Aspects for the week beginning 30 July 2023

George Alagiah (1955 – 2023)

“My parents moved us first to Africa and then to Britain, always in search of something better for their children.”

~ George Alagiah

The much loved, admired and respected foreign correspondent and newsreader George Alagiah died this week aged 67.  His love of travel, humanity, the world and in turn the love and loyalty he inspired, is graphically seen in his conjunction of the North Node (karmic mission) conjunct Venus (Love) in the sign of Sagittarius (the World).

Birth Chart

George had over half his planets (six) in the strong willed Fixed signs, making him an indomitable character.  His Sun was at the end of Scorpio, an indomitable sign, part of a triple conjunction in that sign with Mercury and Saturn.  The Saturn addition showed his uprightness.  That he was able to maintain composure and optimism and encourage others at the same time, is due to the close square of the Sun to Jupiter.  He also had a sense of what was possible, shown in the trine between his Sun and Uranus.  His character was complex, because there was also a close sextile between his Sun and Chiron (healing qualities), but a willingness to look at the tragic scenarios of the countries he visited (Sun exactly square Pluto), with a proximity to the death and dying.  Mercury was square to Jupiter (almost too much travelling in his lifestyle, at least early in life).  He had attention to detail (Mercury closely conjunct Saturn) too.  Mars conjunct Neptune squaring Uranus gave him an electrical energy, which may have been part of his magnetism, an aura which also exuded a spirituality.  Mars sextile Pluto gave him a toughness, endurance and a plentiful energy supply.  But Jupiter conjunct Pluto gave him power.  We do not have his birth time, so do not know where these qualities were placed within his life.

Life and Career

George was born in Colombo, Ceylon.  At the age of 6, his family moved to Ghana, where he was brought up for his formative years, until moving to Britain aged 11.  He wrote of his experience trying to fit into British life:

“You are desperate to shed one skin and take on the skin of the place you are in, and subconsciously that is what I did.”

He studied politics at Durham University, and met his wife Frances there.  He became the Developing World correspondent for the BBC in 1989.  He is especially remembered for his reports on the famine in Somalia, and found the genocide in Rwanda the most challenging assignment that he had experienced.  He was almost killed in 1994 while covering the civil war in Afghanistan, but miraculously saved.  In 1999, at the age of 44, he gave up travelling, to concentrate on work in the studio.

In 2003, he began working with Sophie Raworth on the BBC 6 o’clock News.  She has posted a long tribute to her colleague, which includes the words:

George had a rich spirit. He radiated warmth with a wonderful smile and a velvety laugh.”

He has won numerous awards for his journalism and news presentation, and wrote a debut novel in 2020 entitled “The Burning Land”.

Health

He was diagnosed in April 2014 with having colorectal cancer, with Saturn on his natal Mercury when he announced the condition.  But he was well enough to return to work at the BBC on 10th November of that year, with Mars sextile his Sun (fresh energy), Jupiter square his Nodal Axis (karma willing) and Uranus trine his North Node (a new phase in his life and karma).  He became a regular on our screens again.

The cancer returned in 2018, and gradually spread over the next few years, during which he did work from time to time.  But he remained remarkably sanguine, and philosophical, according to friends, even seeing a gift in the cancer as having helped him to know himself at a deeper level.  This won him even more admiration.  He said:

“On being diagnosed with stage four bowel cancer in 2014, I constructed a pros and cons list of how my life had gone so far.  The things that had gone well far outweighed the others, which brought me to a place of total contentment.”

He was a great family man, and had two sons.  He always regarded his relationship with his wife Frances as a great blessing.  He died peacefully, surrounded by those he loved.

“I have very strong views, but I keep them to myself; impartiality is important.  In the seat I regularly occupy on the BBC News at Six, I speak to millions of people.  If they all knew what I thought on every topic we report on, we’d lose some of them.  In my job one can’t decide that the view you subscribe to is the only one.”

~ George Alagiah

Aspects

Our aspects this week begin with a Full Moon at 9 degrees of Aquarius on Tuesday (1st August), early evening.  So we’ll be working up to that for the next couple of days!  We might be torn by looking at an issue emotionally, then from a detached perspective, then back and forth.  This may produce a stand off between the individual and the group.

The same day, slightly later in the evening, Mars trines Jupiter, so when the energy of the Full Moon has been released, you may feel a new lease of life, and an influx of new energy for whatever purpose.  This is a go ahead, spirited aspect which makes us feel we can achieve anything.  Enthusiasm and energy abound, and you may spring out of bed early full of the joys of the season.  Sinead O’Connor had Mars sextile Jupiter natally, as described in the blog below, which helped her express her fiery energy.

Wednesday (2nd) is a different energy, characterized by Saturn opposite Mercury, and occurring in the early hours.  There may be a setback to a plan, or you may suddenly feel fatigued.  Challenges or blockages may occur to the smooth flow of earlier in the day.  Travelling plans may be delayed that day, especially if there is another rail strike.

That concludes the aspects for the week, but we have two correlations with Fixed Stars, one for Thursday and one for Friday.  On Thursday (3rd) our Sun aligns with Kochab in Ursa Minor.  “Starlight Elixirs” by Michael Smulkis and Fred Rubenfeld offers the interpretation:

“This star can assist people in grounding information from their past lives.  This is a way in which one becomes more comfortable with one’s past lives, as if these lives are running concurrently or parallel to one’s present life and can affect the person in positive ways.  The ability to accept this easily, feel good about the information, and take it in by actually owning it and really knowing it, this is far beyond a verbal or intellectual process.  This can generate a deeper sense of power within the individual.”

On Friday (4th) our Sun aligns with Acubens in the constellation of Cancer.  Bernadette Brady reports that Rigor associates Acubens with a logical mind, strength, perseverance and good organization, that Resurrection “is the key concept” and that the star is associated with Scarab beetles.

From “Starlight Elixirs” we have:

“In this star you see some of the more generalized tendencies of Cancer that have a symbolic effect on people such as a willingness to express and work out family issues, to understand the nature of the home, and to create this more clearly. There is some general influence here with better understanding of the subtle forces involved in creating a home, such as through the Chinese art of geomancy known a feng shui.  Individuals studying feng shui may do well with this elixir.”

The week in bullet points:

• Tuesday – emotional high tide, release, then influx of new energy
• Wednesday – be patient with blockages or delays
• Thursday – good for working with past lives
• Friday – good for working with family issues