From “Elizabeth” by Alexander Walker:

“I realize that my whole life is being in motion pictures.  For me to quit would be like cutting away the roots of a tree…I’ve made up my mind for myself and I’ll take all the hardship and everything else that comes along.”

(from a note to her mother in her early teens)

This is the first of an astrobiographical series about the life of Elizabeth Taylor, in which I hope to cover various aspects of her life, such as health, relationships and her work.  I am starting with the birthchart.

Film stardom is a province of Sun in Pisces, through its ruling planet Neptune, and Elizabeth Taylor was the film star par excellence.  She also had chronic health conditions, which can sometimes beset Sun in Pisces in difficult aspect.  Thirdly, she was outstanding in her charity work (also Pisces/Neptune) in her chosen field of AIDS.

J. Randy Taraborrelli describes in his entertaining biography “Elizabeth” some quintessential Piscean traits: “Though she could be tremendously self-absorbed, she could also be a good and loyal friend, especially to the downtrodden and confused people in her life – as she would demonstrate countless times”.

Moon in Scorpio gave her the ability to feel and portray in-depth  emotions, and a penchant for drama.

Mercury in Pisces in her chart is exactly opposite natal Neptune (channelling but also obfuscation) portrays the fact that she would dip in to the collective unconscious with her mind and her heart.  Pisces is one of two main signs of acting talent. Leo is the other, home of showmanship and drama. Pisces represents the sensitivity and fluidity which allows the self, chameleonlike, to almost become the character one is portraying.

Venus is in Aries conjunct Uranus in the house of lovers.  One would expect a woman of legendary beauty to have something special going on with her Venus. Elizabeth’s Venus in Aries is selfishly demanding in love, and is conjoined with Uranus giving her tremendous personal social magnetism.   A trine with Jupiter proliferated and magnified all these qualities, social skills and abundant jewels.

Her Ascendant was in Sagittarius exactly sextile Midheaven in Libra, so she was able to combine her lifestyle, character,  and career more naturally than most.  It was the film with the horse (Sagittarius), “National Velvet”, which made her famous.  She had a lucky Sagittarian streak of being in the right place at the right time, reinforced by the Part of Fortune conjunct Jupiter, though would not be considered lucky in health matters or marriages (these are other stories, for later in the series).  The exact sextile of her Ascendant with the Libran Midheaven (persona in the world) shows that she was born to make a career or reputation out of her beauty and artistry, a career which was forged very early on in her life.

She had Saturn in the 2^nd House of Finance, which is often found in charts of millionaires who attend to their pennies.  That should give hope to those who have that placing natally!  But money was more complex for Elizabeth, as she did like to spend freely, and more telling was Pluto in the 8^th House of Money and Jewels from Others, which meant that emotionally she invested heavily in those resources, with great rewards.  Alexander Walker writes, in his definitive biography “Elizabeth”: “Money was for impulsive spending; that’s what money was for – though on scenting a bargain, Elizabeth’s face would set hard,  her eyes narrow suspiciously and ‘then she became a pirate, proud of her high art as a chiseller.’ “

In the 3rd house of Siblings and Communication she had Mars, and the Sun with Mercury, stressing the importance of the male principle in her sibling relationship.  Her brother Howard was a loyal stabilizing factor in her life.  With these planetary placings too, she was forthright in her verbal expression, and to some extent was self-educated.

In the 6^th House of Health and Working Conditions she had Chiron (the Wounded Healer) opposing the Moon in the 12^th House of Chronic Health, and squaring her Part of Fortune.  Her delicate health affected her on a daily basis, as well as working schedules and the lives of fellow employees.  She had an extraordinary capacity for battling through these conditions, with Pluto closely sextile her Chiron assisting her recuperative powers.

The 7^th House of Marriages is ruled by Gemini, which indicates the multiplicity in this area of life!  The stories of her relationships are fascinating, and I hope to devote one Part of this series alone to her relationship with Richard Burton, a legendary union.

She virtually created the mould for that all-encompassing fame and film stardom, which has become an obsession in our society.   Elizabeth’s life story is extraordinary in that she seemed to live several lives in one.  Pisces is the zodiac sign which aims to perfect a round of lives, or even step off the wheel of rebirth.

In Part 2, I aim to record her early life and relationship with her parents, and look at this theme in more detail in relation to her birth chart.

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. Bashar has a very different personality than the colourful Ghaddafi, and has quietly gone ahead destroying human rights in the tradition set by his father Hafiz Al-Assad, who died 10 June 2000 after 30 years in power.  There have been many possible reasons put forward for the difference in treatment by the international community but the aim of the country rebels is the same as those of other countries in the Arab uprising.  The natal chart for Syria shows a combination of Mars conjunct Uranus volatility and North Node conjunct Pluto shadow expression of power.  Currently the Nodal Axis squares Bashar’s Moon (international karmic pressure) but only if he was born at Noon (we do not have his exact time).  He is married to a British wife Asma, and I often wonder of her role in his life and whether she has any emotional input.  She herself has a warrior past life pattern of Mars conjunct the South Node, and her connections with Bashar are quite Neptunian – a veiled relationship possibly.  Bashar had a veiled relationship with his father too, in that his father’s Neptune was conjunct his Mercury, imbuing him perhaps with mythology about life, family and the world.  It was originally thought that he might be in a different mould from his father, but he has not stepped out of the patterning, neither family nor regional. The chart of his father’s regime shared and reinforced the volatile Mars conjunct Uranus which is in the natal chart for Syria, so this may be part of the entrenched way of being, and of meeting resistance with force.  With a lunar eclipse possibly squaring Bashar’s Moon and trine Syria’s Jupiter, it could be a key week for the beleaguered people of that country.  It could be a key week for us all with another eclipse, and several  assorted aspects to get our teeth into.  I need to focus.  You need to focus.  He, she and it needs to focus.  And we have just the aspect today, Sun conjunct Mercury in Gemini.  So today is for focus…Tomorrow Venus sextiles Uranus, and you may receive interesting social invitations or go to some extraordinary meetings, or experience exciting synchronicities.  Tomorrow (Monday 13^th) also sees Saturn stationary about to turn direct, which is good news for turning round projects which almost seemed to stall.  You may have lost all your energy with them, and be about to give up, and can now see what is salvageable and viable.  Mercury is situated at the South Node, and information comes through karmic sources, e.g. old teachers from our youth, or even from past lives may surface.  Their message will not be new, but may need to be updated.  Lastly for tomorrow, Venus squares Chiron and it may be time to give up longing for old forms, and accept they are just not coming back.  Energy is recycled and the new space will bring new interests.  Conversely, on Tuesday (14^th) the Sun conjuncts the South Node, and there is emotional power in some of your memories, and in remembering who you are.  You may be able to pick this up, before renewing your mission to find your potential, and what you can be.  Wednesday (15^th) brings the lunar eclipse in Sagittarius, a good day for meditating on the state of your life, the state of humanity, and the state of the world.  That’s a tall order, so just start by meditating through your current issue or issues, and see how far you get.  Thursday (16^th) brings a change of mental focus as Mercury enters Cancer.  If your brain was on overload with the previous day’s eclipse, you can soft focus and bring a little imagination, dreaminess, and even emotion into your reveries and meditations.  If you have maintained your focus since Sunday, you will naturally drop it on Thursday, and look at your emotional needs and immediate family considerations.  Friday (17^th) brings a reward of Mercury trine Neptune, a chance to focus and soft focus all at once, combining the left and right brain, and seeing how your inner focus and outer focus can be harmonized, e.g. you may see just the exact expression of a design which your imagination first brought to your attention or created.  The time may not yet be for implementation, but just the recognition that your dream is possible will be a step forward, and may lift the spirits.  Further progress early on Saturday (18^th) as Mercury sextiles Jupiter: favourable to sales and information exchange.  Lucky for some.  You can utilize some of the spiritual, religious or compassionate insights of the Jupiter-Neptune sextile which peaked last week.  Then Venus trines Saturn, consolidating some artistic or relationship aims.  But a blip later on Saturday as Mercury squares Uranus: a deal maybe falling through, possibly due to nervous overload by one of the partners.  People need tender loving care to see them through the temporary crisis.  If someone around you is feeling fragile, advise rest as much as possible for the next few days, until the middle of the next week, as Mercury’s aspects are very tense.  Not the best place to end the blog, but have to love you and leave you!  Hope to report good prospects for Andy Murray at Wimbledon when I blog next Sunday…

I have become fixated about cucumbers lately.  If you have been following this blog, you’ll know that a phobic party of four went to the Eurovision Song Contest in Duesseldorf in mid-May, at the time of the E-coli outbreak in Northern Germany.  So we had a lucky escape, considering we all had a salad at Cologne Airport on 15^th May before flying home.  As the only vegetarian, I was presented with a huge Greek Salad dominated with huge chunks of what must have been a whole cucumber on my plate, which I did my level best to do justice to.  As an aspiring raw-fooder, this E-coli crisis has been a blow to my aspirations, and how much I can trust the raw food I have come to regard as the pinnacle of my daily intake.  This week I have been haunted, and pursued in my dreams, by raw foods and in particular cucumbers.  I have scanned the website of Karen Knowler (dubbed “The World’s Premier Raw Food Coach”) http://www.karenknowler.typepad.com/ to find her take on this dilemma, but cannot find any guidance there on the matter, despite some interesting articles on her blog.  I need to know how to reorientate myself spiritually on this issue.  Mercury is square to Chiron today, so healing dilemmas continue, in search of that spiritual reorientation which will reward the effort and settle the personality, until the next crisis which might be Wednesday.  The next two days is suitable for finding the right consciousness to match a new level of physical and mental health, for Mercury represents conventional healing (as represented by the Caduceus symbol) and Chiron represents alternative healing (as represented by the symbol of the Centaur).  These two may be at odds over the next two days, and our task is to bring them together.  A new plateau of stability is reached on Tuesday (7^th), when Mercury (representing conventional healing) trines Saturn (representing stability and consolidation).  This is a foothold on the new reality that you need right now, which appeals directly to your left brain rationality and to your practicality.  For instance, you may find a reliable local source of cucumbers, which comes as a relief.  If you are meeting over coffee or tea on that day, suitable conversations on the agenda would be serious topics, e.g. about coalition politics and its effect on the NHS, or how to proceed with your new healing philosophy recently hatched from the struggles of Mercury square Chiron.  Wednesday (8^th) brings a reorientation of Chiron, going stationary prior to retrograde.  There may be U-turns in the area of alternative health, which is unusual.  We have U-turns and contradictory research all the time in the area of conventional health (this is good for you, this is not good for you, this is now good for you again).  But alternative health is often based on ancient and intuitive wisdoms, which don’t change much, except in their modern application.  So this is part of the process of a shift, which happens from time to time, to incorporate the new energies and vibrations and update alternative views and our spiritual systems.  Keep your inner and outer ears pealed for new information or the recycling of old information, on the subject of healing.  By far the most important aspect of the week occurs on Thursday (9^th) and here, with a sparkling sextile between Jupiter and Neptune, there is a real opportunity for a spiritual shift.  If you are involved in any religious ceremonies, you will see the spirituality behind them.  If you are involved in any spiritual ceremonies, you may be able to see how the religious structures sit within them.  This major aspect is an exchange of unity on a higher level, and a vision of hope.  If you are not involved in any spiritual or religious ceremonies on Thursday, anything you are engaged in can be used to sense the energies of hope, unity and spirituality.  If you are celebrating a birthday, you can ponder and wonder at the mysteries of bringing a soul into incarnation.  If you are wandering around an art gallery, you can see the connection between the inspiration of the soul of the artist and the practical production and depiction in colour and form on canvas.  Preferably do this in the morning, while Venus is still in Taurus, for in the afternoon in the U.K. (with respectful mindfulness to my U.S. and Australian readership) Venus (art and harmony) enters Gemini.  You could go round the art gallery again, and see it from the Venus in Gemini perspective, less on the feeling plane and more analysis on the mental plane (“What was the artist trying to achieve?  But is it art?”).  You may evolve a more rounded perspective that way.  So whatever you were doing in the morning, if you have the time and leisure to repeat the performance in the afternoon, you’ll end up with a holistic perspective.  Feelings could change during the course of the day, and different social scenarios and populations could emerge later.  If you are a tour guide, you would be herding buffalos in the morning, and butterflies in the afternoon and will need a different approach.  Finally, by Friday, socially and artistically, you’ll be confused by a square between Venus and Neptune.  You’ll find a flaw in the painting you bought yesterday, you’ll be pondering an artistic dichotomy digesting your activities of the previous day.  And as Venus also represents food and cooking and Neptune represents toxins, you need to select carefully what you are putting on the menu.  The cucumber question remains.

If you like to wing it, thrive under last minute pressure (Aries for instance), come back and read this blog on Wednesday.  If on the other hand you like to plan your diary (Capricorn, Virgo) in detail, start making notes now.  For there is an absence of major aspects until Wednesday this week.  This could have several different implications and applications.  Firstly, it may mean there is a vacuum and the Universe may have an agenda of its own to fulfil, often unexpectedly.  Secondly, there may be a literal “absence” of something in your life.  Thirdly, you may refine the last aspect which occurred (the healing challenges of last Thursday’s Sun square Chiron).  Fourthly, you can work at a blending of the last aspect (Sun square Chiron) and the next aspects, on Wednesday, which appear in this blog.  Regarding the content of this blog, which over the last couple of years has become more “newsy”, several people have said to me this week that they have stopped reading, watching or listening to the news because it is too distressing.  New Agers especially tend to do this, one reason given being in order to keep up their vibes.  Ironically, since I started this blog (four years ago) I have gone from describing the aspects plainly, to featuring the occasional celebrity profile, to now looking at the news on the whole, which means I am more glued to current affairs.  I think one reason for engaging in current affairs is that you can work with meditation and healing on the spiritual path in more connectivity.  However, there is value in drawing a line in how much you do take in, so that you are not too distressed to work with it on your spiritual path.  It depends how much “in overwhelm” you are, and taking into account the rigours of your own life.  So, if you are still working with last Thursday’s Sun square Chiron, you can continue to make strides now.  It was an uncomfortable ride for me going to the Festival of Mind-Body-Spirit.  As I mentioned last week I had chosen a past-life workshop and a future-life workshop.  Just to make it more challenging, the future life workshop was scheduled before the past-life one, and finished as the other was beginning.  So I found myself stunned leaving the future life workshop just having travelled to 1000 years’ hence, then straight into the past life workshop given by Andrea Foulkes from the Pleiades.  I joined my old friend June (who doesn’t do internet or my blog) who was trying to make some sensible initial conversation with me (in vain) and Andrea took us on a pleasant meditative journey.  There was to be a theme of “going karmic neutral” which we both missed (but remember I was still in 3000-odd A.D.).  However, the Universe remedied this with a heavy downpour of torrential rain and a thorough cleansing on our journey home.  So I have enough material to digest before Wednesday, and trust you have too.  On Wednesday morning (1^st June) Saturn trines the Sun, and you can step steadily on the first rung of a long term plan.  Anything you undertake that morning (UK time) should be on solid ground, a firm foundation.  Later, in the evening, there is a Solar Eclipse and New Moon in Gemini.  This is a chance for a new intellectual outlook, perhaps in conversation with friends, or in exploring your own mind.  If it is your birthday around now, it could be a turning point for you.  There is generally an emphasis on the sign Gemini and the planet Mercury this week, so it may be an important week for you if these feature heavily in your chart make-up.  So on Thursday (2^nd) we find that Mercury enters Gemini, and that day will be quintessentially Geminian.  You could be bombarded, for instance, with news and information, and may feel you need to put down that newspaper, switch off the radio or the television, and digest the things that are important for you.  Soft-focus your left brain, if it gets too much.  Turning up the right brain a little may help you relax, for instance.  There must be a dial in the brain that enables us to do that fine tuning…On Friday (3^rd) Mercury squares Neptune, and if you didn’t soft focus on Wednesday or Thursday, you will now.  You may feel a bit scrambled or confused, and will need to lie in a darkened room if you haven’t got the hang of the brain dial yet.  This occurs at 7.05 a.m. in the U.K. (employers be aware: sickie alert) and may be a useful note in your diary, to plan your day accordingly.  It is compounded 20 minutes later by Neptune standing still, preparing to move in retrograde motion.  There is some sort of Universal brain connection which is undergoing some switchover, and this may be reflected in the news.  It is like a reorientation after a sea change, and may be felt on both the individual and on the collective level.  We are of course all being held in suspense at what Cheryl Cole is going to do, after the U.S. did not take to her Geordie accent.  Neptune is currently trine her Mars, so her whole relationship with men in general is under review, and this may be an important time for her spiritually, in understanding her dependency issues and finding her own inner strength.  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.  New hope now returns to the land and farming, and new initiatives will start to come in to the world of finance and economists (Vince Cable being one such Taurean).  Generally, if you are an April Taurean you will feel the benefit over the next few months, but if like Vince you are a May Taurean the benefits may accrue next year.  Lastly, on Saturday evening, Mercury sextiles Uranus, and that brain dial I talked about earlier becomes more easily serviceable, and links up with your intuition.  New ideas may flash into your mind, and new inventions can be pursued.  Technology is favoured, and old world communication (snail mail for instance) and new world communication (i phones and the like) can happily interplay and co-exist.  My elderly aunt this week was complaining that the government are expecting her to own a computer and have the wherewithal to be able to email, which are completely beyond her reach.  Perhaps under Mercury sextile Uranus the government can consider picking up these stitches.

In a week where Venus and Mars have been interacting closely, the issue of rape has been very much in the news, and other issues of the relations between the sexes.  The first character to bring the issue to prominence this week was Dominique Strauss-Kahn, high profile all week.  He has a testosterone-filled conjunction of the North Node and Mars in Aries in his natal chart.  It was reported in the Observer this morning that according to John Gray, author of “Men are from Mars, Women are from Venus”  powerful men have “higher than average levels of testosterone, which they seek to ‘top up’ when their reserves become depleted”.  Testosterone-filled Actor turned Politician Arnold Schwarzenegger, whose emotional life is under scrutiny in the media, currently has Uranus squaring his Moon, urging him to review his relations with the female population.  Conservative Politician Kenneth Clarke was taken to task when he carelessly worded a statement distinguishing different rape scenarios.  Saturn is currently squaring his Sun and this demand for exactitude from the Goddess is likely to plague him for a few weeks.  It has lit up the debate on the subject, and Shami Chakrabarti summarized the issues well on Question Time.  Her words were measured and balanced, as befits someone who currently has the karmic test of South Node transiting her Sun.  Meanwhile a photograph of a less than enthusiastic meeting between Barack Obama and Benjamin Netanyahu appeared in the pages of the Guardian this week.  In the search for peace between Israel and Palestine, their relationship is not an easy one:  Netanyahu’s Pluto opposes Obama’s Ascendant, and Netanyahu himself may be confused at this time with Neptune squaring his Ascendant – this may also highlight his own personality weaknesses.  Today Neptune squares the Sun, highlighting scandals and fuzzy moral issues, and interestingly we had an interview on the Andrew Marr show this morning with Barack Obama.  When I wrote a blog on his inauguration, I received a comment taking me to task for not mentioning the negative side of his Sun square Neptune, which is still somewhere in the blogosphere.  This morning, he was dignified and composed in the searchlight of Andrew Marr’s questioning, and I still believe him to be of a higher order spiritually than your average President.  Yes, Sun square Neptune can result in someone who is a deceiver.  But in someone spiritually evolved, there is a moral struggle going on, which can be expressed in a sensitive awareness.  So today’s Neptune square the Sun is about looking at spiritual issues, seeking for the greater sensitivity and compassion.  More fun and games on the sexual front tomorrow as the Venus-Mars conjunction becomes exact: will we find out who the footballer is, linked with Ms Thomas?  I am not privy to Twitter, and don’t follow football, so may not have heard of the footballer in question.  Venus conjunct Mars is an intense aspect, occurring in the sensual sign of Taurus, whereby we may examine our own male-female balance in our life.  On a personal level, for some it may bring romance and affection.  Wednesday (25^th) brings to us a different way of looking at life, with Sun sextile Uranus.  For those whose lives haven’t yet been fully revealed, there may be further revelations.  For inventors, there may be new inventions.  Incidents of telepathy and synchronicity may be noticed and noted.  It is a day when you can use the lever of the unexpected to improve your life.  On Thursday (26^th) the Sun squares Chiron, so there may be some uncomfortable healing crises or learnings on the spiritual path.  I will be off to the Festival of Mind-Body-Spirit in London that day, to attend a workshop on past lives and another workshop on future lives, so I may not know whether I am coming or going!

I ought to be reporting back from the Eurovision song contest,  if you are reading this on Sunday.  By that time I will be touring Cologne,  perhaps even visiting the chocolate factory. So my account of any escapades of the phobic four won’t appear until next week or not at all, unless particularly newsworthy…But if it’s the aspects for the week ahead you are primarily interested in look no further. On Sunday evening in the U.K. Venus and Mercury leave the rootin’ tootin’ battlefield of Aries where they have had to argue every point, and enter the rose gardens of Taurus, where they can enjoy a mini-renaissance, a festival of art and literature.  It would be the ideal circumstances to begin writing a book with illustrations on every page; combinations of words and pictures will work well together.  Mercury, Venus and Mars are performing a concerto in the early degrees of Taurus this week, with aspects to  Chiron in early Pisces, and Pluto in early Capricorn.  On Monday (16^th) Venus and Mercury dance cheek to cheek, and it may be one of those days where you see everything coming together especially when you are engaged in discussion – you can come to an agreement.  It could be a successful  week, potentially, but it will take work on your part.  Venus with Mercury will be good for dialogue and sweet talk, including diplomatic initiatives, e.g. for dictators to start talking to rebels without shouting.  Mercury/Venus sextiles Neptune on the same day, so there is a spiritual uplift to this creativity.  Savour the day.  The Full Moon in Scorpio dominates on Tuesday (17^th) and you’ll need to deal with strops or tantrums from someone in your circle, if it’s not you.  Someone is fed up with the status quo.  But this week generally has a lot going for it, and this may be the only fly in the ointment.  The new series (number 7) of The Apprentice continues on Wednesday evening (18^th), Sir Alan Sugar currently having Uranus (enterprising candidates) on his Sun in Aries (gruff persona), trine his shrewd Saturn in Leo (entertainment).  This series looks to be a stunner as befits his transit, so watch if you need to fill in time between all the planetary action, and if you enjoy the caricatures, the wild boasting, and the business ploys.  Melody, the successful Project Manager in the first show, has elevated credentials: “I was trained by Al Gore…I was personally taught by Desmond Tutu and the Dalai Lama.”  I hope there’s an App, for that.  Mars/Mercury sextiles Chiron on Thursday (19^th), ensuring your words will be heard loud and clear (wild boasting included), and more seriously also have the desired effect, which might be to heal a symptom, or a situation.  There may be a slight health and safety issue, so don’t ignore the basics, such as looking at fine print and checking your tyres.  By the Friday (20^th) Venus too joins the sextile with Chiron: three chances for healing.  If you are a healer, join with others and role play Venus, Mercury, Mars and Chiron in a healing circle or psychodrama.  It’s a powerful line-up for healing, well-being, personal fitness and lifestyle choices.  If your path is not involved with healing, it may be a very active and productive day for you with healing side effects or by-products, especially in earth or ecological related activities.  On top of that, Mars trines Pluto, so an enormous amount can be achieved energetically.  For best results, do the communing/healing or the practical work first, and you can release a huge amount of potential energy, for constructive purposes.  If you’re in a war zone, there will be a lot going on, and though the two war planets Mars and Pluto are  working together, in a dangerous situation violence can still get out of hand.  Be aware.  Mercury, three hours later, trines Pluto – a chance to execute the perfec t post-mortem on the day’s events.  Saturday (21^st) brings Mercury and Mars together in a conjunction.  The truth is, all three planets have been huddling together all week, and have hardly left each others’ side.  There is definitely a group effort going on.  The Sun, leading, now leaves the sign of Taurus, scene of most of the week’s  action, and enters Gemini, the sign of fresh air and variety.  The tone of cosiness is partially overtaken by a nimbler mental atmosphere beginning to emerge.  We may still be ploughing furrows, with Venus/Mercury/Mars still in Taurus, but we are also engaging on the mental plane, and receiving ideas for future applications (or Apps) of current practical activities.  The week ends with a heartwarming trine between Venus and Pluto, ideal conditions for expressing or unburdening feelings.  As with Mars trine Pluto, there is still scope for feelings to get out of hand, but by and large it’s favourable for exploring art, music, relationships or even financial issues.  There’s something for everyone this week.

This week on “Question Time” they could have debated the issue ad infinitum: whether or not Osama bin Laden should have been killed.  Watching this it seemed to me that even those who said he should not have been killed were probably not pacifists, and would not go as far as to call for every person on the planet to lay down their arms under any circumstances.  Here is my potted astrological history: George Bush Senior (warrior in past lives, with Mars on the South Node) waged the 1^st Gulf War against Saddam Hussain. [You are probably thinking: “does she really have to go back that far?”  I feel I do].  This is one of the events where U.S. interference in the Middle East fuelled resentment in Arab minds and hearts.  Osama bin Laden (warrior in past lives, with Mars on the South Node – not a common aspect, found in approximately 1 in 90 charts) founded Al-Queda dedicated to avenge this interference. Fast forward to 11^th September 2001, and up to 3000 Americans were killed under this inspiration in New York.  In the meantime George W. Bush had become President of the United States, fuelled by a spirit of revenge desiring to finish his family mission; and Tony Blair (Mars conjunct the Ascendant, indicating warriorship as a basic character trait of this lifetime personality) had been the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom since 1997.  From there, began involvement in Afghanistan for both countries, costing many lives.  2003 brought the Iraq war, finally disposing of Saddam Hussain, but again an entanglement which resulted in many lives lost for the Iraqi people, and U.S. and U.K. forces.  George W. Bush talked constantly of capturing Osama bin Laden, and Barack Obama inherited this baton, which became a focus for justice and possible closure for some Americans.  Finally on 1^st May 2011, this was achieved, under Obama’s orders, with Uranus currently squaring the U.S. Venus.  George W. Bush got closure at this point, with the transiting North Node (universal karmic mission) trine his Midheaven (Career and place in history).  From this account, Osama bin Laden, George W. Bush and Tony Blair were prepared to kill many people (despite their religious convictions), and Barack Obama set out to kill just the one.  Some are warriors, some are not warriors but did end up killing, and none of them are professed pacifists or would follow Gandhi or Martin Luther King’s philosophy.  For me, that is the issue.  Moving swiftly on, we have a good few aspects to get through this week, and a few good aspects.  Tomorrow, Mercury is conjunct Venus at 22 degrees Aries, and there will be a flowering of communication generally, and for you personally in the area in which the conjunction falls in your birth chart.  The Arts and the Media should benefit from this influence.  On Wednesday (11^th) Mars enters Taurus, finally leaving its Headquarters in Aries, having settled the battle if not the war, and entering the more peaceful gardens of Taurus.  Even a warrior needs to rest sometimes.  You are invited to a garden party as Venus conjuncts Jupiter at 24 degrees Aries.  Perhaps a celebration of Justice, or Closure.  At this party Mercury will be conjunct Jupiter, so there will be some good news, sparkling conversation, and perhaps also some happy journeying, or joyful skyping from one party to another.   On Thursday (12^th) Mars sextiles Neptune, so idealistic ruminations may take place about old battles:  more refinement of the arguments about who was justified;  but also a spotlight on the new freedom fighters of the Middle East and their struggles, idealism and blogging, taking place under the fresh impetus experienced through the energies of Jupiter and Uranus in Aries.   Mars sextile Neptune enables you to approach action in a way which also incorporates your sensitivities, and your spirituality.  It’s a useful day, for instance, to effect a rapprochement in a difficult relationship.  On Saturday (14^th) Venus and Mercury are travelling companions at the end of their tour of Aries, more scope for putting the finishing touches to an artistic project, or even your war diaries, or catching up with your book reading, before the travelling companions arrive together in the new land of Taurus early next week.  I shall be doing a spot of travelling of my own next weekend, and will therefore post my blog early.  In a fit of frivolity, I am off to the Eurovision Song Contest in Duesseldorf.  Yes, I have been following this silliness since I was a girl in the 1950s, and I will be travelling in a party of four.  Among those performing are Blue, and if they qualify, Jedward and Dana International.  In our party, one of us has a fear of flying, another has a fear of dying, another a fear of Germany, and the fourth has a fear of water.  So we will also be a kind of phobic self-help group as we go.  As the Troubadours come together to show us their wares and parade their eye-catching costumes, we hope to find that Europe’s Got Talent, but will enjoy the time-honoured format even if we don’t.

For those who followed the occasion, it was the perfect Royal Wedding.  I watched it through the lens of the Royal Wedding of 1981, a fairytale commoner marrying her Prince: beautiful princess, fairytale dress, huge public support…in the intervening years the dream would turn sour, illusions shattered, and Diana, mother-of-two dying tragically in Paris.  As I watched the happiness of William riding in the open carriage after the ceremony,  I was moved to think that he was attempting to neutralize all the Royal karma and his own heartaches, in this match.  His relationship with Kate was not an unknown fairytale pipe dream, it had been tried and tested over 8 years.  She is a decorous and realistic Capricorn, and they tried both to honour the best of their family traditions but also not to replicate any of the mistakes or loopholes of the past.  Well done to them.  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.  The Sun did come out, at strategic points, just as it had during the funeral of Princess Diana.  Meanwhile and in contrast, in the United States, President Obama was visiting the sites of the worst tornadoes in many years.  How can you have such contrasts when a day might have the same aspects?  Often it is the application of aspects to natal charts, which takes precedence.  And I have noticed that when there is a run of days without major aspects, the unexpected comes in.  In this case, Uranus is squaring the U.S. Venus at this point in time, and that may be the cause or one factor.  Today we have two major aspects, very different in nature (so again but for different reasons, we may see contrasting happenings).  First, Venus opposes Saturn, a deflation in relation to affairs of the heart.  Perhaps with the flight of Kate and Wills in the helicopter, the euphoria subsides and the humdrum takes over.  I am sure they have given us all, even their detractors, something to think about.  The other aspect, in complete contrast,  is Mars conjunct Jupiter at 22 degrees Aries.  There could not be a more enthusiastic aspect, so maybe you have party plans of your own, a barbecue perhaps, where you can use up the paper cups and doilies left over from the street party.  If you have not planned a party, maybe you can throw an impromptu one.  Some area of your life is taking off now (the House covered by the sign of Aries) and today may be ignition day.  In my own chart, for instance, it occurs in the 12^th House of the Unconscious, so my subconscious may be firing on all cylinders (but I am unconscious of that – LOL).  On Tuesday (3^rd) there is an Earth New Moon at 12 degrees Taurus.  Time to plough forward with what really has value for you in your life.  Again it will be optimal to plough forward in the area of life covered by the House which occupies Taurus in your chart, if you know what that is.  For example, if it is your 4^th House, then il faut cultiver votre jardin in the immortal words of Candide, and quite literally get out into the garden.  A lot of people I know are finding increasing solace out there, including hubby who after this hot spell is finding the earth very dry, and praying for rain.  A friend of mine declared the wedding day her weeding day, and she’ll be out there I am sure.  Whatever you do on Tuesday will serve as a springboard for the rest of the month.  On Thursday 5^th May we have local elections in the U.K., but most importantly the Alternative Vote for a new electoral system.  My thoughts about the Alternative Vote have spilled over onto a separate blog.  Read it only if you are prepared to listen to a biased opinion!  And finally, I would like to mention Sathya Sai Baba, who we lost on Easter Sunday, I learned, after blogging that we had forgotten the art of miraculousness.  The Guardian wrote a scathing piece headlined “Guru Tosh”.  We live in a cynical age.  I would just like to put on record that (in my humble opinion) I believe him to be a genuine Avatar, have personally been the recipient of one of his miracle manifestations, and know others who have received his divine interventions in their lives.

The opportunity to vote for or against the Alternative Vote is coming up on Thursday, a consequence of the Coalition.  The Coalition itself was a consequence of the hung parliament which arose as a result of last year’s election. The hung parliament was an expression of the deadlock of the t-square between Saturn, Uranus and Pluto, the aim of which was to dismantle social institutions which weren’t working, in this case the traditional voting system (the aim of the T-square was not to dismantle social institutions which were working, such as the NHS, as David Cameron seems to have interpreted it…!).  So the coalition was formed, from a tight  electoral result: Nick Clegg, leader of the Lib Dems, chose to ally with the Conservatives. Karmically, he and David Cameron had more in common and were born weeks apart, sharing the placement of the outer planets. There had been an option of allying with Labour, but there was no natural harmony with Gordon Brown, and Gordon Brown was clearly the last stand of the New Labour movement. The tight result of the election, and the resulting Coalition, was the fitting expression for the astrological aspects. I have not blogged about this since then, but believe now that David Cameron has not played fair, and indeed has taken advantage of Nick Clegg’s Capricornian Scapegoat Archetype.  The Coalition itself may be a pre-birth Contract between the two.  David Cameron, who has lately taken to flaunting his class, is not only a Libran, capable of balancing forces and people, but he’s a Super-Libran! He is not an easy-going Libran – he’s a powerful double Libra with the Sun in Libra rising with his ruler Venus in the first house of his birthchart. He is a therefore a power-wielding Libran, having the strength for his role as P.M.   He is given extra assistance by Jupiter on the cusp of his 11^th House of Friendships and Groups, sextile his Ascendant, and the effect is a living example of “How to Win Friends and Influence People”.  His Saturn (entrenchment of Institution) opposes Nick Clegg’s natal Uranus (desire for reform). This vote regarding the alternative system is a historic opportunity.  Many people seem undecided about it, even cagey about their voting intentions.  I am going to vote in favour (this is not an impartial blog) as I am tired of election after election voting for either Lib Dem or Green Party, and having nothing to show for it, always living in the heartland of one or other of the two main parties.  I’m with Eddie Izzard (said to be the youth vote) on this! A Yes vote may help balance the karma of this Coalition as the referendum is the one concession the Conservatives have granted the Lib Dems.

Happy Easter Sunday to all my readers!  Did you feel a minor tide turn yesterday, after Mercury stopped in its tracks preparing to turn Direct?  I felt the need to rest as it turned Stationary, but then as I began to hear reports of movement, I became re-energised.  I hope it does make some lives easier.  We have today a sextile between the Sun and Chiron.  This may put healing back on the map for you.  Self-healing, if not actual resurrection, is an issue which can be worked on.   Through the course of history, we gradually lost that sense of miraculousness prevalent in biblical times, and may in some areas be harking back to it now.  I have just read a book called “The Healing Code” by Alexander Loyd and Ben Johnson, promoting an all-encompassing method of healing.  I enjoyed reading it, and have got to the stage of trying to practise it.  You will probably have your own favourite alternative healing modalities to try today if you want to work with the Sun/Chiron sextile.  One of my favourites is working with the Fixed Stars, and the star aligned with our Sun today is Mesarthim (the Gamma star in Aries), a double star. ‘Tis written in “Starlight Elixirs” by Michael Smulkis and Fred Rubenfeld in relation to this star: “…a clearing away must occur before building can take place.  In finding the correct balance between these [two stars and balancing] many individuals will have deeper insight into their own personal karma and what they have come here to learn.  Thus, an enlightened karmic perspective is enhanced by the use of Mesarthim.” With an emphasis on Chiron and Pluto in the aspects this week, it’s all about digging deep and finding the insights which will provide the healing for you.  “The Healing Code” claims on its cover “6 minutes to Heal the Source of any Health, Success or Relationship Issue”.  It is the Relationship Issue which will come under the healing spotlight on Wednesday (27^th), for Pluto squares Venus.  This aspect will expose the cracks within a relationship, give insight into their nature, and show where Unity is needed.  So whether the relationship is a personal one, or the relationship between a dictator and his rebels, or a coalition government preparing for a test of the voters’ allegiance, or two families coming together preparing for a wedding, there will be some sort of last minute panic – will the relationships hold?  Can they ever come together in Unity?  Fortunately, on Thursday (28^th), at the last minute before the proposed Union (at least for the U.K., in the shape of the Royal Wedding) the Sun trines Pluto, a sign that extremes can find Unity if they search themselves long and hard enough.  If you want your big preparations, e.g. for a street party, to come together, Thursday’s your day!  From what I have been hearing, on the streets, and in the trains, there is a big split.  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…So the Big Day is Friday 29^th, and here in the U.K. we have been granted a National Holiday.  I did post a blog around the time of the royal engagement (20^th November 2010: under the category “From my Postbag”) about the wedding day.  I added comments as the date, and then the time, were announced.  So, again, I can put my feet up as I report.  On 23^rd November I wrote: ” I will write again when they give the schedule and there is a time of marriage, but looking at the chart for Noon, the Sun is on the Midheaven so there is a bright Royal event with possibly the Sun shining which will be nice for the national holiday and the photos. If the wedding takes place around Noon the Ascendant will be Sun-ruled and Regal Leo.”  I added on 9^th January: “The Ascendant (previously calculated for Noon) is still Leo, and therefore Sun-ruled adding to the regal flavour, pomp and circumstance – no holds barred on this.”  The weather according to this morning’s “Observer” states: “The unseasonably warm Mediterranean weather is expected to begin to retreat next week, with temperatures cooling in the runup to the royal wedding….The really warm weather will give way by Tuesday and temperatures will be down on what they have been, although still above the average…London is expected to be clear and dry for the royal wedding.”  One of the stated aims of the royal wedding was to provide a distraction for the populace from the economic woes…well the word on the street and the train is certainly that we are all welcoming an extra National holiday, not sure whether it distracts or highlights the economic woes, though.  But I do sincerely wish the royal couple, William and Kate, and indeed all young couples starting out, all the very best in their effort to balance out their relationships.  My husband and I are ourselves celebrating our 38^th wedding anniversary on Thursday.  I haven’t googled 38 yet, but he tells me it’s Velcro.

To read my original blog on the royal wedding:

http://www.lanawooster.co.uk/blog/2010/11/from-my-postbag-2-prince-william-and-kate-middleton/