Aspects for the week beginning 23 November 2014

The Do-Gooder Rock Gods

There’s a trinity of do-gooding rock musicians in the U.K., who are sometimes regarded with cynicism.  This week has seen some aspersions cast on Bob Geldof’s  new version of “Do They Know it’s Christmas”; people wonder what is behind Bono’s dark glasses; and did Sting really save the rainforests?

I thought I would take a look at their charts to see if there is any common ground for the impulse to do good in their charts.

Bob Geldof

In May this year I was writing about Sir Bob in the context of the tragic  death of his daughter Peaches:

“Sir Bob Geldof is an edgy personality, and musical (Libran) but has no planets in the rock god sign of Scorpio, a compelling opposite sign for Paula. With Chiron rising in Sagittarius and Moon exactly trine Jupiter he has a desire to heal the world!”

Just a few months later, we find him organizing a reprise of the 1984 Christmas single, with an added incentive of tackling the Ebola crisis, bringing together the fresh faces of the current pop music scene, including One Direction.  His current initiative has been criticized by some as being “cultural imperialism”.  There have been accusations of self-aggrandisement,  a false portrayal of  Africans, and questions about how much of the money raised actually reaches the intended destination.

Sir Bob is both an optimist (Moon exactly trine Jupiter) and a realist (Mercury exactly conjunct Saturn).  He has the power to change the world in profound ways (Pluto closely trine his Ascendant).  He is an activist (Mars sextile closely his Midheaven/Careerpoint, which bisects a trine between Mars and his Chiron).  He has a karmic mission as a humanitarian (Moon closely square his Nodal Axis).  I didn’t like his anthem for the workers (with the Boomtown Rats) “I Don’t like Mondays”, but I do admire his drive to help.  In his autobiography “Is That It?” he wrote about lying in bed anguishing about Africa, and being presented with a vision of a tunnel and what he must do appearing at the end, which culminated in his work on Live Aid.  Spiritual guidance, indeed.

At the original recording of the Band Aid single in 1984, Chiron was trine his Mercury (a healing work initiative), Pluto was exactly sextile his natal Venus (profound music), Neptune was exactly trine his natal  Mars (spiritual action), Mars and Chiron were exactly trine his natal Saturn (the taking on of responsibilities), Jupiter was  exactly opposite his natal Uranus (a radical enterprise) and Saturn squaring his natal Pluto (beset by the anguish of the world) – that was a lot going on, for one man at one time.

Bono

Bono, Sir Bob’s partner in the Band Aid initiative, had a weekend of ecstasy followed by agony last weekend.  On Saturday he was singing on the new Band Aid single, and on Sunday he had a serious bicycle accident (injuring his arm and an eye) in New York, from which he will need intensive treatment for a long time to come.

Frontman for the band U2, Bono has the Songwriter Archetype in the form of Venus conjunct Mercury in his chart.   His songs include “With or Without You” and “Beautiful Day”.

The eyeshades are not just an affectation of his Midheaven in Scorpio persona, but apparently to alleviate the eye condition of glaucoma.

His Moon conjunct Neptune can be do-gooding and charitable, and is certainly a sign of sensitivity in a chart, on a personal level.   He and his band have been accused of of clocking up too many air miles, and recently upset the music industry by their compulsory downloading of their recent album.

He is both reactionary (Sun trine Saturn) and revolutionary (Sun square Uranus), responsible and liking the trappings of fame, and wanting to change the world.  His Sun trines the North Node (karmic leadership) and his Ascendant, forming a Grand Trine, showing someone who can get things done.  His Moon is sextile exactly his natal Jupiter (echoing Bob’s positive trine between these two planets), and the Moon bisects an exact trine between Pluto and Jupiter (the wielding of power).  The Moon also trines Chirion (the impulse to heal).  He has Mars exactly trine his Midheaven (echoing Sir Bob’s Mars/Midheaven Activist sextile), and Jupiter sextile Chiron (the Will to Heal).

At the time of the historic first Band Aid effort, Pluto was conjunct Bono’s Moon, depicting the deepest emotional process, and  transiting Pluto was also exactly sextile his natal Jupiter (a profound contribution  borne of Good Will) – two very telling transits.

But what was going on for him to produce such a fateful weekend on 15^th/16^th November?.  On the Saturday of the live recording, the Sun was sextile his natal North Node, a karmic nod from the Universe. Venus was conjunct his Midheaven (a musical high in his career), but there is not a lot to distinguish the two days astrologically.  On the Sunday, the date of the accident, Mars and Saturn appear in the picture:  Mars transits his Saturn, and Saturn transits his Midheaven.  The combination of Mars and Saturn can produce a harsh physical scenario, and Saturn approaching his Midheaven can signal a time  of protracted difficulties for his career and life direction.  I hope that he recovers as quickly as possible from this painful trauma in his life.

Sting

Sting rose to fame in his years as lead singer of the Police, with hits such as “Every Breath you Take” and “Roxanne”.  He and his second wife Trudie Styler became self-styled champions of the ecology of the rainforests, and for a time their profile was highly positive.  Sting left the Police to go solo, and “Fields of Gold” was a highly popular song of his own penmanship.  But then, they were ridiculed over their tantric activities and general middle-class smugness, and Trudie was the subject of a court case filed by a former employee, which tarnished her reputation, which had been built up also in her own right as a promoter of peace, patron of the Buddhist Peace garden in London, in association with the Tibetan Foundation.  The garden was opened by the Dalai Lama.  Sting himself is currently working on a show about shipbuilding communities, inspired by his boyhood and the hardship of the North East.

Sir Bob Geldof and Sting are born only three days apart, in the same year (1951), with their Suns in Libra.  So some of the same impulses motivate them  both.    Sir Bob has the global sign Sagittarius rising, and Sting  is a showman, with Leo rising.  Despite a possible air of self-indulgence,  Sting does have a profound thinking conjunction of Pluto and the Part of Fortune in his 1^st House.  He also has the Moon conjunct Neptune (exact in his case)  in common with Bono, that compassionate emotional make up.  Like Bono, too, he has Sun square Uranus, a desire to change the world.  His North Node (karmic mission) too is in the compassionate sign of Pisces.  He has Mars exactly trine Chiron, the desire to heal through action, which Bob Geldof also has but not to the exact degree.  He has Jupiter closely trine his Ascendant, and can be an ambassador for good will.  Pluto trines his Midheaven, so there is a great deal of motivation to do something worthwhile with his life, such as alerting the world to the dangers of deforestation.

He did sing on the original version of “Do They Know it’s Christmas”,  purveyor of  the actual line “the bitter sting of tears”.  He shared some of the same transits as Bob Geldof on that occasion, such as Pluto sextile his Venus, and Chiron trine Saturn.  As you can see, the three of them share a great deal in their natal charts, too, of goodwill and compassion, much as they are also individuals of free will.

Aspects

With most of the aspects occurring in the early hours of the morning in the U.K. it’s a week for Dreamwork.  Take out your dream diary, dust  down and polish it, and use a good pen with free flowing ink to honour the occasion that this week brings.  Symbols are likely to come up in dreams, and where appropriate I will list some.

If you are in the U.S. the events will occur mainly in the evening, and may influence your dream content.  They may be more emotionally focused.

If in Australia, the events will occur mainly in the morning, and may be very practical and active.

In the early hours of this morning, Mercury squared Jupiter, and so your dreams may have seemed outlandish, and choc full of information.  Someone may have given you too much to think about the night before.

Dream Symbols: Bicycles, Globes

You may have a lot of ideas about how you want to spend your day, which may slightly overstretch you so you may have to prioritize.  For instance you may feel torn in more than one direction, having received two invitations.

Chiron stays stationary today, prior to going direct.  It’s an important time to redirect your thoughts in a positive way for healing purposes.  There’s a book by Martin Brofman entitled “Anything Can be Healed” and this title would make a good mantra to take you through the day, or week.

On Wednesday (26^th) in the early hours Mercury is conjunct Saturn.  If you are going to have a nightmare, this may be the time, although it wouldn’t be a night terror, just a mildly depressing scenario such as being stuck or weighed down.

Dream Symbols: Exams, Grooves

You may wake with a lack of enthusiasm for the day’s tasks, the opposite of the Mercury-Jupiter square earlier in the week.  The real task during the day is concentration and application.  You may think “I’d rather be playing Golf”, but you could end up with a real sense of achievement if you stick at things.

On Thursday (27^th) in the early hours first Venus trines Uranus, then the Sun squares Neptune.

With Venus trine Uranus, you may have unusual and vivid dreams, and possibly some interdimensional travel.  You may meet some arresting figures in your dreams.

With Sun square Neptune, you may get lost or have some foggy elements, after the more vivid interactions of Venus-Uranus.  There may also be some sleeplessness, or periods of being half awake, half asleep, neither here nor there.  You may still feel sleepy when you awake, and may need a cup of breakfast coffee or a healthier equivalent.

Dream Symbols: Electrical Wires, Romance; Fog

During the day the influence could still bring interesting meetings, but also complicated interactions, depending how each of these two aspects affects you.  For instance, Venusian (Taurus and Libra) and Sun types (Leos) may be more affected than most.

Later on in the day, Venus squares Chiron, and the Taureans and Librans may feel challenged by a healing conundrum, such as ascertaining the cause of an allergy.

On Friday (28^th) Mercury enters Sagittarius, and you may experience wish-fulfilment dreams.  Snuggled under the covers, you might want to take yourself back into the dream, and assist some lucid or creative dreaming.  You could mentally take yourself through the day in a positive manner, ensuring that you rise in a good mood and can carry that through the day.

Dream Symbols: Magic Carpets, Horses

During the day, you may find it easy to get some momentum going on your plans, especially if they involve travel.  You’ll find it easy to find information you need, whether on Google, or in a plain old fashioned library which is threatened with closure somewhere near you.

The week in bullet points:

• Today – mental or physical travel; healing moves
• Wednesday – concentration
• Thursday – exciting meetings, then complications; healing conundrums
• Friday – optimism