Anwar Al-Awlaki – Karma at work. The Al Qaeda bomb maker killed in Yemen before he could do any more harm.

The Al Qaida operative and cleric Anwar Al-Awlaki has been killed in Yemen reportedly due to a US drone strike. Apparently he was at an Al Qaida stronghold with some companions when the strike occurred. He had been near the top of President Obama’s hit list, and looking at his natal chart with good reason. This was a seriously dangerous man, who was very innovative.


A quick look at his horoscope shows why. Al-Awlaki was born on 22nd April 1971 in Las Cruces, New Mexico, In the US. Yes, he was an American citizen of Yemeni parentage. He was a Sun sign Taurus with either a spiritually orientated Pisces moon or a go ahead Aries one. Because of the lack of an official birth time, something we will never know for sure.

Taurus is the maker and the creator, and this man invented explosive devices. Clever ones too. This is the guy behind the toner cartridge explosive, which included the explosive PETN, a substance that cannot be picked up very easily by current airport scanning techniques. The base of this chart is a very nasty grand trine, with Pluto in Virgo technical skill in destruction, Saturn in Taurus emphasising the ambition to build things and the third leg of this grand trine is Mars in Capricorn which provides the motivation and the raging energy, this Mars effectively lights the fuse. Pluto made a very emotional and passionate opposition to the Moon and Venus. This is a man whose convictions ran very strong and very deep. Combine this opposition and grand trine with a peregrine Uranus (very independent, radical and technically orientated) which made a quindecile to Mercury (making his mind as sharp as a razor and very unstable) and you had a very, very dangerous individual. Both the faith planets, Neptune and Jupiter sat in religious Sagittarius, and he would have been very direct and outspoken with  Mercury sitting in Aries. Is it no wonder that he actively preached terrorism?

The progressed and transiting planets for the past couple of days give a few main clues to why he met his fate right now. On the progressed chart, the transiting Moon was homing in on a conjunction with natal Pluto, lighting up the grand trine and the opposition. His progressed Sun and Mars were both trine to natal Uranus, so this was a very accident prone time for him. On the transits, transiting Pluto was trine his Sun so transformational and possibly associated with an easy death. Trines can make things happen, both very good and sometimes very bad. Transiting Uranus and Mars were both trine to the Jupiter/Neptune conjunction, which suggest and accident waiting to happen, almost lulled into a false sense of security, taking unnecessary risks. Maybe he was duped into dropping his guard for a day or two allowing the Americans to get him.

The killer aspect for me however, if you mind the pun, is one which is subtle, hard to spot but deadly. The transiting North Node was conjunct Al-Awlaki’s natal Vertex. The vertex is known in some circles as “Destiny’s Gate” a very, very sensitive part of the chart.  In  astrology, official description of the Vertex is calculated as being the point located at the intersection of the Ecliptic (path of the Sun) and the Prime Vertical, a plane that divides the celestial sphere into front and back. Yes, I can’t work it out either?? What I do know is that often when a connection is made by a transiting planet or in this case the North Node, it is quite simply a turning point in one’s life. Now the connection with the North Node is fateful because with Nodal connections you have little or no choice in what is going to happen. Fate takes it’s course. Celeste Teal in her wonderful book “Lunar Nodes” describes this connection as a time when one feels isolated, a time when you meet with destined encounters and experiences and also a time when one is “quite vulnerable to being hurt by others”.

It is so ironic that the bomb inventor met his fate at the hands of a bomb he didn’t know was coming. He got his just reward. Karma showed by the North Node was played out to the full and thankfully, Al-Awlaki can do no more harm.

Read More

The Euro – Update on Europe’s financial crisis.

Just a quick update on the fate of the Euro which I first wrote about on 11th July  - (Europe's Debt Crisis). At the time I didn’t pay any attention to the transiting Nodal Axis, however with panic starting to spread, it is time to see how they are having an effect on the European Currency. If you wish to see the Euro’s natal chart click the following link - Euro Currency


The whole problem stems from the Greek economy going into free fall - Greece's financial woe. In June, I reckoned that Greece would officially go bankrupt in November/December 2011, and I still stand by that timing. Interestingly when looking at the transiting Nodes against the Euro, there seems to be a close correlation between the two. Currently the transiting North Node is approaching a conjunction with natal Pluto. This is a critical time where major changes that have been in the pipeline, or things that have been put off for a while have to be activated. These are large undertakings, transformative ones. These changes with the Euro will be started in November 2011 when the conjunction takes place. Just before this, the transiting Nodal axis will square natal Mars. Will the ideas and solutions that come out of this crisis be over hasty?
The Nodes move clockwise around the chart, so the next contact with a natal planet will happen at the start of March 2012 when the South Node connects with natal Saturn. This is bad news and shows considerable weakness in the currency. I see this as the pre-cursor to transiting Pluto connecting with the Euro’s Sun in 2013, heralding the beginning of the end for the Euro as we know it.

Read More

Saudi Arabia – Women finally get the right to vote

Back on the 5th March I wrote an article about Saudi Arabia, saying that I believed big changes were going to happen in late Summer this year. This was because the 1st July eclipse when relocated to Riyadh found the Eclipse degree bang on the Midheaven with the rest of the cardinal cross formed at that eclipse hitting all 3 other major angles of the chart. At the time I suspected that the revolutions sweeping across the Arab world might hit Saudi Arabia. In that assumption I was wrong, but my feeling that some significant change was due has it seems proved correct. If you wish to see the Saudi natal chart please click the following link – Saudi Arabia

Going back to the Solar eclipse of July 1st, I missed a significant little connection. As you can see above the eclipse hit very close to the Saudi Ascendant, just into the hidden 12th house so some changes to the face of the country were going to happen. The fact that the eclipse was in the 12th house meant that some sacrifice of principles were going to take place. The only other direct hit from a planet conjunct to a Saudi natal planet was from transiting Venus, which formed a conjunction with the Saudi Moon. Both Venus and the Moon highlight women.  The natal Moon representing women sits also in the 12th house, hidden away. Women in Saudi culture are all required to remain behind the veil, so apt for the Moon in the house ruled by Pisces and Neptune. Today’s announcement that Saudi women will now be able to vote and even stand for elected positions in society is a huge shift in policy. It also  shows that a major sacrifice has now been wrung out of King Abdullah from an increasingly vocal and critical female population.

Now moving to the transiting planets for today, we find Uranus on the Midheaven and opposite the Saudi Sun (the King) signifying an unusual change of direction by the leader. Uranus’ sign Aquarius sits on the cusp of the 8th house, the house of change. Transiting Pluto is square the Midheaven; here is a transformation in the way Saudi Arabia will operate in the future. We also have transiting Neptune making a trine to the Moon and a focused quindecile to natal Venus. Neptune’s sign Pisces sits on the cusp of the 9th house, the house when the laws of the land can be found. Putting things all together, here we have a fundamental change in the law benefitting women. Supporting these transits, we have transiting Mercury conjunct the natal Sun trine to natal Saturn so this indicates the timing of the announcement from the King about the new laws. Transiting Saturn is square to the Saudi Ascendant and makes a sextile to the Saudi Venus, again progressive change for women’s issues. Transiting Jupiter makes a sextile to the Ascendant as well as a trine to it’s natal position and natal Neptune. Jupiter highlights legal issues and bring an optimism to the country and fulfils a dream (Neptune) the women of Saudi have had since the country was formed.  Across the world, these changes will be warmly welcomed.

Major changes are still yet on the way for Saudi Arabia, as the Saudi ascendant at 11 degrees Cancer will soon be opposed by transiting Pluto in 2013 and hit by a square by transiting Uranus.

Read More

Astrology versus Science. Have scientists at the CERN Hadron collider stumbled upon the key to time travel?

The reason for this article is that I heard today that scientists at the CERN Hadron Collider have come up with some unexplained results, namely that a series of experiments with sub-atomic particles seemed to suggest that they can move faster than the speed of light. The speed of light for over a century has been the universe’s speed limit. Nothing can go faster. For the scientists, it could be time to rip up the rule book. The suggestion that you can exceed the speed of light, the speed that time itself is based upon brings the distinct possibility that time travel may be possible. Most of the science we know today is based around the fact that it is impossible to go faster than the speed of light. The implications are rightly huge.

The CERN Hadron Collider based outside Geneva in Switzerland was first activated on the 10th September 2008 at exactly 10.28  - nice for us astrologers that the scientists recorded the time of first use. The chart is quite unusual because it is based around one set of trine aspects, one set of square aspects, one opposition, one wedge and 2 unaspected planets. The Sun sits in the 11th house conjunct to Saturn. This is Aquarius’ house, the sign most associated in the zodiac with science. The conjunction in the 11th show this is a team effort which is very serious in nature. Saturn and the Sun are in Virgo, an earth sign and this is a scientific study into the tiniest particles imaginable, the very building blocks that make up our universe. Virgo is associated with all things minute and detailed. This conjunction is opposite Uranus in Pisces in the 5th house. Immediately we realise that this is a significant placing for Uranus, as we have this very scientific opposition affected by the mysteries of Neptune. Not only that, but the opposition to the Sun and Saturn give the impression of pushing back boundaries and setting new standards. Very aptly, Uranus in the 5th house is in the house of creation. The opposition is turned into a wedge pattern with the Moon at the focal point. The Moon in Mundane astrology represents on the most basic level the people. We have a mystical yet surprising creation from the tiniest particles, that through the sextile and trine to the Moon will potentially affect the whole of mankind. The Moon sits in Capricorn (Saturn’s sign) so this discovery will have form and structure, a solid basis to the claims made. Saturn in Greek mythology was represented by the God Chronos who represented the passage of time. The translation of the modern Greek word “Chronos” into English is also “time”.  Saturn traditionally in Astrology rules time, and the 3rd house in which Capricorn in intercepted rules travel in your local environment. Have the scientists in Switzerland discovered by chance, the possible means by which travelling in time in your local environment could one day actually happen?? This discovery would completely blow to bits all that we have known about the speed of light, the theory of relativity etc etc.

Alongside the Moon is Jupiter. Jupiter in the 3rd house expands our minds, increases our wisdom, teaches us about new things. Jupiter is the font of collective wisdom, and it’s placing in Capricorn in the third house shows that the formation and starting of the Hadron Collider was always going to expand our knowledge. The Moon and Jupiter make a multi square aspect to Mercury Venus & Mars tightly conjunct in the 12th house also widely connected to the Libran Ascendant. To explain this conjunction, we have to go back to the reason why the Hadron Collider was created. It was in search of the Higgs Boson particle, which as yet has not been conclusively proved, although the scientists at CERN seem almost certain (95%) that it does exist. So what they were looking for was the ideal, the one building block of matter that had yet to be found. Now this triple conjunction sits in the 12th house, Pisces’ house of things which are hidden, the house of spirituality, of fantasy and of dreams. The Higgs Boson principle lay behind a veil, the search for it was almost spiritual in it’s quest – notice the nickname the media gave it,  the “God Particle”. Very Pisces and Neptunian in the conception of this name, isn’t it? The principle of the ideal is seen when Mercury and Venus combine, harmony meets matters of the mind & here they are conjunct. To find this particle required tremendous force and speed, smashing atoms into one another to release the energy in which the Higgs Boson would be hopefully found. Here is the meaning of Mars, the planet of energy and force in the mix. Venus rules this chart as Libra is on the Ascendant, so these experiments were of overriding social benefit. Leo sits on the Midheaven, indicating the creative nature of the work, and pushing it into the public area as headline news. Science is not normally exciting, but the Leo influence has whipped up worldwide interest in physics.

Now the two unaspected planets dominate proceedings on this chart. Peregrine planets (those unconnected by any major aspect to any other planet) always will have more influence on a chart than those planets which are aspected. Significantly they are the two outermost planets, the ones we as humans least know about. They are also the two that tend to have the greatest generational effect of all, Neptune and Pluto. Pluto in Astrology controls all things underground and all things nuclear as well as the destruction of things to create new growth. Isn’t this is what the CERN Hadron collider is all about? It is deep underground in the shape of a circle. Pluto’s work is cyclical, destroy then create, destroy then create. What was being destroyed here were the particles we are all made of, so that new ones could be found. Pluto sat on 10th Sept 08 conjunct to the galactic centre of our solar system at 27 Sagittarius, an iconic place for Pluto to sit at the beginning of the search for the secrets (another Pluto rulership) that human kind had yet to find.

Finally Neptune sits alone in the 4th house in Aquarius. Here is the dream of the scientists, the cloud of uncertainty surrounding exactly what these set of experiments would find & the introducing the idea of the discovery of the unexpected. Notice how Uranus and Neptune were in mutual reception in each other’s houses (working well together) and also connected to each other by a tiny but significant semi-sextile. This little aspect shows wonderment, a sense of magic and surprise, the cherry on the top of the cake if you will. Finally Neptune was conjunct the North Node. There was always going to be an element of destiny about the discoveries made by the Hadron Collider. The North Node shows the route one is taking in life. Could this have been a giant step along the path in mankind’s destiny? 

Ok let’s look at the planets right now to get a sense of what happened in the past, what is happening now and what will happen in the future. After just 10 days on 20th Sept 08, the Hadron Collider suffered damage and had to be shut down. Looking at the midpoint picture for that day, the transiting Sun had progressed exactly to the midpoint of Mars and Saturn, traditionally a spot when accidents happen and things stop working – Saturn is the planet of stop and Mars is the planet of go, the irresistible force stopped in it’s tracks by the immovable object.

Moving forward to today, we see a really interesting picture. The main thing to note is the progressed Nodal axis, the element of fate and destiny in the chart exactly square the Sun Uranus opposition. This is destiny giving the scientists a helping hand by bringing some unexpected and bizarre results. At the same time transiting Uranus has moved round from the opposition to the Sun into an even more focused quindecile highlighting the unusual nature of what had happened and at the same time it is  trine to the Midheaven, showing scientific progress. At the same time as the announcement, Mars was conjunct the Midheaven, remember the announcement today was about speed. Uranus is trine Mars right now which is as fast a combination in the zodiac as you can get!! Transiting Jupiter is trine to Saturn which can be translated as learning new things, and no wonder the announcement was now as the two planets involved have the signs they rule affecting the 3rd house of communication and the press. Jupiter trines it’s own position again highlighting the lucky discovery and is quindecile to the Ascendant showing the intense international impact of the discovery and the sharing (Libra) of the information with the world.

I would not be surprised if the Higgs Boson particle official announcement of existence comes in the last week of November. A couple of reason for this. Transiting Saturn hits the ascendant at this time, so this would herald a new cycle of work and experiments including the newly discovered particle. Saturn brings reward for hard work done. Secondly, at that time the transiting Sun makes a lovely trine to the Leo Midheaven highlighting publically what has been going on, and also moving on from the July 1st eclipse, transiting Pluto returns to it’s eclipse position on 27th November. Eclipses often herald bad times ahead but also bring change, and what bigger change than to complete the scientists knowledge so that they can finally move forward.

Sometimes even I am amazed with the results you can find from a humble birth chart, yet virtually all scientists these days completely ignore Astrology. Why? Hundreds of years ago, the scientists of the day like Leonardo Da Vinci were also astrologers. What caused the division and the antagonism between those who study astrology and and those who follow science? You know, things are not always what they seem. All astrologers know this, and by practising astrology we accept that the energy and movements of the planets affect our lives and our futures. Our subject has been the result of thousands of years of watching and noting down human behaviour in relation to the movement of those heavenly bodies in the night sky. Is that not a scientific study too? We accept that your life path is set out in front of you and through the Nodes of the Moon that fate can have a pivotal influence on your life. The elements of past lives, karma and free will are interwoven into the tapestry of the wonderful study of astrology. We accept that the intangible is possible, that rules are there to be broken, modified & adjusted. We do not need proof to settle upon any theory, and yet we astrologers can get to a level of accuracy in prediction and a judgement of human character that defies any scientific study. Scientists and people with stubborn attitudes have for too long derided astrology simply because the results it achieves simply cannot be explained on a bar chart. I accept science, it is a wonderful thing, but I believe that astrology and scientific studies are related and should live and thrive next to each other, as both have their own merits.

The scientists at CERN may just have stumbled by chance upon one of the greatest scientific discoveries since Einstein came up with E=MC2. They should thank their lucky stars (or rather Jupiter) that they did…  

 

*** I would love to hear from any scientists who do read my blog to tell me what they do think of astrology, either good or bad comments please and wether they themselves hold it with any credence. Please contact me through the comments section below or email me. I will post in the future any worthy replies. ***

**** Update 16th November 2011 ****

It has been announced just as Saturn was reaching the CERN ascendant at 24 Libra that one of the new experiments they have been doing may have discovered a new branch of Physics. This absolutely holds up the natal chart and sets CERN on a new course of discovery and work for the years ahead. If you are interested please click on the link below to go to the article which is too technical for a simple astrologer like myself to fully understand.

Has new Physics been found at CERN - Physicsworld.com

Read More

Michael Stipe – New challenges ahead for the REM frontman, as the band splits after 31 years together.

I met Michael Stipe many years ago. It was at Heathrow Airport in terminal one and I didn’t realise it at the time. He was a very quiet, unassuming man with thin rounded glasses, dressed in a grey coat, wearing a matching hat and not seemingly attracting any attention. Little did I realise that around 7 years later I would be blogging about him. The reason I am writing about him now is that REM, one of “the bands of the 80’s” who influenced a generation of music lovers, have finally hung up their guitars after a glorious 31 year run. Every successful band that has ever been has always had an iconic frontman, and today I look at the horoscope of that man I bumped into at London Heathrow.

Michael was born in Atlanta Junction, Georgia on 4th January 1960 at 00.26am. He is a Sun sign Capricorn (so typical of a Capricorn to be dressed in grey), with a very dreamy Piscean Moon and a Libran Ascendant. The general orientation of this chart is very much angled to the Eastern hemisphere, which indicates that generally, Michael will tend to focus on himself. This is quite a fiery and mutable chart. Five planets in fire signs bring enthusiasm and energy that burns brightly within him, and 6 planets in mutable signs is an indication of adaptability, a willingness to change styles and to experiment.

The combination of Capricorn Sun and Pisces Moon shows a need to search for an ideal, to create & work with abstract and intangible ideas and he does this through the energy of the Capricorn Sun by administrating, by leading from the front. Dealing with and creating music involves using abstract ideas and sounds and making a coherent pattern from them, and of course Michael with this prominent Saturn would have to feel in charge of this whole process. Just with Sun and Moon, even without knowing who Michael was, you could get a feel for what he would do with his life.

The Capricorn Sun sits in the 4th house very closely in conjunction with Saturn. A Capricorn Sun is very much a contradiction in terms, like Saturn the ruler of the sign. Capricorn shows ambition and willingness to succeed but is also associated with fear, with restriction, with pessimism. Often Capricorns veer between the two, being so confident one minute, then wracked by doubt the next. Capricorns can be very conservative and staid one minute, but the next can have the most crazy sense of outrageous fun and humour. With Michael, the Saturn influence is very strong, as through a stressful t-square it connects with his Midheaven and also his Libran Ascendant. Even the gregarious nature of the normally sociable Libran Ascendant is very much tempered here, making him feel uncomfortable in the company of other people, especially large gatherings. With both planets in the 4th house, this will be a very, shy introspective guy who wishes to remain very private, especially at home and with his family.  However, when on stage, the wild and crazy side of Capricorn comes out fully; all the pent up emotion and energy is released. I remember seeing a mesmerising, manic Michael Stipe performing brilliantly at the Glastonbury festival in 1999, where he and REM were truly fantastic (this a photo above from that very performance), and a few years later thinking when I met him that surely this wasn’t the quiet & ever so polite guy I had encountered. Here are the two extremes of Capricorn visibly at work.

The Sun and Saturn are part of a wider stellium which sits over the 3rd and 4th houses. In the 3rd house we find Mercury, Jupiter and Mars all in Sagittarius. This is the hose of communication & immediately we think of someone who is has a sharp brain as well as a sharp tongue; someone who will be outspoken. However this conjunction is connected to the Sun/Saturn so this urge to speak is severely tempered and is serious is nature. Yet there still is very much a can do feel of this connection of planets, seeing the big picture, reaching out to the masses. Stipe has had a reputation of being quiet in public but letting the lyrics in the songs outline his political views. If one were to ask him about the subject of his songs, I am betting he would tell you that he was trying to send out a message of hope through his music, aiding & influencing people through the lyrics he was writing. Wether it was about politics, “Document” “Green”, death and suffering “Automatic for the People” or the wider world, love and relationships “Monster”. There is also a philosophical side to him too.  Michael will be a perpetual student of theories, relationships & concepts of the understanding of life itself, so long as they have a human element to them. He will be an excellent listener, and will have a talent for getting other people to open up to him. This is the placement of the teacher and had Michael not been a musician, I suspect he may have ended up lecturing  about politics or something similar. A musician he became, and a very hard working one too. The Moon in the 6th house speaks of a man who is constantly grafting. There is an element of service to this Moon. The Pisces Moon is very sympathetic and kind and will want to help in any way it can. Michael will see his music as providing a service to heal broken hearts, to inspire people to act as well as to entertain. If you think that Michael will retire from music and creation after REM, think again. The 6th house Moon will not allow this to happen and  it makes a triple square to Mercury, Mars and Jupiter. Michael will be generous, maybe overly so, and he will be sympathetic to his friends, but there is a very temperamental and awkward side to him which may flare up suddenly if he is irritated or frustrated, making it very difficult for others around him to put up with his moods. He needs to be on the go all the time, keeping his mind active to stop the grumpy and more aggressive side of his personality taking over.

Looking over to the 11th house of groups associations and received love, we find Uranus and Pluto. This is a really interesting combination, mainly because usually those with Pluto in the 11th house normally have an aversion to joining group or associations, yet Michael was part of REM for 31 years!! The only exception to the rule, seems to be if you believe that the group you are joining will encourage you to change in some way, or if the group itself is integral in helping to change society. I think that Michael’s motivations for starting up REM were the latter, and with Pluto’s influence here, he would want to have complete control of the output, from music to lyrics and even the artwork on the sleeves of the albums and singles. Uranus in the 11th promotes social change and encourages progressive ideas and I believe this has been the driving force behind his music. One other side-line of Uranus in the 11th, is that Michael will have a collection of rather unusual or extremely talented friends, more of that later...

There are multiple trines from Pluto and Uranus to the wide stellium in the 3rd and 4th houses. Mars Uranus is impetuous, inventive and has good natural rhythm and fast reflexes. This is an aspect that has to keep moving forward and hates stagnation and delay. Jupiter Uranus is so progressive and full of new ideas. Think of blasting off into space and exploring the stars, the planets and the universe and you have the basis for Jupiter trine Uranus. Pluto Mercury is the investigator, the man who looks for the hidden motives behind everything, seeking the answers, behind the answers to the questions.

Pluto trine Sun/Saturn shows control, being also the basis for his ambition and drive to be someone special and pushes one to personal success. This trine is part of a larger mini grand trine with Neptune in the 2nd house sitting at the focal point. Neptune in the 2nd is often seen with people with creative careers, especially musical ones. This is Taurus’ house which incidentally rules the throat and voice, and is the most rhythmical of all the signs in the zodiac. It is interesting that in the early albums, deciphering what Stipe was singing about was almost impossible due to his incoherent singing style. One can see the restricting influence of Pluto and Saturn on this Neptune. The heavy nature of this mini grand trine reflect the seriousness and deep introspection of the subject matter and style of rock that REM was known for. Even “Pop Song” and “Shiny Happy People” had an ironic feel, and an undercurrent of sadness about them. Notice how Pluto, Neptune, Mars, Saturn and the Sun all feed directly into the Cancerian Midheaven by aspect, highlighting how central Stipe’s music, control and ambitions have been to his career, seen through the Pisces Moon (Cancer’s ruler). This mini grand trine is business orientated and Michael has expanded into other Neptunian ruled areas like film production and acting.

Finally time to look at Venus in the 2nd house which is in Sagittarius and square to Pluto. Venus here loves quality, harmony and beauty in one’s possessions, is very affectionate and giving in Sagittarius and one is more interested in a spiritual and intellectual rapport with the one you love, rather than going on looks alone. The trine to Pluto also indicates that any relationship you find yourself in must be deep & emotional, and that you may be transformed by it. Now the speculation for a long time was that Michael was gay, however due to his private nature, it took a long time before he opened up and “came out”. Any good astrologer would have known this a long time before Michael’s admission. Look to the 7th house of relationships and we find Aries (Mars’ sign on the cusp). Mars as I mentioned before is trine to Uranus, known for unusual, bizarre and eclectic behaviour. Michael’s choice of partner and relationships would almost certainly go against the grain of social norms, especially in relation to conservative Georgia where he grew up.

Looking to the transit charts, we find transiting Saturn now well now into Michael’s first house. This suggests that the decision to break up REM had been in the pipeline for a year or so. Saturn passing the ascendant often winds up old issues and things that you no longer see as relevant to your life and heralds a new 28 year cycle of growth, one where new talents and ambitions can be developed for the next period in your life. Transiting Uranus had also around that time passed over the natal South Node, which always tends to have the effect of bringing important periods in one’s life to an end. Aquarius, Uranus’ associated sign sits on the cusp of the 5th house of creativity, so I suspect creative divisions within the group (Uranus sits in the 11th house of groups) would have caused the eventual split. I would expect him to continue his workaholic ways with his film interests and also do not be surprised if Michael branches out to do more solo projects, or ones in collaboration with other musicians.

Read More

Stephen King – A look at the horoscope of the greatest writer of horror stories of all time.

Sixty four years ago in Portland, Maine a legendary writer was born. After studying English and gaining a Bachelor of Arts in the subject and then working as a labourer, Stephen King started to write. He still does today, quite brilliantly. I have no doubt that by the time he decides to call it a day, he will be acclaimed as the the foremost horror story teller the world has yet seen.

Stephen was born on 21st September 1947 in Portland, Maine at 01.30am. He, like so many writers is a Sun sign Virgo with his Moon in wise Sagittarius, and he has a very late Cancerian Ascendant. The Sun and Moon combined give an expansive and adventurous edge, to a more detailed & orderly character. Stephen will need to explore & to be knowledgeable, and he does this by forever refining & perfecting his craft. We find the Virgo Sun quite naturally for a novelist in the 3rd house of communication. The Sun is part of a wider stellium, with Venus and Neptune also in the 3rd house in Libra and Mercury just into the 4th also in the sign of the scales.

The Virgo Sun is always a bit nervous, a worrier, someone who is obsessed by details and correctness. Virgo, love to organize to categorize and are sticklers for the facts. Along with these Virgo traits, this is a kind gentle man with a wonderful imagination. The influence of Venus and Neptune to the Sun gives colour and beauty to the mind. As a child Stephen would have been a dreamer, someone who loved harmony and hated discord and disagreement. He will go to any length to sort out a problem and bring things back to equilibrium. He will be someone who values his friends & friendships highly, and will thoroughly enjoy their company. Bringing all this together and we have someone who can see a story in his mind, he is interested in the minute details, he is socially orientated and concentrates on the structure of his creations. These he needs to communicate because of the third house influence. Stephen early on found a way of doing this, through writing novels.

Mercury, connected to the other three planets is in the 4th house, gives him a love of books, history, psychology and research. This location for Mercury is quite insular and reserved and he will love nothing better than curling up on the sofa and reading a book, indeed he will read as much as he writes. Mercury in Libra can see both sides of any issue, has tact and considerable business acumen, this is the placement of the negotiator and is one of the main reasons for his longevity in the cutthroat world of writing, along of course with the quality of his work. This stellium is one of the bases for a very creative kite formation in Stephen’s chart. It forms an opposition with his Midheaven. Through this set of aspects you can see the link of creative writing and the love of books to his career. His need to communicate through his is work is obsessive, shown by the tight quindecile between his Sun and the Midheaven. At the corners of the kite formation, we find Saturn and Pluto in conjunction in the 1st house and the Moon on the 5th.

The Saturn and Pluto conjunction in Leo in the first house, is the other reason why Stephen has been so successful. Saturn in the first contributes a serious ambition to the personality and to his work. Stephen will naturally be a bit shy and reserved, and will present a stern face to the world. Shy he may be, but a man determined to make his mark on the world. Pluto in the first is hugely determined and intense, often those with Pluto here are rather difficult to get on with, you either love them or you hate them. Together Saturn and Pluto can reach any height, achieve any goal if you use the energy properly, and this he has done. Stephen is a prolific writer and always will be until he has no more energy to lift a pen (or type into a keyboard). On the other side of the kite lies the Moon in Sagittarius the 5th house of creativity. Here is big, wide expansive store of emotion. This an very expressive position combined with child like enthusiasm, where the feelings are shown for all to see. Stephen will use this expression and expansive reach to paint the pictures in his mind and translate them onto the page. With the Moon in the fifth, we go on long adventures and journeys, seek out challenges and new experiences and travel to far away places.

There is another formation on this chart, a mini grand trine based around a Jupiter and Mars conjunct the Ascendant trine with Sun and Venus at the point. This is a very self-confident formation with belief in ones ability, but is also very private too. Mars conjunct the Ascendant in Cancer from the 12th is very non-aggressive and a bit insular, except if Stephen’s family or loved ones were threatened. Then suddenly you would see Stephen react. He will be very protective of his wife and kids, and his house will very much be his castle.

Jupiter in Scorpio is very matter of fact and will not settle for any superficiality in life. Here one can plumb the depths of the psyche, going deep, exploring mysteries and the unknown. Here is the drive to understand everything and be master of it. Indeed the location of Scorpio on the cusp of the 5th house along with Pluto it’s ruler sitting in the first explains exactly why this mild mannered, polite and gentle man writes so wonderfully about horror. The Pluto and Scorpio angle is macabre, evil, fascinated by the occult, death and all underground and taboo subjects, and Jupiter encourages him to read and to learn as much as he can about this so that he can reach the level of detail that his Virgo Sun requires. Jupiter makes a wide square to the Saturn/Pluto conjunction which allows Stephen to exploit to the full the business potential of his creations. He has turned his hand to screenwriting, television producing, anything where his energy can be used behind the scenes, reflecting the position of Mars, the prime energy source on the chart hidden away in the 12th house. You often find people with a 12th house Mars working away out of the general public’s gaze. Jupiter in the 5th in Scorpio will give him a keen sense of competition and a love of sport. He loves baseball, and is a keen follower and fan of his beloved Boston Red Sox.

Finally, I move to Uranus in the 11th house which sits square to the Sun and Venus. This is the impulsive restless side to Stephen, the connection which add a bit of sparkle and genius to his writing. Uranus sits in Gemini, the sign of communication and this connection maybe explains why he has risen to the top. Maybe it is an inventive turn of phrase or the sense of spontaneity, adventure and surprise, being able to transport you into the world that he has created that sets his novels apart from other writers in his genre. The square also describes the impetuosity of his father, who left his wife when Stephen was but 2 years old. With Jupiter closely conjunct to the Nodal Axis via a close conjunction with the South Node, Stephen’s Mother would have showered him with love and generosity. Often out of adversity a true star is born, determined to make up and prove the doubters wrong. I suspect the horror and instability that Stephen faced as a youngster stayed with him and propelled him on to become a worldwide name, and a truly great author.

Happy Birthday, Stephen King…  

Read More

As calls for a Palestinian state grow louder in Ramallah, is this a defining time for the state of Israel?

In Ramallah in the West Bank, the crowds are gathering ahead of a United Nations meeting in New York where the sticky problem of Israel & Palestinian independence is to be discussed. Their hope is that a Palestinian delegation visiting the UN this Friday can garner enough support (a two thirds majority) to put enough pressure on the United States and Israel to accept that Palestine should be allowed to gain autonomy. The likelihood is that this majority can be achieved at the UN, but crucially the US and Israel will almost certainly vote against it, potentially causing an almighty split, and plunging the region into a new wave of conflict & violence caused by disaffection with the whole process. How do the charts look?

The Palestinian chart formed on 15th November 1988 at 01.40 am in Jerusalem is picking a conjunction that is fuelling this uprising, Uranus conjunct to natal Mars. Looking at the natal chart, Mars sits in the Palestinian 7th house of relationships, the Palestinians have always been associated with violence and the fight for freedom, with Hamas and the PLO. Now the planet of freedom and independence, Uranus is conjunct to that reactionary Mars. Transiting Mars is now trine this connection and passing through confident Leo. The pressure is quickly building and there is direct action asking the World to back a Palestinian nation. Transiting Uranus is also square to natal Saturn, so here is a real bid to put back the barriers (Saturn) to bring about a new order. Uranus through Aquarius on the Palestinian chart rules the 6th house of the ordinary people and Aries ruled by Mars is on the cusp of the 8th house of change, death & underground action. If the people calling for change don’t get their way then the ramifications are clear. Uranus is a planet of revolution and progress, and if it’s will is not accepted, then violence and shock action will take place.

There are always two sides to this story so it is wise to look at the Israeli angle. The thing to notice is that transiting Saturn is closing in on the Libran Israeli ascendant. Looking back to last time Saturn was in this position, the Lebanon war was just beginning. At that time, Southern Lebanon had become home for 110,000 Palestinian refugees who had fled their homes in Palestine as well as home for the PLO. The war lasted 2 years and dragged in forces from Lebanon and Syria. The fact that Saturn is soon to cross the Ascendant again will have ramifications for Israel and her leaders. Capricorn on the Israeli chart is on the cusp of the 4th house, which amongst other things rules the land of the country. Questions of territory are going to dominate. Saturn hits the ascendant in the first week of November. This is going to be a critical time when decisions are going to be made.

We also have a couple of other interesting oppositions. Transiting Pluto is opposite the Israeli Venus in the 9th house. Pluto can be translated as a blockage or constriction but also transformation, death and destruction and Venus often in Mundane Astrology represents diplomacy. Will diplomacy cause Israel to change it’s tune? Will Israel’s need for control of it’s land and borders block all efforts for a peaceful solution to this problem, leading to violence and death? Venus through Libra rules the Israeli chart, so the way the Israelis use this Pluto energy will be crucial. We also have transiting Neptune opposing the Israeli Mars. Neptune is often associated with mobs, with the collective as well as suffering and confusion, and it rules through Aries on the cusp of the 6th house of the common people and the workers. This explains why people are now on the streets coming together calling for change? When transiting Mars conjoins natal Mars also in the first week of November, the potential for violence and suffering I think is very large. Through all this, Uranus stays very much in square to the Israeli Venus and trine to the Israeli Moon which through Cancer rules the Israeli leadership. This as I see it, is revolution and revolt against the ruling establishment, the lawmakers, coming from within the Israeli borders. I can see the potential of the Palestinian people having had enough of the situation, seeing their hoped dashed and deciding to force the issue themselves, just like their brothers in sisters in Egypt and Libya, Syria and Tunisia.

The whole situation could get very messy, the United States could really isolate itself from the rest of the world in supporting Israel, in the process upsetting the Arab world and ratcheting up tension in the Middle East. Astrological history tells us that violence and conflict does come in cycles, and this time with many of the planets in cardinal signs, direct action is something that will precipitate this time very easily. It is worrying, and one hopes that at the end of this week, the correct decisions to take the heat out of the rising tensions in Palestine and Israel can be found.    

Read More

Mitt Romney – Swimming with the tide. A look at the astrology of the Pisces Massachusetts governor running for President.

Mitt Romney is currently leading the polls in the race for the Republican nomination to take on Barack Obama in 2012. This time 4 years ago he failed in his attempt losing out to Senator John McCain. Are things any different this time around and does Mitt stand any chance of becoming president? I look astrologically at his chances.

Mitt was born on 12th March 1947 in Detroit, Michigan at 09.51hrs. There is a second potential birth time which is known to Astrologers of 10.00am but the difference is negligible, for the moment at least. Like his main rival Rick Perry, Mitt is a Sun Pisces and he has a Scorpio Moon and a Gemini Ascendant. Before I delve into the planetary details, it is interesting to note that Mitt has no planets in Earth signs like Hilary Clinton. Those without any planets in earth often lack grounding (an obvious but true statement) and common sense. Starting things off and leading from the front is not really in the nature of the Governor of Massachusetts too, as he only has one planet in a Cardinal sign, and this is spiritual Neptune. With 5 planets in water, Mitt is someone who feels his way through life. He has tremendous determination and staying power with 5 fixed planets, and he is flexible and can shift his position to suit the situation with 4 in mutable signs.

Mitt’s Sun sits in the 11th house in wide conjunction to Mercury and we also find Mars here as well. His strength is in being a team player. He will work best when as part of a group, association or in cooperation with friends. As such, if he does achieve the nomination, his potential running mate I think will prove crucial to his chances, as Mitt is the polar opposite to Barack Obama who is very much his own man and somebody who prefers to run things by himself. With Mercury and Mars in conjunction, Mitt has a sharp mind, his arguments will be clear and convincing and will snap back with a quick response if challenged; this man is a good debater and has a clever turn of phrase in his armoury. Mitt’s Mars is in Pisces so at heart he is naturally non-aggressive and will hold back if challenged to fight. Mercury retrograde is quite reflective, introspective and deep thinking especially when it comes to personal subjects, or things of an emotional nature. Mitt certainly will have a poetic way of communicating, but I suspect he lacks the real passion of emotion in his speeches to inspire the masses, like a Kennedy, Reagan or Clinton for example. The Gemini Ascendant will make him question every action and concept put to him, make him strongly independent and often seem on edge, he may suffer with nervous tension and anxiety.

The Sun and Mercury square to Uranus in the first house. This man likes to be original, to be an individual standing out in the crowd. He will thrive in a fast paced environment, but his energies and thoughts may become scattered once under pressure. Uranus is in Gemini, he may attempt to sort out too many things at the same time, with the risk of nothing ever getting completed. This is also compounded by the lack of earth in the chart. A Taurean emphasis would be so handy here, a steadying hand on the tiller and this is why I believe that above anything else, Romney will need to choose very carefully a running mate who is going to compensate for his lack of earth signs. Mitt will have a penchant and an interest for science, development and the latest technology.

The Sun makes a trine to the Moon and Jupiter closely conjunct in the 6th house of health and everyday work. Here is an optimistic link, someone who believes that luck and fortune is on his side, and generally it is. He has big visions and and will work and work and work to achieve them. Here is no lack of effort. He will be drawn to help people in whatever way he can, to fix what has gone wrong. The 6th house suggests that health will be one area that he will especially be compelled to sort out. This is a tolerant man who will forgive mistakes in others, a worthy aim but one in a politician which can signal weakness. He is emotionally generous, but also very secretive and he will want to know what is going on all around him. Scorpio Moons need to know everything. Scorpio Moon can cause one to be very controlling and even cruel in situations. The iron fist of a tyrant lurks beneath the gentle watery Piscean air that Mitt will portray. This all leads me to think that this could be a very difficult man to work for, sometimes helpful but also capable of being very ruthless.

The last formation on the chart is an extended wedge formation encompassing the 4 planets I have yet to look at. We see a heavy Saturn/Pluto conjunction across the nadir of the chart opposite to Venus conjunct to the Midheaven with Neptune sitting at the point of the wedge. The Saturn Pluto conjunction is capable of huge success in one’s life, it concentrates power, determination and ambition however, as with all the planets the fall side of these planets can be quite devastating. I have nicknames this formation the crash and burn connection, because I have seen so many people with these two planets in a stressful aspect (conjunction, square or opposition) abuse the power and status that it brings, only to suffer the consequences, Rupert Murdoch just recently comes to mind – he has an opposition. Mitt’s conjunction lies opposite to his Midheaven, so it doesn’t take much genius to imagine that a square aspect or opposition from a malefic transiting planet could cause his lasting harmful damage to his reputation. Saturn in the 3rd house makes Mitt rather staid and serious in his communication, he will like to be strictly accurate and light hearted exchanges of views are not really his thing. Saturn is retrograde, so we know that the love of his father was never very forthcoming. Pluto sits in the 4th house, indicating that the relationship with him was very close and controlling. His father would have had a huge influence over his upbringing, someone Mitt hugely admired and yet feared at the same time.

Venus sits in the 10th house in Aquarius. Mitt is married to his work and commitments as much as he is to his wife. Venus in this sign suggests that Ann his wife is very much his friend and that they got married in unusual circumstances, they married immediately after he returned from travelling abroad as a Mormon missionary in France. The trine from Neptune to his Midheaven shows the spiritual link to his early work, and Capricorn on the cusp of the 9th house shows Mitt’s serious attitude to religion. He will want to be known for contributing something positive to the world. If he does become President, watch out for a huge encouragement to the arts, to entertainment and to American creativity in general. This is something that Mitt will want to be associated with. Neptune trine to Venus shows a dreamy expressive quality that is quite lovely. There is a soft heart to this man, someone who will love movies and music, art, theatre and fantasy. Neptune in Libra can be “influenced” by those stronger or more persuasive around them, there is the potential for gullibility or maybe deception in this position and connected to this powerful opposition in the natal chart, this just could be an achillies heel in his personality that could be exposed in the future.

On first inspection of this chart, I would not really believe that Mitt has the confidence and go ahead authority to make it to the White House. No earth signs and just one cardinal planet is not exactly the driving force that America requires right now as the world financial crisis takes a grip. On the cusp of the 2nd and 8th houses, the financial axis on his chart, we find Gemini and Sagittarius which is very laissez fair in one’s attitude to spending and dealing with other people’s money. It is almost expansionist rather than restrictive!! None the less, the transits and progressions for Mitt Romney seem up to the 2012 election quite kind. He has very few oppositions or squares to deal with until the middle of next year, and in late Summer when the big decisions are being made to whom to chose as Obama’s opponent, Romney has some spectacular transits with Jupiter hitting his Ascendant in June, trine to his Midheaven in July as well as being conjunct his North Node. The fact that his main opponents in the race, Bachmann and Perry are so reactionary in their views may just count hugely in his favour. The tide seems to be flowing in his favour this time around.

In August, on 27th the day of the Republican Convention in Tampa, the transiting South Node will be exactly conjunct his Gemini Ascendant. This is a very uncomfortable place for the South Node to be for the subject. Everyone will be so pleased at the wonderful position he is in, but internally he will want to hide away, to be invisible, to disappear. If Romney does win the nomination, and with these planets in the year before this day it is very possible he will win, will the enormity of the position he will find himself in hit home? I think that they will. At that point, he will know that he faces a lion on the attack, the incumbent Leo President that is Barack Obama. Romney’s progressed Moon at that point will start to enter his large 12th house, a time of unravelling of the life, a time of enforced changes when one is kept in the dark while the world around him swirls with confusion and deception. Once you realise what is going on, often it is too late to react and so you have to accept what is really going on. Because of the size of Mitt’s 12th house, the progressed Moon will not exit into his first house until 2016. It does not fill one with a great amount of confidence looking ahead. At the end of August, Mitt will start to pick up a square from transiting Saturn to his Saturn/Pluto conjunction, just as Saturn enters Scorpio in late September. Maybe his beliefs will come under attack, Capricorn ruled by Saturn sit as I mentioned before on the cusp of the 9th.

If you would like to read my updated assessment of who between Mitt Romney and Barack Obama will win on 6th November 2012 please click on the following link below…

Barack Obama versus Mitt Romney – Who does astrology say will win the 2012 US Election?

****Update 1st February 2012 **** 

All abroad the Washington Express – A look at Romney and why he won the Florida Primary.

Read More

Kate Winslett – Success at the Emmy awards, but changes await her in the coming years.

Kate Winslett is back in the news and on the award trail after scooping the best actress award at the Emmy’s for her role in Mildred Pierce, and a month earlier she was lucky to escape when fire burnt down Richard Branson’s holiday home on Necker Island in the Caribbean. Kate, who had been staying there as a guest, saved Branson’s 90 year old mother by carrying her to safety. Quite a month then for the British actress who is rarely if ever out of the headlines.

Kate was born on 5th October 1975 in Reading, England at 07.15 hrs. She was a new Moon baby, born exactly at sunrise hence the Libran Sun is exactly conjoined to the Ascendant. The Moon lies just 2 degrees into the first house and both personal planets are joined in conjunction by Pluto and Mercury making a powerful stellium. As a triple Libran, Kate will be very very conscious of fairness and justice which will need to be served. Librans hate conflict and she will go to the ends of the earth to make sure that any disagreements are settled amicably. Those with Libra emphasised are very socially aware and very romantic as Venus is heavily emphasised, so beauty & harmony be it musical, written, artistic or drama based will be very close to her heart.

There is a dark, underground edge to this new Moon conjunction as Mercury and Pluto sit close by. Mercury in the 1st house conjunct to the ascendant always infers high intelligence, and Kate will always want to chat and communicate. The connection with Pluto brings all this to a different level completely. Pluto wants to get under the surface of everything and her mind will be very deep and inquisitive, rather like a detective, probing to find out the hidden agendas of everything in which she is interested. Because Mercury is retrograde, this mind will be turned in on itself; here is someone who in their quieter moments can be very reflective and psycho-analytic, especially about relationships as this Pluto is in Libra. Kate, you see, is a very passionate yet controlling person. The Moon conjunct Pluto is highly emotional, even erotic, determined to do her own thing and yet very sensitive, with the Moon being found in the first house. Anyone with the Moon conjunct Pluto has to expect heartaches and transformational change within their relationships, however accepting change is something that Kate will be very fearful of doing. Kate has already had one marriage breakdown with Jim Threapleton, and she is currently separated from her second husband, director Sam Mendes, demonstrating the destructive nature of Pluto on her emotional life. Despite the emotional problems she has faced, she will always have her family around her. A new Moon child will always look up to and model themselves on their mother, and Pluto’s closeness to both the Moon and the Sun will mean that Kate will always be very close to her parents. Kate will be very determined and the Sun/Pluto conjunction and  it’s pre-eminent position exactly straddling the Ascendant makes her very determined to be a prominent person, someone who will make a difference and an impact on the world. This stellium makes a multi-sextile to Neptune the ruler of film and creativity in the third house and this is where she has made such an impact. This sextile also beautifully describes the artistic and acting background of her parents who performed part time. The third house represents siblings, and both her brother and sister act too. The placement of Neptune in the 3rd house adds a colourful & imaginative side to Kate’s mind, she would have been a daydreamer when young and at school, a consciousness which fully “woke up” when she started studying drama at the age of 11.

The Moon and Mercury are opposite to Jupiter sitting in the 7th house. This is a very go ahead Jupiter sitting in Aries and Kate would have been eager and quite extrovert when young, there is a bit of a devil may care and brave attitude within the personality. This certainly showed when she rushed into the burning building to save the elderly Mrs Branson last month. Kate will be lively & optimistic certainly on the outside, and will pick partners from whom she can have an intellectual rapport and from whom she will learn something. She will have grand plans, and may at times expect too much from her partner. When things do go wrong, there will be the feeling that the grass may be greener on the other side, rather than working at and trying to solve the differences. Kate’s relationships will always be beset by these problems until she realises that they sometimes need hard work and a fair bit of compromise to get things right. It is noticeable that the Jupiter/Moon/Mercury oppositions form a stressful t-square with her Cancerian Midheaven. Her work and marriages have been inextricably linked so far. Maybe if she were to find a partner with other interests and work outside acting it may be beneficial to her in the long-run, as Jupiter in the 7th can operate in a very fruitful and satisfying way with regard to personal relationships, if given the chance to do so.

As well as being determined, Kate does have a very independent streak. Uranus also sits in a crowded first house making her want to stand out from the crowd. She will often take the odd risk in her film and work choices and she will enjoy shocking or surprising people, wanting to project her character as truly individual. Uranus is part of a mini grand trine, being trine to Mars in the 9th house and sextile to Venus in the 11th. This is a very busy and sociable formation. Mars is in Gemini which is energetic and always on the go, wanting to know everything going on. Mars in the 9th house is very sure of it’s convictions and beliefs and she will fight for them with all her might. Mars makes a trine to Mercury making Kate quite outspoken, convincing and direct in her speech. Venus in the 11th loves an active social life and to be surrounded by friends. This is somebody who will like working in group or social projects, yet with Uranus in the 1st Kate will want to be noticed doing this. She will want her involvement to stand out and to make a difference to whatever she does get involved with.

There is one last aspect I want to look at. Uranus makes a tight square to Saturn in the 10th house. Saturn in the 10th always is very ambitious and wanting to run things and get to the top of the tree. This placement bestows a patient and disciplined attitude to work, but Kate may get very disgruntled and bitter if her hard work and effort is not recognised in some way. Saturn sits in regal Leo, and this placement does require praise and affirmation unless the one is not to get rather grumpy. It leads me to suspect that Kate behind the optimistic outgoing attitude can get a bit bitter and twisted at times if things are not going her way. The square to Uranus will make her progressive in her work and she will get upset with those around her, if they do not accept the challenges that she throws down to them. By the same token, this square will always keep her fresh and relevant in the acting world, never looking to get type-cast or bogged down. Maybe this explains the continued success she has had since her first award nomination back in 1995 for Sense and Sensibility.

Looking ahead, with so many natal planets in Cardinal signs especially with Pluto at 9 Libra, Ascendant at 11 Libra, Sun at 11 Libra, Moon at 13 Libra and Midheaven at 14 Cancer, Kate in the next couple of years is going to experience some great upheaval in her life. This will begin in early next year when transiting Pluto hits 9 Capricorn squaring these planets by Feb 2012 continuing on until 2015. These changes, or more rightly transformations in Kate’s life are going to involve personal possessions and self worth with Scorpio on the cusp of the 2nd house. Pluto squaring it’s own position starts this cycle of change. Then friends and associations and the self will be changed (Pluto squaring the Sun and Ascendant), followed by her work and career with Pluto square to the Moon and opposite to the Cancer Midheaven. As Saturn transited this same zone last year, her marriage to Sam Mendes broke up. Saturn is now passing through Kate’s first house indicating a new quieter period in her development, and a new 7 year cycle of growth, a time where other interests and passions may start to take a greater role in her daily life. 

Read More

Lokomotiv Yaroslavl Air Crash – Russian ice hockey team victim of a “Moon Wobble”

Today just after 16.00, one of the most devastating in a series of recent Russian air crashes occurred. An airliner on a charter flight from the Russian city of Yaroslavl bound for Minsk in Belorussia carrying the city’s ice hockey team failed to lift off properly after take-off and hit a riverbank in a ball of flames, pretty much wiping out in one go the whole team, and plunging a nation into tears of sadness. Ice hockey is the national sport in Russia, however this tragedy will be felt worldwide, as the team had several star international players and a Canadian coach.

The heavens have been rather fraught recently, based around the Pluto Uranus square. At the approximate time of the crash, we found destructive Pluto in the first house and Uranus, the planet of accidents in the 3rd house of transportation. There were also several t-squares in operation. There was a rather difficult Moon Mars Saturn t-square with Saturn at the point in the 9th house of long distance travel and yet more crucially I think a batch of t-squares based around a North Node Ascendant conjunction.

Many years ago, an astrologer and mathematician called Carl Payne Tobey did a series of charts of plotting the position of the planets when major disasters happened including fire, weather related incidents & major accidents with loss of life etc. He found that many of these incidents occurred when the Nodal Axis was conjunct the North or South Node, but not exclusively so. He also found a big correlation between these type of events when the sun was forming a t-square to the Nodal Axis – at 90 degrees. He calculated that if the Sun was within 5 degrees either side of square to the Nodal axis, there was a far increased chance of a loss of life through an unfortunate incident. Tobey nicknamed this position the “Moon Wobble”.

I don’t usually include squares to the nodal axis on my natal charts, however on looking at this particular chart, I noticed that the possibility of a square inducing this accident existed. The Sun today was at 14 Virgo, just within that 5 degree range of the North Node at 19 Sagittarius. I am not saying that there will always be a disaster during a Moon Wobble, but if the other planetary factors are also stressful and appear in certain areas of the chart, then the potential really does exist.

At this particular Moon Wobble there were also a couple of other interesting factors. The Sun was found in the 8th house, Scorpio’s house where death can be found. Venus also in the 8th was almost exactly square to the Nodal Axis as well. Taurus ruled by Venus sat on the cusp of the 5th house of sport, indicating that this was an area where unfortunate happenings could occur. Pluto was closely quindecile the South Node, a focus of destructive energy impacting on the Nodal Axis and Pluto’s sign Scorpio was found on the cusp of the 11th house of team affairs. Finally Neptune was making an opposition to Mercury again in the 8th house, and a close quindecile to the Sun. Mercury traditionally rules travel by air, and Neptune’s influence may well have disrupted the flight. Neptune quindecile the Sun often shows the effect of being or feeling powerless to act. It seems that the accident by all reports was caused by some catastrophic failure. Interesting too that the plane ended up burning on the water’s edge, surely the influence of Neptune at work in some way?

It may be worthwhile exploring if future Moon Wobbles coincide with future accidents or related incidents. For the moment however, the Russian people will mourn the loss of one of their foremost hockey teams. Hopefully it will precipitate the tightening the air safety rules in a country that desperately needs some.

Read More

The Twin Towers Attack – A look at the astrology of 9/11, the event that shook the world.

It is 10 years on, and the pictures still chill one to the bone. I personally had just got home from work just before 2pm UK time, I switched on the TV to watch in disbelief one of the Twin Towers was ablaze. Then an airliner appeared from the right of the picture (I knew it was a large passenger plane from the shape of the aeroplane) and smashed straight into the second tower. I sat in my living room transfixed and horrified as the shocking drama played out.

Going back 10 years to look at the astrology chart of the day, a view of the event clearly forms. We know the target of the attack – the Twin Towers. The twins immediately lead us to think of Gemini, the sign representing twins in the zodiac. Sitting in Gemini in the international 9th house (this was an attack that was felt across the world) were just 2 planets the Moon and Saturn.

Think of the chart as a picture, we see the Moon represented the people and Saturn represented the buildings and authorities standing side by side. Both the Moon and Saturn are under attack from three planets. Saturn receives a direct opposition from Mars in Capricorn from the 3rd house, and the Moon receives an opposition from Pluto exactly on the cusp of the 3rd. Also we see from Mars to Moon and from Pluto to Saturn are intensely focused quindecile aspects. Saturn receives a trine from Mercury on the Ascendant and the Moon receives a trine from unpredictable Uranus. Pluto is the planet of mass destruction, death and also of feeling trapped. You can sense the intense emotion that this Moon/Pluto opposition created and the force unleashed in the Pluto/Saturn quindecile destroying the buildings where so many people were left helpless waiting to die. Mars is the warrior planet and signifies the action, the attack and the force on both planets in Gemini. Extending the chart out a little Mercury, ruling Gemini also rules Virgo which sits on the cusp of the 12th house, the house of secret enemies and also of sacrifice. Those enemies had awaited their moment with precision and stealth, striking with ruthless efficiency at the same time sacrificing their own lives.

Notice the 3rd/9th angle, the transport and travel axis on the chart being highlighted. This is also backed up by Mercury on the ascendant. Mercury represents transport, the airliners being used as weapons and being central to the attempt. Uranus in it’s own sign of Aquarius trines the Moon the fifth house, providing the swift, shocking aspect of the attack on the people. The pattern of these trines zooming into the opposition and quindecile aspects mirror the path the two airliners took as they crashed into the towers. Stripping away the other planets opens up the picture, doesn’t it? Sometimes seeing less is more…

Just a couple of other things to notice. Mars was at the time of the first hit tightly quindecile the Midheaven in Cancer. This was an action aimed at the people and security systems (Cancer through the Moon rules both) to focus US public attention. There is a t-square from the Saturn Pluto opposition to the Sun at the point. The Sun shows the people at the top (the President) in Mundane Astrology and the 11th house represents the parties and government systems. The other target was a strike at the US Government itself, and later that morning the Pentagon suffered severe damage from a third plane crashing into the building.

The Midheaven on the day was receiving a conjunction from lucky Jupiter which was itself square to Mercury and the Ascendant, so fortune was favouring a successful attack at this time. Lastly, Neptune sat peregrine in the 4th house and alone away from the rest of the planets and thus dominating proceedings. Here is the indication that a spiritual (Neptune) leader sitting at home (4th) was behind the whole operation. We now know that man to be Osama Bin Laden, and ten years on from the shocking crime he masterminded, his assassination has for now provided a sense of closure to the US people over the unforgettable events of the 9th September 2001.

Read More