Una Stubbs (1937 – 2021)

Una Stubbs, veteran actress and dancer, died on Thursday 12th August aged 84.  She has been warmly praised for her kind nature by those who worked with her.

Birth Chart

Although we do not have a birth time/Ascendant, she has a distinctive Element pattern: 6 (over half) of her planets in Earth signs, and 0 planets in Air signs, making for a very instinctive mode of operating, and an earthy approach to life.

Her Sun was in Taurus, and as a characteristic of that sign she tended to play mostly supportive roles.  The Sun in Taurus would give her amiability, but its close conjunction with Uranus produced that perky personality she displayed.  The Guardian obituary by Michael Coveney described her as “geared to be fast and funny”, and she displayed that Uranian ability in her team captaincy of the game show “Give Us A Clue”.  The actor Mark Gatiss has declared that “Mischief was in her blood”.  Almost every Taurean possesses a talent for either art or music, and Una fulfilled her talent by becoming an exhibited artist.

Mercury trine Jupiter in her chart described an optimistic frame of mind – as evidence of that, she had a beautiful and generous smile.  But it was her Venus square Jupiter which showed a characteristic which crops up time and again in the tributes to her: her particular humour.  Venus square Jupiter can bring a slightly off-the-wall sense of humour, and even inappropriate laughter.  She was known for being good company, and was described as “wickedly funny”.  Chiron was at the South Node in her chart, pointing to training as a healer in past lives.

Career

With the Sun trine Neptune (lord of the dance) in her natal chart, she started out as a dancer – her first performances were as part of the Dougie Squires troupe of dancers, on the television show “Cool for Cats” in 1956.

For me, in my early teens at the time, she will always be “Cliff Richard’s girlfriend” from the film “Summer Holiday” (1963) and “Wonderful Life” (1964).  Cliff’s Venus was trine her Sun/Uranus conjunction.  I always wondered how she could look perennially bright eyed and positive.  She had that glow from the inside, but was aided by the huge smile and naturally arched eyebrows – a look of surprise perhaps bestowed by the planet Uranus (lord of surprise)?  Coveney describes her role as “a docile, amenable dolly bird hanging around Cliff and the Shadows”.

Of course, she had to move on from that girl-next-door role, and the next role she became famous for ensured her presence on our screens for ten years in “Till Death Us Do Part”, and more years if you count the sequel “In Sickness and in Health”.  She played a slightly rebellious (Uranus, again) daughter of Alf Garnett, that character who was created to show us the worst excesses of bigotry and racism (1965-1975).  It seems so long ago, and though the nation laughed weekly at his antics, we still (2021) have bigotry and racism.

She then went on to play a life-sized doll and the love of a scarecrow’s life in Worzel Gummidge (played by Jon Pertwee), during the years 1979 – 1981.  From 1998 to 2001 she played Miss Bat in “The Worst Witch”.  But a new generation of viewers knew her as Sherlock Holmes’ landlady Mrs Hudson, playing opposite Benedict Cumberbatch, to great acclaim (2010 – 2017).

She had fine mental qualities of Mercury trine Jupiter (breadth of mind) and Mercury sextile Pluto (depth of mind), and in later years trod the boards in weightier roles, in plays by Shakespeare, Terence Rattigan and Oscar Wilde.

Marriage

Una married twice, her first husband being Peter Gilmore, with whom she adopted a son.  She then married Nicky Henson in 1969, another actor, and both their sons have become musical composers.

A bright spark has left the stage…

“Oh, this is so sad. Such a funny, lovely, gifted lady – a marvellous actress with a special style & a great (and impish) sense of humour.”

~ Gyles Brandreth

 

“The Quiet Office” Update

Thank you to all who bought yourselves a copy of my newly published book “The Quiet Office”.  Thanks to you I had a wonderful launch day on Wednesday 11th: Under the category of “Astrology”, the book ended up at no. 10 on Amazon, and at no. 11 in “Paranormal”.  Under “Spirituality” it reached no. 45.  If you would like to purchase the accompanying Past Life Archetype cards, email me.  At current printing costs, they are available at £5.50 plus £1.25 first class post or 85p second class post.

 

Aspects

The Nodal Axis squares Mercury today, which is an opportunity to tackle your karma!  We can give more thought and exercise more mindfulness in our processes and actions.  Whether it is personal relationship karma or environmental karma, we can put our minds to what needs to change for the future.  Put into practice what we can do now.

Mercury often relates to weather and climate.  We’ve had a major earthquake in Haiti overnight, and this square hit the chart of Haiti very precisely: Mercury exactly opposes the Haitian Pluto (destruction) and the Nodal Axis squares this opposition, implying karmic overtones. 304 lives have been lost.  The population have had their fair share of such disasters, and are still recovering from the huge earthquake of 2010.

Venus enters Libra tomorrow (Monday 16th), in the early hours, in the U.K.  Venus is very comfortable in Libra, one of her own signs. If you have design skills in art or music, they could be heightened now, and in the near future.  At the very least, polish up your vocal skills.  She is in residence here until 10th September.

The early hours of Thursday morning (19th) brings a conjunction of Mercury and Mars at 13 degrees Virgo, so your mind may be on overdrive while you are attempting a good night’s sleep.  If you are energized, you may get through some morning tasks efficiently.  But if  you are blurry-eyed through lack of sleep, you or those around you may be slightly irritable.  The morning may bring a loosened tongue, sharp words, or a war of words.  If you are incident prone, you may experience minor cuts and bruises.  On the more high functioning end of this conjunction, you could write or say something witty, such as a critical review, or be forceful in getting your opinion across.

Jupiter opposes the Sun very early on Friday morning (20th), and you may experience this opposition late Thursday night.  We may be trying to cover too much ground, and overstretching ourselves, erring on the side of arrogance, although likely to be in good humour.  You may want to be travelling, whether physically to far off places with the right covid colour code, or mentally in your armchair reading about travelling.  If lazing in a chair, philosophical reflections on the quality of freedom in your life can bring relevant insights for this Jupiterian aspect and timing.  Or if you can extend to a desk, writing a comedy script would also be a suitable occupation for the day.  Otherwise, enjoy the holiday, staycation, or the planning or prospect of one.  There is more than a touch of rebellious humour.

Soon afterwards, Uranus will be Stationary, prior to turning Retrograde.  Uranus of course is the trickster, so things may not necessarily go according to plan. Plan for the unexpected, if you can.  You may see some goalposts moving.

By 8.06 a.m. you may even have the opportunity to outwit Uranus himself, as a trine between this planet and Mercury inspires high functioning minds, intuition and good ideas.   Uranus will add extra spice to your plans, and documentation.  Computers and technology should be on sparkling form and assist your expression.  If not, then Uranus retrograde is having the last laugh.

The week in bullet points:

  • Today – tackle your karma
  • Tomorrow – polish your talents
  • Thursday – mental activity
  • Friday – mixed influences: a funny bone, a trickster, and a lightbulb moment
Date: Aug 15th, 2021 · Comments RSS · Tags: Celebrities · Obituary