{"id":3292,"date":"2015-01-25T13:30:30","date_gmt":"2015-01-25T13:30:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blog.lanawooster.co.uk\/?p=3292"},"modified":"2015-01-25T13:58:18","modified_gmt":"2015-01-25T13:58:18","slug":"aspects-for-the-week-beginning-25-january-2015","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lanawooster.co.uk\/?p=3292","title":{"rendered":"Aspects for the week beginning 25 January 2015"},"content":{"rendered":"

Coronation Street<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It has been an important week for the soap opera Coronation Street.\u00a0 On Monday evening, we heard that Anne Kirkbride, who played Deirdre Barlow, had died after a short illness.<\/p>\n

The same evening, they screened a heavy episode of Corrie in which several members of the cast were involved in a mini-bus crash.<\/p>\n

After watching the soap for the first 10 years or so in the 1960s, I abandoned it on the grounds that I had better things to do than watch soaps. But over the last year, watching sporadic episodes with my mother, I have made the gradual slide into being a regular viewer.<\/p>\n

Anne Kirkbride<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

I was very moved by the touching tributes to the actress Anne Kirkbride \u2013 she came over as a sweet person.\u00a0 She died aged 60, and 42 of those years were spent playing Dierdre.\u00a0 She met her real life husband David Beckett on the set.\u00a0 She was a Geminian Sunsign, but had Jupiter, Uranus and\u00a0 Mercury in the soap sign of Cancer.\u00a0 When she joined the cast of Coronation Street, Jupiter was transiting her natal Mars (an opportunity) and sextile her natal Saturn (the offer of a steady job).\u00a0 Her karma (North Node) was to be indelibly linked with the soap, with her South Node conjunct the Coronation Street Mars and Saturn.\u00a0 Pluto was conjunct her natal North Node when she died.\u00a0 At her death, Saturn was exactly transiting the Mercury of the Coronation Street chart: sad news for the cast.<\/p>\n

In this morning\u2019s Observer Barbara Ellen paints a sharply drawn word-portrait of Anne as Dierdre:<\/p>\n

\u201cBehind those huge glasses, gargling-with-wet-tarmac voice, and what must have been the most expressive neck tendons in show business, lurked a charming and gifted performer\u2026\u201d<\/p>\n

Coronation Street<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Coronation Street began on 9th<\/sup> December 1960, as every good Media student will have etched in their mind.\u00a0 The chart has Mercury sextile Venus, and has been praised for the quality of its scriptwriting over the years.\u00a0 Jupiter exactly trines its Pluto, which may be part of its powerful success in drama and comedy.\u00a0 Pluto conjuncts its North Node, Jupiter trines its North Node, and Neptune bisects the trine forming sextiles with both.\u00a0 That all contributes to a winning formula.\u00a0 The mini-bus crash was designed to bring out new storylines, in the stories of suffering and recovery that ensue.\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0 The chart of the crash is also the chart of Anne\u2019s death, and so the Saturn transit to Mercury in this case shows a bad trip.\u00a0 Curiously, the actor who played the mini-bus driver, Simon Gregson, whose character Steve McDonald has been suffering from depression, had Uranus opposite his natal Mars this week, which speaks of a motor accident.\u00a0 The episode will have been filmed weeks ago, yet it registers in his chart for the time of filming.\u00a0 On some level the actor will have been registering shock this week, some of it possibly in connection with the death of Anne Kirkbride and the stormy week for Coronation Street coverage.<\/p>\n

William Roache<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

It has been said that the relationship between Dierdre and her on screen husband Ken Barlow, played by William Roache, has been a cornerstone of the soap for decades.\u00a0 William Roache is the longest-serving cast member of Coronation Street, and starred in fact in the first episode.\u00a0 So the chart of Coronation Street, and the chart of his job, or career, are the same chart.\u00a0 I am fascinated by how actors\u2019 charts often reflect their on screen personae, especially where they have been typecast for life!\u00a0 So it is that William Roache has Mercury exactly trine Jupiter, which describes his erudite image as Ken Barlow.\u00a0 In real life, he is a student of metaphysicas (Jupiter), having been a follower of the late Dr. Douglas Baker (interpreter of the teachings of Alice Bailey).\u00a0 He is a patriarch of the soap however, and this is reflected in his chart with a strong Saturnian emphasis (Saturn at the Midheaven, square to his Sun).\u00a0 His autobiography \u201cSoul on the Street\u201d has a strongly spiritualist content, and what came over to me in reading it was an adherence to rules and discipline which is very Capricornian.\u00a0 He has a healing sextile between Pluto and Chiron in his chart, and has promoted spiritual healing (\u201cCircle of Love\u201d). In 2013 he was investigated for an offence of rape, as Neptune opposed his Neptune.\u00a0 Anne Kirkbride testified on his behalf, and he was acquitted.\u00a0 He returned to the soap a month before Anne Kirkbride left \u201cfor personal reasons\u201d.\u00a0 After \u201ca short illness\u201d she died, and William Roache was reported to have been present at Anne\u2019s bedside at the time<\/p>\n

Midweek<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

The morning after Anne died, the cast met for work but it became clear that a normal working day was impossible, and they abandoned filming.<\/p>\n

On Wednesday evening, the National TV Awards took place, and Coronation Street\u2019s arch rival Eastenders took the trophy for Best Soap. \u00a0\u00a0With Saturn still sitting on the Coronation Street Mercury, but exactly sextile the Eastenders Jupiter by transit, Adam Woodyatt (Ian Beale of Eastenders) held aloft the trophy and dedicated it to the \u201cWeatherfield One\u201d, a reference to one of Anne Kirkbride\u2019s storylines which had gripped the nation, when she witnessed a nationwide campaign to free her character from jail.<\/p>\n

Barbara Knox<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

On Friday, Barbara Knox who plays Rita Tanner in Corrie, was banned from driving after admitting a charge of drink driving, in a saga which had been running since March 2014.\u00a0 Like Anne Kirkbride, she became a regular cast member in 1972, so is another veteran.\u00a0 Barbara has Mars in Scorpio, and with her trade mark red haired image, possible has her Ascendant roundabout that point in her chart.\u00a0 She is still sporting the red hair at the age of 81.\u00a0 Barbara has the Moon conjunct her North Node, which may symbolize the association with the soap, and has Sun conjunct Jupiter in Libra, giving her a tendency to take chances in life.\u00a0 One such chance was hiring a \u201cloophole lawyer\u201d when she initially denied drink driving, but this week seems to have been fateful for her, as transiting Saturn opposes her Chiron.\u00a0 The original driving offence took place when Mars was opposite her natal Uranus (a driving mishap).<\/p>\n

Let us hope there are more peaceful waters coming up for this soap.\u00a0 I used to say it was a waste of my emotional energy to watch it, and how much of the nation\u2019s emotional energy is tied up with our national TV soaps, I wonder?\u00a0 I would like a soap called \u201cNirvana\u201d, but that is not likely to happen.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Aspects<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

On <\/strong>Tuesday (27th<\/sup>) Venus enters Pisces. We switch from a heart centred in social ideology to a heart centred in compassion. It may be easier for stressed nurses to exercise the compassion which led them into nursing in the first place, but will it be easier for the politicians to find it in their hearts to release more money into the NHS?<\/p>\n

With the good news that Ebola nurse Pauline Cafferkey has been released from hospital and recovering, Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt has been quoted as saying:<\/p>\n

\u201cHer selflessness and courage are remarkable and she represents the very best of NHS values\u201d.<\/p>\n

At last some credit from our government! She and William Pooley, another British nurse who recovered after contracting Ebola in Sierra Leone, are among those saints who have volunteered to do that work.\u00a0 It would have been unthinkable to lose either of them, so that is wonderful news this week.<\/p>\n

Wednesday (28th<\/sup>) brings a sextile between Mercury and Uranus. With Mercury retrograding, we revisit an aspect from 2 weeks ago on Wednesday\u00a014th:<\/p>\n

\u201cThis may produce dynamic information, for instance on the health front.\u00a0 Ideas may come out of the blue.\u00a0 Look out for the left field on Wednesday \u2013 it could be a fruitful departure.\u201d<\/p>\n

There will be a realistic appraisal of some sort, which works for many, but for some it will be information overload, especially if Uranus is at an awkward angle in your chart.\u00a0 Some people attribute computer problems to Mercury retrograde which may be down to Uranian activity (the two are very intertwined), but today should upgrade and harmonize both communication (Mercury) and technology (Uranus).\u00a0 So if you have the Mercury retrograde blues, they may be to some extent alleviated on Wednesday.<\/p>\n

Much of the week’s aspect action takes place on Friday (30th) starting at breakfast with Venus square Saturn. A packet of cereal may be past its sell by date, or an aspect of a relationship may be past its sell by date. You may have to let go of something, or cut your losses.<\/p>\n

Fortunately, late lunchtime, we have the prospect of two much more constructive aspects, within 5 minutes of each other. At 13.40 hrs (U.K. time) Mars sextiles Pluto, enabling energies to flow freely and with gusto!<\/p>\n

At 13.45 the Sun conjuncts Mercury at 10 degrees Aquarius. It’s a clear day and you can see forever. \u00a0Friendships and groups flourish, and benefit from focussed thought.\u00a0 If it is your birthday, expect to have to let go of something old, and let in something new.<\/p>\n

Mars conjuncts Chiron on Saturday (31st<\/sup>) at 14 degrees Pisces, and the energetic shifts of Friday could culminate in a healing shift on Saturday.\u00a0 You may feel that the wound is raw or exposed, but allow the natural healing process to take place.<\/p>\n

The week in bullet points:<\/p>\n