Aspects for the week beginning 26 February 2012

Last Tuesday evening we could not help but be moved by a news report from a woman in an eye patch in Syria, telling us of a baby who died that day. As always when watching these foreign correspondents, we marvelled at their bravery. Tragically, it was to prove her swan song, whilst also ensuring that no one forgets what she was highlighting: the unspeakable cruelty of the Syrian regime.  The world took note.  It seems to me that Marie Colvin’s death brought about a surge in rescue efforts and international deliberations, at least in the short term.  With the Sun in Capricorn, Marie Colvin had an acute sense of responsibility, and Kate Adie this morning called her a “serious journalist”.  The Guardian obituary stated:  “She was not interested in the politics, strategy or weaponry; only the effects on the people she regarded as innocents. ‘These are people who have no voice,’ she said. ‘ I feel I have a moral responsibility towards them, that it would be cowardly to ignore them.’ ”  She had a very interesting chart, and her extraordinary courage is shown natally by Jupiter/Pluto squaring Mars/Saturn.  At the time she lost her eye in Sri Lanka in 2001, Pluto was transiting her natal North Node.

[Well my printer did a strange thing just now.  It printed a copy of Marie Colvin’s chart without my involvement or intention!]

Where was I?  Marie Colvin’s karmic mission is represented by her North Node in Sagittarius (representing the Foreign Correspondent) and Pluto transiting that point not only represented the losing of the eye (also transiting Saturn opposing her Mars = eye) but the choice of whether to go on, and she chose to go on.  The current question is why are Russia, China and Iran supporting the terrors of the Syrian regime, and how can the rest of the world put a stop to the suffering of the Syrian people?  And Turkey seems to have a key moderating position.  But that’s another blog, maybe for a specialist Mundane Astrologer to figure out…

The aspects this week are few and far between.  They start on Tuesday (28^th February) with the Sun sextile Pluto.  We will be asking ourselves serious questions, and possibly receiving serious answers.  So it is a good day to meet up with your local think tank in a coffee shop, and brainstorm.  It is also a good day to get clear on issues around nuclear power (the television programme this week on the Fukushima nuclear plant was most illuminating) and if you have decided that you would not like such an event on our British island, then perhaps link up with Greenpeace or Friends of the Earth.  The following day (29^th) is Leap Day, and any brave maiden who decides to pop the question in the time honoured tradition will have to go it alone without the support of a Venus-friendly aspect, or any major aspect at all.  There is an emotionally uneasy semi-square between the Moon and Venus near midnight, which is no help at all.  So hats off to your romantic bravery, if you are about to take the leap and you are reading this!  I saw this week a 1978 performance by Steve Forbert of his song “It isn’t gonna be that way” which might be worth seeing if it doesn’t go your way, but good luck because your own personal birthchart may support your move.  Mercury enters Aries on Friday (2^nd March) which may add to mental tensions, partly because your inner Mercury sensor will know that it’s about to meet Uranus in the near future. But your inner sensor may be relieved to find that Mercury will stop short and start returning before it reaches a square with Pluto.  But there is a certain amount of vigour and renewal about Mercury’s ingress to Aries, and an atmosphere of “Let’s get on with it”!  Make a list, even if like me you are not a list person, and resolve to at least honour the first item on the list, or at least talk about it (you never know the ripple effect that could have).  Mercury at the beginning of Aries is like striking a match, and that can precede all sorts of action, such as singing Happy Birthday to a special Piscean.  Mercury at the beginning of Aries is a special announcement of intention, so it’s good to mark it.  It’s a hot Saturday (3^rd) with the fiery planets Sun and Mars in opposition.  They cannot fully express their fire, because Mars is in an Earth sign (Virgo) and the Sun is in Water (Pisces), so there may be some passive aggression shown or hidden.  Psychological homework: keep control of your own Inner Warriors, and let others do the same.  It is not likely to be the day of the hoped-for breakthrough in diplomatic relations with Syria’s leader, and indeed may be a day of escalation of tensions, so work to minimize fall out once you have maintained control of your Inner Warrior.  Think of the efforts of the Red Cross, especially that day.

Book Review

On a lighter note, fortunate enough to be in line for a review copy of “Lobsters for Leos, Cookies for Capricorns” I was pleasantly surprised when it arrived in the post (from Thomas Dunne Books, New York) and on looking inside I found a fresh approach to cooking astrologically.  The book is written by Sabra Ricci, astrological chef to the stars of the Hollywood variety (Jim Carrey: “Sabra is an alchemist.  She cares deeply about everything she creates and lives in service to all of us – breakfast, lunch and dinner).  The premise of this book is one of  healthy foods assigned to each sign of the zodiac, and  selected on the basis of the health weakness of each sign.  So for Gemini the foods assist easier breathing (e.g. cantaloupe melon), and for Scorpio the foods are aphrodisiac (with the proviso that you don’t eat them all at once).  As a Sagittarian, I should be eating beetroots and avocados to cleanse my liver (the bodily organ associated with Saggies and those who like alcohol, sometimes both).  In that chapter, there is information about what I am like in the kitchen (“You will soon think your friend has lost track of the recipe, but not to worry, he doesn’t use one, but cooks from a place of intuition”), and what Sagittarian guests are like (“Archers are the heart and soul of a dinner party as they long for all things social”).  Each chapter also suggests optimum ways of serving (whether on the floor, or more formal styles) and gives a clear breakdown of what is contained in the selected foods that benefits us (like luteolin in artichokes which inhibits brain inflammation for Aries).  Then we are presented with recipes which combine these ingredients, and which Sabra has tested on her celebrities.  Some of the ingredients are unknown to me, or have different names here.  As with television programmes, I have to translate them into vegetarian recipes in my head.  But there is at least one vegetarian recipe per sign (the Sagittarian one being “Warm baby beet salad over grilled portobellos with brie”, which sounds appetizing and lovely, and appropriate for me when I am not trying to occasionally veer towards veganism).  All in all, I find Sabra’s approach to combining medical astrology and cooking very refreshing, a useful addition to my bookshelf, and a fun approach to dinner partying.

The Week in Bullet Points:

• Tuesday – Profound
• Friday – A vigorous mental approach
• Saturday – Explosive; try damage limitation