Davy Jones – Monkees front man dies of a massive heart attack.

Fresh faced and bright eyed, Davy Jones was the heartthrob lead singer of the manufactured 60’s pop group “The Monkees”. There have been several attempts to market pop group through TV but to this day I don’t believe that any were as successful as the Monkees were. The group were known for such hits as “Daydream Believer”, “Last train to Clarksville” & “I’m a Believer”. After the Monkees disbanded in 1971, he returned to acting, something he had done from an early age. Today Davy who now lived in Florida today died of a sudden heart attack. He was 66 years of age.

Davy was born on 30th December 1945 in Manchester, England. He was a Sun sign Capricorn with a rather intense Scorpio Moon. This is a very ambitious combination, one which needed to have control of one’s destiny and I suspect within the group dynamic, Davy would have been a driving force. This ambition would have been very strong with Saturn quindecile to his Sun, yet he would have had a reserved even shy side to his nature. It is said that he was present as part of the cast of Oliver on the Ed Sullivan Show on the same night that the Beatles made their US TV debut and seeing the reaction of the women to their performance he knew where he wanted his career to go.

The link to music and performance was easy to see with Neptune in Libra square to his Capricorn Sun. This desire to perform was instilled in him from an early age, he was appearing on British TV as a child actor as young as 11. This Neptune also was part of mini grand trine connected by trine to Uranus and sextile to Pluto. Uranus’ link to Neptune would have conferred talent and a bit of an electric buzz to his performance as well as an independent streak, the lead singer always in a group always likes to stand out. This effect was doubled by Pluto in Leo which wants to be a person of note; somebody famous.

This Pluto was also at the point of a wedge formation including a Uranus in Gemini opposition to Mercury in expansive Sagittarius. Here was a rather childlike side to him allied with a wicked sense of humour. With such a Mercury influence here with Uranus in Gemini (ruled by Mercury) I can bet he was hugely talkative and you probably would struggle to shut him up. Mercury in Sagittarius thinks big and wants to communicate with the world. Though his musical talent he did just that.

Jupiter in Libra square to Saturn and Mars in Cancer showed a diplomatic side to Davy which would have shone through if there were arguments, which I bet there were often within the group. Saturn square to Jupiter is disciplined enough to know that Rome was not built in a day, and one would have to work hard to achieve fame and success; that work and ambition (Saturn) of course would allow him to travel widely (Jupiter). Jupiter square to Mars is very energetic and is always on the look out for new ways to succeed. This aspect showed that Davy was a risk taker and would never be completely satisfied with his lot in life, one could always achieve more and do better. Saturn sitting with Mars showed a persistence to his character, to keep going even when the chips were down. One interesting side effect of this Saturn/Mars square to Jupiter. At age 14 because of his short stature, Davy briefly became a jockey. Saturn shows career, Mars shows sport and the link to Jupiter associated with Sagittarius the Centaur which of course rules horses.

The Scorpio Moon brings a quiet secretive and magnetic feel to the personality, maybe that’s why girls flocked to see the group, and he became a teenage idol. Saturn and Mars made trines to the Moon cooling the emotions quite a bit and allowed hit to deal with emotional issues in a frank and straightforward manner. On those relationships, Venus just in Capricorn received a quindecile from Uranus in changeable Gemini. To be truthful, this connection would not have given him much patience in love. Often relationships under such an influence would start up very suddenly, however the excitement would soon drain away. While he was not one to hang around if the relationship should show signs of failure, Mars in Cancer shows someone who would protect his family unit strongly should it be threatened. Davy was married 3 times and on his death, he was survived by his 3rd wife Jessica and by 4 daughters.

The transits on the day of his death showed transiting Pluto in conjunction with his Sun so a big change in his life due (Pluto is associated with death). Interestingly too that transiting Jupiter was trine to the Sun (conjunct transiting Pluto) and I have often seen that when it is one’s time to leave, Jupiter does play a significant role. Mercury part of that close Uranus/Mercury/Pluto wedge was square to the nodal axis which often shows a sudden event that you have little control over. Transiting Mars was square that same Uranus opposition to Mercury, might Davy had had an ascendant ruled by Mercury, either Virgo or Gemini? With Mercury involved a lot in the transits of the day, it does seem feasible? Transiting Saturn was square to natal Mars. Without an accurate birth time it is difficult to speak more about the circumstances of his passing, especially in looking at the midpoints.  

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Portugal – On the slow road to recovery

All of the recent focus has been on Greece as Europe lurches towards in inevitable crisis but there have been several other European countries who have been really suffering in the past two to three years, Spain, Italy, Ireland and Portugal. I was asked a few days ago by one of my regular readers Rick to have a look at Portugal and today I am pleased to do so. The only problem with Portugal is to know which chart to use since the country has a long colourful history. Because we are looking at modern financial problems, I decided to look at the 1974 Carnation revolution chart, the one formed after the breakdown of Portugal’s overseas empire.

The 1974 Portuguese chart sits above. The Sun sits rather hidden in the 8th house, the house of financial relations with other nations. Of course the modern Portugal came out of reaping the rewards of the resources of it’s former colonies. This is a constitutional democracy now seen by the Sun’s ruling sign on the cusp of the 11th house of parties, groups and associations. The Moon representing the people sits in the 9th house of foreign lands and of faith. Portugal’s population is mostly Roman Catholic (Moon opposed to spiritual Neptune and square to Jupiter which rules faith) and very diverse in it ethnic make-up, of course calling upon many immigrants from it former colonies. The country’s link with sea and fishing is also shown here through the Neptune opposition. Interestingly the legal system in Portugal is also called the continental family legal system, the Moon of course in the 9th house of the law is a representation of the family.

A lot of Portuguese family’s incomes are based around farming and tourism, and in the 6th house of the workers we find Venus with links to the land and Jupiter showing money being made from foreign visitors. This is a really friendly optimistic combination and the welcome that visitors get from the Portuguese is rarely less than open and warm. We have a Uranus Mercury opposition from 2nd to 8th house showing a rather reckless attitude to finance (Uranus in 2nd) and a free, open and independent media (Mercury opposite Uranus). Uranus in the 2nd also shows an economy which is based around technology, a sector that has been growing and growing in Portugal since the country entered the EU.

Saturn and Mars together in the 10th house of government showing the link to the present administration from the military coup (Mars) back in 1974. This combination squares to Pluto in the 1st house which shows a rather underground and potentially corrupt side to officialdom in Portugal. During the Madeline McCann investigation, there were several accusations from Britain thrown at the Portuguese police in the way the secretive nature of the way they operated. Pluto in the 1st shows that at some point Portugal will have to undergo some sort of transformation, where the whole structure and fabric of the country will need to be reconstructed.

 

The transit chart shows Saturn almost clear of the Portuguese 1st house showing that the impositions placed on Portugal as a country are slowly receding. Saturn is now retrograde and will dip back into the 1st house for a last time this Summer opposing Mercury which rules the Midheaven, before starting to make it’s way through the second. Of course Saturn in the 2nd house of finance does show that Portugal will have to show much responsibility with regard to the debts they face, however it does show that the national suffering should in the next 2-3 years start to recede. During that time Saturn will oppose the Portuguese Sun at 5 Taurus, so the austerity measures will still hurt and there may well be yet another change in administration along the way (the last vote was held on 5th June last year). This slightly more optimistic feeling can be felt as Jupiter is now conjunct the Portuguese Sun in the 8th house, those obligations to other countries are slowly being met. Transiting Neptune ruling relations with other countries (Pisces on 7th house cusp) is trine to Mars and exactly to Saturn, so Portugal is being held to account but is showing action and sacrifices to alleviate it’s problems.

The outlook for Portugal I don’t think is too bad. The country’s chart has no planets in the firing line as Uranus and Pluto start to form their square this summer in the 8-9 cardinal degree zone, and apart from the Sun no other planets are going to be impacted from stressful angles (squares or oppositions) from Saturn in the coming years. Add to this Jupiter moving through the 8th house into the 9th this year which shows optimism starting to flood into society, and Portugal may finally be on the long road to recovery.  

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Sacha Baron Cohen – A law unto himself

Like most comedians, Sacha Baron Cohen polarizes opinions. Some love his irreverent comic style laced with more than a drop of irony and others just don’t get it. On the Oscar red carpet last night in a very pre-rehearsed publicity stunt, Cohen dressed at “The Dictator” a character from his upcoming film and tipped the ashes of “Kim Jong Il” all over E! Entertainment’s TV host Ryan Seacrest. The funniest thing about the whole incident were the burly security men dragging Baron Cohen away. The incident however had had it’s desired effect.

Sacha was born on 13th October 1971 in Hammersmith, London (no birth time known) and has a relatively simple chart. He is a Sun sign Libran and has quite predictably a proud and attention seeking Leo Moon. This chart is based around fire and air, 3 planets in fire sign and 6 in air (4 of them in Libra) so much of Sacha’s instincts will be around relating, communication, networking & promoting. There are no planets in earth and this may come out in a number of ways, he may be non materialistic (unlikely), somewhat impractical (possible), obsessive about neatness and detail (possible) but more often than not, this manifests itself in rejecting responsibility and not being grounded as a person, which can lead to a lot of insecurity. It is rare to see someone with a lack of earth signs without money and resources, indeed they seem to attract money (Bill Gates has no planets in earth) and often they can get very obsessed about their body or even sexuality. I have noticed in his films and TV career, especially in “Borat”, that Sacha was never afraid to bare himself to the camera in a lewd manner or use blatant sexual innuendos (Ali G/Bruno), probably as a result of the lack of earth in his chart.

This is not a complicated chart, just two wedge formations really to look at. We have one with a conjunction of Sun, Mercury and Uranus trine to Mars and more then likely sextile to the Leo Moon with those two planets in opposition. Sun Mercury and Uranus shows a natural outlandish sense of humour allied to a very quick brain. The Sun and Uranus together show the rebel inside, the outsider who takes on the establishment. To say that Sacha is an enigma I think is not over stating things. These planets are in Libra the sign of relating, and I can imagine him with the Uranus influence keeping his distance from those he does not know and trust and being friendly but cool. These planets trine to Mars in Aquarius and this is a highly erratic yet creative link. Mars in Aquarius shows he is a team player and this tends to make me think that he does have a circle of friends with whom he works incredibly closely. Mars in Aquarius is very unconventional and like to shock and surprise, this is a major theme with everything that I have seen him do.

The other link to the triple conjunction is from the Moon in Leo. Here is his motivation to be a star, to hog the headlines. Sacha has a drive within him to be well known, he needs to be adored and loved for what he does. It is so simple to see if you look at the combination of Sun and Moon, the Leo Moon needs to be well known and popular and so to achieve this the Libra Sun will try to make as big a social impact at it can through the shock tactics I mentioned earlier. If shock tactics are not suitable for the situation, Sacha has a second way he uses these social skills. Mercury is in wide conjunction with Venus in Scorpio. These two planets in combination are very creative and are particularly good at fostering one to one relationships. Sasha will uses a charm offensive, his tact and his sense of humour to get him the contacts he needs. This I think is the cure for the likely insecurity that I hinted hiding in his chart.

Venus in Scorpio is very emotional, possessive and jealous but also very steadfast and loyal. Often people with this position have an aura of mystery that surrounds them. That seems very much the case with Sacha. Mars opposing the Moon shows someone who can be impatient, temperamental and irritable if he is not engaged in some type of activity. Sacha will definitely need to be occupied, otherwise he could be rather difficult to deal with.

The second wedge on the chart is consisted of the outer planets, Saturn in Gemini opposes a Jupiter Neptune conjunction and this forms a wedge formation with Pluto in Libra. Saturn in Gemini shows someone who does doubt their own intelligence, so they read and work to gain the knowledge they require. Very rarely will you ever find an unintelligent and uniformed person with Saturn in Gemini, Saturn will just not allow it. This is someone who is rather serious and will not stand flippant and superficial conversation, he will be much more interested in heavier more weighty topics. Saturn opposes onto the Jupiter/Neptune combination in Sagittarius. Here is an imagination and desires on a wide scale, there are no boundaries that will limit Jupiter and Neptune and the opposition to Saturn shows that his ambition is limitless. Of course this opposition also shows his link to international TV and film; Neptune (ruler of the media) given wide international opportunities (Jupiter) through his hard work and ambitions (Saturn). Sacha is a shrewd operator too, able to plan, to work diligently and able to make those dreams into a solid form. Sasha from his initial foray into TV would have been looking to achieve on a wider and larger scale.

With easy connections to Pluto, luck would have helped him when he needed it, and this Pluto also bring a dark underground subversive side to what he does. Saturn trine to Pluto is very wholehearted and in his work he will throw his whole energy into making sure that he gets things right. Jupiter and Neptune in Sagittarius shows that faith is important to him, the influence hardened by the opposition to Saturn and sextile to Pluto shows he takes his Jewish faith very seriously. Neptune and Jupiter opposition to Saturn also bring dreams of achievement in higher education and he got to the top in the UK attending Cambridge University where he read History rather indicating to me that he probably was born in the afternoon or evening as a sextile from Moon to Mercury, only operative then, would bestow a love and interest in the past.

Sacha has certainly achieved the worldwide fame and notoriety that his planets suggests he needed, and love him or hate him you certainly can’t ignore him. He returns to your screens in “The Dictator” due to be released sometime in May this year, featuring a character he based around Saddam Hussein & General Gaddafi!! Sounds like he is going to divide opinions once again…

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Julia Gillard & Kevin Rudd – Could political war seriously undermine both of them?

Australian politics is seeing an almighty punch up right now as Kevin Rudd, the Australian foreign minister resigned his position to openly challenge Prime Minister Julia Gillard. She in turn did not hang around and promptly called a leadership election of the Aussie Labor party with winner takes all as the prize.  There is serious bad blood between the two, as Gillard staged a coup in 2010 to oust Rudd from the Prime Minister’s job. In a swipe at the former Foreign Secretary she said  he was  “running a dysfunctional and chaotic government when he was Prime Minister”. Sounds fun, doesn’t it?

The composite chart shows composite Sun Mercury Venus and Mars all together, so on the face of it they should be able to communicate and even get on well BUT there are two maybe three problems on this composite chart. Firstly the Moon squares Mars and Venus so we have emotional conflicts here which can flare up anger and irritability between them. The Moon’s potential quindecile to Saturn shows no real emotional warmth, they will be ultra critical of each other’s faults and this can turn cold, nasty and spiteful. Finally, even though Saturn trines to Pluto showing joint desire of ambition and power, Saturn squares the Sun/Venus/ Mercury  and crucially the composite Nodal axis showing that personal ambition will get in the way of all their aims and desires. So it is coming to pass.

On the transit chart, rebellious Uranus is now conjunct the composite South Node and thus opposite to the stellium of Sun, North Node, Mercury Venus & Mars and of course square to Saturn lighting up this whole dynamic I mentioned and causing the vicious fight between them. Transiting Saturn sextiles the composite Saturn so this explains the opportunism of Mr Rudd to fight for power. We also have a virtual Yod being formed with Jupiter and Neptune still in sextile to each other in the sky right now, and those two planets inconjunct to the composite Sun and North Node; this moment in time is going to be a turning point for both of them. Transiting Pluto also joins in the party making a square to the 4 planet stellium, a destructive and undermining influence. Pluto can and may destroy both of them in the whole messy process.

Whoever does win this ugly battle on Monday 27th Feb may be politically scarred and weakened for life, as they will still have to front a deeply divided Labor Party. The opposition Liberal party leader, Tony Abbot must be sitting back watching these two tearing themselves to pieces with a big smile on his face.

Julia Gillard – Born 29th Sept 1961 – Barry, Wales, UK

Kevin Rudd – Born 21st Sept 1957 – Nambour, Queensland, Australia

***** Update 26th Feb 2012 ****

The Australia national chart also shows the fight in Aussie politics. Notice the transiting Nodal axis square to natal Mars showing a battle royal going on; Aries and Mars rules the Australian chart being on the Ascendant. Transiting Neptune is conversely square to the Nodal axis showing weakness, deception and lies in party politics; Pisces rules the 11th house of the parties, groups & associations. Saturn is bang on the descendant opposite the ascendant showing the fight for power. It may well be that when Saturn finally hits the Descendant in September/October 2012, there may be another general election in Australia, as I am not so sure how long the winner of this current battle will eventually last. If there is, then the opposition looks in good shape as transiting Pluto is almost conjunct the Australian Sun heralding change. The Sun rules the 4th house (Leo on the cusp) of the opposition party of the day, and Scorpio on the cusp of the 8th house ruled by Pluto also confirms some sort of change.

**** Update 27th Feb 12 ****

Just for the record Julia Gillard beat Kevin Rudd in the leadership vote by a resounding 73 votes to 29.

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San Francisco 1906 Earthquake – Is the San Andreas fault ready to shift again?

If you live in California, the risk of earthquake damage is ever present as the San Andreas Fault runs right along the spine of the state. The most notorious of all the earthquakes in living memory was the San Francisco earthquake of 1906 which hit at around 7.9 on the Richter scale and claimed around 3000 lives. People have said that a repeat is now overdue. Looking at the astrology, in my opinion we are definitely now in the danger zone for a new rupture along the fault line.

The 1906 quake on 18th April 1906 hit at 05.12am and featured a nasty t-square including a Neptune Uranus opposition connecting with the Midheaven and square onto Mercury. We also had a Saturn Jupiter square in operation with Jupiter siting exactly at the midpoint of Mars and Pluto. Notice how Neptune, Jupiter, Venus, Mercury and Saturn all fed into the Midheaven/Uranus conjunction at the top of the chart. Uranus on the above 1906 chart would have provided the shock factor to move the earth. Back in 1857, the previous big quake at 7.9 on the Richter scale ruptured a 200 mile fault between Monterey and San Bernardino & had transiting Saturn at 10 degrees Cancer, opposite where Pluto is now. In my opinion, this 8-10 degrees Capricorn/Cancer axis must be very sensitive to planetary pressure in the California region.

Now moving forward to the present time and we find transiting Pluto at 8 degrees Capricorn approaching 9 Capricorn soon on 24th February. Pluto is the planet of destruction and will be stationed on this degree through until the end of May 2012. Now we have an approaching square from Uranus in Aries that will tighten to exactitude in mid June and will hit another sensitive point along the way at 7 Aries also in mid to late May, the point where Mercury was back in 1906 on the chart above.

There is one other piece of evidence to throw into the mix. Back on 1st July last year there was a solar eclipse. It occurred at 9:12 Cancer. Whenever a major outer planet either hits of opposes a former recent eclipse degree, something often happens. Pluto on 4th March gets to 9:12 Capricorn, opposing that eclipse point from last year. Pluto opposing an eclipse degree sends shudders through me, as we are dealing with indescribable force and power.

I have a hunch is that the big one in California that everyone has been fearing may not be far away now. Not because it is overdue, no just because the astrological evidence points to a revisiting of the critical degrees at play 7, 8, 9 & 10 degrees of cardinal signs, just where Uranus was during the last devastating earthquake hit in 1906.  I hope for once that I will be wrong.

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CERN – Light speed checks come astrologically on time.

I have been following this story with great interest of the past few months. Back in September last year the boffins at the CERN Hadron Collider site in Geneva who were looking for the Higgs Boson or God particle made a startling discovery, that the neutrinos they were testing were travelling  in excess of the speed of light. Today, news came out of CERN that possibly there were some errors in their experiments. Their results showed although the particles were shown to have sped along 60 billionths of a second faster than thought possible, there could have been a problem with the optical cables they were using or even the accuracy of the timing devices. A look back at the astrology chart from the first use of the Hadron collider shows that now is the time for correction and checking exactly what happened.

In astrology we have retrograde periods, times when the planets appear to be moving backwards in relation to the forward orbit of the Earth. These periods astrologically bring time for reflection, for checking and correcting mistakes, for refining and making sure that you have everything in place correctly before the energy starts moving forward again and one can make some more progress.

It has been fascinating to watch the scientific progress of the Hadron collider experiments from an astrological perspective, and now due to retrograde motion of Saturn and Mars we have the scientists questioning the validity of their discoveries. Notice that transiting Saturn is still square to the Leo Midheaven and sextile to Pluto in the 3rd house of communication. Here Saturn transiting through the 1st house of the chart representing the body of the work that they are doing, is telling everyone at CERN “hold on a minute, lets do some control experiments to triple check everything before we can move on”. As I said in my initial post, Saturn rules time, and time is one of the hitches that the scientists claim that is causing a problem. This is reflected by the transiting Nodes that are now square natal Saturn. The Nodes throw in some unexpected spanners in the works when they square to Saturn, things come out of the blue that we least expected, in this case potential inaccurate timing.

Mars is moving retrograde in technical precise Virgo and is now directly in conjunction with the natal Sun opposition Uranus in the 11th house. Here the whole team (Sun in 11th) will be actively clearing up any scientific (Uranus) doubt. Aries, Mars’ sign lies on the cusp the 6th house of everyday work, the house of detail and getting things perfect. The chart ruler Venus is opposing natal Venus, Mars and Mercury out of that 6th house, you can see cooperation, action and minds working overtime to find the hidden (12th) problems that are holding up the progress of their work. 

I predict that this experiment process will be finished by around the second half of May, and possibly an announcement that the findings were indeed correct may be made on or around the first week of June when Mars moving direct will re-contact the natal Sun opposition to Uranus, trine to Jupiter and the Moon in the 3rd house of communication (good news to report to the world’s population??) and Saturn will be within a few days of finishing it’s retrograde motion, thus ending the review process. If I am right then this will also reflect the Pluto square to Uranus that will connect for the first time later in the month, that science (Uranus) would have cracked one of the hidden secrets (Pluto) of the universe (Uranus), allowing for further potential experiments into how we can best use the new knowledge. Coming on the back this week of the discovery of the first planet outside our solar system to consist of water 30 light years from earth, the mind boggles to where humans in generations to come may be able to explore.

Links :-

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

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Greece – Second bail out precedes another Greek tragedy?

Is the world, or rather Europe going soft, or mad, or both? I know the Greek people are suffering right now, but they only have themselves to blame for frittering away cash like it was water pouring down a drain. The public sector in Greece before the economic crash in autumn 2008 was hugely over-manned, and the wages paid and especially the bonus culture that grew up within it wasted millions and millions of Euros. Now they are paying the price. Only thing is it the general public, the ordinary Joe on the street that is having to carry the can, and he doesn’t like it one bit. Stringent cuts and austerity measures have yet again caused rioting on the streets of Athens, and low and behold the European Union caved in for a second time and provided a second bail out fund in the region of 110 million dollars. The Greeks have even started to pay back the first bail out they got last year, so how on earth are they going to cover the second one? All this of course is related to the unstable future of the Euro currency. There seems to be no get out clause inbuilt into the system, so if one country fails the whole lot comes tumbling down. Clever eh? From my point of view here in the UK, thank our lucky stars that we didn’t join the Euro, otherwise we would be facing huge problems and riots on the streets of London too; the British do like the odd riot now and again ;)

There is so much going on the Greek transit chart (above) at the moment it is difficult to know where to start. Let’s start off with transiting Saturn which is still grinding it’s way through the Greek 4th house, the foundation of the nation. This is where the people oppose the government, so during this 2 year transit of Saturn, there were always going to be problems and unrest. The square to the Sun in the Greek first house is elongated because of Saturn’s retrograde period and Saturn is not going to clear through this square and the 4th house until autumn this year. There are going to be a lot of unhappy people in Greece and much hardship through most of 2012.

The rioting is because of Uranus. Uranus squares Venus (it is over money and finances), trines the Sun (is directed towards the leaders) and opposes Pluto and the Moon so is destructive, damaging and wanting change (Pluto) and agitates the people (Moon) to get up and rebel. There is a second story here. Aquarius rules the 8th and 9th houses, the house of incurred losses and other people’s money (8th) and overseas travel & foreign relations (9th); Pluto rules the 5th (risk taking). We can see the agreement of more cash (Venus) at an overseas meeting (9th) as a bit of a gamble (5th) to support the country (1st) so it doesn’t go under.

Transiting Mars moving retrograde is now square the nodal axis so there is violence and out of the blue public (Node) events that the police and authorities are having trouble in controlling. When Mars moves retrograde I have noticed that the organisation and ability of people to control any trouble is not easy to do, and often situations can get out of hand and casualties can mount up. The energy is not being efficiently used here, and the sporadic nature of Mars retrograde is difficult to control. This is compounded by Neptune which is opposing Greece’s natal Mars. This shows confusion of the authority forces as well as the collective mobs of rioters appearing from nowhere then drifting away. Trying to control anything when Neptune is involved is futile. In truth, the rioters will tend to have the edge over the authorities until Mars gets back moving forward in mid April and Neptune moves out of range in opposition to that natal Mars. Incidentally with Pisces ruling the Midheaven we always knew from the formation of the chart in 1974 that progressive Greek governments would be weak and/or deceptive and with their collective hands also in the cookie jar.

This isn’t going to get sorted out until Pluto makes an opposition to the Greek ascendant at 13 Cancer in 2014. That moment will be an important watershed in the future of Greece.  Right now, Pluto moving through the 6th house of the ordinary workers and social and public services opposing Saturn and Mercury in the 12th house of suffering and sacrifice. Yes, there are a lot of sacrifices that are having to be suffered by the man in the street as well as the government (Saturn) and the public services (6th) which are going to be transformed by Pluto. The cuts are going to continue to hurt like crazy. The world and the Euro members in particular will watch and wait with baited breath. The fate of Greece could well affect the fate of the European Union, and the ailing health of the world money markets.

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“Water World” discovered by scientists on the day of the new Moon in Pisces.

Oh how appropriate!! On the day of the new Moon in Pisces in conjunction with Neptune, astronomers confirmed that a new planet consisting mainly of water does exist in the outer reaches of the solar system. Planet GJ 1214b to give it it’s official title is hotter and larger than our Earth, but smaller than Jupiter. If you were to visit, you’d be boiled alive, as the predicted temperature is around 370 degree Fahrenheit, very hot and steamy indeed. The new discovery is 30 light years away from the Earth and was first spotted by ground telescopes in Chile. Since then, the Hubble space telescope has been trained on it and finally today of all days it’s existence was made known to the world.

You know I wondered if something quite special would happen on 21st February 2012. Now the picture is clear. There are three focus areas on the chart away from the clutch of planets in Pisces and Aries. The trines to Saturn from the new Moon conjunction show structure (a new planet) made of water (Neptune/Pisces). The square from Uranus to Pluto and trine from Jupiter to Pluto show a distant place (Jupiter) in space (Uranus) that had previously been hidden from view (Pluto) and general knowledge (Jupiter). Mars in Virgo in retrograde indicates that all the final checks had to be made, all the details should be confirmed before releasing the news. Mars in Virgo opposite to Mercury refines the data so that the announcement is correct. The last thing you would want is such a news event and then find it is erroneous. Again the connections from Uranus in pioneering Aries and Neptune to Mars show the link to astronomy and the expansions of our horizons on earth.

This discovery has propelled this new Moon in Pisces to be a most significant day in the history of mankind, and has lit the touch-paper for a generation of astronomers, astrologist and scientists. Their imaginations and desires must be running wild at the thought of what else may be out there in the vastness of the universe. One other thought. Just imagine what may occur in 25 years time when Neptune enters Aires, the sign of boldly going where no one had gone before? An interesting thought indeed…

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The Astrology of 2012 Part 3 – March

After the deep freeze of February (or rather the grey skies and miserable rain here in London), the sun starts to rise higher into the sky and brings with it the promise of spring. March is Pisces’ month heralding the end of the winter cycle. In this post I look at the planetary movements in the 3rd month of the year, March.

March

4th Mar           Venus opposite Saturn
5th Mar           Mercury conjunct Uranus
5th Mar           Venus enters Taurus
6th Mar           Venus sextile Neptune
8th Mar           Full Moon at 18:13 Virgo
13th Mar         Mercury goes retrograde in Aries
13th Mar         Jupiter trine Pluto – Grand Earth Trine 3rd & final hit (First Hit 7/7/11 2nd 28/10/11)
14th Mar         Mars trine Jupiter – Grand Earth Trine – 2nd hit (First Hit 16/11/11)
14th Mar         Venus conjunct Jupiter
14th Mar         Venus trine Mars
14th Mar         Venus trine Pluto
15th Mar         Mars trine Pluto – Grand Earth Trine – 2nd hit (First Hit 23/11/11)
18th Mar         Mercury conjunct Uranus - 2nd hit
19th Mar         Mars square North/South Node
22nd Mar        New Moon at 2:22 Aries – conjunct Mercury and Uranus
31st Mar         Mars inconjunct Uranus – 2nd hit (First hit 13/11/11)

In this month we have no major outer planets changing sign, so the focus falls on an almost exact grand earth trine in the middle of the month. Mercury also turns retrograde halfway through, bringing some action after what should be a relatively quiet opening couple of days.

In the early days of the month, we have an oppositions between Sun & retrograde Mars as well as one between Venus and Saturn, challenging us (the nature of the opposition can be confrontational) to make serious choices over the relationships in our lives. Relationships will be in focus as Venus rules Libra and that is the sign where Saturn is sitting. On the 4th of the month transiting Pluto hits 9:12 Capricorn. This point on the chart is important as it exactly opposes the eclipse point of last year’s cardinal cross solar eclipse, the one which cause so much mayhem during July & August. I always get a bit concerned when a planet makes an aspect to a previous eclipse degree, as often it coincides with a major event around the world that catches everyone’s attention. The set up of the planets reminds me of many earthquake charts I have seen, a bank of planets in direct motion on one side of the chart counterbalanced by one or two in retrograde motion including one of the outer planets, in this case Saturn. This creates a shearing of energy, which effects on the earth causing the earthquake. This day is also a sensitive time in Russia and coincides with the Presidential elections there.

  

The feeling I get about this chart is one of underground strict authority taking control despite grumbling opposition. We have two wedges and a t-square with Neptune and Pluto at the focus of them. Socialism or rather communist rule of the state Venus/Saturn/Neptune at the expense of the people (Venus/Saturn square to the Moon) and underground secret action and control at the top of government Sun/Mars//Pluto. There is also a forming Grand Earth trine which tightens as the month goes on consisting of Pluto Jupiter and Mars. I wonder if this signals expansionist control on the agenda? Russia would dearly like to have more influence of the states that broke away after the 1991 fall of the iron curtain. Mars retrograde shows no positive action will be taken at this time, but maybe plans to integrate a wider control (Jupiter/Pluto) may be behind the scenes yet still on the table. Uranus conjunction to Mercury square to Pluto shows intellectual opposition to an election which Putin will win, yet despite the protests and probable election fraud (deceptive Neptune trines authoritarian Saturn and sextiles democratic Venus) it’s a given he’ll take charge for 6 more years.

On 6th March in America is Super Tuesday when there will be GOP contests in the states of Alaska, Georgia, Idaho, Massachusetts, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Vermont and Virginia. With Romney ruled by Neptune, (he is a Sun sign Pisces) it is difficult to tell if transiting Neptune which will be closely square to his Gemini Ascendant will severely help or hinder him. It is my view that the square could prove to be a bit of a challenge to his ego, and after the end of the day he be a bit deflated. Will the others be able to take advantage? Newt Gingrich has the transiting  North Nodes approaching his Midheaven, which should give him a nice boost and popularity. Saturn trines his Sun which is progressive and I think he could do quite well. Rick Santorum has transiting Saturn close to his North Node which normally brings rewards so I expect a good night for him. The rest of the transiting planets on his chart seem relatively supportive for the moment, however as Saturn turns tail in retrograde motion and starts to move away from this North Node conjunction one wonders if the bounce he has had in the last month will really last, as his rather ultra conservative agenda gets scrutinised more closely. On reflection, I think after this round of primaries, the race will still be hugely competitive.  

Moving on. Mercury then exactly conjuncts with Uranus, the first of three connections to Uranus. This conjunction starts a process which allows us to develop new and clever ideas, and to make technological and scientific discoveries. The accent is on moving forward and breaking new ground as this conjunction is in Aries. Venus then enters her own sign Taurus, allowing us to build on and develop the relationship choices we made at the start on the month. Venus then continues on to make a sextile to Neptune, a pleasant dreamy influence before the new Moon in Virgo arrives on 8th of March. Here we are perfecting the inspiration we had from the New Moon in Pisces on 21st February. With Uranus conjunct Mercury and this full Moon seeing a completion of vibrant inspirational energy, anything you have been developing in an artistic or technical sense will get a final flourish of brilliance to finish it off. This will be a truly wonderful time for those who feel creative energy in their soul.

As Mercury stations on the 13th and turns for a retrograde cycle, we have several exact connections within the space of two hectic days. Mercury retrograde affects some people more than others, and I suspect it very much depends on the state of your own Mercury in your own natal chart in how it affects you personally. Those with Mercury direct in their chart do tend to suffer when Mercury turns to move backwards, however those with it retrograde in their own chart (as Barack Obama has) seem to thrive under this influence. Generally for the majority, you will see technical hitches, transport delays and trouble with communication for the following 3-4 weeks. This influence can also bring setbacks and last minute changes of plan. It is never a good thing to sign important documents under this influence.

Through the 13th and 14th the grand earth trine between Mars Jupiter and Pluto connects exactly at 9 degrees earth (Virgo, Taurus, Capricorn). This is a very powerful formation joined by Venus conjunct to Jupiter, where one can achieve a lot in a short time. The ideal essence here is to set down and lay firm foundations as the trine is in earth. Take any of these buzzwords and apply it in the best way you can to your own life. The trine will allow you to apply these energies very easily i.e. Learning (Jupiter) to create (Venus) by transforming (Pluto) and perfecting in an enthusiastic way (Mars).

Jupiter – Knowledge, learning, expanding, wisdom, travelling, optimism, discovering, ruling, celebrating, publishing  Venus – Relating, attracting, harmony, creating, loving, wanting  Pluto – Controlling, transforming, blocking, changing, regenerating, eliminating, destroying, secretive, jealous, hidden  Mars Retrograde in Virgo – energetically, violently, enthusiastically, positively however the energy is used in a precise manner to correct and perfect. This energy will be directed inwardly on the self reflecting the retrograde direction of Mars, and not in an external way onto others as it would be if Mars was travelling direct.

In a global sense, as with the Russian example I gave earlier, I do see controls clamping down on freedom of expression under this grand trine. Mars which would normally act or speak out will remain muted through until April when it finishes it’s retrograde motion. There may also be destruction or changes on a wide or even international scale. Looking back to when these planets made their first hits, the News of The World newspaper was closed under the first Jupiter trine to Pluto (eliminating knowledge) as well as the first pictures of a storm on Saturn were published (knowledge of something previously hidden). In Nepal, the local community were banned from celebrating the Dalai Lama’s birthday (control on celebrations of a faith leader). On 28th Oct the second Jupiter connection, there were floods in Thailand and Italy (wide-scale destruction), austerity measures in Greece (control of expanding finance) & a new President in Ireland (celebrations of a change of power), all these events fitting the Jupiter/Pluto influence. It is hugely difficult to predict specific events, but the themes are there, control of international and local freedoms, liberation of things that were previously secret or hidden and potential destruction of a big scale. Silvio Berlusconi’s trial over a banking scandal is due to start on March 15th. Would Jupiter trine Pluto be commensurate with the potential conviction and confinement of one who is so rich & famous? You know this mid March period could be a really busy time in the world.

On the 18th Mercury now moving in retrograde motion conjuncts with Uranus, so this is time to action a review any ideas or concepts that we had earlier in the month, and on 19th Mars squares the Nodal Axis. This is like a Mars connection to the South Node, so there may be confrontations or disagreements in the air, depending on what part of your chart Mars is travelling through. You may be asked to make compromises or deal with matters as a result of past decisions or actions. Do not underestimate this square as it may bring some interesting happenings. Canada will feel it with Sun sextile, Jupiter opposite, Uranus sextile and Midheaven trine to transiting Mars. Interestingly Mars conjuncts Cyprus’ Venus and squares Greece’s Neptune as well as opposing Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Sun (the Turkish Prime Minister). Will the division of Cyprus between Greece and Turkey come back into the news? Elsewhere Mars squares Mario Monti’s Saturn, so the new Italian PM may have some issues to deal with or may have to eat some humble pie and compromise his principles. In Syria, this Mars squares President Assad’s nodal Axis coinciding with his half Nodal return. I have been saying for months now that I expected Assad to finally go in late March and I firmly believe that this is when the dream for him will finally comes to an end.

The Syria question is heightened by the New Moon in Aries on 22nd March. This will be another potent new Moon as it conjuncts Mercury and crucially Uranus. Is this the sign of revolution in the air? The new Moon at 2:22 Aries opposes Syria’s Neptune. Could this be a new dawn for the oppressed masses, the freshness of a new Moon cycle bringing a drive for independence shown by Uranus? On a personal level, this is a time to bring kindness and humanitarian help to those around you. Normally with an Aries new Moon I would be urging everyone to act and go out and start new projects, to initiate change around in their lives, however with both Mars and Saturn retrograde, it is better to keep those urges under wraps until mid April when Mars turns the corner.  

The month ends on an irritable note with an inconjunct aspect (150 degrees) from retrograde Mars to Uranus. This is a second hit of this particular aspect, the first on 13th Nov 2011 coincided with Berlusconi who I mentioned earlier resigning from power. Might things go from bad to worse for him at this time? There could be a few nasty accidents or mishaps happening as these two planets connect, be careful if you have any planets at 5 degrees of cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra or Capricorn). Silvio by the way has his Sun at 5 Libra!!

Links – The Astrology of January 2012

           The Astrology of February 2012

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Rihanna – The horoscope of the “Caribbean Queen of Pop”

I’ve met Rihanna. It was a few years ago now at London Heathrow airport, and she was seeing off her mum who was travelling back to Barbados, before flying herself to New York with her “crew” of musicians and tour manager. This was before her worldwide smash “Umbrella” and I remember asking her tour manager if her new album was any good. He was very confident at the time that there were a “few” hit songs on it. My word he was right!! That meeting stuck in my mind for quite a while, and now of course Robyn Rihanna Fenty is one of the most recognisable pop stars on the planet. I am pleased I met her, before fame came knocking on her door. Today she hits 24 years of age, and to celebrate her birthday, I take a look at the character of the Caribbean Queen of Pop.

Rihanna was born on 20th February 1988 in Saint Michael, Barbados. Now nobody knows a birth time for her and I have scoured the internet looking for one. It’s a shame I didn’t ask her directly back in 2006, but then again I wasn’t blogging about astrology at the time. If you are reading this article and you do know the official time of her birth, please get in touch. The above chart is a bit of a guess to her birth time, in relation to what I know about her officially as well as my own personal experience in meeting her, and in speaking with people who know her.

Putting everything together, I believe that she has Aries rising on her chart, equating to a potential birth time of around 08.20am. This bring a straight and direct nature to her personality which is very much softened by the Moon being in the first house. Rihanna as I met her was very gently spoken, quiet and rather shy, an indication I believe of the first house Moon. Despite this, the Moon in the first very much does it’s own thing, and Rihanna has always been a trend setter, reflecting the nature of Aries on the ascendant. Venus also in the first house brings a keen attention to her appearance, more of which a bit later. With a time of 08.20 hrs Neptune the ruler of music and performance moves into the 10th house of career, Saturn, Uranus and Mars sit in the 9th showing someone who breaks down barriers and is known through her work internationally, and Pluto is in the 8th in Scorpio showing her risqué side, an embracing of her sexuality which she seems unafraid to express. Remember, this birth time is speculative so should not be taken as given.

Ok to the things in the chart that I can say for certain. Rihanna is a Sun sign Pisces with an Aries Moon. We have a mix of fire and water, the enthusiasm of the Aries Moon to be number one in everything that one does underpinned by the sensitive, imaginative energy of the Pisces Sun. It is like underneath the bravado, there is a really gentle soul, exactly as I realised when I met Rihanna. Everything here is for show, and some sacrifices to her normal personality have to be made to fulfil the overriding need of the Aires Moon. This is a complex girl we are dealing with, the archetypal enigmatic pop star whose public face is nothing like her private one.

The Pisces Sun sits at the point of a mini grand trine sextile to Jupiter in Aries and sextile to a heavyweight Saturn, Uranus and Mars conjunction, with Saturn and Uranus very closely conjunct in Capricorn and Mars in Sagittarius. Jupiter sextile to the Sun shows lovely optimism and faith in one’s own ability, as well as a wide international outlook. The same goes for Mars in Sagittarius, which is wonderfully positive, outgoing and philosophical in it’s nature. The trine between the two planets brings good timing, luck in business and a need to keep going and pushing yourself to see how far you can go. I would imagine that Rihanna will set her sights on being in the pop and music business for the long haul, and seeing as she sees Madonna as an idol, someone who has been performing for 30 years, the astrology tells me that there are many albums yet to come from her. The Sun sextile to Uranus and Saturn in Capricorn shows someone who is intensely individualistic and ambitious, yet has a really solid attitude to work and devotion to her cause. This attitude is backed up by the trines from Jupiter to Saturn and Uranus, allowing her to see the big picture & giving her common sense as well as a rather lucky and opportunistic attitude. These three planets are widely conjunct to Neptune also in Capricorn which rules music and creation. This is a girl who will break new ground in her work, and her fusion of Caribbean rhythms to rap, urban rhythms, r&b as well as pop has won over a plethora of young fans. My nieces love her music and style!!

In astrology you can often see two maybe even three life themes over one set of aspecting planets, because the planets rule several qualities at the same time. With Neptune conjunct to Saturn/Uranus and Mars sextile to the Sun not only do we see a connection to her personality (Sun) through her musical talent (Neptune) and her ability to fuse old styles (Saturn) with the new (Uranus) but also this connection describes her father represented by the sextile to the Sun. He (Sun) part Barbadian and Irish, had a violent side to him (Uranus/Mars) as well as suffering from drug problems (Neptune) and his harsh nature (Saturn) ended up in the breakup of Rihanna’s parents when she was 14 years old. At that time, transiting Saturn was directly opposing the triple conjunction of Saturn Uranus and Mars showing a very traumatic time in her life.

In contrast, Rihanna seems to have a lovely relationship with her mother (who hails from Guyana) shown by the Moon conjunct to Venus; something I saw first hand many years ago. Both mum and daughter seem very close to each other. Venus and Moon in Aries is very straight forward in love, but this conjunction is squared by Neptune and receives an inconjunct aspect to Pluto. On the chart you can see the link from Venus Moon to gullible Neptune and to intense Pluto in a sort of unusual wedge formation. The square (in blue) shows that she does get a bit blinded in love, and deceived in the guys that she dates. The inconjunct (in grey) to Pluto I do not think helps one bit. If anything, she will be drawn to dark intense individuals, in short to troublemakers. These relationships will transform her, but in a rather nasty manner. I have found inconjunct aspects to cause real problems, especially in regard to relationships. They tend to lead to all amounts of irritation and stress, and Pluto in Scorpio is so intense and dark in nature that when things do go off the rails, the hurt of any breakdown can be superseded by violence and emotional turmoil that touches the soul. Her relationship with Chris Brown was one example of this and rather mirrors her mother’s relationship with her father. Children often take their cue in their lives from their parent’s experiences.

This same wedge brings out the style that Rihanna is known for. Venus and the Moon together sextiles to Neptune as well as to Mercury in glamorous Aquarius, so there is a love of beauty of fashion and design here. If Venus is in the first house as I suspect, then her appearance from make-up she uses, to the hair styles and the clothes that she wears will be very carefully chosen, depending on her state of mind (Mercury) and mood (Moon). For sure, she will go all out to surprise and to shock (Mercury in Aquarius). As she has matured, a sexual element has appeared in her fashion sense and in her videos, and this shows the links from these planets to deep underground Pluto. Mercury in Aquarius is very cute and clever as well as being socially aware. She will know exactly what image she wishes to portray & she will be the driver of her social media outreach to her legion of fans. Mercury here also brings a humanitarian train of thought, and if Mercury lies in the 11th house and Sun on the cusp of 11th and 12th, this would explain her deep interest in helping suffering kids, especially on her home island of Barbados.

Finally there is a quindecile between Jupiter and Pluto on this chart, which bring huge money making and big business potential to her. In the clever way that she has crossed over so many popular music boundaries attracting fans from many genres & in her use of shock tactics and change of styles, she is forever always evolving which in today’s music industry is the only way to stay at the top. The key to her chart, the Neptune Uranus, Saturn and Mars conjunction shows all the drive and commitment to keep on moving ahead. Now Neptune is conjunct her Sun and will remain in her sign of Pisces for 15 more years. Lucky, lucky her. This is one girl, still at the tender age of just 24, who could be dominating the popular music scene for many years to come, and with Neptune helping her, there should be no limits to what she could achieve.       

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Jennifer Aniston – Happier now than for many years.

In looking for people to write about on this blog, I do read a lot of celebrity articles and quotes simply because I like to mix things up a bit. A bit of politics here, some breaking stories and some interesting character profiles. One quote from Jennifer Aniston after the completion of her new film “Wanderlust” caught my attention. She said going into the Georgia countryside far away from city life to shoot the film had enriched her and had given her some peace and happiness. I immediately put up her chart on my pc and I could see why. Today I look at one of Hollywood’s “A” list celebrities and explore new priorities for the former “Friends” actress.

Jennifer was born on Feb 11th 1969 at 22.22hrs in Los Angeles California. She is a Sun sign Aquarian with a Sagittarian Moon and a sociable Libran Ascendant. This quite a nicely balanced chart, although all the personal planets are placed in fire and air signs. The Sun in Aquarius and the Moon in Sagittarius gives her a real independence and a cute, clever and innovative way of dealing with people. She will have international ideas and plans, integrity of thought and idealism in romance and love. Being an Aquarian and having a Libran Ascendant, she is intrinsically linked into and will fully understand the social and technological requirements of being a success in this day and age, and of course her claim to fame is still the fantastically successful run on “Friends” which can be beautifully described by a combination of friendly humanitarian Aquarius combined with relationship orientated Libra. Her natural birth signs fit perfectly with the ethos of the programme, indeed she was born to play Rachel Green.

Having a Libran ascendant the Aquarian Sun and a party loving outgoing Sagittarian Moon, Jennifer you would think would be quite gregarious, but I think she is quite the opposite. Why? Because of Saturn. Saturn sits in an awkward position on her chart opposing her ascendant, square to her Midheaven, sextile to her Sun and trine to her Moon forming a mini grand trine. As I well know (I myself like Jennifer have Saturn in Aries opposite my Libran ascendant), one’s outgoing personality and drive is very much blocked by the Saturn’s energy. Saturn makes the Libran Ascendant fear opening up to the world, it brings shyness and insularity, something I have always suffered from personally. Jennifer will fear being in the spotlight as much as I do. Saturn makes easy aspects to the Sun and Moon bringing with it a sense of duty and responsibility onto one’s shoulders. It is like you are carrying everyone around with you, and you have to look after them. Now I am not saying that she won’t enjoy the celebrity and party lifestyle that fame brings but she will feel rather a little uncomfortable in that arena. For all the promise and outgoing ideas that the personal planets should give, the energy that they exude onto this chart is severely tempered. As such, Jennifer despite having reached a level of worldwide popularity will tend to shun the limelight, unless she if forced by her work to face up to it.

Her Aquarian Sun sits in the 4th house of home, a very insular position and independent of nature. Here is yet another indication that Jennifer will much prefer to keep her private life strictly private. The Aquarian Sun is friendly but cool and if she will have an air of the untouchable about her, as if anyone she is not completely happy with should keep their distance. Mercury joins the Sun in Aquarius in the 4th house, so when at home she will enjoy nothing better than snuggling up on a sofa and enjoying a good book. Her Mercury brings her a very introspective but bright and clever mind, a wicked sense of humour, an interest in keeping up with what is going on in the world, and a sympathy to helping people in need in a humanitarian way. More of these charitable interests later.

We find three planets in the second house of self worth, money and personal possessions, Mars, Neptune and the Moon. All of these planets sit at the point of two more mini grand trines on this chart (there are several). Mars and Neptune are connected by sextiles to the 12th house Uranus/Jupiter conjunction as well as to Mercury and the Moon finds itself making sextile aspects to a Sun/Ascendant trine. The Moon in the second house shows that Jennifer will work in a social sense with and for the public, she will she her acting as providing entertainment for the audience. Jennifer may be a quite shy and private individual, but she knows that in her work she has to to be out in front of the cameras, serving the public that loves her. This Moon brings with it a love of possessions and holding onto them. Often you find antique collectors with 2nd house Moons as it bring a love of historical artefacts as well as money, you collect all sorts of personal effects throughout your life and are loathed to ever give them away. Her house may be littered with paintings, old sentimental gifts and mementoes.

Jennifer also has Mars and Neptune in this house which brings a real energy to money making, she will work and work to acquire more and more, yet when it does come to spending Neptune brings a rather frivolous attitude to finance. It is like the money you earn is spent just as easily, rather like picking up a handful of sand and watching most of it slip through your fingers. Neptune and Mars in Scorpio bring power and a big business attitude to a very creative position for Neptune to be in. Together these two planets bring charisma and star quality as well as an insatiable need to keep working in TV and film. No wonder she is one of the highest grossing stars in the world. Neptune, as I have mentioned before in other articles, in the 2nd house is very often found in people in creative pursuits, like music art and film. Sextiles to Pluto and Mercury show a need to communicate one’s artistic talent and to be famous or well known for it, and the sextiles to Jupiter and Uranus show that Jennifer uses her fame and money making acumen to help those less fortunate than herself. Charity and charitable causes will form a real and important part of her life, especially charitable causes for wildlife and harm to animals.

Venus and Saturn sit in the 6th house of everyday work, health and here is also the house where a love of wildlife and animals can be found. Venus sitting in this house shows a real acute love of all living things. Venus is in Aries and makes a double opposition to Jupiter and Uranus in the 12th house of service and suffering. Jennifer is active in helping oppose cruelty to animals and wildlife in general. This 6th house Venus also makes two quindeciles to the ascendant and Pluto. Often you find people who work in the beauty industry with a 6th house Venus and the quindeciles here to the ascendant and Pluto contribute I think her star looks (Ascendant) as well as bringing her power and influence (Pluto) within organisations (11th house). Saturn in the 6th house is very detail orientated and very hard working. She will be a stickler for getting things just so and will be hard on co-workers around her, Saturn in the 6th does not stand for any nonsense or slacking.

The North Node sits quietly also in the 6th house near to Venus and it indicates to me that Jennifer when all said and done will want to serve people and maybe get more and more involved in her nature and wildlife interests. The Nodal axis sits square to the 2nd house Moon, so using her personal resources to help humanity and the public will prove to be emotionally satisfying for her.

This get back to nature, to peace and to solace is indicated if we look at the transits for Jennifer. In the past couple of months, transiting Saturn has crossed over her Libran ascendant into her 1st house. This brings with it a brand new 28 year cycle and when Saturn enters the first house one often steps back out of the spotlight for a while. It is almost as if you are taking stock of the new things in your life and discarding the old worn out parts which are no longer of any use. As we know, Jennifer late on last year found new love with Justin Theroux (with whom astrologically she is rather suited – see below) and the quote on the film set that being in the countryside miles away from the bright lights really reflected the get away from it all Saturn in the first. Jennifer is in the middle of reinventing her life.

She still has a few tests to come, as transiting Pluto is now square to Venus which not only brings an intensity to her relationships but can destroy them too. This will be an interesting time to see if this new liaison with Justin can stand the scrutiny of the long lenses of the paparazzi and world media. In a creative sense, Jennifer will be feeling really good as transiting Neptune squares it’s own position now moving into her 5th house. It may well be that she will start to find a new maturity in her film roles, moving slightly away from the lightweight romantic comedy that she is known for, into more challenging and emotional parts.

As a quick side note, her synastry with Justin is particularly good as he is a Sun sign Leo (born 10th Aug 71 in Washington DC – no birth time) in the opposite sign to her Sun with an Aries Moon that conjuncts with her natal Venus. Their Suns in opposite signs should attract, however both are in fixed signs so if disagreements appear, they will initially at least tend to dig their heels in a bit. Her Venus also makes a lovely trine to his Sun Venus conjunction in Leo and his Jupiter sits on her Mars Neptune conjunction which is wonderfully optimistic.  Justin’s Jupiter lies sextile to her Mercury which brings lively and open communication. There are a couple of down sides as I see it on the synastry chart. Justin’s Mercury in Virgo and her Mercury in Aquarius which could clash a little, as Mercury in Aquarius is very fixed and will not appreciate the critical Virgo Mercury. Also, his Saturn sits in her 8th house of sex and intimacy which could act as a frustrating barrier to free emotional love. If they do start to disagree, it is here that Justin will lay down the law and their relationship may suffer as a result, however the rest of the chart and synastry between them shows a lot of trines and sextiles and all the main personal planets are in either fire and air signs which is enthusiastic and fun, wonderfully relaxing and easy going; just what she and they need I suspect. They should, so long as they can keep the media at bay and they can conquer the potential communicative problems I hinted at earlier, enjoy each other’s company rather well. Time however will tell.

Jennifer in starting a new Saturn cycle should be scaling down her film commitments a bit in the next year. Often famous people with Saturn transiting in the first couple of houses go out of the spotlight for a while before they again emerge in a new way. This is likely to happen to Jennifer, although with a new relationship to concentrate on, this may be no bad thing. I hope she takes the hint that this film opportunity has given her, and she finds some peace happiness and love away from the bright lights of Los Angeles and New York; it will in the long run do her an immense power of good.

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Judi Dench – Working on bravely as she fears the loss of her sight.

Dame Judi Dench is one of the foremost actresses of her generation. Today in the news there were reports that she is suffering from age-related macular degeneration or AMD, a condition that eventually could lead to blindness. Apparently she is struggling to read scripts and even to recognise faces, but she plans to soldier on acting despite the difficulties of her illness. The actress known for winning an academy award for her role in Shakespeare in Love in 1998 as well as starring as “M” in the James Bond films, is due to continuing to shoot the latest one in the series “Skyfall”.

Dame Judi is a Sun sign Sagittarius born on 9th December 1934 in York, England (no birth time known) and has most probably a Capricorn Moon. The Moon did change signs very late on the day of her birth into Aquarius, but more than likely her Moon is in the sign of the goat. A Capricorn Moon brings her a real work ethic, and her determination to keep on acting despite the obvious problems of sight loss does suggest that it lies in this sign. Even into her 77th year, she has ambition (Capricorn) to keep on going. The Moon brings a self sufficiency & need to run things and be in charge. I bet nobody pushes her around on set! The Sagittarian Sun gives her an openness to learning, and this combination often confers a really wicked sense of humour, as the mind can apply the expansive Sagittarian energy very cleverly and effectively. Dame Judi will be adaptable with 5 planets in mutable signs, being able to direct her energies to all types of circumstances; she will be and has proved to be a great all round actor from comedic to serious roles.

Her chart has quite a Sagittarian bias with Sun Venus and Mercury all in the sign and all in wide conjunction. Here is a real expansive tone to her character. She has a gambler’s attitude to life, someone who enjoys everything to the full, including socialising, speaking in public, learning, travelling and taking the odd risk along the way. There is real idealism here, made stronger by Venus & the Sun’s square to Neptune in perfectionist Virgo. Here of course is motivation to act, to create and perform with Neptune ruling acting, TV, film, music and bestowing huge imagination to her. Venus in Sagittarius shows someone who loves companionship and having fun, and Judi was happily married to actor Michael Williams for 30 years until his death in 2001.

Mars square to Venus shows a very romantic side to the partner and she would have invested a lot of time and energy into making sure that her marriage with Michael would be successful. Mars in Virgo shows a real perfectionist streak, with a need to get all the details of what one is doing absolutely correct. Judi will be very self critical, but it is this very drive that has motivated her to get to the top of her profession. Mars also receives a sextile from Pluto that gives her a inner supply of energy that seems inexhaustible; she is now working as hard as she ever did. Judi does have a dark side too, and anything unusual or hidden will thoroughly fascinate her.

Her admirable loyalty to Michael was shown through her Saturn sextile to Venus, which solidifies commitment and fidelity in love. Judi’s style will be simple but classic, flamboyance is not really her thing. Those with Saturn connections to Venus often appreciate substance of character way above style and someone’s appearance. Saturn also is at the point of a mini grand trine formation connected to a Venus Uranus trine. These three planets show a freedom of expression and a need for a bit of independence and space within any relationship. Of course with both her and Michael being actors, they often would have been away doing their own work projects, and so the marriage between them could endure. Saturn’s sextile to Uranus showed Judi has a resourcefulness when problems would arise, with a patience to ride out any storms that might occur.

The Sun and Moon on the chart also represent her parents; her father was a doctor who was responsible for the York Theatre and her mother was the wardrobe mistress there. The Sun Neptune square show the link with her father to the theatre (Neptune) as well as his medical background (Neptune in medical Virgo). I suspect that Judi was born in the morning of 9th December, simply as after 08.00am there is no trine between the Moon and Neptune, indicating her Mother’s link also to the theatre; the Moon by that time would have moved out of range. I have set the chart above at 06.00am to reflect the trine that occurred early in the day.

Jupiter in Scorpio sextile to Neptune shows a lady who will got to extremes and shuns superficiality. Those extremes extend to her creative abilities and are yet enhanced by a quindecile to Uranus in Aries which gives an extra buzz of innovation to her work as well as luck when she needs it. This Uranus sits at the point of a t-square connecting through to a Moon Pluto opposition (this opposition was in operation whatever time Judi was born). This is a really intense and dramatic formation. The Moon Pluto opposition brings a wealth of deep emotions that Judi can call upon, and gave a real emotional obsession of one’s partner. With the Moon in rather unemotional Capricorn, which gives the impression of a rather stern & cool demeanour, you can imagine the boiling emotions raging beneath the surface. That’s Judi all over, isn’t it? The film and theatre critics seem to love someone who can keep their control but bring all these emotions out on cue, and that is exactly what she does with expertise. Uranus squaring the Moon and Pluto bring a highly impulsive side and extreme dynamism to her character. I can imagine she is formidable when she does lose her temper, Pluto square Uranus can be explosive and destructive in it’s nature.

Now out of all the planets on this chart, Uranus is the one planet under most stress on this chart, receiving a square from the Moon, quindecile from Jupiter a square from Pluto and an inconjunct from Mars which rules Aries, the sign that Uranus sits in. Mars is in Virgo, as I mentioned before the sign of health and well-being. In medical astrology, Aries is the sign that rules the head as well as the eyes. Often if you find the most stressed planet on your chart, it is here where if anywhere you may suffer illness as you grow older. The risk is increased if that planet is impacted by a stressful aspect from a planet in Virgo or Pisces, or from a planet in the 6th or 12th houses. We have that connection with the Mars inconjunct to Uranus. I am no expert in seeing illness on an astrological chart, but it does not require much imagination to see that the eyes here could be vulnerable to continued stress transits.

it is interesting that Judi’s eye problem comes as Mars has returned to Virgo  and is now retrograde and approaching a conjunction to Judi’s Neptune activating the square to her Sun. It also happens as transiting Neptune is quindecile natal Neptune in Virgo, weakening that part of the chart and so her resistance to the degradation of her physical body and energies (Sun). Transiting Saturn is opposing that natally stressed Uranus and will be staying in opposition throughout two thirds of 2012. In my estimation under the pressure of Saturn, this condition will, without corrective medical help, get progressively worse as the year goes on.

It will be such a shame if Dame Judi Dench has to scale down her wonderful career because of the degenerative condition she has, however time waits for no-one and nor do the planets. Let’s hope the doctors can help in keeping her sight good enough so that she can grace our screens in new productions for years to come.       

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