{"id":7541,"date":"2023-07-30T14:18:42","date_gmt":"2023-07-30T14:18:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/blog.lanawooster.co.uk\/?p=7541"},"modified":"2023-07-30T14:25:29","modified_gmt":"2023-07-30T14:25:29","slug":"aspects-for-the-week-beginning-30-july-2023","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.lanawooster.co.uk\/?p=7541","title":{"rendered":"Aspects for the week beginning 30 July 2023"},"content":{"rendered":"

George Alagiah (1955 – 2023)<\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

“My parents moved us first to Africa and then to Britain, always in search of something better for their children.”<\/em><\/p>\n

~ George Alagiah<\/p>\n

The much loved, admired and respected foreign correspondent and newsreader George Alagiah died this week aged 67.\u00a0 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).<\/p>\n

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

George had over half his planets (six) in the strong willed Fixed signs, making him an indomitable character.\u00a0 His Sun was at the end of Scorpio, an indomitable sign, part of a triple conjunction in that sign with Mercury and Saturn.\u00a0 The Saturn addition showed his uprightness.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 He also had a sense of what was possible, shown in the trine between his Sun and Uranus.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Mercury was square to Jupiter (almost too much travelling in his lifestyle, at least early in life).\u00a0 He had attention to detail (Mercury closely conjunct Saturn) too.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 Mars sextile Pluto gave him a toughness, endurance and a plentiful energy supply.\u00a0 But Jupiter conjunct Pluto gave him power.\u00a0 We do not have his birth time, so do not know where these qualities were placed within his life.<\/p>\n

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

George was born in Colombo, Ceylon.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 He wrote of his experience trying to fit into British life:<\/p>\n

“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.”<\/em><\/p>\n

He studied politics at Durham University, and met his wife Frances there.\u00a0 He became the Developing World correspondent for the BBC in 1989.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 He was almost killed in 1994 while covering the civil war in Afghanistan, but miraculously saved.\u00a0 In 1999, at the age of 44, he gave up travelling, to concentrate on work in the studio.<\/p>\n

In 2003, he began working with Sophie Raworth on the BBC 6 o’clock News.\u00a0 She has posted a long tribute to her colleague, which includes the words:<\/p>\n

George had a rich spirit. He radiated warmth with a wonderful smile and a velvety laugh.<\/em>”<\/p>\n

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

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

He was diagnosed in April 2014 with having colorectal cancer, with Saturn on his natal Mercury when he announced the condition.\u00a0 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).\u00a0 He became a regular on our screens again.<\/p>\n

The cancer returned in 2018, and gradually spread over the next few years, during which he did work from time to time.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 This won him even more admiration.\u00a0 He said:<\/p>\n

“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.\u00a0 The things that had gone well far outweighed the others, which brought me to a place of total contentment.”<\/em><\/p>\n

He was a great family man, and had two sons.\u00a0 He always regarded his relationship with his wife Frances as a great blessing.\u00a0 He died peacefully, surrounded by those he loved.<\/p>\n

“I have very strong views, but I keep them to myself; impartiality is important.\u00a0 In the seat I regularly occupy on the BBC News at Six, I speak to millions of people.\u00a0 If they all knew what I thought on every topic we report on, we’d lose some of them.\u00a0 In my job one can’t decide that the view you subscribe to is the only one.<\/em>”<\/p>\n

~ George Alagiah<\/p>\n

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

Our aspects this week begin with a Full Moon at 9 degrees of Aquarius on Tuesday (1st August), early evening.\u00a0 So we’ll be working up to that for the next couple of days!\u00a0 We might be torn by looking at an issue emotionally, then from a detached perspective, then back and forth.\u00a0 This may produce a stand off between the individual and the group.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0 This is a go ahead, spirited aspect which makes us feel we can achieve anything.\u00a0 Enthusiasm and energy abound, and you may spring out of bed early full of the joys of the season.\u00a0 Sinead O’Connor had Mars sextile Jupiter natally, as described in the blog below, which helped her express her fiery energy.<\/p>\n

Wednesday (2nd) is a different energy, characterized by Saturn opposite Mercury, and occurring in the early hours. \u00a0There may be a setback to a plan, or you may suddenly feel fatigued.\u00a0 Challenges or blockages may occur to the smooth flow of earlier in the day.\u00a0 Travelling plans may be delayed that day, especially if there is another rail strike.<\/p>\n

That concludes the aspects for the week, but we have two correlations with Fixed Stars, one for Thursday and one for Friday.\u00a0 On Thursday (3rd) our Sun aligns with Kochab in Ursa Minor.\u00a0 \u201cStarlight Elixirs\u201d by Michael Smulkis and Fred Rubenfeld offers the interpretation:<\/p>\n

“This star can assist people in grounding information from their past lives.\u00a0 This is a way in which one becomes more comfortable with one\u2019s past lives, as if these lives are running concurrently or parallel to one\u2019s present life and can affect the person in positive ways.\u00a0 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.\u00a0 This can generate a deeper sense of power within the individual.”<\/p>\n

On Friday (4th) our Sun aligns with Acubens in the constellation of Cancer.\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n

From \u201cStarlight Elixirs\u201d we have:<\/p>\n

“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.\u00a0 Individuals studying feng shui may do well with this elixir.”<\/p>\n

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