Julie Felix (1938 – 2020)

Folk singer Julie Felix, who died this week, was prominent in the culture of the late 1960s, and continued working into her 80s.

Birth Chart

As a Gemini, she stayed “Forever Young”, which is the title of one of the songs she covered from fellow Geminian Bob Dylan.  The Sun and Mercury in her chart square Neptune, giving her a super-sensitivity.  Mercury also sextiles Saturn, which helps to steady all that nervous energy.  Venus was conjunct Pluto, hinting at some tumult in her close relationships, but Venus also trines exactly her North Node in Scorpio, so she will have understood the karmic lessons.  Mars trines Jupiter in her chart, enthusiasm working well with energy, reflecting the wonder of “daddy taking us to the zoo tomorrow” (her best known song, written by Tom Paxton).  She also has Mars conjunct Chiron in Cancer in her 8th House, increasing her sensitivity to wounding, especially in relation to family and females.  She was interested in healing, with Jupiter trine closely Chiron.  And her wider planetary connections (higher consciousness) were sound: Uranus trine Neptune, and Pluto trine the North Node, indicating a deep understanding of life.

Life and Career

Julie Felix was born in America, but because she was for so long a resident of the U.K. she is thought of as a British artist.  She was very much a part of the folk singing protest movement of the 1960s. She came to prominence on our screens in 1966 as resident singer on “The Frost Report”, hosted by David Frost.  She subsequently gained her own TV series.

David Frost

I am always interested in how people who are destined to play an influential role in each other’s lives meet.  The story of how Julie Felix met David Frost is recounted in the Guardian Obituary by Derek Schofield.  She had been signed to Decca records, and “Living on the third floor of a Chelsea block of flats, she was on her way to her debut album’s launch when she met Frost, a fifth-floor resident, in the lift.  Frost tagged along and, impressed by her singing, persuaded the BBC to engage her for his forthcoming television series.”  She sang a relevant song on each programme.  Frost also was responsible for her landing her own series.

Her Synastry with Frost included her Saturn on his Sun, her Pluto trine his Moon (both quite serious connections), her Sun square his Jupiter (more upbeat), their Uranuses and Plutos being exactly conjunct (he was born the year after her). A more esoteric connection is her Jupiter (humour) conjunct exactly his natal Part of Fortune in Pisces (philosophy of being).

Leonard Cohen

Julie met Leonard Cohen while he was on the Greek Island Hydra (where he spent time with the legendary Marianne).  He appeared on her TV show and she introduced him to a British audience.  They duetted on “Hey, That’s No Way to Say Goodbye”, and she popularized his songs here.

Her Synastry with Cohen is vast and deep.  To give you a flavour of it, his Sun was sextile Julie’s Pluto (profound interaction).  Leonard’s Moon was trine Julie Mars (emotional), Leonard’s Mars was sextile Julie’s Mercury (stimulating), and his Pluto trine her North Node indicates a deep karmic effect in their lives.  Adding to that depth of interaction, her Pluto was sextile his Ascendant, and his Venus/Neptune conjunction in Virgo (representing his musical genius) was conjunct her Ascendant exactly.  Interestingly, his Part of Fortune was close to that of David Frost’s, conjunct Julie’s Jupiter.

Judy Hall

The prolific writer and groundbreaking Karmic Astrologer Judy Hall was a close personal friend of Julie Felix, and writes about her in her 1990 book “The Karmic Journey”, one of my bibles.  In her book, she publishes the lyrics to a song Julie wrote about jealousy “Graduation Day”, written at the time of Julie’s Chiron Return (if you recall, her natal Mars is conjunct Chiron in Cancer, so the song represents that wound).  Judy reveals that Julie’s Ascendant is Scorpio, which is helpful to understanding the total shape of her birth chart.

Here is an interesting astrological insight from the book:

“Singer/songwriter Julie Felix, who has never had a music lesson in her life and cannot read music, but to whom it just came, and Bob Dylan, her contemporary and fellow protester, have Uranus inconjunct Neptune/North Node, and Neptune/North Node square Mercury.  They set out not only to communicate with the world through their music (Mercury in Gemini) but also to change it (Uranus) by pointing out its injustices and failings and, in Julie Felix’s case, by taking a very active part in marches and demonstrations for peace and developing an interest in the healing power of music, thereby incorporating the subtle awareness of vibration which Uranus offers to Mercury in aspect to Neptune.”

I met Judy at a Sacred Contracts workshop some years ago, and she said that the 1990 edition of her book had been superseded by another version because of problems with her publisher, so I hope that she would not mind me quoting from the original book.  I myself also met Julie Felix on two occasions in my life.  The first was in the early 1990s, when some mutual friends of hers and Judy Hall’s set up a healing workshop in Watford.  I found Julie to be very warm and approachable, personally.  The second time I met her was at a concert in King’s Lynn in 2009.  I wrote in my blog:

“I am, however, a member of ipeace, and after listening to an evening of peace and anti-war songs from a delightfully vibrant 71-year old Julie Felix last night, I invited her to join.  She had recently sung “Forever Young” at David Frost’s 70th birthday party, and is a Geminian herself, the sign of eternal youth.”

After the concert, I was able to talk to her of the workshop nearly 20 years earlier, and of the mutual friends, some of who had passed away in the intervening time. Again, she was warm and approachable…I am sure she created many such fond memories, wherever she went.

Aspects

In the early hours of this morning Venus was trine Pluto.  You may have seen Venus allied with the Moon spectacularly in the night sky.  I even took a photo of them the night before last, my first venture into night sky photography!  Venus making friends with Pluto in this way is a deep friendship, and if a relationship has been disrupted there may be a reunion of sorts (though not literally physically in the current climate).  It is the depth of friendship which has been through substantial testing, and come through stronger.  Money, art and music also flourish under this trine.

Tomorrow (Monday 30th) Mars enters Aquarius, giving us a push to do all we can to improve the conditions of our society, currently beset by the biggest crisis in living memory.  Mars in Aquarius is about team spirit, and supporting the underdog.  It will provide us with a very helpful spirit for what may likely be the “height of the curve” during its transit in Aquarius up to 13th May, providing a sense of community and pulling together, and a sense of hope that it will all be worth the effort.  A Mars motto is “never say die!”  And while sometimes we may need acceptance and surrender, we all need to keep going and keep strong, and be there for each other.

On Tuesday (31st), Mars meets Saturn in a conjunction at 0 degrees Aquarius, which some may find tough.  It can be a frustrating conjunction, especially if you are not used to your wings being clipped, or your will or energies encountering obstacles.  It can however bring an inner steel to concentrate on the job in hand, and even perhaps to live in the moment.  In a birth chart this conjunction can describe someone “driving with the brakes on”, but in the context of our current restrictions, it may enable us to focus inward, economize on energy and thought.  You may then discover a new personal meaning in your stay at home status, and a new occupation which does not expend or over-consume.  However, the government(s) may introduce new stricter measures around this time, which for some may feel more burdensome or harsh.

On to Friday (April 3rd) and there is another sign change – this time Venus moves from Taurus to Gemini.  While Venus may have loved being in the comfort zone of her own sign, she is being required to take on the role of social butterfly while in Gemini, while socially distancing of course.  Keeping communication going, and adding the warmth of companionship, will be her job as far as practicalities will allow, so the internet and social media will be a boon.  This will be helpful for those who have signed up to make telephone calls to those isolated, under the new NHS Voluntary Responders scheme.  We are all now in the business of making sure that no one is left alone without company in this way, keeping the collective mental health buoyant.  Venus in Gemini will help us to do just that!  Venus in Gemini can do the small talk, any chit chat will do, it doesn’t have to be profound, it just needs to keep contact going.

There is another conjunction on Saturday (April 4th), and this time the pairing is Mercury and Neptune, at 19 degrees Pisces.  This conjunction can link you mentally with your spiritual sources, and provide the inspiration much needed at this time. It occurs in the early hours of that morning, so if you retire on the night of April 3rd with a request for dream guidance, it may be particularly forthcoming during that night.  We need to keep asking for the best way to negotiate the current times, and for the best way to help the current efforts, especially if we are at home and not in the category of key workers.  We need to keep searching for the right way to think of this crisis, in terms of perspective and consciousness.  I am continuing to ask, and the answers are not flooding through, but if you only ask about that day’s tasks that can be more productive.  People are asking me the wider question of “when will it end?”, and I am not sure, astrologically, and I haven’t read anything yet which is able to satisfactorily address this.  I have learned from Future Life Progression that the future is more malleable, so it does depend on our individual efforts and those of society to keep everyone safe.  And things may become clearer as we go on.

We have a trine on the same day, late afternoon, between Venus and Saturn.  This trine is quite stoical and productive, and stabilizing in terms of feelings.  It would be a good aspect for a plateau in a curve, and while it may be too soon for us in our process, I hope at least that the beleaguered European countries of Italy and Spain can find some relief after weeks enduring their lockdown.

Staying Alive

The U.K.’s oldest man and woman are 112 today, amazingly!  Bob Weighton, interviewed this morning, basically said that his philosophy has been to roll with the punches of life…Joan Hocquard, who lives fairly nearby in Poole (though they have never met) shares the same noon birth chart.  They are both Aries, a sign which generally speaking does look after itself.  The most striking thing in their charts, for me, is an exact square between Venus in Taurus and Chiron in Aquarius.  That fixed sign square may be one of their secrets.

As mentioned, last week, “I meditate at 3 pm every day, and am currently dedicating my meditations to visualizing light dissolving the epidemic, if anyone would care to join me.”

I would like to leave you with the Physical Immortality affirmation from my Rebirthing days, which was written by Leonard Orr, the founder of that movement.  I checked in with an old friend this week, who told me she still says it every day after I gave it to her in the late 1980s!

“I am alive now.  Therefore my life urge is stronger than my death urge. As long as I continue strengthening my Life Urge and weakening my death urge, I will go on living in increasing health and youthfulness forever!”

Aum Namaha Shivaiya!

The week in bullet points:

  • Today – deep friendship
  • Tomorrow – team spirit
  • Tuesday – frustration
  • Friday – social butterfly (at a distance)
  • Saturday – spiritual channelling; loyalty
Date: Mar 29th, 2020 · Comments RSS · Tags: Celebrities · Obituary