.  We have two trines, then two conjunctions, on Friday (13^th) so the struggles of the early part of the week may actually pay off in terms of things falling into place by Friday.  First the Sun trines Mars, and we will be fired up energetically, with the more strident aspects of life to the fore. Plans for the Olympics will be proceeding apace!  The Arab Spring and Occupy movements may take a step forward.  Weather may be warmer.  Then Venus trines Saturn, and in human relations loyalty and support will be easier to give and to receive.  Again, this may relate especially to family life.  It is a good time to examine the heart, and assess whether you are going through the motions,  whether you are undergoing a dry and dutiful exercise, or whether your higher ideals are fuelling efforts to do the best by the recipients of your loyalty and support, without beating yourself up.  It is just a good time to see how things really are in relationships.  This may save you from the pitfalls of a later aspect on Friday which is Mercury conjunct Pluto, where again there is the possibility of mental and emotional overload.  If you have done the soul-searching from the beginning of the week, you may have really deep insights at this time.  If not, you may be on the receiving end of some angst, e.g. someone may tell you exactly what is in their subconscious mind (Diane Abbot may tweet you).  Be ready to engage with life, fully but constructively.  A further conjunction between Venus and Neptune completes the Friday 13^th package, which can go either way.  Idealism or illusionment in love are on the sides of the divide, and again you need to go in there fully conscious.  Therefore meditation between aspects today may help regulate them and derive the best from them.  I would recommend meditating first thing in the morning (the first trine being at 4.46 a.m. in the U.K.) and then again early lunchtime, before the conjunction between Mercury and Pluto at 13.03 p.m.  This could be a tricky exercise at work, e.g. in the Office, as you may have to swop a lunch break time with a workmate, or lobby that your Office provide a meditation room.  You may find yourself expanding your heart and your compassion, especially if you are working with the meditation, and may be able to see things in a heart-centred and compassionate way (Venus conjunct Neptune) while also in a detached and expanded state (Venus at the end of Aquarius and on the cusp with Pisces).  The week’s journey concludes with Venus entering Pisces on Saturday (14^th) and if you feel you have been processing your life through a fine toothed comb throughout the week, you will relax into your emotions on Saturday, into the collective pool of emotion, and this may feel like a release.  If you are not a Piscean, you may worry that this is chaotic, letting go and letting God.  But you may by that time have no choice but to stop struggling and start surrendering.  Some moments are like that.

The week in bullet points:

• Today – a mental work-out
• Tomorrow – an emotional high tide
• Friday – a bonanza of life experience
• Saturday – let go emotionally

Well, we are here – it’s 2012!  What have we in store?  Is it possible to sense the energy of a year from its first moments – I am sure there are people who can.  I had an email this week from my Mayan Calendar friend O’Douce, talking of Oneness, Change, Miracles and flushing out fear.  Another friend Asia Haleem wrote a blog for 2012 last year, taking an astronomical look at events, and coming to a reassuring conclusion (see Mayan Calendar category for further reading).   My mum (who does not subscribe to the Mayan Calendar) remarked that she liked the number 2012, much better than 2011.  From the synaesthetic point of view (and I am not a numerologist) I can go along with that: I saw 2011 as a spiky silver grey, but I see 2012 as a double fuschia pink, which may not mean anything.  But I think it’s important to be able to feel that it is going to be a good year.  It’s important for the hope in your heart to edge past the depressing sets of facts, figures and statistics in the news.  The stand-out events of 2011 (and if you need a reminder, read my retrospective blog) were the Arab Spring/Occupy Movements (Jupiter and Uranus in Aries) and the world-threatening Euro crisis (Uranus square Pluto, ongoing).

But it is the subject of relationships which is grabbing me, blogwise, this morning.  Television scriptwriters brought together two long term relationships  last week:  on Downton Abbey Christmas Day the writer Julian Fellowes brought together Matthew and Mary.  I for one, was relieved, because I had only just started watching it and I have a short fuse for suffering. The chart for 10.59 pm on Christmas night showed this unique television highlight as Virgo rising (emotional holding back, and perfection) close to Mars (desire) trine Moon (heightened emotion).  Pluto (power) was trine Julian Fellowes’ Saturn (restraint) – he may have felt coerced into it.  On 29th Pip and Estella were brought together on Great Expectations, Charles Dickens having produced two possible endings.  The chart for 9.59 pm showed Mars rising in Virgo again, but with an added karmic feature of the Nodal Axis squaring the Ascendant/Descendant axis plus Sun conjunct Pluto (it was a dark drama altogether).  Posthumously, the North Node was transiting Dickens’ Moon/Neptune conjunction (a karmic coercion on his sensibilities) and Pluto was squaring his Mars (more coercion – perhaps the scriptwriters did not consult him, or perhaps his original ending was just plain wrong, I mean give them a break after such difficult lives).  Meanwhile in “real” showbiz life Katherine Jenkins (who has a difficult conjunction between Mars and Saturn natally) split up with Gethin Jones (currently questioning his love life with Neptune transiting his Venus), and Russell Brand (an astrological twin of Angelina Jolie, who is hanging on to Brad Pitt) split up with Katy Perry (a really intensely Scorpionic Scorpio).  Pluto is transiting Katy’s Jupiter, making this a really intensely Scorpionic time for her, and Saturn is squaring Russell’s Venus, bringing a sad sense of emotional loss.  What is the secret of a long term relationship?  I have been married for 38 years but I do not know the answer. I do know that sometimes my hubby and I appear to be living in parallel universes, because his setting on the toaster is fine for him, whereas it burns my toast.  You may recall that on my training in Future Life Progression (much more of that to come this year) he questioned the feasibility of travelling into the future, which is his right, as a Scientist.  The subject came up again this week, and the debate continued, with an old friend of mine telling him that time goes round in a loop…Our routine was disrupted by the festivities this week, and we found ourselves watching  re-runs of Frasier and watching for the first time an American comedy series called “The Big Bang Theory”.  Hubby Mike explained to me that at the time of the big bang, photons were released and these may have created parallel universes.  I will keep you updated on the ongoing debate, but meanwhile re-affirm  my feeling that Future Life Progression contributes to an evolutionary step forward – I am preparing a new website page on this.

Today Mercury squares Mars, a day of mild irritation.  You may not be feeling at your best as a) You drank too much last night, or b) You stayed up too late, and/or c) You were awake all night trying to assess the synaesthetics of the numbers of every year since you were born.  There were fireworks last night, which at some point fizzled out, and similarly any fireworks today will at some point fizzle out.  This is the beginning of 2012 – could it be symbolic?  I think we expect more of the year.  As the beginning of the week, it might also be symbolic of the week, because this aspect goes unchallenged until Saturday (7^th), so work to refine it: its highest potential is sharpness of mind.  On Saturday, Mercury sextiles Saturn, steadying the mind and providing the ability to lay down foundations for those New Year plans and resolutions.  This is later backed up by a sextile between Mercury and Neptune (the inspiration strangely coming after the plans are laid down by the solid foundations – it is as if you need the faith that provides in order to allow the dream to come forth).  There is a window around midday where Mercury is at the midpoint of the trine between Saturn and Neptune, when the vision of perfection can really be seen, at the midpoint of the material and the spiritual.  This vision may be your future life progression for 2012.

Live, Love, Laugh and Be Happy!

The week in bullet points:

• Today – delicate mind, a work in progress
• Saturday – foundations and dreams, seize the vision

Selections from the blog:

January

16^th: There were floods all over the globe last week: in Australia, Brazil and Sri Lanka, creating unexpected devastation.  I wonder if this presages the entry of Neptune into its own water sign of Pisces in April this year.

23^rd: With Jupiter jumping ship from Pisces and into the fire of Aries, it is off with the old (3 U.K. resignations – Alan Johnson, Andy Coulson and Brian Cowen) and on with the new:  Ed Balls (with his Venus at the beginning of Aries) and gloriously clutzy Sagittarian Miranda Hart who received 3 trophies at the British Comedy Awards.

30^th: And the event of the week goes to – Egypt.   But the unravelling started in Tunisia when Mars moved into Aquarius, and just before Jupiter moved into Aries.  How did Tunisia come to occupy that ignitory role?  In its natal chart, its birth being during the year of the Suez crisis, there is a powerful exact conjunction between Jupiter and Pluto in Leo, trine the Galactic Centre.

February

6^th: The big question of the week seems to have been whether or not the President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak would stay or go, and if he would go, when.  Wider than the personal fortune of a dictator, there is also the nail-biting question of whether Egypt can do what no other country in the Middle East has so far done – created a democracy out of the ashes of a dictatorship.

27^th: Three weeks ago I wrote: “The big question of the week seems to have been whether or not the President of Egypt Hosni Mubarak would stay or go, and if he would go, when. “  Now substitute Libya for Egypt and Gaddafi for Mubarak, and I have another set of charts to consider.  Libya though is a different matter altogether than Egypt, and Gaddafi very different from Mubarak.

March

6^th: On the world stage, Saturday (12^th) is the most important day, as Uranus re-enters Aries, joining Jupiter who has been holding up the success of the revolutionaries singlehandedly.  Revolution 21^st Century-style is due to ratchet up its pace.

13^th: Within hours of Uranus entering Aries, a large scale disaster unfolded on our screens coming from Japan: earthquake, followed by tsunami and then nuclear plant meltdown.  The national chart of Japan shows the sword of Damocles which has been present in the form of a Grand Cross between the natal Mercury, Saturn, Uranus and Chiron.

20^th: There is so much going on this week that I have a split-screen in my mind of Libya on one side and Japan on the other, and though Libya has overtaken Japan on the news at this moment, there is really a lot more going on in Japan.

27^th: There seems to be even more going on this week, and I am wondering how to pack it all into one little blog.  Of course I can’t contain it here…Harry Hill may be able to manage the week’s TV viewing in one little TV studio, but even the news broadcasters are having difficulty fitting in follow ups to the Japanese earthquake and tsunami.

April

10^th: You may feel that you were losing the plot last week, or that events in the world were going round in circles.  Has there been any progress in Libya, you might have wondered?  And what is going on in Japan?  In the UK, the government announced that they would not immediately be implementing their new NHS policies, to give time to “pause, listen, reflect and improve” them, playing for more time in order to “explain to the public”.

24^th: I don’t like to fuel stereotypes but most of the women I have spoken to intend to watch a little of the Royal Wedding on the T.V., while most of the men intend to make it an excuse to do something else…

May

1^st: My highlights were:  the delicately laced dress, the tree-lined Abbey, the beauty of the Abbey itself (aerial photography has come a long way), the spine-tingling hymn “Jerusalem”, and the spiritual clarity of the sermon by the Bishop of London.

8^th: This week on “Question Time” they could have debated the issue ad infinitum: whether or not Osama bin Laden should have been killed.

29^th: The tide does change on Saturday (4^th) with a refreshing new emphasis brought about by Jupiter entering Taurus.  It has completed its work in Aries in forgeing the fervent Arab Spring.

June

12^th: This week has seen further international pressure for Syria’s government to stand down or at least stop killing its own citizens.  President Bashar Al-Assad heads another dictatorship in the Middle East, but one being treated very differently than that of Muammar Al-Ghaddafi in Libya.

July

3^rd: Meanwhile the International Monetary Fund came back into prominence in the news last week. The natal Venus (which represents money) of the International Monetary Fund lies exactly at the Galactic Centre, which is very appropriate for such an Institution.  This week Christine Lagarde was appointed the new Head of the IMF, close to the New Moon eclipse which fell exactly opposite her natal Sun.

10^th: On Thursday, the day that Jupiter trined Pluto (huge endings) it was announced that the last ever edition of the News of the World would be published this Sunday, it was the premier of the last in the Harry Potter series of films (transiting Jupiter squaring the magical Mars/Neptune conjunction of the natal chart of the first film), and the final launch of the space shuttle Atlantis marking the end of the space shuttle program(me) a day later.

17^th: All sorts of side stories have had to be pushed aside this week, in order to look at the all-encompassing story of the dissolving empire of media mogul Rupert Murdoch.  A generation of minds have been infiltrated by the culture of sensationalizing the news which certainly was the style of the now defunct News of the World.  In a world where over the centuries power was associated with politics (temporal power) or religion, he found a way to general domination through a new source: the modern media.

24^th: By the time you read this it will be old news, at the rate events are moving.  A standout event of the last few days was the appearance of father and son Murdoch in front of the Culture, Media and Sport Select Committee last Tuesday. Their body language was captured by media Psychologist Peter Collett in the Guardian.  He analyzed Rupert Murdoch’s posture (intending to show he was fully involved), his pauses (showing a dominant individual) and his table-tapping “- a sure sign that he’s used to giving commands”.  Apparently James Murdoch was a “model of courtesy”, making sure by eye contact that all committee members felt included.

31^st: Amy Winehouse is the Janis Joplin of her generation (at the age of 61, I have seen too many of these over the decades), dubbed a member of the “27 Club” of music greats being cut short at this age.  This is the age just before the Saturn Return marker, which is a challenge to the structure of one’s life.  She had not been able to find the right structure for her life, and in addition was facing a Nodal Reversal, which involved the Mars/South Node conjunction around that weekend (so there was a significant karmic element to the timing of her passing).  Let us hope for a breakthrough in the understanding of addiction, and the true role of Rehab for the next generation, so that such huge talents are not snuffed out before time.

August

14^th: All Astrologers were able to predict that last week held the potential for violence, and that it would be on a grand scale, with a T-square between Mars, Pluto and Uranus.  The surprise was that it happened in England, first on the streets of London, and then spreading to other cities.

September

4th: This week is about questions. The whereabouts of Gaddafi are still unknown. And the issues thrown up by the London riots (violence, poverty, social alienation, policing, parenting etc) are just beginning to be unravelled.  In order to arrive at solutions, the problems need to be fully understood. Rarely, we only have one aspect this week: Mercury opposite Neptune, which we met in late July and then early August during the English riots.

25^th: I can no longer avoid blogging about the world economy this week.  Every week the noises about being on the brink of meltdown become louder, so that now I can’t hear myself think.  The big figures on the financial stage seem to be Christine Lagarde, Barack Obama, Angela Merkel and George Osborne, but the general impression seems to be indecisiveness and the question leveled being “Who’s in Charge”?  Astrologically the question seems very complex, and the general consensus is that the crisis is due to the square between Uranus and Pluto.

October

9^th: The new line up in the current series of Strictly Come Dancing looks promising!  In particular, Jason Donovan and Anita Dobson seemed to shine initially.  Jason has his Venus, Sun and Mars in Gemini, the sign of Neighbours, but does not have a traditional dancer’s chart.  So I was pleasantly surprised.

23^rd: Gaddafi met his end last week.  Muammar started out thinking of himself as a liberator.  As the Guardian Obituary tells us: “With Nasser as his idol – he too later titled himself colonel – the 14 year old Gaddafi was caught up in the surging pan-Arab emotions of the time, in the ideals of Arab renaissance…Expelled from school for his political activities, he continued his secondary education at Misrata, on the coast, and there, with some of his classmates, he decided to join the army as a means of overthrowing the monarchy”.

November

6^th: Interesting synchronicity that Joanna Lumley was finishing her Greek Odyssey on our screens as a Greek drama unfolded on the Eurozone scene,  in the crescendo of the week.  In the final programme of the series, Joanna was told that the series would be successful by an elderly Greek lady who was reading her coffee grounds.  Unfortunately, she did not pronounce on the future of the Euro.

13^th: Meanwhile, nuclear threats are gathering in the Middle East in remembrance week – the U.S. and Israel are in a quandary about what to do, or whether to do anything, about Iran’s gathering nuclear capability. Let’s hope they choose the way of the Tao, rather than the way of Blair-Bush  (Pluto is approaching a trine to Iran’s Saturn next year, which will support its nuclear plans).

20^th: The Arab Spring has the energy of Uranus in Aries, as does the Occupy movement.  We are in the throes of inner and outer revolution.  As a human race we now demand freedom from slavery, and also in our personal relationships.

December

4^th: The Eurozone crisis is still threatening the stability of the world economy.  This week the crisis has been held squarely in the hands of Angela Merkel, so she’s got the whole world in her hands.  I think that makes her woman of the week, though hubby disagrees…In May 2010 I wrote that “Her natal chart shows an interest in personal finance (North Node and Chiron in the 2^nd House) and public finance (Jupiter, Uranus and the Sun in 8^th House).”

11^th: Now none of this human posturing (in politics) or angst (in conscience) or communication difficulties (inwardly and outwardly) may be of any importance relative to the issue of global warming which was shown graphically on the last episode of “Frozen Planet” by David Attenborough tele-visually this week (a programme which I happened to catch).  On the Andrew Marr show this morning, David Attenborough reminded him that the melting of the ice was not in dispute, but it was the contribution of mankind which was in dispute.

If you have woken early to see what aspects Santa has brought, you can go back for a lie in after popping the turkey in the oven.  For the Xmas special (Jupiter turning direct) doesn’t occur until 22.08 Hrs in the U.K., well after the TV Xmas soaps.   Haven’t managed to watch enough cookery run- up-to-Xmas programmes, but caught Jamie Oliver doing tacos for breakfast, Nigella glittery-eyed over port and stilton (heartburn-inducing viewing) and Raymond Blanc being advised on how to rough up the potatoes, prior to cooking them in a gallon of goose fat… They looked beautifully crisp, but give me a veggie Xmas any time!  Back to Jupiter turning direct:  Christmas day itself peps up in the evening, maybe after a staid beginning (everyone on their best behaviour?) and a slow warm-up.  If you’re like the Royle family, you might start some hand jiving from your prone position on the couch.  Every family has its tried and tested traditions… My sister and I have performed “Prince Charming” by Adam Ant plus “Making your Mind up!” by Bucks Fizz every Christmas/New Year since 1981 (that’s 30 years),  adding Shakira’s “Whenever, Wherever” to the repertoire in 2002. I am thinking we should preserve it on video for the next generation (not for You Tube) but my sister disagrees preferring to leave it to memory.  It was originally staged for the older generation, but the middle generation find it nothing but an embarrassment…Back to the Astrology, you know those awkward Xmas moments?  Like granny finding out you don’t like Belgian chocolate after all, or your other half winding you up with the same Xmas jokes every year?  These could occur at lunchtime on Boxing Day (26th) with Venus semi-sextle Pluto. To grin and bear it or not to grin and bear it, that is the question.  It might help to know that it’s a minor, passing aspect.  Fast forward to Thursday (29th) and the day dawns with a conjunction of the Sun and Pluto.  This could make for a dodgy episode of Eastenders – drama may be brewing or have already  brewed – have the chamomile tea ready.  Maybe Phil had too much to drink the night before and vowed to avenge the cat who ate his Christmas pudding.  His woman (is it Shirley?  I have lost track of the characters) hides the cat and replaces it with a stuffed toy.   In his bleary eyed state, Phil won’t
know the difference.   Seriously though, try to minimize the damage or fall-out,  as peace is the aim, at least until the New Year.  It would be easy to let rip. This last aspect of the year and the consequences of how you handle it will set the tone for the next year, 2012, and not since 1984 and 2000 have we had such highly-charged numbers whose fame has preceded them.  And you know what happened, and what didn’t happen, in those years.  With the slow-cooking square between Uranus and Pluto many of us are feeling that we are entering into unchartered territory.  The trick, or challenge,  is to find a vein of excitement, which will lead to creative solutions.  Happy New Year!

The week in bullet points:

• Christmas Day – get into the swing
• Boxing Day – minimize the agro
• Thursday – feel your feelings, and let go of what you don’t need