{"id":6051,"date":"2020-09-20T09:13:57","date_gmt":"2020-09-20T09:13:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.lanawooster.co.uk\/?p=6051"},"modified":"2020-09-20T09:26:46","modified_gmt":"2020-09-20T09:26:46","slug":"aspects-for-the-week-beginning-20-september-2020","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lanawooster.co.uk\/?p=6051","title":{"rendered":"Aspects for the week beginning 20 September 2020"},"content":{"rendered":"

Terence Conran (1931 – 2020)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“We all have a little bit of Conran in our lives, whether we think about design or not”<\/em><\/p>\n

~ Suzanne Moore<\/p>\n

Designer and entrepreneur Terence Conran died on 12th September, at the age of 88, after a long and productive life.\u00a0 By all accounts, he was quite a character, and sometimes challenging to those who worked with him, and in personal relationships.<\/p>\n

Birth Chart<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

With 6 (over half his planets) in the Cardinal signs, he was quite definitely a leader. He certainly led the way in transforming our homes after the war, from traditional furnishing to a more modern look.\u00a0 In his career, he was always a step ahead, finding new avenues for his talents, such as establishing restaurants.\u00a0 His Sun was in Libra conjunct his ruler Venus, the sign you would expect to find in an interior designer.\u00a0 So he had a highly developed sense of harmony and artistry in that sense, but with the Sun square Moon and three difficult aspects to his Venus, all was not harmony in his private life.\u00a0 He had a contentious T-square between the Sun opposing Uranus and squaring Saturn (personal earthquakes), which if you count a wide orb with Pluto is almost a Grand Cross.\u00a0 The Sun was conjunct the South Node in Libra in his chart, so he probably worked on similar themes as an artist in previous lives.\u00a0 His Moon was in Cancer, thus his sphere of working interest was in Homes.\u00a0 The Moon was sextile Neptune – a sensitivity and good taste in matters of Home, and the Moon was square the Nodal Axis, implying that the art of home making was part of his karmic mission.\u00a0 Venus exactly sextile Jupiter brought him success through artistic expression, but Venus was also square exactly with Saturn (relationship difficulties), Venus opposite exactly Uranus (break-ups) and square Pluto (explosive relationships).\u00a0 Mars square Jupiter was a telling aspect: an over the top enthusiasm allied with energy, which Stephen Bayley (writing his obituary in the Guardian) labelled “the zealous energy of a messiah”.\u00a0 Of course, in his chart, you find the Entrepreneur Archetype – Jupiter closely trine Uranus.\u00a0 I think his ability to bring transformation to post-war homes comes from his square between Uranus and Pluto; he had to be quite pushy to achieve that.<\/p>\n

Life and Career<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Terence Conran was born in Kingston upon Thames in 1931, and attended the Central School of Art and Design when he left school, studying textiles.\u00a0 He began a business in design in 1956, while designing a shop for Mary Quant.\u00a0 His schoolfriend Alexander Plunket Greene described him as “surly…old beyond his years”, and married Mary Quant.\u00a0 But it was not until 1964 that he opened his\u00a0 famous homeware and furniture shop Habitat, on the Fulham Road in Chelsea.\u00a0 According to Stephen Bayley, his style was “polite, eclectic modern design, much influenced by urban Scandinavia and rural France”.\u00a0 In 1990 he branched out as a restaurateur, at his 2nd Saturn Return in Capricorn.<\/p>\n

Shirley Conran<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Shirley Conran was Terence’s second wife (of four), and achieved fame with her best-selling book “Superwoman” which I dutifully read in 1975!\u00a0 It was packed with information about short-cuts to housework and the domestic arts.<\/p>\n

Jasper Conran<\/em><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Jasper Conran was one of two sons from his marriage to Shirley Conran, and followed him into a career of design, though more orientated towards fashion.\u00a0 Jasper has designed clothes for the rich and famous, including for Lady Diana.\u00a0 He has the design sign Libra rising.<\/p>\n

Terence leaves behind in total 5 children, 13 grandchildren, and 2 great-grandchildren.<\/p>\n

On a personal note, we have a monument to Terence Conran in our own home.\u00a0 In 1975, in setting up our first home, we bought a pine dining table from Habitat.\u00a0 I know, they’re not fashionable now!\u00a0 It wasn’t elegant; it was chunky and solid, but one of the best and most enduring purchases of our married life!\u00a0 It is still going strong, 45 years later, and we love it.<\/p>\n

“Terence’s achievement was to put middle Britain in touch with the pleasure principle” <\/em><\/p>\n

~ Stephen Bayley<\/p>\n

“This was his rebellion against the drabness of the postwar years, the grey houses, the Spam fritters, the colourless mackintoshes”<\/em><\/p>\n

~ Suzanne Moore<\/p>\n

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

We have three aspects this week, all difficult aspects to Mercury.\u00a0 Although they are to be taken seriously, they are in the scheme of things medium in terms of seriousness in comparison to other aspects, but Geminis and Virgos (the Mercury-ruled) will need to be on their toes.<\/p>\n

The first of these occurs tomorrow (Monday 21st) in the early hours of the morning.\u00a0 Mercury square Pluto can be mentally fractious, so you may start out grumpy and find it is a chain reaction, unless you consciously intend to make every word count in a constructive way.\u00a0 You may encounter awkward communications or travel (if you are allowed to travel).\u00a0 You may need extra ‘me time’ in order to separate yourself from worried pronouncements about the progress of the social measures being instituted on behalf of the virus we haven’t yet managed to shake off.\u00a0 If you do engage in chatter, choose a worthwhile subject.<\/p>\n

Tuesday (22nd) brings us the Autumn Equinox, the Sun’s entry into Libra.\u00a0 There may be a lift in mood, accompanying a greater appreciation of the beauty of nature, and awareness of the quality of design, whether in or out of the home.\u00a0 Libra may draw you to artistic or musical pursuits, new relationships, or an interest in the law and justice.<\/p>\n

The second square of the week arrives on Wednesday (23rd) in the shape of Mercury square Saturn.\u00a0 Again, this forces us to think seriously about matters, e.g. David Attenborough and his recent programme “Extinction”.\u00a0 That doesn’t sound like much fun, but the excitement of the challenge of working out what can be done could be motivating.\u00a0 It is not as challenging as Monday’s square, and it is more practical.\u00a0 So you may perceive some progress coming into the middle of the week, when you look back and compare the agenda set at the start.\u00a0 More haste less speed may be a useful mantra to follow.<\/p>\n

“More haste less speed” can also apply on Thursday (24th), with Mercury opposite Mars, but in a completely different way.\u00a0 Whereas you need to be patient on Wednesday, e.g. your broadband may be going slow, on Thursday you may make minor slip ups because you will feel like going quickly and pushing through agendas fast.\u00a0 Heated debates, irritability and incident-proneness could also be a feature of Mercury opposite Mars.\u00a0 Again, the irritability of Thursday’s aspect contrasts with the irritability of Monday’s.\u00a0 Monday’s square between Mercury and Pluto can contain a deep moodiness, whereas the irritability of Thursday’s Mercury aspect is more surface, resulting from an impatience to get things done, and not wanting to let anything stand in your way.\u00a0 You may observe this in others, and in the general hustle and bustle of society, where two or more (or six) are gathered together.<\/p>\n

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