Fleetwood Mac – A Soul Group – Part 2:  John McVie

“Once we had John McVie we were a tight musical juggernaut, off and running.”

– Mick Fleetwood

John McVie

By rights John McVie should have been more prominent in Part 2 of this story, but he stayed loyal to John Mayall and the Bluesbreakers just long enough to miss the very inception of Fleetwood Mac, to which he gives his name.  The founder members of Fleetwood Mac, in 1967, were Peter Green, Mick Fleetwood, Jeremy Spencer and Bob Brunning.  This band debuted on 13th August 1967 at Windsor, playing at a festival.

John McVie is a Sagittarian, with an energetic and fiery trine from Mars to his Sun.  His North Node, representing his karmic mission, is in the sign of Cancer, cementing the theme of Cancerian belonging which runs through the group, with other key members born under that sign (Mick Fleetwood, Jeremy Spencer and Bob Brunning).  North Node in Cancer gives John a karmic link with the others, and a key into the soul and  rhythm of the band.

In his relationships, he had a mixture of loyalty (Venus trine Saturn), and explosiveness (Venus square Pluto), and in his mental outlook he had expansiveness (Mercury sextile Jupiter) and quirkiness (Mercury opposite Uranus).  Jupiter conjunct Chiron in Libra, implies healing through music, and Neptune square the Nodal Axis represents the karmic complications of his group interactions.

John McVie joined the band as the bassist in December 1967 (replacing Bob Brunning), and Fleetwood Mac released their first album (“Fleetwood Mac”) early in 1968.  Mick Fleetwood said of him: “I came to know a man who has never left my side since – my best friend, the other side of my brain, and the fellow without whom musically I’m only a fraction of what I can be. That would be Mr John McVie.”  Of his musical prowess, he said: “John possesses a tone and rhythm and a progressive sense unlike anyone I’ve ever heard.” John was a heavy drinker, and had a penchant for the sea and boats.  He finally stopped drinking in 1987, after an alcohol-induced seizure.

His relationship with Mick Fleetwood:

Straightaway you notice they have the closest karmic tie: Mick Fleetwood’s Sun is exactly conjunct John McVie’s North Node.  So the Cancerian North Node which attuned McVie to the vibe of the band connects him directly with Mick personally.  In their synastry, there is some mental friction, but there is a notably happy interpersonal aspect in Mick’s Jupiter being exactly conjunct John McVie’s Venus.

John McVie’s compatibility with Peter Green was also very favourable, with his Mars/Saturn exactly trine Peter Green’s Venus/Mars.

His relationship with the chart of the band is very compatible:

The Sun in the band’s chart is exactly trine John McVie’s Jupiter, a sign of success

The Mercury in the band’s chart is sextile John McVie’s Neptune, so he brings sensitivity

The Jupiter in the band’s chart is at the midpoint of John McVie’s Chiron/Uranus trine, which is constructive and healing

The Saturn in the band’s chart is trine John McVie’s Pluto, an enduring relationship

Soul Groups

What is a soul group? The late Michael Newton was a past life therapist who specialized and developed work exploring the in-between life state.  His major volume of written work “Destiny of Souls” details many clients’ reports of the procedures of life between life, and in preparing for incarnation.  Part of that experience is re-joining the soul group, a primary group of which can consist of a cluster of between three and twenty five souls.

He writes: “About half of all my clients see large groups of souls upon their return.  The other half report that after their arrival they see just their own cluster.  The visual images of either large or small gatherings of souls can vary with the same soul after different lives.”

Often, but not always, members of our family appear in our soul group.  Some people, however, feel they are a cuckoo in the next of their birth family.  We all belong to many different groups in the course of our lives, such as work related groups and groups connected with our interests or for the purposes of our karma, and often these are not connected with our soul group.  Sometimes we may meet and bond with someone in one of those groups who is, however.  And we ourselves are the links to several groups.  But often, if you meet a member of your soul group there is a sense of recognition from the outset.

Jenny Boyd

You might be questioning why I am including Jenny Boyd, Mick Fleetwood’s wife, as she was not a member of the band.  But this series is also about Soul Groups, and as the wife of the most prominent member of the band, she was most definitely a member of the soul group.  She was also a link with another soul group, that of the Beatles, which I wrote about under my Cilla blog.  For Jenny was the sister of Patti Boyd, who was in a famous love triangle with George Harrison and Eric Clapton (the subject of a future blog, I am sure).  The Love Triangle is a sub group of the Soul Group, but can also be a link between two soul groups.  Furthermore, Eric Clapton was early in his career a member of John Mayall’s Bluesbreakers, and in fact was replaced by Peter Green.  Jenny and Mick stayed together for many years, and in fact at one point they divorced and re-married.  Jenny inspired Donovan’s song “Jennifer Juniper”.

Jenny has the Sun conjunct Chiron in Scorpio, so she is deep-thinking, took up transcendental meditation early on, and eventually developed a career in psychology, which fits her chart very well.  She also has a very sociable exact conjunction between Venus and Jupiter, in the ultra-sociable sign of Sagittarius.  There is also a powerhouse of energy in Mars conjunct Pluto in Leo.  To say she has a fiery chart would be an understatement, for not only does she have half (5) of her planets in the fire element, but she also has the Sun square Mars.

It was a difficult and sometimes lonely lifestyle being married to Mick while having family life disrupted by the band touring etc.  The two originally met when she was aged 15.  Like her sister Patti, Jenny was a model, and Mick Fleetwood writes, in his autobiography:

“I’d been obsessed with and was utterly in love with Jenny from the first moment I laid eyes on her.”  Very likely there was some soul recognition going on there.  Mick was mesmerized by a trine between his Venus (love) and Jenny’s Neptune (mystique).  They also have conjunctions between his Mars and her North Node, and His Jupiter and her Sun.

They married on 20th June 1970, and had two daughters. The transits at their wedding included Jupiter trine Jenny’s Uranus (an exciting even), and Pluto trine Mick’s Mars (an energizing union), though there were some difficult transits too (such as a disruptive Pluto square to Jenny’s Uranus, and the commitment of Saturn opposite Mick’s Jupiter.

Progress

The band were engaged with their first American tour in 1968.  They established a reputation for irreverence, and this was partly due to the personality of Jeremy Spencer.  He and his girlfriend, though still teenagers, already had a child.  He was bible-carrying, but had a wild personality, which encouraged the wildness in Mick Fleetwood.  The band were to go through many more transformations, twists and turns, and were soon to be joined by Christine Perfect, who became Christine McVie.  But that story is for the next blog in the series.

Bibliography:

“Play On” by Mick Fleetwood

“Destiny of Souls” by Michael Newton

 

Aspects

There’s a lovely warm sociable vibe on Sunday (22nd), with Venus sextile Jupiter, with the potential for romance.  So it’s a time to gather ye rosebuds, and make merry.

In the evening, the Sun enters Leo, so more fun to be had.  The summer is well and truly under way.  Of course, we have had summery weather for some time here in the U.K., but schools break up around now, and the holiday season is official both academically and astrologically.  If you’ve been too busy to plan your summer, then it is time to down tools, let your hair down and relax.  Everyone deserves a break.

Tuesday (24th) is a little more complicated.  Venus opposite Neptune is confusing on all sorts of fronts: relationships, money and the Arts.  It could be that you need to incorporate more sensitivity or spirituality into your creations.  In a relationship, more compassion may be needed, and in finance more clarity.

The Sun trines Chiron on Wednesday (25th), which is a superb aspect enabling healing, both physical and psychological.  If you are seeking to pick up the pieces on some trauma, your Inner Healer may be working well and receiving guidance from the Universe.  Healing through creativity is especially successful.

There is also a counter aspect running, which occurs late morning, which is the Sun square Uranus.  This aspect represents alienation of some kind, e.g. some reluctance on one party to join in the healing, maybe through defensiveness.  Or they may join in the healing initially, and refuse to go beyond a certain point.  There may be little you can do except accept that the time for full healing may not quite have arrived, but knowing that you also have the power and resource of Chiron working for you in the situation may sustain the faith that eventually things will come together.

Other things may preoccupy you on Thursday (26th), because Mercury is stationary prior to turning Retrograde.  People vary in their sensitivity to this, and so you may want to look back on your own history with it, and build your strategy accordingly.  It also does depend to some extent on whether you are Mercury ruled, in which case you may have more susceptibility.  Also, if you have a regular commuting lifestyle, you may have noticed more problems when Mercury goes retrograde.  There are some heavy rail stories ongoing, such as certain rail franchises facing sanctions or risking losing their franchise altogether, for example Govia Thameslink following the new timetable.  The Southern Rail line has also failed to solve its problems.  These kind of problems may be exacerbated under Mercury retrograde.  On the other extreme, you may have a heightened expertise in Communication (like a degree in it!) and be untouchable.  Certainly the more consciousness you have around it, the less you tend to be affected by it.  Mercury Retrograde is always an opportunity to practise your skills in this area.

Things may hot up on Friday (27th) with an opposition from Mars to the Sun.  People may be hot under the collar for reasons other than the soaring temperatures.  Energy will be high, so it is a good time to arrange activities which channel this energy constructively.  Also avoid confrontations, especially with cars, men and dogs.  So that means no road rage, male rage or canine rage.

This is especially a time of caution, as we are building up to a Full Moon in the evening, which takes place at 4 degrees Aquarius, and is an Eclipse, to boot.  There will be enough emotional, psychological or group processing in the evening without having buttons pressed in the morning with the opposition.  Try to meditate in between, to come to a place of peace.  On the world stage, there may be more hair-raising stories about blond bombshells Donald Trump and Boris Johnson.  For the equivalent August Full Moon in Aquarius last year, I wrote:

“Several issues are coming to a crescendo on the world stage, but at the same time Theresa May has been in Italy, Jeremy Corbyn was in Dubrovnik, and Donald Trump is to take a 17 day golfing holiday.  Aquarius is the sign of freedom, but it may not be wholly possible to escape their responsibilities under a Full Moon.”

Plus ca change, plus c’est la meme chose, eh?!

What were you doing around 7th August last year, when we had that same Full Moon?  Have you made progress since then?  How would you like to go forward with making progress on the issues of friendship, groups and society?  If you can’t remember specifics, maybe you can remember your mindset and measure progress in that light, bearing in mind that the eclipse carries extra potency and consequence.

Venus trines Pluto in the early hours of Saturday morning (28th).  This is especially helpful for psychological healing, uncovering the depth of human feelings with compassion.

The week in bullet points:

  • Sunday – romance and hedonism
  • Tuesday – complications
  • Wednesday – healing and detachment
  • Thursday – communications awry
  • Friday – hotheadedness, emotional tension and turning point
  • Saturday – deep relationships

 

Date: Jul 20th, 2018 · Comments RSS · Tags: Celebrities · Karmic · Soul Groups