Arcana and Esoterica from a Random Cosmos

30th June by Jane Lyle

Comets Honda and Elenin are due to streak across our skies in the next few months, inciting a frenzy of speculation, doom-mongering, and nervous excitement amongst scientists, astronomers, and big fat swathes of the internet.

 

Comet Honda passes within six million miles of earth (will it crash into us? We hope not...) while Elenin, although further away, will sweep us with its tail - yes, the Earth will pass through the tail of a comet in the autumn. I'll look at these phenomena more closely soon - comets have been seen as meaningful portents for centuries.

Meanwhile, I was curious about comets in general. And I found out that on this day in 1861 the Earth had passed through the tail of one of the great comets of the nineteenth century, so that our planet lay briefly within it.

The comet, known simply as The Great Comet, was so bright it cast shadows upon white paper, and its spectacular fan-shaped tail was three times the diameter of the Moon at its widest point. This great glittering gassy veil reached up all the way to the sometime pole star, Polaris, with spectacular jets streaming out from Ursa Major and Cassiopeia.

People reported a strange, auroral yellow light, the daytime Sun was dimmed, and as it grew dark the sky was filled with phosphorescent wonders. How amazing!

No-one seems certain yet about this year's comets, but wouldn't it be wonderful if we experienced something equally dramatic?

 

 

25th June by Jane Lyle

This is a mystical, magical time of year, alive with spirits and spells and pagan mysteries. So what better time for the forthcoming world premiere of musician Damon Albarn's English opera about the life and work of one of England's most astonishing, erudite men, Dr. John Dee?

(Dr. John Dee, 13th July 1527-1608/9. Geek note: the Gregorian calendar date would be 23rd July).

Dr. Dee, born under the intuitive water sign of Cancer, was an astronomer, astrologer, spy, royal confidante, navigator, mathematician, alchemist and cabbalist. In exhilarating Renaissance fashion he did not divide the world into neat boxes, and saw no paradox in being a mathematician who invoked angelic spirits.  His confidential letters to Queen Elizabeth 1st were signed 007, the origin of James Bond's famous nom de guerre. Dee was also known as the Queen's Conjurer - she found his meticulous astrological advice most useful.

Dr. John Dee has been sidelined and ignored for centuries, reviled for his magical experiments and unfortunate association with a dubious medium, Edward Kelley - a man who was keen to enjoy a spot of wife-swapping with Dr. Dee, pretending that a spirit had advised them to partake in this activity. Yes, that old line....Dr. Dee was not impressed, and they eventually parted company.

According to an interview in the Guardian newspaper (22nd June 2011), Albarn promises that his opera will bring us, ' "Songs that draw lines between Dee's time and our own, centred on relationships, religion, hedonism, the reinvention of ritual...and politics, a little bit. There's a lot going on."

The opera (surely the first about an astrologer?) will be performed at the Palace Theatre, Manchester, as part of the Manchester International Festival, 1st-9th July 2011. It will come to London in 2012. I can't wait!

Finally, as a little glimpse into one of the myriad rooms in Dee's mind here is a quotation from the illustrious Elizabethan:

'There is (gentle reader) nothing (the works of God only set apart) which so much beautifies and adorns the soul and mind of man as does knowledge of the good arts and sciences. Many arts there are which beautify the mind of man; but of all none do more garnish and beautify it than those arts which are called mathematical, unto the knowledge of which no man can attain, without perfect knowledge and instruction of the principles, grounds, and Elements of Geometry.'

Dr. John Dee, writing "The Mathematical Preface" to Henry Billingsley's English translation of Euclid's Elements (1570)

 

 

 

24th May by Jane Lyle

'The only person you have to think twice about lying to is either yourself or to God.'

So happy 70th birthday then to Bob Dylan, born on this day in 1941. In many ways this iconic singer-songwriter-poet is quintessentially a mercurial Gemini.His wit, passion and charisma has dazzled millions, while others accuse him of plagiarism because he plundered the rich treasure-trove of traditional folk songs for his inspiration.

A master of reinvention, secrecy, and complexity, he has nonetheless had an extraordinary influence over numerous musicians of the late twentieth century, and beyond. And all this despite sounding, as writer Joyce Carol Oates once said, 'as if sandpaper could sing.'  Perhaps former US President Bill Clinton should have the last word on this, the most enigmatic of Gemini men. Speaking in 1997 he said, '...throughout his career Bob Dylan has never aimed to please. He's disturbed the peace and discomforted the powerful.'

Here he is:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cJpB_AEZf6U

 

 

 

 

22nd May by Jane Lyle

The Gemini mind contains many mysterious rooms, and much talent. So happy birthday to day to the great Indian mystic and spiritual teacher, Jiddu Krishnamurti born on this day in 1895. Much of his philosophy can tie your mind in knots.

But he said, 'Good works are not a substitute for love, and without love all activity leads to sorrow, noble or ignoble.'

Today is also the birthday of another complicated, clever Gemini - Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, a rational medical man who at the same time believed in fairies. He is one of my own favourite authors, most celebrated for the creation of the world's most famous detective, Sherlock Holmes. Here is a little sample:

Gregory: "Is there any other point to which you would wish to draw my attention?"
Holmes: "To the curious incident of the dog in the night-time."
Gregory: "The dog did nothing in the night-time."
Holmes: "That was the curious incident."

From: 'Silver Blaze' (1892), a Sherlock Holmes story by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.

 

 

 

 

7th May by Jane Lyle
'I have become my own version of an optimist. If I can't make it through one door, I'll go through another door - or I'll make a door. Something terrific will come no matter how dark the present.'

These words demonstrate the inspiring, stubborn Taurean optimism of the great Bengali poet, philosopher, artist and playwright, Rabindranath Tagore, born on this day in 1861.

Today glitters with romantic, creative Taureans - a sign ruled by Venus in her earthy incarnation - the Venus of orchards, perfumes, music and silks. Sometimes this side of Taurus is a little overlooked, but the work of these great artists and composers offers a charming introduction to the secrets of the sensual Taurean spirit. So you could choose to listen to some Tchaikovsky (born 1840), some lyrical Brahms (born 1833), or read one of Robert Browning's poems (born 1812). Taureans, when you create a work of beauty it lasts for a very long time.

 

 

 

 

19th April

 

Easter pulses with pagan life, and what a confused, yet magical, tangle of ancient influences it is. We've just had the first full Moon after the Vernal Equinox, the signal for Jewish Passover to begin. It is timed by a lunar calendar. Since the Bible says Jesus died at Passover, having gone to Jerusalem to celebrate this festival, Easter is calculated by the same lunar calendar.

 

So far, so ecclesiastical you might say. But the Moon was ever worshipped as a goddess all over the ancient world, and in the northern hemisphere one of her sacred creatures was a hare - now transformed in a shop near you into a choccy bunny, with a bit of luck. Easter eggs are similarly all about new life - the great World Egg from which the universe was born, laid by Mother Night, another Moon goddess. Painted eggs, traditionally often scarlet, are found on Easter egg hunts and are, you guessed, of ancient pagan origin.

 

The intensely dramatic story of death and resurrection, central to the religious Christian Easter story, also has powerful connections with numerous old religious cults centred upon a dying and resurrected god, or occasionally goddess. Perhaps the most striking one involves the cult of the great mother goddess Cybele and her lover, Attis. This flourished all over Europe, but its central location was on what is now Vatican Hill in Rome. Hmmn.  Attis was born of a virgin, believed to be the goddess's earthly incarnation. On Black Friday he was castrated, hung on a pine tree, and his blood flowed down to fertilise the earth and save everyone from misery and starvation. After three days he returned from the underworld, bringing the promise of new life and signalling the start of masked carnivals, parades, dancing and general merriment involving casual sex, a favourite Roman activity. The date of this festival, called the Day of Joy, was March 25th, the day Attis died and was also conceived, to be born again on December 25th, just after the Winter Solstice. Food for thought as you spread butter on your toasty hot cross bun. Easter parades may never seem quite the same again either.

 

Finally, the word Easter derives from the name of a Saxon goddess, Eostre, known as Ostara in Europe. It seems that the early Christians were pragmatic, they simply absorbed and subsumed what they found. Life is sacred, life is fragile. Certainly, that's something to celebrate and revere. Happy Easter!

 

 

 

 

6th April
'I always believed that a man could do anything if he believed it strongly enough.' Giacomo Casanova, 2nd April 1725 - 4th June 1798

If reckless daring and determination are hallmarks of the true Aries nature, then Venetian Giacomo Casanova is your man.

He's remembered for his sexual conquests of course, around one hundred and twenty of them - probably a little more than that, plus some shadowy encounters with a few male lovers too.  But he was so much more than a hedonistic bad boy. He had a law degree, a brief career as a priest, worked as a spy, dabbled in alchemy, set up a lottery and wrote 30 volumes of memoirs. Addicted to gambling, he travelled around Europe escaping debts and, of course, seducing women - or being seduced by them.

His seduction technique was straightforward - be helpful, witty, and a delightful companion - Casanova knew that conversation is an essential part of seduction, and he adored intelligent women. Move the friendship to the bedroom, or wherever - he was imaginative. Keep the affair short and very passionate. Leave the woman with a useful introduction to a more suitable man, or try to find her a husband if she doesn't have one already. And use contraception. Simple!

And finally, he advised (as all fire signs know), 'The thing is to DAZZLE'. With so many planets in Aries this month, it's time to say 'fire signs, go into your dance.' Casanova certainly knew how to do that.

 

 

 

 

Mutable Mayhem by Jane Lyle

Astrologers have been forecasting chaos and revolution for some time. It's unfolding daily in the Middle East, but I wondered how might it manifest in an individual's life? In recent weeks several famous men have been in the news, their positions in life are being challenged (to say the least). They are Colonel Gadaffi, Prince Andrew, Duke of York, designer John Galliano, and actor Charlie Sheen. Their lives have been turned upside down in various ways, for various reasons. Is there an obvious link with astrology? Yes, there is.

All four men were born under mutable signs - Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces. Their birthdays are:

Colonel Gadaffi:  7th June, 1942 - Gemini
Charlie Sheen: 3rd September, 1965 - Virgo
John Galliano: 28th November, 1960 - Sagittarius
Prince Andrew, Duke of York: 19th February, 1960 - Pisces

The total lunar eclipse at 29 degrees of Gemini on 21st December, 2010, promised dramatic news connected with prominent and powerful people during the six month period of its influence. February's intense Leo full Moon similarly hinted at the fall of powerful figures. These lunations, plus the turbulent Jupiter-Uranus conjunction in late Pisces in January act as triggers in the birth charts of Gadaffi, Charlie Sheen, and Prince Andrew. The cosmic flashpoint for Gadaffi and Sheen is natal Jupiter in late Gemini, and for the Duke of York, natal Jupiter in late Sagittarius.

John Galliano, recently sacked by the House of Dior for racist rants, has a different trigger however. For him, it is the relentless tread of Saturn, bringing its usual karmic lessons as it grinds through Libra. Saturn squeezes Galliano's Aries Moon , Capricorn Venus, Cancer Mars, Capricorn Jupiter and natal Capricorn Saturn. One by one many aspects of his personality, what he has built in the world and created in his glittering career are being severely tested this year. Fashionistas sometimes refer to him as the 'king' of haute couture - but that Leo full Moon warned us about the fall of kings, whatever kind of kingdom they might rule.

Are these men simply playthings of fate then? I think the answer is a resounding no. Not everyone who shares these birthdates will find their lives in meltdown after all. It's hard to define, but it seems as if there is always a mixture of destiny and a generous measure of self determination, and self-created situations - Charlie Sheen's very public addiction problems are an obvious example. Sometimes, though, we are not aware of what we've created until dramatic events shine a bright light on our lives - the scandalous ramifications of a friendship with a dubious character might be an example here. At other times we resist change for too long, and so it seems more intense than it might if we had been more flexible, as in the case of Colonel Gadaffi......

Eclipses and planetary movements trigger our birth charts throughout our lives, and activate important elements in our experiences and personalities. But our response to this, and how we choose to develop ourselves and live our lives, is our responsibility.

 

 

 

Happy Valentine's Day?

Well, the planets say feelings could be quirky, sulky, nostalgic, or even philanthropic. Last year I made a heartfelt plea for the official day of love to embrace a wider world and celebrate our dear friends, our families, our pets or any living thing that makes us feel squishy of heart.

You know the feeling.  Love may be a many-splendoured thing, but when it turns into an annual couples-only marketing opportunity....well, we must stir ourselves and do battle for the loveliest emotion we can ever know.

 

A flotilla of planets in unconventional Aquarius this year emphasises that thought. Love can lurk in the strangest places. If oppressive displays of hearts and flowers are making you feel lonely, remember that. And in the spirit of love and general squeeziness, here is a little video that made me smile. Sometimes a four-legged friend is just what the heart needs:

www.wimp.com/swimmingpiglet/

 

 

3rd February

Many commentators, including astrologers, see this as a time of profound global change. Watching events currently unfold in Egypt is remarkable and unsettling as people demand to be heard - a theme we shall see developing all over the world during the coming months.

Egypt's own horoscopes reflect a consistent pattern, one we find in our own horoscopes too. It is the path of Saturn, and the power of the Saturn return - that is, when Saturn returns to the sign it was in when we were born. This happens every 29-30 years. In between there are important moments for testing what we are building in our lives around about every seven years as Saturn squares up to itself, or challenges itself during its journey.

In the case of a country these horoscopes are cast for pivotal political moments in that country's political history. Saturn can restrict us, but it can also represent cutting away those things that no longer serve us so that we can build new structures - such as a marriage, a career, or a home. It's return can coincide with a desire to make a big commitment, or to free ourselves from a commitment that no longer has much point. In the case of Egypt, this means the burden of an outdated political regime.

The dates for Egypt's horoscopes reveal a striking pattern:

14th March, 1922:  Egypt's independence from the British Protectorate - a vote in the House of Commons approved this on this day. Saturn was in Libra.

18th June, 1953:  Egypt becomes a republic following a military coup. Saturn was in Libra.

14th October, 1981:  Hosni Mubarak became President of Egypt. And yes, Saturn was in Libra.

Saturn is now travelling through Libra once more as a thirty year regime crumbles. Of course, you might say this is simply a coincidence. But I don't think I'd agree.

Amongst other countries experiencing a Saturn return between now and October 2012 are Eire, the United States of America, Turkey, and Libya. Countries (and people) with Saturn in Aries, Cancer and Capricorn are similarly being tested, challenged and refined during this phase. Meanwhile, let's see what happens.

 

 

 

 

11th January

'Believe that life is worth living and your belief will help create the fact.'

So said William James, born on 11th January 1842 in New York City. He was a famous psychologist, prolific author, and lifelong philosopher. Famous for his pragmatism (a truly Capricorn trait) he also believed in positive thinking, as the quote I've chosen shows. But, faithful to his hard-working birth sign, he also urged everyone to action, for without it nothing is achieved, and positive thinking cannot create miracles all by itself. He said:

'No matter how full a reservoir of maxims one may possess, and no matter how good one's sentiments may be, if one has not taken advantage of every concrete opportunity to act, one's character may remain entirely unaffected for the better.'

Although he died a century ago (in 1910), I think this is great advice at the beginning of a new year when we're all wishing and hoping and breaking our unrealistic resolutions.  Sensible Capricorns, it's quite true - you usually do know best!

 

 

 

 

30th December

Happy birthday today to Capricorn author, journalist and poet, Rudyard Kipling (1865-1936). Born in Mumbai, India, he travelled around much of the world and lived in America, India, and Britain.

His sometimes difficult and troubled childhood fostered in him an inner world of imagination that never deserted him. Let's not get into post-colonial discussions about his views on imperial Britain, way too complicated for a post-Christmas birthday blog. Kipling was extremely talented, productive, and exhibited Capricorn ambition and stoicism. And he wrote this famous poem, which is rather inspiring I think:

If

If you can keep your head when all about you
Are losing theirs and blaming it on you;
If you can trust yourself when all men doubt you,
But make allowance for their doubting too:
If you can wait and not be tired by waiting,
Or, being lied about, don't deal in lies,
Or being hated don't give way to hating,
And yet don't look too good, nor talk too wise;

If you can dream---and not make dreams your master;
If you can think---and not make thoughts your aim,
If you can meet with Triumph and Disaster
And treat those two impostors just the same:.
If you can bear to hear the truth you've spoken
Twisted by knaves to make a trap for fools,
Or watch the things you gave your life to, broken,
And stoop and build 'em up with worn-out tools;

If you can make one heap of all your winnings
And risk it on one turn of pitch-and-toss,
And lose, and start again at your beginnings,
And never breathe a word about your loss:
If you can force your heart and nerve and sinew
To serve your turn long after they are gone,
And so hold on when there is nothing in you
Except the Will which says to them: "Hold on!"

If you can talk with crowds and keep your virtue,
Or walk with Kings---nor lose the common touch,
If neither foes nor loving friends can hurt you,
If all men count with you, but none too much:
If you can fill the unforgiving minute
With sixty seconds' worth of distance run,
Yours is the Earth and everything that's in it,
And---which is more---you'll be a Man, my son!

In other news, please do watch out for the Quadrantid meteors, falling at high speed in the eastern sky around midnight, and later. They peak on the 3rd-4th January. Since it will be a new Moon (4th), they should be highly visible. Look for Polaris, the North Star, or the constellation Bootes for the right location. I hope for some clear skies. I did see two shooting stars on Christmas night. The Quadrantids should offer a few more than two. And maybe even a fireball.  A cosmic drumroll for the 4th January's partial solar eclipse perhaps.... and so our new year begins.

 

 

 

24th December

It's been a tough year, so time for some seasonal wonders! And one of the best places to find something astonishing is over at the National Geographic website - http://news.nationalgeographic.com where you can boggle over their top ten bizarre new animals, discovered this year.

Or bend your head out of shape with jaw-dropping information about the universe. From a newly-discovered fourth kind of ancient human being, whose DNA survives within us today, to the unimaginably huge bubbles of cosmic energy currently emerging from the Galactic Centre in our own Milky Way - there's something for everyone. And all of it more inspiring than celebrity face-lifts or financial meltdowns.....Like the best Christmas gifts, the universe is full of surprises.

Happy holidays!

 

 

 

17th December

Ghost of the Future," he exclaimed, "I fear you more than any spectre I have seen. But as I know your purpose is to do me good, and as I hope to live to be another man from what I was, I am prepared to bear you company, and do it with a thankful heart. Will you not speak to me?"

A Christmas Carol (1843) Charles Dickens: http://www.gutenberg.org

So said Scrooge to his supernatural visitor, one of the three spirits of Christmas Past, Present, and Future, whose visits to Scrooge represented a spectral mission to change his miserly ways and foster the spirit of generosity in this cold-hearted creature. And every Christmas time needs a traditional ghost story doesn't it? It's a time to think about the mysterious and other-worldly. Some say Dickens invented this tradition, but I don't think that's right somehow. Long before Dickens, ancient northern cultures expected a visit or two from the ancestors at the time of the Solstice, which is very close to Christmas. And the long, dark nights when people gathered around a flickering fire were surely made for  shivery tales of phantoms and spirits.

As we think about the past at this time of year, we think about the future too. Like Scrooge, many of us fear it for a million different reasons. Some of the answer to these anxieties lies in the present, our choices can change how the future unfolds - a point the spirits made to Scrooge. As any psychic will tell you, it is possible to block your own happiness or fulfillment if you are too cautious, fearful, or even lazy. While I do personally believe some things - like our genetic inheritance - are destined, other episodes and events are surely linked to our own actions and attitudes. Astrology and other kinds of readings can act as helpful, enlightening maps and guides on our journeys through life. But always, whenever you can, remember to celebrate the present as well.

 

 

 

 

11th December

Turbulent aspects are approaching, I know, but I was saddened and bewildered to learn that the famous Glastonbury Thorn, which is said to have been growing on Wearyall Hill, Glastonbury, for two thousand years, has been cut down by vandals (on the night of the 8th). The tree flowers around Christmas time every year.

Legend says it sprang from the staff of Joseph of Arimathea, who came to Britain after the Crucifixion bearing the Holy Grail which he hid in Glastonbury.

 

Certainly, it is a species from the Middle East. There are other thorn trees at Glastonbury, grown from cuttings from the original - and the tree has been attacked before, by Cromwell's troops. It is, thank goodness, a most resilient species.  And its midwinter blooming seems a magical event, whether or not you subscribe to the Christian legend.

The calendar was revised in Britain in 1752, meaning that Christmas Day, old style (Julian calendar), now fell in January. People wondered which calendar the tree would favour, as the Gentleman's Magazine reported in January 1753:

'Glastonbury. A vast concourse of people attended the noted thorn on Christmas-day, new style; but, to their great disappointment, there was no appearance of its blowing, which made them watch it narrowly the 5th of January, the Christmas-day, old style, when it blowed as usual.'

Midwinter trees, Christmas trees, or the evergreen garlands of the Roman Saturnalia....an ancient and beautiful celebration of living things is at the heart of our love of winter greenery. Whoever cut down the Glastonbury Thorn seems to have more than a sliver of ice in their heart......

 

 

 

 

 

9th December

'Inside a snowflake like the one on your sleeve, there happened a story you must see to believe.'

How The Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Do you remember how the Grinch set out to steal Christmas? Or what about miserly old Scrooge and his curmudgeonly 'bah, humbug!'? Fictional characters, yes. But Oliver Cromwell's Long Parliament of Puritans actually did ban Christmas celebrations by an Act of Parliament between 1644-1660. Including mince pies and holly. It was not a popular move. But it was one that had, it seems, been brewing for a while, for in the late 1500's, Philip Stubbes, that most puritanical Protestant, expressed the established Puritan view of seasonal merrymaking in his rant of a book, The Anatomie of Abuses.

Here he is, foaming at the mouth as he fulminates against fun:

'More mischief is that time committed than in all the year besides ... What dicing and carding, what eating and drinking, what banqueting and feasting is then used ... to the great dishonour of God and the impoverishing of the realm.'

I do so love the way things don't change much.

 

 

 

7th December

When the going gets tough, the tough go shopping. And while I used to think this was a modern phenomenon, I now know I was mistaken. During the capacious midwinter celebrations of Ancient Rome, shopping for gifts was part of the fun.

They gave gifts a little bit later than we do, in January, at the time of the Kalends, which followed the feasts of December's Saturnalia. Anyway, here is the philosopher Libanius, writing in the fourth century, at a time when the late Roman Empire contained both Christians and pagans:

The impulse to spend seizes everyone...

People are not only generous themselves,
but also towards their fellow men.
A stream of presents pours itself
out on all sides...

The Kalends festival banishes all that is
connected with toil, and allows men to give
themselves up to undisturbed enjoyment.

From the minds of young people it
removes two kinds of dread:
the dread of the schoolmaster and
the dread of the pedagogue.

The slave also it allows, as far as possible,
to breathe the air of freedom...

Another great quality of the festival
is that it teaches men not to hold too fast
to their money, but to part with it
and let it pass into other hands.

(Trans: C. Miles)

 

 

 

25th November

Feeling stressed by thoughts of the approaching holiday season? Tick-tock, it's almost here. If your reaction is a sinking feeling, you might like to take a moment to look at this beautiful time-lapse photography of the magnificent Aurora Borealis. It was taken recently over Tromso

in Norway by Tor Even Mathisen. Ethereal music by Per Wollen accompanies these magical images. It is, for me, an instant seasonal meditation. And typifies that wonderful, mysterious place where science and mysticism intersect.

http://vimeo.com/16917950

Fiery oceans of physical and mental energy are flowing around us today. Channel them in the right direction and you'll be amazed how much you can achieve. Beginning from a calm, clear centre is the secret. So.....watch the skies!

 

 

 

14th November

'I must confess to a lifelong curse: my own failure as a social creature.' You may never have heard of Louise Brooks (1906-1985), whose birthday it is today. But it's unlikely you've never seen her iconic image,

or encountered a woman wearing the chic, dark bob she made world famous back in the roaring twenties.

A silent movie star, Brooks was also variously a dancer, model, writer, radio actor, New York shop assistant, and expensive courtesan. Her intensely Scorpio honesty and deep need for time alone meant she hated Hollywood, despising the politics and shallow socialising. She was also sexually very modern and free-thinking - something she expressed in her most famous film role as Lulu in Pandora's Box (1929), a film with a number of raw sexual themes.  Her many lovers included Charlie Chaplin and that mysterious Swedish beauty and famous lesbian, Greta Garbo. But she delighted in confusing those who sought to label her, another very Scorpio trait. She said:

'When I am dead, I believe that film writers will fasten on the story that I am a lesbian... I have done lots to make it believable [...] All my women friends have been lesbians. But that is one point upon which I agree positively with Christopher Isherwood : There is no such thing as bisexuality. Ordinary people, although they may accommodate themselves for reason of whoring or marriage, are one-sexed. Out of curiosity, I had two affairs with girls - they did nothing for me.'

 

 

 

8th November

'There are such beings as vampires, some of us have evidence that they exist. Even had we not the proof of our own unhappy experience, the teachings and the records of the past give proof enough for sane peoples.'

So wrote prolific Irish author Bram Stoker, born on this day in 1847. He died in 1912. 'Dracula' is the most famous of his gothic novels nowadays. It has inspired a virtual pandemic of tales of the un-dead which have stalked every type of media for over a hundred years. What a Scorpionic subject. The vengeful, bloodthirsty vampire is also often described as an ancient being who has seen everything, and who carries an air of melancholy as a consequence. The eroticism of vampires suggests another connection with this, the most enigmatic of signs. The intermingling of the themes of love and death, loneliness and power are an undeniable part of the Scorpio mystique.

Stoker himself seems to have been a popular man; while working at the Lyceum Theatre in London he was known by the cosy name of  'Uncle Brammy'. He did have links with the mystical, magical Order of the Golden Dawn though. He employed that much neglected artist Pamela Colman Smith to paint scenery at the theatre. It is her work you can see on the iconic 1909 Waite-Smith tarot deck (known as the Rider-Waite deck for many years). This deck contains symbolism directly inspired by the Golden Dawn, for Waite was a member.

If you fancy downloading 'Dracula' (the novel that is) you can find it for free at http://www.gutenberg.org, where there is also an audio version. A donation to this remarkable website with all its fascinating free books might be nice. Or you can visit http://www.bramstoker.org for other suggestions.

I like synchronicity. And so I think it's apt that today's date coincides with The Opening of the World of Ceres, or Mundus Cereris. This happened in ancient Greece and Rome on August 24th, October 5th, and today, November 8th. Opening the ritual pit was said to open the gates of Hades itself - Hades being the realm of the dead. The spirits of ancestors were then free to wander about the streets, and had to be placated with offerings. Perhaps hungry spirits are the origin of the vampire myth?

 

 

 

 

2nd November

It's Marie Antoinette's birthday today. She was born in 1755, and executed during the French Revolution in October 1793.  She married the future Louis XVI at fourteen, becoming Queen of France in 1774. Infinite paradoxes accompany her story -

she was falsely accused of a lurid range of vices and scandalous acts including orgies at Versailles; promiscuity with both women and men; incest; and insane, vain extravagance. Her excessive gambling habit probably didn't help matters, but in her defence it was a widespread addiction amongst the wealthy aristocracy of Europe. But Marie Antoinette was complicated. She was, after all, a Scorpio. She was a devoted mother; read widely; played the clavichord; and witnessed the maiden flight of the first hot air balloon.

This little video, La Joueuse de Tympanon, is of an astonishing automaton, made especially for Marie Antoinette in 1772. Abandoned after the French Revolution, it was eventually restored by a magician named Robert-Houdin in 1864.  It's eerie and rather beautiful to watch the doll pick out a delicate baroque melody......

 

 

 

 

 

28th October

Grinning, flickering pumpkin lanterns, sometimes called jack o'lanterns, are now as much a part of Halloween as the dreaded trick or treaters. But once upon a time these lanterns were made from skulls.

The great festival bonfires of the season were actually bone fires too, cremating animal sacrifices on the feast of the dying sun...... Time passed, skulls and bones were abandoned in the name of progress, and here in Europe traditional Halloween lanterns were carved from turnips, beets, or mangelwurzels.

Both lanterns and grotesque costumes were intended to scare away troublesome spirits on this night, a night - indeed a season - when the veil between the worlds becomes gossamer-thin, allowing the spirits of the dead to walk amongst us more easily. The pumpkins arrived on the scene when Celtic emigrants arrived on American soil and found those glorious orange globes an exciting substitute for the small, hard, root vegetables they were used to carving. Their flesh is a sweet, delicious bonus.

Pumpkins are ruled, astrologically, by the ever-changing Moon. This year, the Halloween Moon will be waning. An excellent time for banishing negative influences.  Or making some pumpkin soup to chase away any bone-deep chills that might be threatening to run up and down your spine.

 

 

 

 

 

27th October
Ah, the creaky old haunted house.....where would scary stories be without that unseen hand turning the door handle, those flickering shadows, or the echoing laughter of invisible spectres?

Halloween, or Samhain as it was called by the Celts, is a feast of the dead. Various other uncanny elements have crept in over the centuries. but the acknowledgement and celebration of spirits and ghosts (yes, there is a subtle difference) lies at the midnight heart of this festival. So I was rather intrigued to learn about the Clydesdale and Yorkshire Bank's Halloween survey, which canvassed the public's opinions of haunted properties here in Britain.

More than half (57%) said they would be put off buying a house if they knew they had to share it with a ghost. And most of those (51%) said they'd back out of purchasing a house if they found out it was haunted. Strangely, only 40% said they'd sell their home because of a ghost. Maybe they'd consult a ghostbuster, and try to evict their phantom tenant? And, finally, a cool and unruffled 13% say they already live in a haunted home.

Steve Reid, retail director for Clydesdale Bank, sounds like every sensible sceptic. That is, every sceptic before they experience something disturbing and inexplicable. Mr. Reid said:

"It appears that the idea of a house being haunted is a double-edged sword - it may attract more viewers but they are less likely to buy it or may try to push the price down.

"In reality, 99 per cent of noises and seemingly strange occurrences have perfectly reasonable explanations - like loose floorboards, birds nesting in the loft or a dodgy boiler. The best thing any homebuyer can do is get a good survey and read it thoroughly, rather than worry about ghosts and goblins."

But, Mr. Reid, you cited 99 per cent of so-called hauntings as having a rational explanation. So, what about that tantalising one per cent?  I suspect that the goblins might be very interested in your answer to this question.

 

 

 

 

 

18th October

St. Luke's Day, the date of the old Charlton Horn Fair in London, which once upon a time was rumbustious occasion. Everyone wore horns on their heads, men dressed as women, and what one 19th century commentator called 'unrestrained' merriment amused the crowds of revellers. Horns, especially antlers, are a symbol of the old horned god of northern Europe. Death and fertility are his domain, and he is sometimes called Cernunnos or Woden, the prophetic self-sacrificing Norse god. These are Scorpio themes, appearing a little early since the Sun is still in Libra. But this is probably because of those pesky 18th century calendar changes.

Cernunnos appears in various myths, legends and forms: he may be thousands of years old but something lingers on, chiming away in our collective folk memory. By the light of day and sensible reason a man wearing deer's antlers on his head seems a bit comical. But, you know, as with so many things, once the light fades it's another matter entirely...... They say Herne the Hunter, the horned phantom huntsman of Windsor Great Park, is still seen now and again. Or people hear the spectral cries of his wild hunt as it thunders across dark skies on a winter night. I'll go into his story another time, but he's said to appear when Britain is in danger, or the monarch is about to die. His special oak tree in Windsor park was replanted last in 1906 by King Edward VII.  Cernunnos and Woden must have been pleased to be acknowledged.

It is indeed a magical and uncanny time of year. Halloween isn't simply a slightly annoying, commercialised one-day wonder at the end of October. The whole autumn season is bewitched......

 

 

 

 

14th October

It's the anniversary of the Battle of Hastings, 1066, in which King Harold II of England was killed, and William the Conqueror victorious. A dramatic comet, Halley's comet, was seen in the skies for many months before this battle, it is even embroidered in a scene from the famous Bayeux tapestry, the tapestry that tells the story of the battle. King Harold saw the comet, and feared he would lose. He was right.

Ancient astrologers in China, India, and Mesopotamia viewed comets as celestial messengers, paying close attention to the area of the sky where they reached perihelion, the point in their orbit closest to the Sun. The astrological influence of this moment was said to be long lasting, or triggered by other planets crossing the same path as the comet at a later date. Their detailed records and drawings of comets still help modern astronomers in their research. But then, astrologers were once astronomers too.

Comets are still widely seen as signs and portents, generally disruptive at first, but heralds of change, the birth of important people, or the death of royalty and leaders. Some people think this is some sort of folk memory of the comets that crashed into our planet in the distant past, causing tsunamis and raging fires and climate change. Lovely. As far as I know, nothing, apart from the odd asteroid, is coming close any time soon. But every now and then, a meteor falls to earth. Catch a falling star? Now there's a thought.....

 

 

 

8th October

St. Denis, patron saint of France, has his feast day tomorrow, coinciding, neatly, with the time of an ancient festival dedicated to the god of wine, ecstasy, and liberation, Dionysus. Denis is a form of the name Dionysus, if you want more clunking great clues to the interweavings of one time and another.

Dionysus was an eastern god, who found his way, riding on a leopard, into ancient Greece. He brought the cult of ecstatic freedom, of mystery, and of blurred boundaries and cross dressing.  Wild women, called maenads, worshipped him with orgies, blood sacrifice, music, and the kind of dancing you see at the end of a very long night. He is shown as a rather feminine man, whose character blends both male and female qualities. In this, he can be linked to Libra, a feminine sign of duality and balance. And as for the blissed out, gender bending mysticism? Librans can have a strange, secret attraction to such things.

Libra's ruling planet, Venus, turns retrograde today. Mystery, delusion, and confusion may tend to prevail during the next forty days. Well, a little more than usual.  We must make the most of it.

 

 

30th September

Let go of your worries and be completely clear-hearted, like the face of a mirror that contains no images. If you want a clear mirror, behold yourself and see the shameless truth, which the mirror reflects. If metal can be polished to a mirror-like finish, what polishing might the mirror of the heart require? Between the mirror and the heart is this single difference: the heart conceals secrets, while the mirror does not.

 

From: The Divani Shamsi Tabriz, XIII

Today is the eight hundred and third birthday of Persian mystic Jalaluddin Rumi (1207-1273), and this is one of his beautiful, spiritual poems. He founded The Order of Whirling Dervishes, whose sacred turning dance represents the mystical journey through love and transcending the ego towards the ultimate destination - The Perfect One, or the state of universal higher consciousness, the timeless place of creation. If you ever get the chance to see them, and witness their mesmerising and moving (in every sense) meditative ritual dance - please do seize the opportunity. It is an unforgettable and profound experience.

25th September

"A creative artist works on his next composition because he was not satisfied with his previous one" said composer Dmitri Shostakovich, born on this day in 1906. An obsessive, fastidious genius, Shostakovich lived and worked through an extraordinary, dark, and oppressive time in the history of twentieth-century Russia.

Shostakovich devoted much time to helping others when and where he could. He was also devoted to vodka and cigarettes, cleanliness, and the accuracy, or otherwise, of the clocks in his home. Sometimes compulsion and obsession are referred to, nowadays, as disorders. In their full-blown form they probably are. But strong echoes of these qualities are found in many people who achieve success, or create works of art. And the driven perfectionism of Libra can encompass these qualities too, as the Libran strives to get something just right. And yet, like Shostakovitch, they are seldom satisfied by the results.

In other news, I was amused to learn that diarist Samuel Pepys (a Piscean) drank his first cup of tea on this day in 1660:  "I did send for a cup of tee (a China drink) of which I never had drank before."  He probably needed it, "the plasterers being at work in all the rooms in my house", meaning that he and his wife had to sleep downstairs on the floor. So being cast into chaos by the builders hasn't changed much since the 17th century then. An elegant cup of China tea might be just the thing......

 

 

 

 

 

21st September

"On Sept. 19 [1799], all England saw, at 8:30 p.m., a beautiful ball blazing with white light, and which passed from N.W. to S.E. It moved rapidly with a gentle tremulous motion, and noiselessly. The light cast by it was very vivid, and few red sparks detached themselves from it... On Nov. 12, something like a large red pillar of fire passed north to south over Hereford, and alarmed people in the Forest of Dean, dome miles away. Flashes of extremely vivid electrical sort preceded its appearance, and at intervals of half an hour, several hours before. This was at 5:45 a.m.... On this night the moon shone with uncommon vividness, when between 5 and 6 a.m., bright lights in the sky became stationary. They then burst with not perceptible report, and passed north leaving behind them beautiful trains of floating fire. Some were pointed, some radiated. Some sparkled and some had large columns.... Nov. 19, at 6 a.m., folk of Huncoates, Lincolnshire, were alarmed by vivid flashes lasting 30 seconds, from a ball of fire passing in the sky."

This fascinating report comes from The Gentleman's Magazine, 1799.  An eighteenth century mystery, and one of many historical reports, stretching back centuries, of strange objects and electrical displays in the sky. Which was, of course, much darker than it is today. No weather balloons, aeroplanes, or flying lanterns with candles to explain it all away at that time. This is the season of mystery on land, at sea, and in the air. With Jupiter and Uranus so close to one another, it is a wonderful time to enjoy some strange stories. A genuine mass sighting of some incredible aerial phenomena might be too much to ask I suppose. Unless you happen to live in northern latitudes where you can pop out and see spectacular auroras lighting up the sky in your neighbourhood. Such things break down the mental boxes we can all find ourselves inhabiting from time to time. But the Harvest moon is almost full, and sometimes that's a sight that's enough to be going on with.

 

 

 

 

 

 

18th September
Wild energies abound during the coming days as we move towards the equinox. If you look up into the night sky you'll see giant Jupiter shining in bright splendour, with Uranus visible (with help) as a small disk nearby. This is the planet pattern that astrologers call the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction, a conjunction that symbolises breakthroughs, surprises of a large and unexpected sort, inspirations, and storms. A kind of edgy anarchy is connected with it. And since solar winds are busy creating breathtakingly vivid auroras up in the far northern latitudes, it seems as if crackling energies are all around us, lighting up our skies and - we always hope - our dreams and our hearts.

Meanwhile, Virgos have been bereft of birthday mentions I realise. I think I plundered my stock of favourites a year ago.....Queen Elizabeth 1st, Agatha Christie, and others who captured my fancy and seemed to embody this delicate, but often witty and hard-working, sign. I promise to try and remedy this neglect before the Sun leaves Virgo for Libra next week.   But if your Virgo birthday falls in the next few days, Jupiter and Uranus may have a wonderful surprise for you anyway.

Readers, watch the skies, and plunge into your personal pool of dreams!

 

 

 

 

 

 

10th September
If you've been feeling as if you're wading through treacle, you are not alone. Mercury retrograde is (mainly) to blame.  But it turns direct in two days' time, followed by Pluto early next week. Then, some of the plans, dreams, and decisions you've been mulling over this summer should begin to seem like the brilliant ideas they were. And what drains, inhibits, or undermines must go! It's had a temporary respite, and some of us have gone back on promises to ourselves and others. But an incredibly potent, whizz bang wake-up call of a full Moon on the equinox (23rd) will show us just what this summer was about, acting as the symbolic culmination of all those cardinal energies we have been negotiating for many months. What better time to begin preparing for this transitional turning point than now?

And meanwhile, up in the night sky, you can see beautiful Venus and the slender crescent Moon very close to one another tomorrow. Times vary depending upon where on earth you might be. I hope for a clear night.......

 

 

 

8th September
Water is, symbolically a creative, emotional, feminine element, and today it is strengthening for Venus enters Scorpio, and mighty Jupiter retrogrades back into Pisces. Mars joins Venus in Scorpio next week. So September and October promise a very different atmosphere, as planets in water signs raise the emotional temperature around us. There's also a brand new Moon in maidenly Virgo, enhancing the feminine symbolism of a day said, traditionally, to be the birthday of the Blessed Virgin Mary. And, needless to say, the time of year when various pagan festivals celebrate the goddess and the harvests of the northern hemisphere.

This summer's harvest might be quite an overwhelming one for many of us as we contemplate what's happened over the past few months. Or what hasn't happened. Even if you've escaped the pressures yourself, it is almost certain someone you love or care deeply about has been affected and in need of your support. So this is a good time to see what's what, and get your thoughts in order. A most Virgoan activity of course. It's a time of preparation before the equinox on the 23rd, accompanied by a potent full Moon in Aries - these events strike a great big chord with summer's energies and thoughts. And a new season unfolds on every level......

You can read more about Venus and her long stay in Scorpio in The Venus Effect , and more about this new Moon in the Moon Diary.

 

 

 

 

23rd August
Today the Sun enters the mutable earth sign of Virgo the Virgin. This earth sign does not share the deep, fecund earth of Taurus, nor the solid, enduring rock of Capricorn. No. Virgo's earth element seems lighter altogether, as befits a sign ruled by capricious Mercury. Perhaps it is more like potting compost? This sign presides over the harvest in the northern hemisphere, the time of gathering fruit, berries, and seeds before the winter arrives. It is still late summer, but in a month's time the autumn equinox ushers in the next season. So this is a mutable time of change, of shifts in focus, of assessment and reassessment and making plans. Back to school. Somehow that stays with you for the rest of your life doesn't it? An excellent excuse for new shoes though.

Virgo's ruling planet, Mercury is currently travelling backwards until 12th September. Check everything, and then check it again. Since Mercury is also in Virgo, one of its home signs, we are required to be ever more meticulous during this phase. The devil's in the details. Usually the ones you have overlooked or forgotten of course.

Tomorrow's challenging full Moon is in Pisces. I explore what that might mean in a separate article.

 

 

 

 

 

17th August

"It is all very wonderful and mysterious, as all life is apt to be if you go a little below the crust, and are not content just to read newspapers and go by the Tube Railway, and buy your clothes ready-made, and think nothing can be true unless it is uninteresting."

So wrote prolific novelist Edith Nesbit, born on the 15th August, 1858.  She's one of several Leo-born children's writers. Beatrix Potter, P. L. Travers and J. K. Rowling are some other August-born famous authors who have shaped our childhood imaginations. The spirit of play never truly withers in the Leo soul, giving many Leos the ability to connect with the minds of children with the greatest of ease. Nesbit is best known today for The Railway Children, that charming story of an impoverished middle-class family battling to maintain standards and stay afloat. A story, perhaps, for our own debt-ridden times. But her fantastical, surreal children's adventure stories were the ones I adored as a child.

Nesbit was passionate, free thinking and unconventional, living in an open marriage and taking several younger lovers. For a time her best friend lived with her and her first husband in a menage a trois. Edith brought up the resulting two children alongside her own children from the marriage. Leos are not always so flexible, but when their opposite sign, Aquarius, kicks in they can be fiercely independent thinkers.  Every sign contains something of its opposite number.....

 

 

 

 

 

14th August
Are you ready to do what simply must be done? Is there anything you've forgotten or ignored? Planets are, yet again, in the mood for sorting things out and few of us will wriggle off the hook. Today, Uranus reverses back into Pisces for the very last time. Themes belonging to the last seven years are around us - creative ideas, spiritual beliefs, huge dreams and for some of us, huge illusions, need thinking about and finishing up. We've got until next March to conclude certain things, and use those as a platform for the next phase.

On the 16th August an opposition between Jupiter and Saturn (part of a cycle that finishes in 2011) means that the forces of expansion and optimism meet the forces of restriction and structure. The financial markets and banks are in the spotlight as issues around risk, borrowing and debt clash with ideas of regulation, limitation, and low risk. There is much to be worked out globally, and talk of finite resources (money, fuel, power) and paying off debt (and cleaning up pollution) isn't going away any time soon. Big corporate businesses may find their power to influence politics and governments is questioned and analysed more rigorously than before. Pharmaceutical companies and those connected with power, mining, travel and fuel could be particular targets. Agreements and peace treaties are also shaken up during this phase, affecting everything from arms control to union disputes, worker's rights, and questions about just how much profit is ok, and how much is obscene if made by exploiting others. Again, its all about balance, something Saturn in Libra emphasises over the next two years.

In your life, too, its about looking for a balance between being sensible and being adventurous.  Being too cautious can ruin everything, being too impetuous can ruin everything too. Jupiter in Aries can be wildly assertive and fiery, Saturn in Libra seeks long-term security and harmony. The houses in your natal horoscope, and any planets involved with this pattern, will be important areas of life for you to focus on this autumn. If you need to find that out, why not ask one of our dedicated team of astrologers?

 

 

 

 

 

 

12th August
Today is the birthday of a remarkable, enigmatic and provocative character, Madame Helena Petrovna Blavatsky, born in the Ukraine in 1831. She co-founded the Theosophical Society in 1875, and is credited with influencing much 'New Age' thought ever since. She was a prolific author of spiritual and occult books.

Descriptions of her by friends and contemporaries reveal a full-blown Leo personality, chanelled through the colourful persona of a well-travelled upper-class Russian woman. Her moods were vivid, her gift for swearing positively awe-inspiring, and her frenzied rages quite impossible to control. On the other hand she exhibited a childlike simplicity, great generosity, and was able to fascinate and attract people she met. Her appearance was flamboyant, wearing twelve to fifteen rings at a time, and she had a great fondness for elaborate satin dresses. She has been described as a fraudulent trickster, a medium, a genius and a saint. Perhaps she was all those things. 

She said, 'There is no religion higher than the truth'.

 

 

 

 

6th August
'For nothing worthy proving can be proven,
Nor yet disproven: wherefore thou be wise,
Cleave ever to the sunnier side of doubt,
And cling to Faith beyond the forms of Faith!'

These lines are from Alfred, Lord Tennyson's poem The Ancient Sage.  Born on this day in 1809, he died in 1892, and is one of the most famous English lyrical poets.  I chose those lines because they express something fundamental about the spirit of Leo, the desire to 'cleave ever to the sunnier side of doubt' being a core part of the Leo character. But his darker, melancholy side was a constant thread running through his life - so never assume Leos are all glamour and cheerfulness. They can be more complex than they care to reveal, and more vulnerable too.

Artist Andy Warhol, for example, was also born on this day in 1928, dying in 1987.  He kept his strong religious beliefs and secret voluntary stints in New York's soup kitchens well-concealed. His shyness is legendary, as are his business acumen and bohemian excesses. In a way that connects with the classic Leo personality, he was fascinated by celebrity, fame and sexuality. But it wasn't that simple, for he was claiming to still be a virgin as late as 1980, at the age of 52.

This week, and tomorrow in particular, is one in which we must all 'cling to Faith beyond the forms of Faith'.  The planets emphasise all four of the cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn) making a cross formation and triggering things that have been brewing since June. Yet again, this summer's themes are repeated - tremendous potential for new beginnings exists. Tremendous tension exists too, as some of us resist that deep impulse for change, preferring to cling to the vanishing past. What is set in motion now has serious implications for the future, for these themes continue to ask us to question the way we think about the world, those we love, and ourselves. We can expect a highly-charged atmosphere.

Of course, those with planets in the first five degrees of the cardinal signs are especially affected. As far as birthdays go, that's March-born Aries, June Cancerians, September Librans, and December Capricorns. Also anyone with planets at those cardinal degrees in their natal horoscopes. Which makes rather a lot of us. Some very scary things have been written about this grand cross, but although I believe these aspects to be extremely important, potent, and meaningful, I cannot subscribe to some of the bleaker interpretations that seem to be popular in some quarters. It isn't a particularly jolly party up there in the cosmos right now, but such intense energy can be used for good or ill. Our choice.

 

 

 

 

 

 

4th August
Romanticism, idealism, and a fascination with power are qualities much associated with regal Leos. Idealistic freethinker, bohemian and poet, Percy Bysshe Shelley, was born a Leo on this day in 1792. He drowned in Italian seas in 1822. One of his most famous poems, Ozymandias, is a meditation on the fleeting nature of power. In this case the power of an Egyptian pharaoh. I give you the poem below, because it never really loses its point....

Today is also the birthday of a very powerful man, US President Barack Hussein Obama, born on this day in 1961.

Ozymandias

I met a traveller from an antique land
Who said: Two vast and trunkless legs of stone
Stand in the desert. Near them, on the sand,
Half sunk, a shattered visage lies, whose frown
And wrinkled lip, and sneer of cold command
Tell that its sculptor well those passions read
Which yet survive, stamped on these lifeless things,
The hand that mocked them and the heart that fed.
And on the pedestal these words appear:
"My name is Ozymandias, king of kings:
Look on my works, ye Mighty, and despair!"
Nothing beside remains. Round the decay
Of that colossal wreck, boundless and bare
The lone and level sands stretch far away.

 

 

 

 

29th July
Look up at the western sky after sunset tonight and you will see Mars and Saturn close together, just down along the sky from the bright star, Spica. Mars enters Libra this evening (ET) where the action planet remains until 14th September. Mars is in its detriment here, meaning that the planet's principle of forward movement can be distracted, misled, or squandered. At best, Mars in Libra strives to create harmony and come to fair decisions. At worst, well, it is all over the place. Immediately, too, it joins Saturn in Libra for a couple of days as July ends and August begins. Mars also faces electrifying Uranus, opposite them both in Aries. Saturn is happy in Libra, exalted there, and favouring justice and balanced outcomes. But yes, there are tensions and surprises on the road ahead.  Friday, in particular, could be alive with rows, arguments, conflict, accidents and frustration for many of us. Brilliant diplomacy is likely to be in short supply, and much rattling of sabres can be expected internationally and right there, up close and personal on a sofa near you.....The cardinal cosmic shenanigans that have been building up for some time are approaching their big moment in the first week of August. With courage and determination, much can be achieved, much begun. But what happens now resonates into all our futures, and it will be important to stay clear and focused or risk losing the plot.

Meanwhile, ladies and gentlemen, the ever-mysterious realms of outer space are - according to NASA - turbulent with 'spacequakes', great big gaseous shiverings and shakings knocking on the doors of our protective planetary envelope. And deep on the ocean floor, down in the Gulf of Mexico, big gaseous bubbles of methane are shivering and shaking their way to the surface as gashes appear on the sea bed like cracks in a subsiding wall. Indeed, you might say there's a whole lot of shaking going on. While I do not expect the apocalypse any time soon, there is a great deal of energy around symbolically, and physically. Fasten your safety belts, we're in for a bumpy ride.

 

 

 

 

 

 

22nd July
The Sun, huge burning star that it is, enters the fixed fire sign, Leo, this morning, the sign that is ruled by the Sun. With elegant synchronicity the astonishing discovery of a vast burning star was announced yesterday. This one, R136a1, is two hundred and sixty five times bigger than our Sun. It sits in a neighbouring galaxy, known as the Large Magellanic Cloud. This astonishing and rare event is, to me, wildly poetic. Astronomers can't believe it. Don't start thinking about how big it is though, or you'll never sleep peacefully.

This discovery certainly does chime beautifully with the Jupiter-Uranus conjunction currently in our skies. Amazing scientific discoveries are one of the most positive events symbolised by this planet pattern.

And talking of planet patterns, between now and the end of August we can expect quite a wild ride, as uneven energies play tug-of-war across our world. Restrictions (political, legal, religious, personal, physical) battle it out with the need for freedom and innovative change, basically. Laws may be challenged, established order turned on its head. Attempts to lock things down one way or another may work for a time, but will rarely succeed in the longer term.  The financial markets look very jittery, and natural upheavals such as fires, earthquakes and strong winds are, as usual, likely suspects too. Power struggles prevail.

If you have planets in the late degrees of the mutable signs - Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces, or in the first five degrees of the cardinal signs - Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn - you're likely to continue experiencing your own conflicts and dilemmas. This is not a great time to be too stubborn. Better to watch and wait a while. Everyone is dealing with pressure, and pushing your own agenda too hard may simply meet with resistance or negativity. It is a good time to see how things might work differently though - perhaps in a more open way. And also a positive time to see what you want to change later on. This applies to relationships as much as to your career, or even your plans for a new home. Times such as these offer great opportunities alongside the bewilderment and confusion they can generate.

Meanwhile, if you're a Leo, happy birthday month to you! Your innate love of drama will certainly be well fed during the coming weeks.......

 

 

 

 

 

 

19th July
"I remember as a very small child being completely blown away by looking up into the night sky and wondering what it was all about. I think I spent most of my childhood being torn between music and astronomy. I support this campaign because I think particularly kids have a right to see the night sky. We all do, but it certainly pains me to think there are people growing up in this country who may never even see the Milky Way unless they go somewhere else."

This is a quote from Dr. Brian May, famous rock star (lead guitarist in Queen) and astrophysicist. It is his birthday today. To celebrate that (and because I also am a passionate supporter of this campaign) I point you in the direction of the Campaign for Dark Skies at www.britastro.org/dark-skies . Light pollution is just that. Pollution. Illuminating the night sky so that it turns a sickly orange does not make us more secure. It makes us ill and it deprives us of more than we know. Changing this would not only save energy, but give us all an enormous, free, and precious gift. So happy birthday Dr. May, and let the stars sparkle, shine and twinkle above us all.......

 

 

 

 

 

16th July
It's six months since the devastating earthquake in Haiti. No, we cannot imagine. Yes, they still need all the help we can give them. And there is endless work to be done there. But the Haitian people have amazing spirit, humbling really.....

I'm thinking about those people today because around now they traditionally celebrate a popular rural festival, inspired by 19th century visions of the goddess Erzulie Freda. She is said to have appeared at a beautiful waterfall, Saut D'Eau. Erzulie, or Ezili, is a goddess very like Greek Aphrodite or Roman Venus. She's the loa, or spirit, of love, romance, sex, art, jealousy and passion. She wears three wedding rings, one for each of her three husbands. She favours offerings of jewellery, sweet cakes and perfume. All things loved by Venus, and by countless real women too. Her Voudon sister, Erzulie Dantor, meanwhile, is the goddess of maternal love, and patron of lesbians. An interesting mix. Her Greek equivalents are probably Artemis - fierce virgin huntress and Moon goddess, and Demeter, devoted mother and fertility goddess. But Erzulie Dantor likes strong, unfiltered cigarettes, creme de cacao, rum, and fried pork......

I hope the spirit of carnival prevails amidst the chaos, and that Erzulie Freda's special party is celebrated with music and dancing.

 

 

 

 

14th July
There's a restless sunspot (1087) out there - vast, beautiful and unpredictable. And solar winds are currently heading our way across millions of miles of mysterious space. Nothing, on this Bastille Day, is entirely on solid ground. Innovative energies surround us, but it is up to us to harness them So embrace your best ideas and most audacious plans, and see what you can do with them. Hard work, truth seeking, and surprising yourself should all go well. Burying your head in the sand is also an option. But kind of boring, and also likely to lead to quite stressful events designed to capture your attention later on.......

As is usual for this particular time, late degrees of the Mutable signs (Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces) and early degrees of the Cardinal signs (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn) remain in the spotlight. You can see the birthday dates listed in previous blog entries. Outer planets Saturn, Uranus, Jupiter and Pluto are connected, and they are signaling shifts and seeding revolutions for individuals and groups of people too. Planets in your own horoscope may be activated now even if your birthday is not one of the listed dates though.....to find out, you'll need your natal chart.

Meanwhile, the later degrees of the Fixed signs (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) are also experiencing Neptune's mystical vibrations at the moment. These are wonderful for visionary flights of fancy, but can also lead you a merry dance through the fogs of illusion, mad spiritual paths, lost keys and dodgy love affairs.

So we are all experiencing bewildering, yet interesting times here on our planet. And we can all feed our soulful needs, stocking up on inspiring experiences. Which can range from creating a sublime sandwich, visiting your local park, viewing a gorgeous sunset, or singing in the bath. Times like these demand flexibility, humour, and honesty from us all. Plus an active imagination.

Me? Mainly I remain fascinated by my pond full of frogs.

 

 

 

 

 

13th July
Fans of the recent FIFA World Cup will long remember Paul, the astonishing psychic octopus, who accurately predicted results every time by choosing between lunchboxes in his tank. Makes you wonder about the nature of prediction, coincidence, synchronicity and, yes, lunchboxes doesn't it? And the nature of octopuses as well perhaps.

Spooky cephalopods aside, but keeping predictions as a theme - today is the birthday of one of my favourite historical characters, Dr. John Dee (1527-1609). This extraordinary and brilliant man was a mathematician, astrologer, astronomer, navigator, map maker, alchemist, hermetic philosopher, and adviser in matters practical and arcane to Queen Elizabeth 1st. History has sometimes been unkind to him because he embraced science and mysticism together, believing both to be facets of the same universal thing. His unfortunate experiments in conjuring angels with the alchemist Edward Kelley are probably to blame. Kelley asserted that the angel Uriel had instructed him to swap or share wives with Dr. Dee.  This, unsurprisingly, led to the end of their association. 16th century celestial wife-swapping was going too far. Quite. Cancerians are not cut out for that kind of thing.

However, Dr. Dee was a true Renaissance man and a gifted scholar. You can visit his black obsidian magic Aztec mirror at the British Museum.

 

 

 

 

 

6th July
'I never painted dreams. I painted my own reality' said passionate Mexican artist Frida Kahlo, born on this day in 1907.  She married the great muralist Diego Rivera, divorced him, and married him again. Sign of a great, yet turbulent, love that never, ever settled down. Frida would say that she had two accidents in her life; one being the terrible bus accident that broke her body, and the other her troubled, much-tested love for Rivera.

Cancerians rarely like to let go, even if they know they've made a mistake. There's something wonderful in that though, the dogged tenacity, the heart ruling the head......The popular doctrine of 'moving on' from emotional upheavals and traumatic events is not one she embraced. Instead, she transformed them, turning all her physical pain and emotional suffering into art, painting in bed when it was too painful to move around. With five planets in Cancer, she can be said to embody some typical Cancerian traits. Her dramatic life and vivid art demonstrate the amazing strength that lies at the heart of this water sign.

Frida Kahlo is, without a doubt, a Moon-ruled heroine. But not, thank goodness, a saint. She once remarked, "I drank because I wanted to drown my sorrows, but now the damned things have learned to swim."

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

3rd July
We are just eight days from the big solar eclipse in Cancer. And today there's a special phenomenon known as a Moon Wobble. It has been building up since the end of June, and its effects will last until around mid-July. I'll be explaining more exactly what that means another time, but basically its about the Sun making hard aspects to the Moon's Nodes, mathematical points more poetically called the Dragon's Head and the Dragon's Tail. This connection between the Sun and the celestial Dragon is a regular 86.5 day cycle, as the Nodes themselves move through the signs and degrees of the zodiac over a nineteen year period.  It's worth talking about because it fosters an atmosphere of confusion, disruption, and the (sometimes explosive) release of suppressed energies. July's Moon Wobble connects with your personal horoscope if you have planets around 11 degrees of Cancer or Capricorn, Aries or Libra. You might want to chill out and postpone big decisions for a while. Your thinking could be less astute or realistic than usual.

Birthdays involved this time around are:

Cancer: July 2nd-5th
Libra: October 3rd-6th
Capricorn: December 31st-January 4th
Aries: March 31st-April 3rd

Of course, you may have your ascendant, Moon, or another planet at this degree of a Cardinal sign in your chart. As I always advise, if you don't know, just ask an astrologer!

Out there in the big wide world, the Moon Wobble is also capable of creating more than a little mayhem, confusion, and upheaval. Sometimes this expresses itself in wild weather, earthquakes, accidents, and flooding. During the period of the last Moon Wobble in April, that Icelandic volcano woke up and disrupted air travel, and the catastrophic Deepwater Horizon underwater explosion occurred. Water could be an important theme in the news this month too.

In personal terms, if you're currently experiencing turbulent emotions, then finding a positive way to release those pent-up feelings would be a great way to deal with your own personal 'flood', or your own explosive outbursts. And always remember, you are the captain of your ship and astrology says that the stars and their messages are there to guide you on your journey, whatever the cosmic weather forecast predicts.

 

 

 

 

2nd July
'It is not our purpose to become each other; it is to recognize each other, to learn to see the other and honour him for what he is: each the other's opposite and complement.'

So wrote that great Swiss-German philosophical poet, novelist and artist, Hermann Hesse. He was born on this day in 1877, dying in 1962. He explored spirituality in all its forms - fascinated by eastern teachings and western myths, psychoanalysis and poetry. Hesse said he 'listened to what my blood whispers to me'. His erudition and intuition created an intoxicatingly rich brew. But oh, how I struggled to read his famous novel, 'The Glass Bead Game'.

A stellar Cancerian genius then. Blending rational thinking with intuition is a very cool trick indeed. And one all Cancerians can pull off if they try.

 

 

 

 

 

 

30th June
From time to time, bizarre, random objects fall from the sky. I just love that kind of thing. Popular items seem to be falls of frogs, fish, and chunks of ice. Usually photographed on someone's shed or front lawn. But sometimes truly terrifying things fall from the sky. And today's anniversary event has puzzled scientists for a century.

On this day in 1908 a vast fireball crash landed in Tunguska, deep in the sparsely populated Siberian forests of the north. It was so enormous it flattened 80 million trees. The shockwaves from this event circled the whole earth. Twice. It was bigger than we can possibly imagine. So what was it? The thing is, nobody really knows. Asteroid. Comet. Dark matter. Natural gas. Alien spacecraft plus meteorite collision. This last possibility has actually been seriously considered by Russian scientists, so hold the inner sceptic back a little. Dr.Yuri Labvin says the research team has found remnants of an alien space ship's control panel. He said this in 2004. And he said it again in 2009.

But we don't know. About frogs from the sky, or this huge Siberian explosion. And isn't a little genuine mystery exciting?

 

 

 

 

 

 

29th June
'Here is my secret. It is very simple. It is only with the heart that one can see rightly; what is essential is invisible to the naked eye.'

So wrote Antoine de Saint-Exupéry in that wonderful book, The Little Prince. It's his birthday today. Born in 1900, he disappeared in his plane over war-torn Europe in July 1944, missing in action. A great aviator, author, and lover of women, his belief in the heart's wisdom chimes clear and true with the essence of his birthsign, Cancer. It is not always easy for Cancerians to carry their gift for emotional sensitivity through life, but gift it is nonetheless. Without it, The Little Prince would never have been created.

In another work, Vol de Nuit (1931), he observed, 'Even our misfortunes are part of our belongings'. Something those who are destined to fail in this summer's sporting festivities might care to bear in mind.

 

 

 

 

23rd June
Nordic tradition says that If you want to dream of your future lover, place nine flowers under your pillow tonight, for all over the world it is a night alive with spirits and magical forces. On this night  huge bonfires were lit, and still are in many countries. Bonfires were once bone fires, fires fed by clean bones..... Wakefires were made of wood, and were the fires people tended all night long for fear of malevolent fairies and restless ghosts.

Once upon a time in Louisiana, Marie Laveau, powerful nineteenth century Witch Queen of New Orleans, held huge, dramatic public ceremonies on this night, attended by thousands of devoted followers. It is also St. John's Eve, tomorrow being the feast of St. John the Baptist, a saint who was generously incorporated into the religious practices of Voodoo, a religion that embraces Catholic symbolism and saints along with African spirits, gods and goddesses. The words jinx and mojo come from this tradition......such great words aren't they? And, I think as the full Moon approaches, along with the lunar eclipse, we would all be well advised to cultivate our lucky mojo and replenish our bags of tricks. We'll be needing them.

 

 

 

 

 

22nd June
The beauty of a midsummer sky, or a lingering midsummer twilight is bewitching. And that sense of other worlds, other energies that is celebrated at this time of year belongs, in astrological symbolism, to the planet Neptune, ruler of Pisces, named for the ancient god of the sea, and ruler of the world's oceans.

Currently, Neptune is in an awkward relationship with Saturn, stern planet of boundaries and structures.So much is unclear, or untried. It's sometimes hard to know what's going on, or what we are doing with the formless floods of debt and oil that currently dominate our news media. Oil spills in Egypt, Alaska, and Nigeria have joined the main story in the Gulf of Mexico, so as a theme it's gone global.  As a reflection of current cosmic patterns, the symbolism says that our old boundaries and rules aren't working or are being ignored or misunderstood. Some of us have noticed these themes in our own lives, and will continue to ponder them over the coming weeks as planet patterns insist we think about new ways forward, and don't just cling on to the wreckage of what used to work, otherwise known as the status quo. Change built on what was great about the past is ideal, but fear of change, or resistance to it, will only make things worse. Things, in fact, may decide to just change all by themselves without asking some of us if that's ok. So adopting a martial arts strategy is probably wise right now. Here's a little sage advice from Morihei Ueshiba, the legendary Aikido teacher, and proponent of the fierce, vibrant Art of Peace:

* Move like a beam of light: fly like lightning, strike like thunder, whirl in circles around a stable centre.

* Techniques employ four qualities that reflect the nature of our world. Depending on the circumstance, you should be: hard as a diamond, flexible as a willow, smooth-flowing like water, or as empty as space.

And don't forget the power of love.

 

 

 

 

21st June
Did you watch the Sun rise? It's the Summer Solstice today (here in the northern hemisphere anyway) and the Sun enters the intuitive, creative, and tenacious Cardinal Water sign of Cancer the Crab. Today is one of the eight turning points of the year - that's both summer and winter solstices, both spring and autumn equinoxes, and the magical cross-quarter days in between these major moments in the calendar in February, May, August and October. For thousands of years, all over the world, festivals have clustered around these dates, making them a special time for some contemplation, celebration or acknowledging the season. These moments weave together astrology and astronomy in a way that's almost forgotten. As above, so below.

Midsummer Eve, with all its unruly spirits and mischievous, supernatural energies is on 23rd June.

 

 

 

 

 

17th June
Cosmic patterns of global importance are forming now. In just over a week, on 26th June, there's a partial lunar eclipse in earthy Capricorn, conjunct the powerful Lord of the Underworld, Pluto. Eclipses are always meaningful, and in the run up to them and for some time afterwards, energies intensify. This lunar eclipse connects with Mercury, Jupiter, Uranus and Saturn too, meaning that we are all affected by it - some of us more than others. People will want their voices to be heard, their opinions to be respected, their needs to be met. It is possible that large numbers of people will join together, with, I very much hope, peaceful intent - perhaps to agree a treaty, or sow the seeds of a revolution.

These feelings are all around us, and in our personal lives many of us may feel that some kind of negotiation, or seeking a way out of an oppressive situation, cannot wait another single minute. While Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn, Gemini, Virgo, Sagittarius and Pisces stand out as sun signs that will sit up and take notice, the fixed signs of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius cannot escape entirely. In any case, as you know, your personal chart contains a whole lot more than just your sun sign, and, as always, an astrologer can tell you much, much more if you get your chart done.

Between now and the total solar eclipse of 11th July there are many other signs indicating important events with global impact. After the 11th July, there's more to come as these strong planet patterns continue to stamp their imprint upon our consciousness. I do believe it will be very difficult to bury your head in the sand this summer, even on the loveliest of beaches. Well, perhaps a very remote one.

Meanwhile, I am intrigued to see that American scientists are now suggesting that there are five God particles (or Higgs bosons), not just the elusive Holy Grail version of one. It's what the Hadron Collider is looking for. The heart and soul of the Universe. Life may not be, after all, quite what we thought it was........

 

 

 

 

 

16th June
We are a few days away from the Summer Solstice here in the northern hemisphere, while the Winter Solstice draws near if you're way down south. The Sun now approaches its northernmost point, seeming to stand still, creating the long twilight of northern midsummer, and the white nights of the Scandinavian countries. This is an astronomical event that is redolent with magic and romance, with thousands of people here in Britain heading for Stonehenge to see the Sun rise, its rays illuminating the stones once sacred to Neolithic and Bronze Age people thousands of years ago.

Druids, as we like to imagine them today, white robed and bardic, first celebrated the Summer Solstice at Stonehenge in 1905. We really have very little idea what the actual ancient Druids were like back in the day....classical sources seem to agree that they believed in the immortality of the soul, and that it reincarnated in a new body after death claimed the old vehicle. They were said to discuss the movements of the stars, and to base their calendar on the phases of the Moon. There are suggestions that they were rather keen on human sacrifice, and built large structures of wood and straw into which they piled animals and people and burned them all alive, alive-oh..... Yes, film fans,The Wicker Man does spring to mind. It is possible that the more blood-thirsty accounts may be unreliable or exaggerated. However, a decapitated skeleton was dug up around Stonehenge not so long ago. Certainly, the builders of these amazing ancient monuments aligned them, variously, to the solstices and equinoxes so that they formed a kind of calendar and calculator.

Both the Summer and Winter Solstices are important to modern neo-pagans, and really should be meaningful to all of us - because they remind us that we live in a mysterious universe, lit by an enormous blazing, burning star. It is quite easy for this kind of soulful thought to slip to the back of one's mind while shopping, worrying, or getting exasperated by traffic jams. There's no need to don a white robe or hug a tree to acknowledge this special moment in the year. Thank goodness. But in noticing the subtle changes in the quality of the light, in the shape and texture of your days, you can align yourself with the here and now. And that's always a life-enhancing thing to do.

 

 

 

 

15th June
Romulus and Remus are famous mythic feral twins, floated on the Tiber in a basket by a servant who could not murder them; suckled by a she-wolf; and finally rescued by shepherds. Romulus would grow up to kill his brother (in most, although not all, stories) and found Rome, naming it, modestly, after himself. Romulus disappeared at the end of his life, and ascended into the sky. Geminis can ponder the symbolism of this myth today, since it is the very last day of the ancient Roman Vestalia, the festival of the Vestal Virgins. A Vestal Virgin of royal descent was said to be the mother of Romulus and Remus. When they broke their thirty-year vow of chastity Vestal Virgins were buried alive in the Field of Wickedness. If they kept on the sexual straight and narrow these priestesses had much freedom and power, and they kept the sacred fires burning in honour of Vesta, goddess of the warm hearth and the home. There's a brand of matches bearing her name to this very day. 

Like Romulus and Remus, Geminis can be divided inside themselves -arguing fruitlessly with themselves,or considering multiple points of view simultaneously.  A trait that's useful in some professions (prosecuting attorney for instance), while utterly exhausting in other contexts. Once Geminis learn how to handle this, they can achieve wonders.

Romantic Norweigan composer and pianist Edvard Greig (1843-1907) was born on June 15th. His lyrical music is everywhere, used in movies, advertisements, and even an episode of The Simpsons. He had that Gemini gift for tuning in to his own culture, basing much of what he composed on traditional Norweigan folk music. He said, "I am sure my music has the taste of cod fish in it." 'Morning Mood' from his Peer Gynt Suite might seem over-familiar to some, but if you want to hear music that reflects the best of the fresh, and secretly romantic Gemini spirit, its hard to beat.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

11th June
A lively new Moon in Gemini rises tomorrow. This favours communications, travel, wit and a spot of deft spin doctoring. A certain restless feeling might surface for many of us. And it will connect with the fixed star Arneb, at 21 Gemini, in the constellation of the Hare, or Lepus. These stars were said to represent a hare, being chased across the skies by the dogs of that mighty hunter, Orion. I was curious about what ancient astrology had to say about this little constellation of stars. What did they mean? The answer - from Manilius, astrologer in the 1st Century, AD - may amuse sports fans, synchronising as it does with that major festival of football now getting underway in South Africa:  
To those born under this constellation nature all but gives wings and flight through the air - such will be the vigor of limbs which reflect the swiftness of the winds. One man will come off winner in the footrace before even receiving the signal to start; another by his quick movement can evade the hard boxing-glove and now lightly avoid, now land a blow; another can with a deft kick keep in the air a flying ball, exchanging hands for feet and employing in play the body's support, and execute with nimble arms a volley of rapid strokes; yet another can shower his limbs with a host of balls and create hands to spring up all over his body with the result that, without dropping any of the number, he plays against himself and causes the balls to fly about his person as though in answer to his command. Such a man devotes wakeful nights to his concerns, for his energy banishes sleepiness [translator's note: according to Aelian, the hare sleeps with its eyes open] whilst he spends happy workfree hours in games of divers kinds. [Manilius, Astronomica , 1st century AD, book 5, p.313, 315.]

I am indebted to Anne Wright's wonderful website www.constellationsofwords.com for this quotation from the Astronomica.  I simply couldn't resist.

In other cosmic news, Venus, Saturn and Neptune are meeting up today. Commitments will seem like a wonderful, productive idea but beware mutual confusion when agreeing the details. Creative people, perhaps musicians and architects in particular, are favoured with an eye for both practicality and beauty today, a day when idealistic visions can be grounded in reality. With the usual effort of course. Historians, archaeologists, and those who explore the seas of the earth or the vast airless seas of outer space should find this an inspiring time too.

 

 

 

10th June
The 2010 FIFA World Cup kicks off in South Africa tomorrow. Both the upcoming Cardinal eclipses will happen during the tournament - the brooding lunar eclipse in Capricorn on the 26th June, and the total solar eclipse in Cancer on the very day of the final, 11th July. Sporty Jupiter and unsettling Uranus remain close in that most lively and competitive of signs, Aries, throughout.  You can expect more than a few surprises and perhaps more injuries than usual.  I'm curious to see how the African teams get on in this, the very first World Cup to be hosted in Africa. But owing to the fiendish nature of the group structures it is hard to see how far they can get without encountering mighty opposition in the next stages, the matches that are set around that dramatic lunar eclipse weekend. Still, might be worth keeping an eye on Ghana.

Argentina, Brazil and Chile are amongst the countries whose natal charts are influenced by current astrological patterns. Whether this holds good for their fiery, Latin footballing prowess remains to be seen.

If you're not in least bit interested in the beautiful game, then with Mercury in Gemini (10th-25th June) and Mars in mercurial Virgo (7th June-29th July) this promises to be a month bursting with news, neurosis, gossip, and events with a capital E.

 

 

 

 

8th June
'Freedom is from within' said Frank Lloyd Wright, whose birthday (1867) it is today. Really, just one of the greatest, most awe-inspiring architects in the world.....he also loved a fast car, and married three times. He abhorred television, saying, 'television is chewing gum for the eyes' - a thought-provoking comment when you think about it. So I wonder what he would think of the World Wide Web? Because the great man shares his birthday today with another amazing human being, Sir Timothy Berners Lee (1955) the scientist who is credited with inventing and naming the World Wide Web. He believes in empowering humanity, and sees the Web as a 'medium for positive change'. Which, of course, this extraordinary thing - a kind of pulsing, chaotic, cultural unconscious - undoubtedly is. Genius Geminis.......

And if ever there was a day to celebrate freedom and innovative thinkers, today's Jupiter-Uranus conjunction (in Aries) is just such a glittering, unstable moment. Wonder how revolutionary it might be? So do I. These mighty planets were up close and personal in Leo in 1789 when the French Revolution got seriously underway. This fact may give you a hint. It was a time of radical philosophies and free thinkers, as well as a time when privilege didn't necessarily insulate you from life. Particularly if you were a French aristocrat. The planets of expansion and upheaval remain close now for months, meeting up exactly again in September and January. While there's a mind-boggling array of other cosmic shenanigans this summer, this potent link is one with much exhilarating, positive potential. There's more information in my article, 'Jupiter, Uranus and You' .

 

 

 

 

 

2nd June
"I am a romantic anyway. You don't like Fred Astaire unless you're romantic because he is the epitome of that." So said Charlie Watts, the Rolling Stones' enigmatic, stylish drummer.  He's sixty nine today, and has shunned and eschewed every rock 'n' roll cliche in an extraordinary musical career that began in 1963. Yep, 1963. 

Watts shares his birthday with another Gemini enigma, self-styled Count Cagliostro (1743), whose notoriety as a grand illusionist, alchemist, swindler and occultist swirls about him like a magician's cloak. Cagliostro, in his travels around 18th century Europe, managed to infuriate - amongst others - Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, Catherine the Great of Russia, Goethe, and Casanova.  He used his beautiful wife, Seraphina, as an alluring accomplice, allowing at least one other man to sleep with her to seal some dubious deal. Casanova resisted her charms, however, despite the seductive way in which (he wrote) she revealed the scarlet bites of bed bugs on her arm. But, like all human beings, Geminis defy simplistic definition. Cagliostro might have cheerfully swindled Europe's credulous rich, but at the same time he was a great benefactor of the poor and needy.

Back here in 2010, fans of visible astrology (known as astronomy to some) can see the orangey red planet Mars drawing ever closer to the bright star Regulus in the western sky after dusk. They are conjunct on 6th June.  Regulus is known as the Heart of the Lion, and was one of the four Royal Stars of Persian astrology. Also known as the Watcher of the North, this star symbolises power and influence, and for some, hubris and downfall. Opposite Neptune, Mars and Regulus together may preside over some scandalous revelations or the resignation of a powerful figure in the coming days. Deceptive actions are highlighted. Count Cagliostro might be wryly amused.

 

 

 

 

 

28th May
'A medium vodka dry martini with a slice of lemon peel. Shaken and not stirred.' James Bond's famously precise request is perhaps the right cocktail to sip today as we say happy birthday to Gemini author, curmudgeon, and intelligence expert Ian Fleming, born on this day in 1908. His iconic hero, 007, was as witty, calculating, and clever as any Gemini could ever hope to be. And he adored gadgets.....a classic Gemini trait.

Or perhaps you'd prefer to breathe in the sweet, intoxicating fumes of ethylene which once swirled around the Pythia, visionary priestess of the famous Delphic Oracle in Ancient Greece? Around this date the ritualistic Purification of the Pythia took place -  the Pythia herself chewing laurel leaves (aren't they poisonous?) whilst seated on her tripod over the vaporous fissure in the earth. The Oracle, through its priestesses, issued many famous pronouncements to emperors, kings, heroes, and villians over a period of 800 years, perhaps more. It even foretold its own end, when unable to fight against the growing power of Christianity across Europe in 393 AD. It is somehow terribly poignant:
Tell the king; the fair wrought house has fallen.
No shelter has Apollo, nor sacred laurel leaves;
The fountains are now silent; the voice is stilled.
It is finished

Back in 2010,however, Uranus is just beginning a brand new journey. The planet of revolution, electricity, eccentricity, and bolts from the blue enters Aries today for the first time in 84 years. For now, its just for the summer months, it reverses back into Pisces in August. But in 2011, it will remain in Aries for seven years. Yes, interesting times indeed. Times in which the most famous sayings of the Delphic Pythia may come in handy for some, or even many, of us. These were: 'Know Thyself', and 'Nothing in Excess'. Hmmn.

 

 

 

 

24th May
'Find wonder in all things, even the most commonplace' is a beautiful motto. It belongs to the Swedish Gemini botanist, physician, and zoologist, Carl Linnaeus, whose birthday was 23rd May, 1707. He was a poetic and philosophical polymath whose meticulous, vast, and mind-blowing work of naming  living species still informs the way we categorise the natural world around us.

And 23rd May is also the birthday of Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815). Some say he was the 'father' of medical hypnotism, although hypnotism in various guises goes back much further, perhaps even as far as Ancient Egypt. He invented something he called 'animal magnetism', an invisible force that, he said, could flow from one person to another and heal them of physical, emotional, or mental imbalances and distress. He was, for a time, a patron of Mozart. His fame and wild success crashed and burned eventually, and he is said to have died, in obscurity, under mysterious circumstances. But not before he gave his name to the English word 'mesmerise'. A word of which I am rather fond.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

21st May
These are, as you've probably noticed, turbulent times. And planet moves signal a subtle shift now. The Sun enters Gemini, the Twins, today in the early hours of the morning - 3.35 am (ET).  Venus, planet of love, art, caprice and style entered the emotional water sign, Cancer the Crab yesterday, 20th May.  And on Sunday, 23rd May, giant Jupiter opposes ringed Saturn - a dramatic and important point in this cosmic cycle that is linked to the financial markets, government, religion, and themes of sacrifice and negotiation, expansion and limitation. Yes, it's a big one. A kind of cosmic curtain-raiser for the summer's dramatic skies.

If your personal birthday falls around the end of a mutable sign, or the beginning of a cardinal sign then you're way more likely to see and feel conflicts and possibilities for major changes in your own life, or in your own way of thinking. Birthdays that might want to tune in and take notice are:

June 17th - June 26th - Gemini/Cancer
September 18th - September 27th - Virgo/Libra
December 17th - December 27th - Sagittarius/Capricorn
March 16th - March 27th - Pisces/Aries

Of course, whatever your birth sign other planets in your horoscope will be in focus if they connect with this big, energetic pattern. If you don't know what, where, and how - ask an astrologer!

Meanwhile, Iceland, Israel, Iran, the United Kingdom and North and South Korea are amongst the countries sensitive to these cosmic patterns. Iceland's 'birthday' as an independent nation is actually 17th June, 1944.......

 

 

 

 

14th May
An earthy new Moon in Taurus today signifies practical new beginnings, although these may be slow, or need baby steps while Mercury. also in Taurus, is still gathering speed. We are tuning into the universe, or we could be if we are prepared to allow our minds to open up. A rather fascinating and tense connection between Venus, Uranus, Jupiter and Saturn is beginning to form over the next few days. It suggests stirring energies, spiritual concerns, and the thoughts and feelings of large numbers of us are in focus. And because it connects with the Galactic Centre in Sagittarius, it could point to fresh thinking and vibrant dreams surfacing for many of us if we reject the obvious answers in favour of what feels right. Disturbing, yes. But energising too.

If your birthday falls around the 17th March, 17th June,19th September, or 18th December you could be especially sensitive to what's happening in the world around you. Or alive with astonishing ideas or inspirations after what seems like a stagnant phase. Maybe you're dealing with something strictly personal, but your awareness of the bigger picture means you don't have immediate, easy answers. The answers you find over the coming days may be innovative or unexpected. But as Albert Einstein said, 'imagination is more important than knowledge'. If that's good enough for a genius, its good enough for me.

 

 

 

 

13th May
'The world changes in direct proportion to the number of people willing to be honest about their lives' said American author Armistead Maupin, born on the 13th May 1944. His own honesty, humour, and imagination tumble forth from his most famous series of novels, the moving and hilarious 'Tales of the City' series, set in the rumbustious San Francisco of the 70's and 80's. His characters are determined to live life to the full, on their own terms - how ever quirky or experimental those might be.

Today's other successful and seductive Taurean author is Daphne du Maurier, born on this day in 1907. Her most famous novel remains 'Rebecca', her best-known short stories 'The Birds' and 'Don't Look Now'.  Yes, her work can be romantic, but the darkness, suffering, and sheer, shivery, gothic moments in her novels place her in a far more complex category. She's a Taurean who is a fine example of how qualities often linked to our opposite sign - for du Maurier it is Scorpio - can be part of our own personality. She said, "Happiness is not a possession to be prized, it is a quality of thought, a state of mind."

So, two Taurean writers, both with Mercury, planet of the mind, in Taurus (strongly linked up with heavyweight planets in both horoscopes).  Taureans, you have potentially boundless imagination and the earthy practicality to work hard and manifest those dreams.

In other news, here in Britain, we now have a brand new Prime Minister descended from an Irish actress, Mrs. Jordon, the talented and devoted mistress of King William IV. She had ten children with the king during their twenty year relationship. Mr. Cameron's wife is descended from another actress and royal mistress, the feisty former orange seller, Nell Gwyn, who grew up in a London brothel. She was mistress to King Charles II, a fascinating character himself, and Mrs. Cameron's direct ancestor. These lively little fish from the gene pool are intriguing aren't they? King William himself presided over parliamentary reform at the beginning of the 19th century, and frequently sympathised with liberal politics........Do patterns resonate down through the years? Astrology says they do. But we must wait and see.

 

 

 

 

 

10th May
Ah, the Icelandic ash cloud is still lurking around I see, and from Iceland's natal chart I'd say this is likely to remain a theme, on and off, for some time. Mercury, planet of communication and travel, turns direct tomorrow, but remains in mischievous and fractious mode until May 28th, so all the usual advice about backing up computer files and allowing extra travelling time remains firmly in place. As for the current British political shenanigans, it may be some time - astrologically speaking - before anything is settled. And, in any case, with Uranus poised to enter Aries on the 28th May (amidst many other significant patterns) collective upheaval is one of the symbolic signatures of the time. Politicians might like, as they have done in recent days, to say 'the people have spoken'. But really, they ain't seen nothing yet.....

Meanwhile, if you're in an ancient Roman mood we are in the season of the angry ghosts. The Lemuralia was held on the 9th, 11th, and 13th of May, a shivery, spooky festival aimed at ridding one's home of vengeful or malicious spirits. Part of the noisy, bare-footed ritual involved beans, a vegetable associated by Greeks and Romans with the realms of the dead for reasons lost to us. Pythagoras, that Greek mathematical and philosophical genius, nurtured an irrational dread of broad beans and refused to eat them. He believed they contained evil spirits. They were eaten, along with lupin seeds, in ancient Greek rituals designed to prepare you to converse with the spirits of your ancestors. All most mysterious. I prefer to think about the spirits of dreams roosting in the elm trees that grew at the entrance to the underworld.  Beans, as Queen Elizabeth 1st once observed, 'are very windy meat'.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

5th May
All hail love-sick maidens, languishing lads, farmers, and pagans! It's Beltane, old style. We're at the exact midpoint between the spring equinox and the summer solstice. This is a cross-quarter day, once upon a time it marked the beginning of summer in the northern hemisphere. The May Queen represents the Spring goddess, whose names are numerous but include Maj, Mai, Maya (Hindu) and Maia (Greek).  There she is, dancing through the world's mythologies, appearing in Mexico as Mayauel, an Agave goddess with four hundred nurturing breasts. For some, that might be a happy thought.

If you don't fancy celebrating hundreds of breasts, how about celebrating the amazing Nellie Bly, whose birthday it is today. Born Elizabeth Jane Cochran in 1865, her journalistic pen-name was Nellie Bly. Impersonating a mad woman, she was incarcerated in an insane asylum at Blackwell's Island, USA for ten horror-filled nineteenth-century days. Upon her release (thanks to the newspaper she worked for) she shocked readers with her account, which inspired some improvements in the treatment of the mentally-ill. She also travelled around the world by ship in 72 days, acquiring a monkey en route. Later, she invented the steel barrels that, in similar form, hold oil to this very day.

Maia's male companion was Hephaestus, god of volcanoes, mythic iron-worker and smith. His Roman name is Vulcan. That Icelandic volcano of unpronounceable name is puffing ash into the air again.....perhaps it knows something we don't?  I do so hope its not like the classic Taurean temper - slow to build, but explosive when it finally blows......

 

 

 

 

 

30th April
Ah, it is Walpurgisnacht, or May Eve. A magical night indeed, when the spirits of the dead were thought to walk the earth and the spirits of anarchy and chaos fostered mischief.  In much of northern Europe it is still celebrated with parties, picnics, huge bonfires and a little spooky seasonal mayhem.

St. Walpurga herself is supposed to have been an 8th century Englishwoman who ended up presiding over a double monastery in Germany. A double monastery was one where both nuns and monks practised their religion. Hmmn. This idea did not, perhaps, make it very easy to keep vows of celibacy. Especially when spring was humming and warbling and pulsing with life all around them. So Walpurgisnacht represents a kind of hybrid Christian and pagan festival, with the mad, vibrant and visceral pagan bit tending to triumph in popular imagination. And in the creative outpourings of various heavy and death metal bands.

It is a night for witches to fly, and for would-be lovers to wonder about future bliss. May is positively overflowing with such moments though, so if you're doing something rather dull, or unable to celebrate tonight fear not. There are plenty of opportunities for the magically-inclined. Plus, as always, the calendar change means that Old May Eve isn't tonight. It can be celebrated on the 11th May instead. The beginning of May is the festival of Beltane in ancient Celtic cultures, also celebrated by modern Wiccans. More bonfires, basically. Plus the sacred marriage of the goddess, re-enacted by her devotees here on earth. Phallic, beribboned May poles remain an enduring ancient symbol of the core meaning of this time of year. But as I said, the entire month of May is filled with unruly energy and ancient festivals. And some intriguing cosmic fandangos into the bargain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

27th April
'The beginning is always today' wrote Mary Wollstonecraft, born on this day in 1759.  She is most famous as the author of 'A Vindication of the Rights of Women' - if women were educated, she argued, they would be equal to men. Feminism in a nutshell....I imagine she might be a little bewildered by the painfully slow march towards equality. She died following the birth of her second daughter Mary, who would run off with the radical romantic poet,Shelley, and subsequently astonish the world with her moving, compelling, gothic horror novel, 'Frankenstein' (published in 1818).

'Frankenstein' was written in 1816 - 'The Year Without A Summer'. The sinister, dismal weather was caused by the eruption of Mt.Tambora in Indonesia. It was so awful that crops failed all over Europe, leading to a devastating famine.  Kind of puts our recent volcanic disruption in perspective doesn't it?

You can read the 1831 edition of this wonderful novel online at the Internet Archive (www.archive.org ).  Now, for the astrologically minded, the Moon is waxing to its fullness in Scorpio tomorrow. A sign, as you must know, with a rich, gothic side to it.......

 

 

 

 

 

 

24th April
Planetary heavyweights Saturn and Uranus oppose each other exactly on 26th April from the late degrees of Virgo and Pisces. So the energy of tradition, and what's established (Saturn) faces the energy of change and upheaval (Uranus) yet again in this cycle that began in 2008.  It's been building up all month. If your birthday falls in the late degrees of one of the mutable signs you may have already noticed that you feel as if your freedom is limited, or perhaps you're thinking about some stale old routine/job/relationship and saying to yourself "I can't do this any more".  If your birthday is around the 19th March, 19th June, 21st September or 20th December you're in the cosmic spotlight. What are you going to let go? Or what can you refine, rework, pare down and polish up? Sweet Venus, joyful in Taurus, is helping this volatile, yet curmudgeonly aspect to express itself today. Perhaps Venusian things - flowers, beauty, women, empathy - can ease the inevitable tensions arising from this major opposition. This is the penultimate opposition, the final one happens in July.

The recent disruption to air travel by that most Uranian of things, an erupting volcano, is a good example of this planet pattern in operation. Some people responded by realising how privileged we are to be able to travel at all. Others, hating the change, were desperate to restore the established order, even though air travel is such a recent thing in human history. Chaos and nature triumphed.  Inside the planet that is you, what might be about to erupt?

 

 

 

 

23rd April
Today is St. George's Day.  What a ubiquitous saint. He's the patron saint of England, Barcelona, Malta, Portugal, Valencia, and Genoa amongst quite a few other places. He slew the evil dragon and rescued the princess - a wonderfully ancient story that appears in Greek myth and Egyptian folklore, and, indeed, all over the place. Light triumphs over darkness, spring appears in the northern hemisphere, and back in Ancient Rome they began to celebrate a wine-soaked festival - the Vinalia Priora - dedicated to Venus and Jupiter. Theirs went on for days though, and involved dancing girls and sacred prostitutes. Ovid can tell you more about it.

So, anyway, do celebrate something today -  buy a red rose for St. George, or do something brave and scare one of your own private dragons away.  Today is also the traditional birthday (and the deathday) of William Shakespeare.  Arguments may simmer until the end of time about his true identity, but the astonishing poetry lingers on. We can be more certain that it is the birthday of J.M.W. Turner (1775) whose beautiful paintings are brimming over with light.  He was said to be both infuriatingly obstinate and very kind, recognizably classic Taurean traits.

Meanwhile, a rusty red baby fox sleeps in the sun in my garden. And there are forty frogs in the pond.

 

 

 

 

 

 

20th April
Today the Sun enters the fixed earth sign of Taurus the Bull. It is often described as a stubborn, obstinate sign - practical, cautious, yet ambitious (and sometimes sensual) too.

Oliver Cromwell, English military and political leader was an exceptional Taurean, born on 25th April 1599. His furious speech dismissing Parliament, given on this day in 1653, reveals how little what most of us think about politicians seems to have changed over the centuries. Oh dear.

"It is high time for me to put an end to your sitting in this place, which you have dishonored by your contempt of all virtue, and defiled by your practice of every vice; ye are a factious crew, and enemies to all good government; ye are a pack of mercenary wretches, and would like Esau sell your country for a mess of pottage, and like Judas betray your God for a few pieces of money. Is there a single virtue now remaining amongst you? Is there one vice you do not possess?

"Ye have no more religion than my horse; gold is your God; which of you have not barter'd your conscience for bribes? Is there a man amongst you that has the least care for the good of the Commonwealth? Ye sordid prostitutes have you not defil'd this sacred place, and turn'd the Lord's temple into a den of thieves, by your immoral principles and wicked practices? Ye are grown intolerably odious to the whole nation; you were deputed here by the people to get grievances redress'd, are yourselves gone! So! Take away that shining bauble there, and lock up the doors. In the name of God, go!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

16th April
A cloud of Icelandic volcanic dust closed British air space on 15th April, just two days before Mercury turns backwards - the usual sign that things will be delayed or misunderstood. It is quite astonishing how quiet it seems without any planes flying overhead. Yes, I am loving it. No, I am not booked on a flight any time soon. A quick glance at Iceland's chart says we're likely to be hearing more about this extraordinary place this summer.

Meanwhile, birthdays. Sir Charlie Chaplin was born in London on this day in 1889. He was an obsessive, passionate perfectionist and (amongst much else) creator of The Tramp, a vintage movie comedy figure so iconic that perhaps only Mickey Mouse could be said to rival him.

Also, we should say happy birthday to the most famous French woman artist of the 18th century, Marie Elisabeth-Louise Vigée-Le Brun, born in Paris in 1755. She was, for a time, court painter and portraitist to Marie Antoinette, fleeing revolutionary France when the royal family were arrested in 1791.  Wise move. She lived until she was 86, leaving a legacy of over 800 beautiful paintings.

 

 

 

 

 

14th April
It's Cuckoo Day, there's a new Moon in Aries, and it's the anniversary of a strange and extraordinary 16th century mystery. Cuckoo Day, by the way, is when the cuckoo is first supposed to appear here in Britain - as referenced in the lovely old Simon and Garfunkel song, 'April, come she will....'. 

The mystery, or "dreadful apparition" as it was described at the time, happened at dawn in the skies over Nuremberg, Germany, in 1561. Countless witnesses saw the sky filled with cylindrical objects - red, orange, blue-white and black disks and globes. Blood-red crosses and cannon-like tubes also appeared. An astonishing aerial battle lasted about an hour. Some of the objects flew away. Others crashed in clouds of smoke. What did people see? Unidentified flying objects of some sort, clearly. Paranormal? Real? Mass hysteria? Some unimaginable weather condition?

Now, I am often underwhelmed by UFO reports, partly because - whatever they are - they clearly exist in some form. Fascinating, yes. But on another level, so what? People like to attach stories to these sightings, imagining we will be obliterated or transformed by creatures from other worlds, or other dimensions perhaps. Yet it never happens. I mean, Alexander the Great saw what he described as 'flying shields' and that was a very long time ago. The urge to conquer, rescue, or educate other species might not be on the agenda for whatever it is inside these "apparitions".  Or maybe they are ghosts of our own future. Speculating is a great way to drive yourself mad.....

 

 

 

 

10th April
Tense days and turbulent energies as Mars meets Pluto in a fateful aspect called a quincunx or an inconjunct. The signs Leo (Mars) and Capricorn (Pluto) are attracted by each other, but sometimes find it difficult to understand one another. So when they are connected like this, there is much energy fighting to express itself. Fire and earth may create scorched earth, or earth can smother fire's energy. If they can find a way to work things out, they can be visualised as a potter's kiln - the fire and the clay working together to create something beautiful or useful. But not without effort.

Today the Moon in Pisces briefly joins assertive Mars and subversive Pluto, forming what's called a Finger of Fate or a Yod. I know, I know, all this technical stuff.....But, my point is that things are rumbling around in the cosmos, in the Hadron Collider, and perhaps in your head too. If you have planets or angles at 5 degrees in your natal horoscope, you are likely to feel restless at the very least.....perhaps especially if you're a Fixed sign (Taurus, Leo, Scorpio, Aquarius) or a Cardinal sign (Aries, Cancer, Libra, Capricorn).  Destiny is knocking at the door. It's warming up for May, June, July and August. Ratatatat!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

9th April

'Anybody, providing he knows how to be amusing, has the right to talk about himself' said the great French poet, Charles Baudelaire born on this day in 1821. Ah, what an Aries sentiment that is. Controversial, wildly extravagant and deliberately provocative, Baudelaire embraced life with excessive enthusiasm. He rode on elephants in India, smoked opium, and cultivated a romantic, decadent image.

Today's other birthday choices might be described as excessive and driven in other ways. Eadweard Muybridge (1830-1904) is celebrated for his amazing photographs of motion sequences, achieved with cameras connected to trip wires. But he also, in a fit of consuming jealous rage, shot and killed his wife's lover. Astonishingly, he was acquitted. 'I am going to make a name for myself. If I fail you will never hear of me again' declared Muybridge.  While ambition can be found in every sun sign, depending upon the individual's chart, this statement perfectly expresses the kind of determination an Aries can call on when seeking to manifest their dreams.

Isambard Kingdom Brunel (1806-1859) was that unusual thing, a famous engineer. Graceful bridges, innovative shipbuilding, and the Great Western Railway....his achievements remain part of Britain's landscape to this day. And demonstrating that Aries can be a thoughtful, philanthropic sign, he also built the Railway Village at Swindon for his railway workers - housing, hospitals, churches, and recreation facilities were all included.

Really, all the rest of us can do is stand back in awe and applaud......Aries, you rock.

 

 

 

 

 

 

8th April
So happy official birthday to Siddhartha Gautama Buddha (563BC-483BC), the Enlightened One. He said, 'what we think, we become.' Some of us don't think enough, or are too easily influenced by others. That's not the quintessential Aries way of course. At their best, they are unstoppable, flying straight as an arrow towards their target.

Breathtakingly creative fashion designer, Vivienne Westwood DBE, RDI, also celebrates her birthday today. She has combined a meticulous eye for fashion history, structure and detail with a subversive, challenging approach to design, life, love, and original thought. It's said she doesn't read magazines or watch television, preferring to read voraciously, think, and garden with passion.

It's quite fascinating to go on a media-free diet. If you don't allow yourself any tv, radio, or newspapers for a week it is amazing what thoughts, ideas, and creative inspirations are lurking just beneath the surface. No social networking websites either.....It's an interesting experiment to try if you feel lacklustre or stressed out. A kind of holiday for your mind. But way more difficult than you might imagine;
a challenge in the true spirit of Aries in fact.

 

 

 

1st April
It's April Fool's Day in dozens of countries around the world. Much chortling in some quarters, and mild annoyance in others. But it's good to know we can still celebrate a little mischief, and continue an ancient global tradition with its roots deep in numerous mythologies. The mythic fool, trickster, thief and clown is subversive, flourishing change and transformation like a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat. Sometimes these changes are beneficial - Prometheus stealing fire from the gods of Ancient Greece and bringing it down to earth, or the American Indian's Raven trickster god, also stealing fire to benefit human beings. The tricks and gossamer deceptions of the fairies, elves, and sprites can also be beneficial although generally more troublesome, and often carrying a debt to be paid by the human beneficiary. No such thing as a free lunch with the fairies you know.

In fortune telling with playing cards this magical fool is represented by The Joker. In the Tarot, it is The Fool. There are always beginnings and usually upheavals when these cards appear in a reading. Destiny in her role as the Cosmic Joker is throwing you a curve ball. In astrology Mercury, which enters sensible Taurus tomorrow, can be a kind of trickster. As can Uranus, its symbolism linked with revolution, eccentricity, and invention. Or Neptune, planet of deception and fantasy.  But how ever troublesome and disruptive, the ultimate role of the fool is to tell the truth, unmask hypocrisy, and free us from imprisonment in conventional thought. Most of us are afraid of change, and afraid of this unruly energy. Hence, all the legendary placating of fairy folk, and festivals to honour tricksters by imitating them, allowing us to laugh at our fears. Even if only for one day a year.

If you fancy playing a trick, be kind and playful. Venus connects with Mars and Pluto shortly, suggesting a little heavy-duty romantic intensity over the weekend. Feelings could be close to the surface, and sensitive folk easily wounded.  And remember, today is also the Ancient Roman festival of Venus Verticordia, meaning 'turner of hearts'. In this aspect (for Venus has many faces) she was said to protect against vice. Women sought her help with their love lives on this day. Change and trickery again.....Have fun!

 

 

 

 

 

25th March
A date rich in symbolic meaning, (although of course the pesky calendar changes mean that in some senses the actual day is April 6th). Never mind, 25th March is Lady Day in Christian tradition, the day when the Angel Gabriel told the Virgin Mary she had conceived a baby, born exactly nine months later on 25th December. Yikes! Only nine months until Christmas.

But, in the ancient world from whence many traditions spring, it was another kind of lady day altogether. This period was dedicated to Cybele, or Magna Mater, the Great Mother, riding triumphantly in her carriage drawn by lions. Her son, Attis, died from castrating himself, but was resurrected by his all-powerful mother. The Hilaria of Cybele in ancient Rome celebrated death, and his return to life with the usual full-on Ancient Roman party-time festival, complete with drinking, dancing, music, and games. Cybele was a mountain goddess, worshipped in Greece, Turkey, and throughout the Roman Empire. The unavoidable sense of renewal that spring brings is celebrated with a number of other deeply symbolic festivals in March and April.....and could be why this feels like a new year beginning for us all. Cosmically, it is stuffed to the brim with challenges, growing ever more intense as we approach the summer months. No, as I have remarked before, it is no time for wimps......

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

20th March

Spring Equinox

It's the first day of spring here in the northern hemisphere. This is the Spring Equinox, when the Sun enters the first sign of the zodiac, Aries. The Sun, on this day, will be precisely vertical above a point on the equator. It's a significant day, marking a turning point in the year whichever hemisphere you inhabit. But all the western astrological symbolism, firmly rooted in the northern hemisphere, is about spring, beginnings, and new life. It is also, in pagan circles, one of the four solar festivals of the year - the Spring and Autumnal Equinoxes, and the Summer and Winter Solstices. These festivals are basically Teutonic. The Saxon goddess Eostre/Ostara gives her name, and her mythic affinity with bunnies and eggs, to Easter.  Easter itself, as a Christian festival, is calculated as the first Sunday after the first full Moon after the Vernal Equinox...phew! It is known as a 'moveable feast' for this reason, since the date of the full Moon varies from year to year.

Modern Wiccans include these solar festivals in their calendar of eight major celebrations each year, but this is a twentieth-century innovation originating from a famous Hertfordshire coven in 1950's Britain. I'm not saying that pagans didn't celebrate the Spring Equinox, because as farmers and hunters they were most certainly keenly aware of the seasons. But Druids, pagans, and Bronze Age farmers are not witches. The ancient, dramatic fire festivals around May 1st (Beltane) seem much more magical, wreathed as they are in stories of spirits, vexatious fairies, and rumbustious shenanigans in the woods.  Rather, today is an irresistible time to think about spring itself and how that might mean new beginnings for us all. This year the Sun connects with Mars in Leo and Saturn in Libra, offering much symbolic oomph and a 'get on with it' vibe. Something dies, something is reborn.......

 

 

 

 

16th March

'My candle burns at both ends,
It will not last the night;
But ah, my foes, and oh, my friends,
It gives a lovely light!'

That little poem is by Piscean Edna St. Vincent Millay (1892-1950) American Pulizter prize-winning poet, bisexual bohemian, and champion of democracy. It was published, under the title First Fig, in 1920. She wrote some achingly beautiful poetry as well - but this one is famous, perhaps because it teases those who are determined to play safe.

Many Pisceans don't understand that philosophy, but others seem to act out their opposite sign, Virgo, and embody rectitude and sobriety. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown is a Piscean for example.....In similar vein you may find touchy, over-sensitive Capricorns, whose opposite sign is Cancer, or ultra-cautious Scorpios - whose opposite sign is Taurus. Some opposites don't offer such obvious examples. I mean, Gemini and Sagittarius for instance - similarities, such as wit and restlessness, seem to outweigh differences. But considering the signs in pairs of opposites can be quite revealing.  Think about it!

Edna St. Vincent Millay, like another quintessential, numinous Piscean, composer Frederic Chopin (1810-1849), embodies many more of the sun-sign qualities you might expect to find. The Sun remains in Pisces until the spring equinox on 20th March. What better time to listen to some romantic music and read a little poetry? All too soon the prevailing cosmic weather will change, and I suspect things are all set to become tougher and more confrontational as we approach the summer months.

 

 

 

 

 

13th March
The waxing Moon enters Pisces today, bringing the total of planets in this mystical water sign up to five. Only one planet, Pluto, is in an earth sign. So the cosmos is setting the stage for flights of fancy, poetical dreams, and general confusion over the weekend. If you can kick back and flow with it you'll get the best out of this elusive energy. One thing is certain. You cannot beat it, any more than you can impose order on water or smoke.

I have just returned from southern India, a country ruled by Capricorn, but whose beating heart must surely contain a generous measure of Piscean vibrations. Disturbing encounters sit side by side with heart-stopping beauty at every turn.  The great subconscious of the world is said to be made visible there, with all its symbolism and apparent chaos. In a dark little sidestreet one night I came across a candlelit procession. At its centre were two men with four foot long swords protruding from both their cheeks. They supported the swords with outstretched arms as they walked, eyes glazed and inward-looking. No blood was visible. We stood in the deep shadows of a tree and watched them pass, accompanied by frenzied, trance-like drumming. This was a secret ceremony, nobody else was around. For me, it represented the random wonders of a country that has embraced modernity while retaining a vibrant hidden, spiritual and magical side that is almost incomprehensible to us in the West. Such is the nature of Pisces.

 

 

 

 

 

12th February
Perhaps you've realised my mission this week? We must rescue V-Day from those who would turn it into a trite little Hallmark Holiday, for they will condemn it. It will become a milk-and-water replacement for genuine heartfelt emotion, raw passion, or the warmth of intimate friendship....the platonic kind. We must subvert it. We must tell our dear friends we love them. Or, if you prefer, our pets. We must just remember to celebrate connections of every kind, and realise that while V-Day is now an annoying excuse for restaurants to charge double for bewildered people to sit in them, it has ancient roots and might do us some good somewhere inside, far, far away from social networking sites and cheap, wilting roses. Love and friendship are sources of great pleasure, and their quirkiness, saltiness, and general mystery is what we can celebrate this weekend - whoever we are, and whatever our personal situation might be. This approach keeps faith with the true spirit of Aquarius, a sign closely associated with love for humanity and the ruling sign of the season.

And then there's always Walt Whitman.....

To a Stranger

Passing stranger! you do not know
How longingly I look upon you,
You must be he I was seeking,
Or she I was seeking
(It comes to me as a dream)

I have somewhere surely
Lived a life of joy with you.
All is recall'd as we flit by each other,
Fluid, affectionate, chaste, matured.

You grew up with me,
Were a boy with me or a girl with me,
I ate with you and slept with you, your body has become
not yours only nor left my body mine only.

You give me the pleasure of your eyes,
face, flesh as we pass.
You take of my beard, breast, hands,
in return.

I am not to speak to you, I am to think of you
when I sit alone or wake at night, alone.
I am to wait, I do not doubt I am to meet you again
I am to see to it that I do not lose you.

 

 

 

 

11th February
Romance and poetry can be found in the strangest places if you think about it, and I must admit, sometimes I cannot resist thinking about it. That mysterious hole at the centre of the Milky Way, for instance, tastes of raspberries and smells of rum. It's all about molecules if you want to check out the hard science. So now I'm thinking that a delicious, jewel-red raspberry mojito is, therefore, a truly cosmic cocktail. Just add lime and mint and you, too, can get lost in space.

Or you could wonder about the Rosette Nebula, 5,000 light years away. It looks like a swirling, celestial red rose, floating amidst the stars. The amazing Nasa picture gallery has a bewitching image......

 

 

 

 

10th February
Mercury, planet of communication, and Venus, planet of this week's theme, love, are both changing signs. Mercury enters Aquarius today, Venus enters Pisces tomorrow. Unconventional thinking may meet fluid romance and have a lover's quarrel, revealing secret depths or feisty demands as they tangle with Pluto, Mars, and Jupiter over the coming days. A little complicated perhaps, but positive symbols for expanding Valentine's Day celebrations to include what's hidden, neglected, or ignored.

Colette (1873-1954), a sensual French writer of luminous prose - and an unconventional Aquarian - loved men, women, and her pets. Her emotional and erotic entanglements with both sexes were one thing. But her lifelong passion for her pets was another, seemingly more enduring love. She said, 'our perfect companions never have fewer than four feet.' If you love animals, you'll understand. If your heart aches for a two-footed companion, here is a poem to soothe you:

Brown Penny

I whispered, 'I am too young'
And then, 'I am old enough';
Wherefore I threw a penny
To find out if I might love.
'Go and love, go and love, young man,
If the lady be young and fair.'
Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
I am looped in the loops of her hair.
O love is the crooked thing,
There is nobody wise enough
To find out all that is in it,
For he would be thinking of love
Till the stars had run away
And the shadows eaten the moon.
Ah, penny, brown penny, brown penny,
One cannot begin it too soon.

William Butler Yeats

 

 

 

 

 

9th February
We like to imagine that, over time, we have changed, or that love has changed. But you know what? That's just an illusion. Roman poet Ovid (43 BCE - 17/18CE) was born in March on the cusp between romantic Pisces and hot-blooded Aries. He wrote, amongst other brilliant things, a book called Ars Amatoria, or The Art of Love, in which he gave love tips to men and women. He advised men:

Always remember your sweetheart's birthday.

When flirting with a woman, do not ask about her age.

Let your loved one miss you - but not for long, or she may grow cold and turn to someone else.

Make the effort to keep your relationship going, it will make you happy.

Do not sleep with your sweetheart's maid.

He also concluded, 'Venus says, "what you blush to tell is the most important part of the whole matter." ' Quite.

 

 

 

 

 

8th February
What do you think about Valentine's Day? Certainly it's everywhere this week, so chances are you will not escape. Perhaps, you think, it is too narrow. It is too hedged about with off-putting conventions, and it makes you feel sad or cross or lonely. Or is your heart beating a little faster, as you plan a saucy surprise, or hope for an excuse to flirt outrageously with someone you like? In some countries friendship is included in the celebrations, so unless you're a hermetically-sealed unit you stand a chance of feeling loved, and you can make your friends smile. I really do like that idea, you know, that love can take so many forms, and flow unbidden into so many spaces of the heart.

I remember being about nine years old at school, and we would all make little cards for each other.  My own very first love letter read: 'I think you are very pretty. I am the boy who gave you chewing gum on the bus. From Robert.' I was ten. He was ten. And yes, we kissed behind the bicycle shed. He smelt, oddly, of bubble gum and toast. Love can also be filled with timeless cliches......

Nobody really knows who St. Valentine was anyway, there seem to have been three of them. Some say the day is based on the Roman Lupercalia, which took place mid-February, mixing a free-for-all party time fertility festival with a kind of ancient Roman house-cleaning ritual that was probably more fun than spring-cleaning is today. Whatever the origins,Valentine's Day has been with us for centuries, even cards you post have been with us for over a hundred and fifty years. So, in honour of the St. Valentines three, of the wolfish Lupercalia, and of love in general, I shall share random thoughts from Planet Love this week. Mostly those of others.

I'll begin with some thoughts from Sei Shonagon (c. 966-1017), a lady-in-waiting at the Japanese court one thousand years ago. Her Pillow Book, a kind of intimate journal, is one of my all-time favourite books. Here she is, writing about the best time to meet one's lover:

'To meet one's lover summer is indeed the right season. True, the nights are very short, and dawn creeps up before one has had a wink of sleep. Since all the lattices have been left open, one can lie and look out at the garden in the cool morning air. There are still a few endearments to exchange before the man takes his leave, and the lovers are murmuring to each other when suddenly there is a loud noise. For a moment they are certain that they have been discovered; but it is only the caw of a crow flying past in the garden. In the winter, when it is very cold and one lies buried under the bedclothes listening to one's lover's endearments, it is delightful to hear the booming of a temple gong, which seems to come from the bottom of a deep well. The first cry of the birds, whose beaks are still tucked under their wings, is also strange and muffled. Then one bird after another takes up the call. How pleasant it is to lie there listening as the sounds become clearer and clearer!'

From: The Pillow Book of Sei Shonagon

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

7th February
'There is a wisdom of the Head, and a wisdom of the Heart' wrote prolific, mesmerising novelist Charles Dickens, born on this day in 1812. Quite an Aquarian philosophy - this sign loves a debate, and thrives on ideas. So it's easy to imagine they can be a little cold and distant. But they have plenty of heart....it's just that their emotions aren't always the first thing you see. Aquarians are complicated -  they have two ruling planets, sober Saturn and edgy Uranus. Aquarius is symbolised by a water-bearer, while being an air sign. They are often ambitious and hardworking, but also eccentric, stubborn, infuriating, and sometimes brilliant.

Some famous Aquarians might show you just what a mix this sign can be. There's Charles Darwin (12th February), the original thinker whose theory of natural selection changed everybody else's thinking. He was a biologist, naturalist, geologist, and writer. And he learned the art of taxidermy at Edinburgh University from a freed black slave called John Edmonstone, a man of whom he was very fond. Then there's Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (26th January) with his vulgar sense of fun, love of finery and gold lace, and astonishing, numinous, musical talent. Mozart once married his music to his robust sense of humour in a little composition entitled 'Kiss my Arse'.

Or how about handsome, limping, romantic poet and valiant hero of the Greek War of Independence - Lord Byron (22nd January)? One of his ex-lovers, Lady Caroline Lamb, said he was 'mad, bad, and dangerous to know'. He was openly bisexual, adored his Newfoundland dog, kept a bear while at Cambridge University, and was rumoured to have had a passionate affair with his half-sister. And yet his political idealism and love of freedom mean that he is an honoured Greek hero to this day. That Aquarian mix again.

There is indeed a 'wisdom of the Head, and a wisdom of the Heart', and at their most inspirational, Aquarians carry both within themselves.

 

 

 

 

 

 

5th February
Valentine's Day might be everywhere you look, but the first half of February is bursting with ancient special days and festivals celebrating the return of the light, and the first stirrings of spring in the northern hemisphere. Celtic pagans celebrated Imbolc around now, although we've nailed the date to the 1st these days. It is a cross-quarter day, half way between the winter solstice in December, and the spring equinox in March. The season is all about fertility, fires, and thinking about the new season ahead. Which, pagan or not, we can all enjoy doing. Your January new year resolutions are bound to be dust and ashes by now, unless you're some kind of saint......so what better time to embrace fresh beginnings or tease out some dreams from your half-awake imagination? If you're single, and dreading that all-pervasive Valentine's Day smugness, it is a time for predictions and consulting oracles to see when you might meet your true love.

Today itself is St. Agatha's Day, a Sicilian martyr who died horribly, and is the patron saint of breasts amongst other things. In Italy it is traditional to eat small, round cakes stuffed with sweetened ricotta cheese or confectioner's custard. Marzipan or sweet pastry enclose the creamy softness inside. These traditional indulgences are known as St. Agatha's Breasts, or sometimes, Virgin's Breasts. There's a pagan echo somewhere there. And one hell of a sugar rush too.

 

 

 

 

23rd December
December ends with a bubbling cauldron of emotions. And we approach the sixth eclipse of 2009, on New Year's Eve, 31st December. It's a Blue Moon too, meaning it is the second full Moon in a month - an unusual event. Since we all connect with one another, we are all likely to sense this, but you might be particularly affected if your birthday falls between 26th December and January 5th (Capricorn), March 25th and April 5th (Aries), June 27th and July 7th (Cancer) and September 28th and October 8th (Libra). Take it easy if you can, breathe a lot, and see what your dreams and intuitive feelings say. It's uplifting to celebrate the events and achievements of the year just gone, rather than focus on your failures or omissions. It could be difficult for many of us to keep a sense of proportion. But courage, a clear heart, and the energising boldness of integrity are rewarded. Fortune will, indeed, favour the brave over the faint-hearted. Cardinal signs don't mess about!

I wanted to talk about this eclipse because it not only brings in the cosmic rollercoaster of a year that is 2010, but begins an eclipse fortnight, its partner being the new Moon and a solar eclipse on the 15th January. Many of us will feel as if we are struggling to express ourselves, or make things happen. It might be hard to get things moving in what we see as the right direction, but emotions tend to cloud our judgement one way or another. As usual, finances and love are the usual suspects. Out in the wider world, an apparent lack of both understanding and cash sees some strange or dramatic events unfolding as January gets underway. The UK, USA, Israel, Iran, Australia and Japan are amongst the countries that will be particularly sensitive - and there's more in June and July, when the next pair of Cancer-Capricorn eclipses take place. I don't intend to assess the whole year ahead here, only to say that it's not for wimps.

So happy new year! Much can actually be achieved and enjoyed in 2010 if we hold tight to clarity and love, close our eyes, and jump. Happy landings........

 

 

 

 

 

26th November

Which great Sagittarian poet inspired Lady Gaga (and one of her tattoos), Wim Wenders, Jeff Buckley, Jane Fonda, and Shostakovich - amongst so many others?

The answer is Rainer Maria Rilke, born on 4th December,1875 in Prague, then in Bohemia.  And a bohemian he was - true to the essential heart of Sagittarius and its free-spirited ways. His complicated love affairs, his passionate philosophy, and even his darker moods all capture something subtle about this complicated fire sign.

Since he happens to be one of my favourite poets - my book of his poetry is battered and bent from being read so often, (and sometimes in the bath)  - I'd like to share this poem with you.  I feel it's appropriate for the season, and for the times we are all living in, whatever our astrology may be..........

Sonnets to Orpheus, Part Two, XII

Want the change.  Be inspired by the flame
where everything shines as it disappears.
The artist, when sketching, loves nothing so much
as the curve of the body as it turns away.

What locks itself in sameness has congealed.
Is it safer to be gray and numb?
What turns hard becomes rigid
and is easily shattered.

Pour yourself out like a fountain.
Flow into the knowledge that what you are seeking
finishes often at the start, and, with ending, begins.

Every happiness is the child of a separation
it did not think it could survive.  And Daphne, becoming
a laurel,
dares you to become the wind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

November 25th
Volatile energies enliven passionate relationships, politics, and financial transactions during the last days of November. A potent mix of surprises, brilliant ideas, and barking mad illusions means that some people could find their lives upended, subverted, or just all shook up by the winter storms. Signs particularly susceptible to a little cosmic drama are Pisces, Virgo, Sagittarius, Gemini (big on the surprises bit), and Leo, Taurus, Scorpio, and Aquarius (hot ideas, romantic fog bits).  The Cardinal signs - that's Aries, Libra, Capricorn and Cancer, are meanwhile coping with serious stuff as Saturn in Libra continues to square up to Pluto in Capricorn until next February. Until next time that is. Nobody else will be paying the Cardinal signs much attention over the next few days because their own heads will be boiling over with much bubbling and hissing. What a horrible image. Oh well.

The Sun is in Sagittarius now, home sign of the traveller in all realms - mental, physical, emotional and spiritual. They can be brilliant, eccentric, and very witty. On November 28th it's the birthday of British Sagittarian meteorologist Luke Howard, born in 1772, whose main claim to fame is that he was the 'Namer of Clouds' - giving us the classifications we still use today such as cirrus, stratus, and cumulus. There are many others, sometimes beautiful, sometimes baleful or stifling. A new kind of cloud was spotted recently, provisionally named the asperatus. Dramatic, sinister, and often spectacular, they are celestial objects of great fascination for many. Look at the pictures on the Cloud Appreciation Society's website (www.cloudappreciationsociety.org ) and you'll see how amazing and portentous they are. A fine backdrop for the dramatic aspects currently forming in the heavens. And just a month until Christmas too........

 

 

 

 

3rd November
So how was the full Moon for you? When I saw it rising above the trees, here in the northern hemisphere, it was suitably impressive, potent, and bright. Effects may shiver through the coming days for many of us, so just because you've put away your Halloween mask it doesn't mean that it's all over. Oh no. For an ongoing transition is happening, and we have just set foot on the bridge across the river. Themes of endings, rebirth, and challenge to the status quo flow throughout the month - in private and public. We may honour old ways, and bring some back. We may ponder security and routine versus flowing vitality and change. And in many areas we'll be releasing the past (or it will be released for us) with absolutely no idea of what that might mean for our futures. Probably the way to cope with all this is to allow for as much movement and communication as possible, and let intuition and reason both have their chance to shine. What is supple and open-minded wins over blind obstinacy every time.

At this time of year, back in Ancient Egypt, they were celebrating the symbolic rebirth of Osiris, Lord of Silence, and god of the underworld and the kingdom of the dead. He had Isis, queen of heaven, to thank for his return to life. Flickering oil lamps burned outside houses all night long. Another festival of death and rebirth, abiding Scorpio themes. Can't be avoided really, at this time of year. And most cosmic patterns around right now would seem to be in firm agreement. So be good to yourself, light candles, and let's see what happens........

 

 

 

 

 

 

28th October
Why is this season redolent with ghosts, spirits, and supernatural beings? Probably because it's a transitional time, and misty borders and boundaries allow such things to slip back and forth between the worlds. It's as uncanny as May was thought to be by everyone from the Greeks and Romans to the Celts and Saxons. Here in the northern lands there is an obvious emphasis on death - shortening days, falling leaves, dying vegetation.....but it's also the Day of the Dead in Mexico, so perhaps something bigger is going on underneath, where we sense it but can't quite grasp it. A Scorpio theme. Mercury enters Scorpio today, perfect for research, intuitive meditation, and tangling with your inner stocks of jealousy and passion. A traditional time for fortune telling too. Things are a little looser, its easier to glimpse patterns now.

If you fancy trying to tell fortunes, why not begin with something as cosy as tea leaves? I shall now shamelessly blow my own trumpet, big myself up, and invite you to look at my newly republished Cup of Destiny from Connections Publishing.  It is based on my grandmother's tea leaf reading tips, and comes with a cup you can use for swirling the leaves around and reading the patterns they form. This is an ancient technique - people used to drop egg white in a glass of water at this time of year, or read the patterns lees left in the bottom of a goblet of wine if they happened to be living in Ancient Greece. You just soften the focus of your eyes a little, let your imagination out of its cage, and see what occurs to you. My book contains traditional meanings of the symbols of course, but I'm a firm believer in going with your own inner guidance too. It is always there somewhere, waiting for you. Earl Grey, or Darjeeling?

 

 

 

 

26th October
Your Future Lover in the Mirror.

The Sun is now in the intense, deep water sign of Scorpio, the Moon waxes to her fullness on 2nd November, and the feast of Halloween approaches all week long. My grandmother used to say that the veil thinned at this time of year, and the spirits drew close to the earth.  Well, you might want to go all Richard Dawkins on me and say bah humbug. But certainly, for some indescribably ancient reasons, this has long been the season of the witch, of honouring the dead, and of fearing macabre, crepuscular things....So for those of you who prefer to embrace sweet reason, I challenge you to enact this old Halloween ritual without at least a tiny frisson of fear coursing through your veins. Just for fun then....here (from the notebooks of Scottish poet Robert Burns) it is:

'Take a candle and go alone to a looking glass; eat an apple before it, and some traditions say, you should comb your hair all the time; the face of your conjugal companion to be will be seen in the glass, as if peeping over your shoulder'

You must do this by flickering candlelight on the night of Halloween. By yourself.

Me, I never had the bottle. But then, I just know I would see a shadowy face, peeping over my shoulder in the mirror.... and probably keel over, shivering with terror......I can hear the uncanny sounds of the glass harp even now. Bring warm, comforting pumpkin risotto at once!

 

 

 

16th October
'Experience is the name everyone gives to their mistakes' wrote Irish dramatist, author and poet Oscar Wilde, born on this day in 1854. His acute wit and aesthetic tastes masked a man with powerful emotions and the tenderest of feelings. His children's stories - The Happy Prince, The Nightingale and the Rose are just two of my own favourites - are moving and delightful. But perhaps the terrifying figure of soulless beauty, Dorian Grey, is more apt for the season. We are, after all, approaching Halloween.

So perhaps we should mention a darker, more gothic Libran? On 12th October it was the birthday of Aleister Crowley (1875-1947). A thumping great paradox of a man, he was at once pompous and arrogant,  quirkily clever, and driven by huge ambitions. He revelled in his tabloid reputation as The Wickedest Man in the World, propounding his complex theories of sex magick and drug taking. You can still buy his Thoth tarot deck with its graceful, yet disturbing images. It's not a deck I care to use since it seems to evoke confusing imagery in the imagination. No doubt, exactly as he intended.....

Mars enters Leo today, and dramatic actions may speak louder than words in some quarters this winter. It will remain there until June 2010, bringing a little fiery oomph that supports the fire signs, energises the air signs, and discomfits earth and water signs......yet another hint that the planets are on the move, and a new atmosphere is forming all around us.

 

 

 

 

 

12th October
Jupiter turns direct in the early hours of tomorrow morning (ET) in humanitarian Aquarius, beginning its journey towards the final Jupiter-Neptune conjunction of 2009 at the Winter Solstice on 21st December.

So against the crunchy, embattled background of global debates and leaders promising change, we have the soaring, expansive energies of idealism gathering strength in the run-up to Christmas. The philosophy of radical conservatism, and the theme of healing the increasing rift between rich and poor find a receptive audience now.

If you want to personalise it, then anyone with planets in the fixed signs of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio or Aquarius at around 24 degrees should sit up and take notice. Your Sun is sensitive to this big cosmic event if you were born mid February, mid May, mid August or mid November. But, of course, as you know, you could have planets here whatever your Sun sign might be. If you have your natal chart , then you'll know. If it all seems like gobbledegook, get an astrologer to explain it! Whatever your personal constraints, you can open your mind, heart, and being to something expansive, something bigger than yourself - whether that's love, a juicy creative project, or a desire to get more involved with charities or community action.

Jupiter and Neptune meet up like this every thirteen years, but not in the same sign obviously. So it is a special moment, and if we tune in to it we can shift our focus a little - away from the grinding necessities of everyday life, and upwards towards something truly inspiring. These planets have not connected in this section (by degree) of Aquarius since the 19th century - so we might see references to Victorian fights for social justice on our screens, in movies, novels and in speeches. Or question how far we have, or have not, come since then. There are, after all, numerous scenarios all around us that Charles Dickens would have recognized instantly.....

I'm also intrigued by the astrological patterns in 1920, when these two giant planets met in Leo (opposite Aquarius) and Saturn and Uranus were in Virgo and Pisces, just as they are now. So maybe the more frivolous aspects of the Jazz Age can divert us from time to time? I'm thinking we'll all be needing some stress-busting entertainment this winter! Time to study that cocktail recipe book perhaps?

 

 

 

 

 

6th October
'Style is knowing who you are, what you want to say, and not giving a damn' said American author Gore Vidal, who turned 84 on the 3rd October. Here is a supremely stylish, subversive and intellectual writer who has indeed lived a long and magnificently productive life, while evidently holding fast to the sentiments expressed in that statement.

Libra is, frivolously perhaps, associated with style. But it is also a sign linked with deeply-felt ideas of justice, fairness, and balance. On that front, we must certainly include the extraordinary Desmond Tutu (7th October 1931), and the politically active, campaigning rock singer, Bob Geldof (5th October 1951). Complex Libran John Lennon (9th October 1940) also spoke out about peace and love in person, and in many of his songs. Peace and love are not the sole preserve of Librans, of course, that would be terrible wouldn't it? But it is something that infuses their philosophy, that may even drive them on towards achievement and success.

Mercury and Mars both approach connections with Saturn over the coming days, so peace and love look like they might be edging into the background a bit while tough love and uncompromising stances get most of the attention. Mmmn, gritty. Saturday's patterns bring thoughts of freedom, expansion and power into view, spiced up with a splash of the exact opposite - those early Cardinal birthdays I've mentioned before might not be in any mood to back down. Could be a significant time for conclusions and goodbyes, but perhaps not so great for delicate negotiations......If this means you, play a long game unless you're certain sure you want out of something.

Time then, I feel, to remember that we're all in this together. It's all about us. So here's a special Libran thought to take the edge off these edgy, unsettled days:

'A dream you dream alone is only a dream. A dream you dream together is reality'  John Lennon.

 

 

 

 

1st October
A slightly disconcerting mix of sentiment and surprises prevails during October's opening week. Health-care, hotels, and water may be in the news - while in private we crave reassurance from the past, or a release from it. Paradoxes trap some of us - but as influential Libran scientist Niels Bohr (7/10/1885) remarked, 'how wonderful that we have met with a paradox. Now we have some hope of making progress.' A paradox, in some ways, is such a Libran thing.

And today is the 74th birthday of actress and singer Julie Andrews, a woman who has worked since childhood, and entertained most of us at some point in our lives. And a woman whose famous roles include magical wind-blown nanny, Mary Poppins - 'practically perfect in every way', and sweet-faced, iron-willed Maria in the Sound of Music. Both roles demonstrate Libran traits - perfection, determination, and raindrops on roses. Actually, Mary Poppins in P.L.Travers' novels is a little bit more of a dark fairy than the film character is allowed to be. But that's show-business. And it's fair to say, a scattering of shadows is also part of the Libran personality.

I hope Ms Andrews gets lots of brown paper packages tied up with string, and more than a few of her favourite things today. Please, do sing along.....

 

 

 

 

25th September
'You can stroke people with words' said American novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald (24/9/1896-1940). Ah, what a sweet, seductive Libran sentiment. Nobody does it better......Fitzgerald, author of The Great Gatsby, was a quintessential Jazz Age novelist and passionate, devoted alcoholic. He loved to escape reality, as did another colourful, controversial Libran author, Truman Capote (30/9/24-1984) - creator of Breakfast At Tiffany's, and the mesmerising, ground-breaking true crime 'faction', In Cold Blood.

The dark side of this airy sign is often neglected in popular portrayals, but it is most definitely there. And in some ways, it is the more shadowy elements of personality that can nurture creativity. The creative person seeks to explore the dark forest and report back perhaps? 

My final September Libran is French film star and animal activist, Brigitte Bardot - 28th September 1934.  Seen as a wild, sexually subversive force of nature in the 50's and 60's, she retired from film acting at 39 and devoted herself to animal rights, becoming quite reclusive in real life, while remaining an enduring style icon - inspiring the millions of tousled blondes with smoky eyes who followed her. 

Librans are, however, known for their romantic streak. So here is a quote I like from Mr. Capote, an unlikely romantic perhaps, but a Libran nevertheless:  'Love is a chain of love, as nature is a chain of life.'

 

 

 

 

 

21st September
The Autumn Equinox, when day and night are of equal length, happens tomorrow, 22nd September when the Sun enters the sign of Libra at 21.20 (UT).  It is the first day of autumn in the northern hemisphere, and the first day of spring in the southern hemisphere. Up here, in the north, it's time for the old corn gods, like John Barleycorn, to die (symbolically), so that we can fill up our grain stores for the winter.

Libra, ruled by girlie Venus, is actually a sign with a steel core. Why might this be? Well, Saturn, planet of rock-solid structures, is exalted in Libra.....an undercurrent of solidity and determination is part of this sun sign. Think iron fist, velvet glove. Yes, ladies and gentlemen, they may wear fluffy pink slippers and talk in charming tones. But now and again, you'll catch a glimpse of something tougher just beneath the surface. If you were born around the 21st September you might want to check whether you're a Libran or a Virgo. It varies from year to year.

And finally, today is the 75th birthday of gravel-voiced, legendary poet, author, sometime recluse and musician Mr. Leonard Cohen  -  a Virgo, born 21st September 1934.  While pessimism has long been an integral part of his persona, he has often seemed more sane and sardonic than most. Besides, as he once said, 'There is a crack in everything, that's how the light gets in.' Really, yes, the tendency towards pristine perfection and control - is it actually a sign of sanity? So here's to the light getting in this autumn. And may it be an alchemical season for all of us.

 

 

 

 

 

 

15th September
"If one sticks too rigidly to one's principles, one would hardly see anybody" said Agatha Christie (1890-1976) whose birthday it is today.

Her books have sold in the billions, an astonishing thought. They have spawned movies, manga cartoons, plays and tv series. And both Miss Marple and Hercule Poirot, her fictional sleuths, display classic Virgoan traits when you think about it - meticulous observation skills; fussy and sometimes abstemious habits; a quiet, yet razor-sharp, way of assessing human nature......So wax your moustaches or get out the knitting, scones, and jam. A little retro comfort may well be in order as Saturn clashes with Uranus today. Really, we all need a break from debates about the ongoing financial crisis don't we? These are, of course, of vital importance. But there's more to come. And nothing, I find, is more strangely comforting than a nice English murder story in which order is imposed upon chaos, temporarily at least.

Meanwhile, anomalous creatures continue to enter my consciousness. A large flock of wild, bright lime green parakeets flew, squawking, over my head on Sunday afternoon. So close I could feel the air from their beating wings. I was in London. I was a little surprised. I did know they live here, but had never seen any before. They are coming in a close second to the fox in the sitting room. Parrots, like foxes, (and Virgos), are ruled by the planet Mercury.  Somewhere there's a pattern. Or else, perhaps, the butler did it.

 

 

 

 

14th September

Times of shifting seasons are magical times, and times of transition and renewal. Cosmic patterns this week offer much food for thought -there are subtle moods, moments of joy, stamping of feet, and grinding of teeth. Plus a complex New Moon in delicate Virgo sparking criticisms and debates, or some fascinating innovations. It looks stressful, dynamic and talk-until-dawn talkative. But a greater tide flows around us too, the tide of the year itself. See the bigger picture and survive the week.

In my own private version of the bigger picture it's harvest-time September, and I am seduced by heaps of black-skinned green-fleshed damsons, blackberries, golden plums, late raspberries, and wicked little sloes. But what I am waiting for, yearning for, are the delectable, golden quinces that smell of roses and apples. They smell so enchanting they were once used to perfume piles of linen. When you simmer them in water their incredible scent wafts through the whole house. Their flesh turns to an intense dark red. They are a fruit belonging to myths, legends, and all the enchantments of the season. The tree is ruled by Saturn, perhaps because quinces are as hard as wood. But fruit in general is ruled by sweet Venus, planet of indulgence, love, pleasure and beauty.  A generous helping of Venusian energy might be just the thing.

It's a week for embracing something sensual and delicious, if only to lighten the prevailing atmosphere. So I'm thinking how about some fruit therapy? And only half in jest. You could follow that tiresome little dictum 'when life hands you lemons, make lemonade'.  Or you could, instead, make damson jam, sloe gin, and crush raspberries with rosewater, sugar and cream. Mwah!

 

 

 

 

9th September
The sacred Eleusinian mysteries of Ancient Greece began to be celebrated around now. It's thought they featured some sort of hypnotic or hallucinogenic drug made from barley, or perhaps mushrooms, that made participants in the mysteries feel at one with the natural universe. Revealing the secrets of the sacred mysteries was punished with death. Hence, nobody really knows exactly what happened during the days of celebration.

This ecstatic and profoundly-secret cult, devoted to Demeter, goddess of agriculture, and her daughter, Persephone, goddess of the underworld, endured for around two thousand years. It's harvest time still in the Northern hemisphere, and the symbolic Maiden with a sheaf of grain  also endures in the sign, Virgo the Virgin. You might connect these goddesses with The Empress tarot card, signifying fertility, and The High Priestess card, signifying mystery and intuition.

The whole harvest theme is so potent at this time of year, coupled with the idea of new beginnings, a new season - an echo of the old Egyptian and Celtic rhythms of the year's cycle perhaps? Sometimes I wonder if this is why January 1st feels so arbitrary and unlikely.

Pluto turns direct tomorrow. He is god of the underworld, his Greek name being Hades. Hades snatched Persephone and abducted her into his underground kingdom - causing Demeter, in her distress, to create winter here on earth. Persephone's return, in the spring, brought back renewed fertility and growth to the land.

So, profound themes to consider. Wheels turn, and it is a wonderful time to tune in to that process.

Meanwhile, I found a frog sitting in my hall last night, quite still. I caught it, and put it back in the pond. Leaving the doors open seems to attract unusual visitors.......

 

 

 

5th September
'Is this the real life? Is this just fantasy? Caught in a landslide, No escape from reality'

And so, if you're familiar with Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody, or even if you're not, you may like to sing along with Freddie Mercury's (1946-1991) opaquely poetic lyrics in honour of his birthday today. An astonishingly gifted singer and flamboyant performer, he was, true to his sign, also shy and very private.

Just two days to go before the planet Mercury turns (apparently) retrograde in Libra. Eep. Deals and agreements could take longer to nail down this month, or old conflicts flare up again as people decide that, perhaps, they're not so sure after all. This retrograde, like the others we've already experienced this year, goes backwards through an air sign into an earth sign. Basically, from thought world to make-it-happen world. Libra stresses diplomacy and meetings, while the Virgo influence highlights health, accounts, audits, and the devil in the details.

So reviewing thoughts, debates, and information is highlighted (during Libra in early September) - leading to an opportunity to review practical outcomes or plans in earthy Virgo (18th September-10th October).  Go for it, because the next retrograde in December/January is all in Capricorn, and so offers us less flexibility and fewer opportunities to talk about things. Adjustments then must be much more practical, and probably done on a tighter budget too. Cosmically speaking, it really is back to school for us all. Cultivate a zen perspective. And no talking at the back.

 

 

 

 

4th September
'Eccentricity is not, as dull people would have us believe, a form of madness. It is often a kind of innocent pride...uninfluenced by the opinions and vagaries of the crowd.' Dame Edith Sitwell

Flamboyant poet and author Dame Edith Sitwell (7th September 1887- 9th December 1964) is one of a trio of quirky, brilliant Virgos I've chosen to share with you because they demonstrate something that's sometimes overlooked in brief character sketches. The clever eccentricities of a Virgo mind, their often sardonic wit, and their gift for observing life can get lost in a sea of descriptions of service to others, neatness, and hypochondria. Oh, woe!  Sometimes they sound very tiresome, conventional, and generally annoying don't they?

But on 7th September we have Edith Sitwell, Queen Elizabeth 1st of England (1533-1603), and the extraordinary Dr. Samuel Johnson (1709-1784), author, lexicographer, editor, poet and critic to consider. All had unconventional love lives - Edith Sitwell fell passionately in love with a homosexual man who was unable return her love in any way. Elizabeth 1st, whose virginity became part of her myth, refused to marry anyone at all, but enjoyed numerous flirtations and possibly one or two secret love affairs. And Dr Johnson married, at 25, a widow of 46 to whom he was devoted. Imagine (but, please,not for long) what the gossip magazines would say about them today. Are we, maybe, inclined to be more conventional and judgmental than some of our ancestors?

It is impossible to do justice here to these inimitable individuals, but their lives and work make for fascinating reading - revealing a deeper level of the complex, mercurial Virgo soul, while simultaneously showing us sun-sign traits we recognise - love of language, a critical eye, and a tendency to worry.

You can find Boswell's Life of Johnson at Project Gutenberg - a free, magical, and somewhat Virgoan internet resource. Edith Sitwell's delicious book, English Eccentrics, is alas not there. But it's a wonderfully entertaining read. Really, anything that serves to remind us that individuality is precious is something to treasure. Virgos, we salute you!

 

 

 

2nd September
'Oh the miserable and calamitous spectacle' wrote Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) about this day in 1666, the day the Great Fire of London began at the royal baker's house in Pudding Lane in the City of London.  If you'd like to read his diary entries on this dramatic, devastating event, and of course much more, then please do go to www.pepysdiary.com , an award-winning and fascinating website. The Great Fire destroyed the old St. Paul's cathedral, clearing the way, as it were, for Sir Christopher Wren's beautiful creation and enduring London landmark. Can you imagine the oil, wine, and brandy warehouses along the riverbanks going up in flames?

The fire had been publicly predicted in an almanac by the 'English Merlin', William Lilly, a famous astrologer, fourteen years' previously. French astrologer Nostradamus had beaten him to it however, predicting it more than a century beforehand. After the fire, Lilly was arrested for his accurate prediction, but was eventually judged innocent of starting the fire himself.

So I'm thinking that the forthcoming Saturn-Uranus opposition has a little of this symbolism within it - sudden destruction of old structures giving way, eventually, to something new. This is, needless to say, a positive stance on my part. Upheaval and revolution are never exactly comfortable are they? But the last time this cycle occurred, between 1965-67, it coincided with some remarkable social reforms. And much upheaval.....

In any case, the next opposition approaches, exact on the 15th - followed by two more next year, in April and July. This time it is at 24 degrees of Virgo and Pisces, and so is particularly important for those of you with birthdays between the 13th-15th March, 14th-16th June, 16th-18th September, and 15th-17th December. It's also important if you have natal planets in Virgo, Pisces, Gemini or Sagittarius at that degree. If you want to know more, then a full astrological reading is advisable.

A rare major aspect such as this one creates tensions, and sometimes those tensions can seem paralysing, temporarily. The point of a reading of any kind is to offer you a kind of cosmic road-map so you can see where you're heading, and what you might encounter along the way. And like all journeys in fairy tales, myths, legends and symbolism, there will be challenges, dragons, treasure, and scary forests to negotiate. Sometimes these are part of your inner landscape, sometimes they appear as people or events around you. Sometimes both......

 

 

 

 

30th August
'My work is full of sweating, nervous uneasiness, which is a big part of me and everybody else. Most people don't want to see that though, because it reminds them of inadequate parts of themselves.'

Happy birthday, then, to subversive comic illustrator, Robert Crumb, born on this day in 1943. The self-deprecating humour and honesty of this remark lights up those embarrassing corners of the psyche in Mr Crumb's own inimitable, and most Virgoan, fashion.

It is also, funnily enough, the (much debated) feast day of St. Fiacre, patron saint of sexually transmitted disease, haemorrhoids, taxi drivers and gardeners. In Ireland, his feast day is 1st September. I cannot resist saying that I spot a Virgoan theme here. How about you?

 

 

 

 

 

 

29th August
Gifted Virgos cluster around today in a luminous group, dominated this summer by the late Michael Jackson. But here are some of the others, presented in a list in honour of the sign that most probably invented this useful device:  Ingrid Bergman, actress, 1915-1982;
Richard Gere, actor and activist, 1949; Jean Ingres, artist, 1780-1867; Charlie Parker, jazz saxonphonist and composer, 1920-1955; Lord Richard Attenborough, actor, director,1923.....

So much creativity, originality, and charisma. Virgos, be proud!

Also on this day in 1871 the astronomer, entomologist, and illustrator Etienne Trouvelot saw some mysterious 'opaque bodies' crossing the Sun. This puzzling sight continued for several days. He was at the Meudon Observatory in France at the time. There are many other reports of respected astronomers observing strange lights, flying objects, and other diverse and inexplicable phenomena obscuring the stars, or lighting up the Moon, through several centuries. Some of them, no doubt, are rare meteorological phenomena. But they were carefully observed by scientific minds, and some of these incidents really do make you wonder.

And it makes me wonder, in particular, why we are so eager to explain away these phenomena nowadays. In the rush to label everything, could it be we are missing out on asking some searching questions? And perhaps some of these questions have, as yet, no answers.....Possibly the tiresome 'alien beings versus no alien beings' argument has locked us into a way of thinking that excludes many other possibilities? Have we lost our mojo?

What Virgoan Charlie Parker once said about music loops me back to the beginning of this bloggery, and connects in turn with so many other things:

'Music is your own experience, your own thoughts, your wisdom. If you don't live it, it won't come out your horn. They teach you there's a boundary line to music. But, man, there's no boundary line to art.'

 

 

 

 

 

25th August
Another volcanic anniversary looms - this time Krakatoa, Indonesia, 25th-27th August,1883. This eruption was so enormous it changed the weather for five years, and created spectacular blood red sunsets as far north as Norway - known as Krakatoa twilights.

The planets are bubbling away, and so, symbolically, volcanic activity fascinates me more than usual. If a volcano like Krakatoa erupted we'd have instant climate change. Something to consider when sorting out your recycling eh? Perhaps this would remind us that, numerous though we are, we are only part of the planet, and sometimes it just might have its own ideas......

Today brings a much more Virgoan anniversary, redolent of precision and detailed observation. It's 400 years since that great and astonishing scientist, Galileo, introduced his amazing telescope to the Venetian rulers, and began writing his observations in a book, published in 1610, called The Starry Messenger. He was also an astrologer, the last of the great astronomer-astrologers of the Renaissance. Yes, he questioned astrology, but he still cast horoscopes with meticulous care, regarding astrology as a mathematical art, and astronomy as a science. Of course, my own passionate hope is to see art, science, and mystical philosophy shake hands with one another once again. Imagine that.

 

 

 

 

 

 

24th August
Without change and creative chaos where would we be? It's good to bear that thought in mind this week because, like it or not, a change is gonna come, and this week's cosmic pattern is the herald of new energies that vibrate all the way into next year and beyond.

On a personal level, you'll really notice it if you've got planets at 0 or 1 of the Cardinal signs - Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn. Or are close to someone who has. (Simply from a sun-sign perspective, this means birthdays on 20/21st March, 21/22nd June, 23/24th September and 22/23rd December)

For the technically-minded, we have a t-square between Mars, Mercury and Pluto. Mercury and Mars change signs on 25th August. Mercury enters diplomatic Libra, while Mars enters complicated Cancer. This little pattern sets up some interesting tensions.....

So it's a great time to review practical plans, look at your finances or your progress with a project, or have a serious conversation about, you know, stuff. But we must all breathe deeply, and make a big effort not to fly off the handle or punch someone.

I cannot pretend I don't think these energies are more than a little volatile for some of us. Diplomats and negotiators must showcase their skills, while some of us might be well-advised to simply keep quiet and wait a while.  Even though it may seem as if it is all somebody else's fault. Crying, 'a big boy did it and ran away' really won't cut the mustard this week. Tensions that have been bubbling under for a while may simply bubble over - molten larval streams running down a volcano spring to mind......particularly when today is the anniversary of the gigantic eruption of Mt.Vesuvius in AD 79.  It smothered Pompeii.

The letters of the Younger Pliny to Tacitus give a vivid eye-witness account of the impenetrable darkness, ash, falling pumice stones, and a mountain all aflame. Vesuvius is currently quiet, but remains a dangerous volcano, and one that hasn't erupted since 1944.....I'm certain I'm not alone in hoping it remains quiet for a very long time. But I'll be keeping a close eye on that pumice stone in my bathroom.

 

 

 

 

 

22nd August

The Sun enters Virgo today, sign of service to others, health, and attention to detail. But also a sign of wit, humour, and style. At their absolute worst Virgos whine, complain, criticise and worry about germs. At their best they are charming, funny, and rather sexy.

Yesterday the Moon's mean nodes entered Capricorn for the first time since 1991, suggesting a subtle shift in the zeitgeist towards stronger boundaries both personally and politically, and a cultural focus on responsibility perhaps. They'll be there for eighteen months.  If you want to know how this affects you personally then you'll need your personal horoscope .  The nodes are sensitive points, and can act as triggers when connecting with natal planets. Countries have horoscopes too, of course, so it's interesting to see which ones might be energised by this change.

A quick look at Nick Campion's wondrous 'The Book of World Horoscopes' offers a daunting list, but I chose to narrow it down by looking at what's relevant over the next couple of months by degrees activated in countries' horoscopes. Thinking back to when the nodes were last in Capricorn, a little group of Middle-Eastern countries intrigued me - Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi-Arabia, Syria and Palestine. Hmmn. Various charts for the USA are also in focus, but then when is the USA not in focus?  Cuba and Haiti are triggered, as is a little group of South American countries - Chile, Guatemala, and Ecuador. There are some other locations, including Papua New Guinea, Sierra Leone, and the British House of Commons (surely almost a little island in its own right?).  Let's see whether boundaries, rules, and definitions play a part in the news about these places in the next few weeks or so.  There may also be a little of the victim/scapegoat game around, or issues about oppression in the news.

Perhaps, and indeed probably,not jolly fun for all, no. But part of the little shift towards the appearance of the seriously assertive, often practical Cardinal signs (Aries, Libra, Cancer, Capricorn) that is the coming cosmic flavour of the approaching new season. And that affects us all since it pervades what surrounds us, what we hear, and how we function in our world. Meanwhile, it's a beautiful evening and I am on a semi, quasi, who knows exactly what staycation of sorts. Hoorah!

 

 

 

 

 

12th August
'Quantum physics thus reveals a basic oneness of the universe' said Erwin Schrodinger, born on this day in 1887 (died 4/1/61).

He won the Nobel prize in 1933, and was one of the most important scientists of the twentieth century. Don't you think this quotation resonates with mystical philosophies and what we like to think of as 'alternative' world views?  Well, here is a brilliant man who was not only an awe-inspiring scientist, but was fascinated by eastern religions all his life - Hindu vedanta in particular. He believed that our individual consciousness is only a manifestation of universal consciousness, and fundamentally there are no barriers between subject and object, self and other. And he lived by a bohemian philosophy in an open marriage that scandalised many of his contemporaries. A complex and charismatic Leo indeed.

And it makes me muse upon the idea that if the world had more mystical scientists and scientific mystics it might be a more vibrant place......So in honour of the spirit of today's Leo, here's something I find inspiring from one of the great, ancient philosophical Hindu texts:

'On this path effort never goes to waste, and there is no failure. Even a little effort towards spiritual awareness will protect you from the greatest fear.'

Bhagavad Gita, c.3000 BC; this excerpt inserted c. 400 BC

 

 

 

 

 

8th August
Leonine thoughts of showers of gold and valiant Greek heroes entertain me, because the wonderful Perseid meteor shower is moving towards its peak on the 11th and 12th August. You can see it, moonlight and light pollution permitting, in the northeastern sky. Astronomers promise dozens per hour, so it might be worth lying down on a rug and gazing skywards one clear night over the weekend.

This meteor shower's radiant is in the constellation Perseus, named for the Greek hero who beheaded the baleful snake-haired gorgon, Medusa.  Myth says his mortal mother, Danae, was visited by that old goat of a god, Zeus, in the form of a shower of gold. Zeus enjoyed seducing mortal women by appearing to them in transformational disguise. He'd have loved internet dating sites. The meteor shower is said to represent the shower of gold each year.

The constellation Perseus contains the spooky fixed star Algol, sometimes known as The Ghoul, or the Demon Star. It is said to symbolise the eye of Medusa, whose gaze could turn human beings into stone. They're called fixed stars because they don't move, much, while the planets were once known to astrologers as The Wanderers because they do. Algol, well, it has a nasty, malevolent reputation. But a proper discussion of the fixed stars and astrology must wait for another day. Rest assured it is not being activated in a global context just at present, and enjoy the showers of gold in the northern sky.

Leo birthdays this weekend include Great Train Robber Ronnie Biggs (8th August 1929). The famous British Great Train Robbery itself also took place on 8th August, 1963, his 34th birthday. Some Leos, it would seem, select unorthodox ways to celebrate their birthdays.

 

 

 

 

 

7th August

How was the Aquarian eclipse for you? It made me wonder about the fabled Age of Aquarius, and whether it is here,or whether we are still on the cusp of a new age. There's a lot of debate about this, the precession of the equinoxes, and other clever stuff.

Forty years' ago, in August 1969, half a million people attended an unprecedented American music festival, billed as 'An Aquarian Exposition'. It's better known as Woodstock. Back then, those people standing in a muddy field in upstate New York really believed in a utopian counter culture, a real new age, the possibility of change. They listened to some definitive and astonishing music, and heard Indian master musician, Ravi Shankar, play hypnotic ragas on his sitar in the pouring rain.

And while it is easy for us to sneer at the 'peace and love' message, it is harder for us to keep on trying to inject some quirky, empathetic humanity into our high-speed, hard-edged world. A new film by Ang Lee, 'Taking Woodstock' (released in November in the UK) celebrates part of the story of this legendary event that, some say, defined a generation. If what goes around comes around, then we might expect some interesting resonances in the coming months. The planets will be ultra tough and crunchy (Saturn square Pluto) with idealistic, utopian vibes threading their way in between (Jupiter conjunct Neptune).  Expect a bit of both.......and hang on to your hats!

 

 

 

 

6th August
'Tis better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.' wrote Poet Laureate Alfred, Lord Tennyson (1809-1892)  - and yes, it's his birthday today.

It seems to me that this is a passionately Leo sentiment, although love matters to most of us unless we have ice in our veins. But the words carry that slight swagger of a romantic gambler, prepared to lose in love but fingers crossed, and lucky knickers donned, in fervent hope of winning lasting fulfillment. While two Mr. or Mrs Wrongs do not make a Mr. or Mrs Right.....sometimes you've just got to take a chance. Or several chances.

Today's lunar eclipse is likely to energise Leos, Aquarians, Taureans and Scorpios the most. Most particularly those with birthdays around the 5th and 6th of August, 2nd and 3rd February, 3rd and 4th May, and 5th and 6th November. For 'energise', you may infer provoke, unsettle, disrupt, or challenge.....the cosmos pokes your mind and your dreams with it's little magic stick, and stirs things around a bit. If this happens, try to be pleased. Why? Because sometimes things need stirring up, and that comfort zone can become a cage you're scared to leave. Not good. An eclipse can resonate in your horoscope for some time too.

Of course, we may resist change. That's called exercising your free will. But sometimes, that doesn't work too well in the long run.  When good things go bad.....Something to think about under the shadowy Moon anyway. August can be a wicked month.

 

 

 

5th August
So the seriously important pagan festival of Lammas took place on 1st August when my blogging attention was elsewhere. But wait! Thanks to the pesky calendar changes in the 18th century, Old Lammas will coincide with 12th August. So it's not too late.

 

If, like me, you enjoy ritual moments, marking the calendar as it unfolds, or are just curious, then Lammas is another fire festival. And in Britain's sodden summer some fire is precisely what I crave. The Celtic name for this festival is Lughnasadh, in honour of Lugh, god of light and wisdom.

 

It's a good time to assess your harvest - what's happening with your projects, your dreams, your desires? It is also considered a good time to let go of things that no longer serve you or your life. Ah, yes, it is summer  -  but the year is waning and autumn approaches somewhere on the edges of the morning.

Now, Leos - is it possible you don't know that you share your birth sign with charismatic US President Barack Obama? It was his birthday yesterday, 4th August 1961. We should also raise a bubbling glassful of something to stellar author and philanthropist, J.K.Rowling (31st July 1965) and to the memory of chic, gifted, quirky Yves St. Laurent (1st August 1936-1st June 2008).  Coincidentally, another French fashion legend, Coco Chanel, was also born a Leo (19/8/1883 - 10/1/71).  See the new movie about her if you love colour and design and people speaking French. Or enjoy being mesmerised by the lovely Ms Tatou.

We approach the Aquarian lunar eclipse today and tomorrow, depending upon where in the world you live. Like Lammas, it too is an excellent time to think about what you've achieved this year, and what you want to jettison now. It could, I suspect, be a bit hectic, insane, or unsettling for some. So here's a quote from J.K.Rowling to encourage us all to be bold, brave, and lion-hearted:

'It's our choices....that show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.'

J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (1999)

 

 

 

 

30th July

So does the diversity of outstanding people within a sun sign mean that sun sign personality traits are an unreliable guide? Not exactly. Some people are more typical than others because, generally and simplistically speaking, they have planets in addition to the sun in the same sun sign in their natal horoscopes. If all you have is the sun in, say, Leo, you may not recognise yourself when reading a definition of your sun sign character traits. As critics of astrology like to remark, you cannot divide the population up into twelve types. What a relief! People, and their astrology, are much more complicated than that.

Today's birthdays include the inimitable, bouncing, assertive and ambitious actor and politician, Arnold Schwarzenegger (1947) - as you might imagine, a typical Leo male. The great English sculptor, Henry Moore (1898), on the other hand, became famous and wealthy, but lived modestly in rural Hertfordshire until the end of his life, not seeing the need to flaunt his success but preferring his extensive, inventive body of work to speak for him.

Other Leo traits are demonstrated by the three famous women I've chosen for the end of July:  Artist, author, and mycologist Beatrix Potter (28th July 1866) - creator of Peter Rabbit and numerous other iconic animal characters; gothic novelist and poet Emily Bronte (30th July 1818), who gave us Wuthering Heights;  and elegant, witty, charismatic Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis (28th July 1929).  They were all, in different ways, fiercely independent free spirits, combining romanticism and pragmatism in equal measure. And they all valued privacy very highly.

Finally, an enchanting meeting with a snuffling pug dog in a rural allotment inspired me to think about the brilliant, sparkling Dog Star, Sirius, the brightest star in our sky. It is currently hidden by the Sun, but it's heliacal rising (visible above the eastern horizon at dawn) is due, very soon, in early August. These then are the Dog Days, the caniculares dies of the Romans. Sirius rising signalled the beginning of the 365 days of the Ancient Egyptian year. This, symbolically, is the star of fame, and of madness too. And heat, ladies and gentlemen, heat - which in rainy Britain might be a most welcome experience. I await it with interest.......

 

 

 

 

 

 

23rd July

The Sun is now, as of yesterday afternoon, in the sign of Leo the Lion. This sign is popularly supposed to be filled with extroverted, playful, loyal, bossy and rather noisy individuals who love a bit of bling and enjoy taking centre stage. But as you've probably noticed with all the other signs of the zodiac, such thumbnail sketches miss out some of the subtleties that also belong to each of the twelve signs. Leos can be rather quiet, even shy, and like cats will spend much time apparently inactive  - only to spring into life and surprise everyone. So while Sir Mick Jagger (26th July 1943) might seem to possess typical Leo swagger and showmanship, who would immediately associate gothic, romantic writer Emily Bronte (30th July 1818) or the mystical, philosophical psychiatrist Carl Jung (26th July 1875) with this sunlit sign?

Your own horoscope is brimming over with complex patterns of course, making you an individual, not just a sign. But the sign the Sun was travelling through at the time of your birth does, to a certain extent, define you. Delve a little deeper though. If we allow it, we can all unfold throughout life, discovering new possibilities and unexplored potential. This process can be scary of course. But the alternative, I suspect, is to congeal like some nasty, cold gravy on yesterday's dinner plate. Even if you are not as bold as the proverbial lion, a little bravery goes a long way.

 

 

 

 

22nd July
It's a very extra-special day for astronomers and astrologers. The longest solar eclipse of the century (6 minutes 39 seconds) in the final degrees of Cancer, will be visible as it travels across India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, along China's Yangtze River to Shanghai, in Japan and on into the Pacific Ocean. Astronomers will be able to study asteroids and comets travelling in low orbital spaces. But as the temperature drops rapidly, and a miniature night descends, millions may experience a visceral sense of foreboding. Eclipses are regarded with extreme caution by most Asian astrologers. There are wild rumours of tsunamis, earthquakes, and other dramatic events associated with this eclipse.

So what's it all about?  Should we worry?  This eclipse occurs at 29 degrees of Cancer, technically known as the anaretic degree. It represents a critical moment, a time when something must be done, something must change or be brought into the light.  Sometimes it is known as the 'fate degree' for this reason. Anything that's been brewing, untended or ignored, will demand attention. In watery Cancer this suggests a focus on emotional patterns, habits, and perhaps dogmatic, obstinate beliefs that require shaking up, letting go or dealing with. This eclipse trines the electrifying planet Uranus, also placed in a water sign, Pisces. So some of this shaking up could be sudden, revolutionary, and apparently unexpected.  But like the symbolic meaning of the tarot card, The Tower, such events or realisations will have been building up for some time underneath - we've ignored them, or failed to notice signs in dreams, intuitions, or other subtle, subconscious hints. Globally, this means cultural changes or shifts in attitude and behaviour will need a practical, clear-eyed approach.

I could also say that Cancer represents the eternal feminine, the symbolic mother, and nourishment - in some ways, the earth itself, our home planet. So tick tock, the endless argy-bargy around ecological issues may be in focus yet again.

We can revel in feminine symbolism today since it's also the feast day of that much-maligned saint Mary Magdelene. I recommend Lynn Picknett's fascinating book, 'Mary Magdelene: Christianity's Hidden Goddess' if you want to find out more about this mysterious, powerful woman.

In your own personal horoscope, you are especially sensitive to this eclipse if you have planets at 29 Cancer, Capricorn, Aries or Libra. Also if you have natal planets placed at 00 degrees in Leo, Aquarius, Taurus, or Scorpio. The eclipse energises those points. An astrologer can tell you how this energy might manifest, depending on the position in your horoscope. Generally though, expect a confrontation with something you've been ignoring. You can work with the energy by making some little positive changes to your home, your relationships, or your tedious, dusty old habits.

Meanwhile, if the Vedic astrologers are right, the sky will be falling down........

 

 

 

20th July
'That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind' said Commander Neil Armstrong (Leo) the first man to plant his foot in the fine, cold dust in the Sea of Tranquillity on the surface of our Moon. It was July 20th, 1969.

Astrologically, the Sun was in the Moon-ruled sign of Cancer. The Moon itself was, from our perspective, waxing in Libra.  The others on that historic Apollo 11 mission were Edwin 'Buzz' Aldrin (cusp Capricorn/Aquarius) and Michael Collins (Scorpio). Photographs of Earth rise from the Moon showed us our beautiful blue home planet for the first time. Perhaps this was the dawning of global awareness?

Yet the inconstant Moon retains it's ancient power to enchant us, to inspire art, poetry, song lyrics and romance. It pulls the tides of the sea, and it is linked with madness, passion, and chilling supernatural legends. In your horoscope it symbolises the often inscrutable world of emotions, feelings and imagination. In the tarot, the major arcana card The Moon represents illusions and dreams - things that bring enchantment and inspiration, but also, if taken too far, disappointment and sorrow. In a risk-averse world addicted to 'busyness' and goals, such mysteries are easy to suppress and ignore. But I think that this isn't always the wisest thing to do. And, I suspect, a chorus of gods, goddesses, shamans, witches, werewolves, and magicians just might agree.

 

 

 

16th July
Day by day we are moving towards the Cancer solar eclipse (22nd) - lengthy and spookily dramatic to see, if you live in Asia or China.

Over the next few days the Sun links with Jupiter, Neptune, and Uranus - preparing us with a dash of restless energy, curious conundrums, and perhaps some difficult choices too. If you've been aware of pressure building up at work, or in your relationships, staying silent might not be an option. And you might not be in charge of where and when the tipping point is reached either. Because, yes, we have more quincunxes (150 degrees between planets) around. 

Some astrologers say this is a minor aspect, others disagree. Consensus says it's a stressful aspect, and often a fateful one. Beneath the charming talk beloved of Venus and Mars in Gemini, there are tight shoulders and a few tight-lipped social encounters dotted around. Diplomacy works, but decisions beckon...and the energy of this eclipse, and the next one in early August, is stirring up the pot, the hornet's nest, and edges of your intuition.

You might like to consider the words of Cancerian composer Gustav Mahler (7/7/1860-18/5/1911):  'It is strange how one feels drawn forward without knowing at first where one is going'.  Many of us will be feeling a bit like that over the next few days.....and seeking the soul's inner sat nav during some quiet moments is probably a good plan as well.

So, what better time to chill out and say 'happy birthday' to Cancerian musician Desmond Dekker (1941-2006).  He was a ska, rocksteady and reggae pioneer from Jamaica whose huge hit, The Israelites (1968), brought reggae into popular consciousness in the UK -  way before Aquarian Bob Marley became the most famous international reggae artist of all time.

 

 

 

14th July
'Allons enfants de la Patrie' because it is Bastille Day today, the moment when the French Revolution gained momentum as an irresistible force of an idea in the zeitgeist of eighteenth-century France. And, astrologically speaking, a Cancerian event - much energy and emotion bursting forth from its long sojourn beneath, much like a Cancerian individual's temper.

Today's birthdays include one of my favourite artists, Gustav Klimt (1862-1918) who said that 'All art is erotic'. What do you think about that?  We also have one of my favourite novelists, Isaac Bashevis Singer (1904-1991), and legendary film director Ingmar Bergman (1918-2007), who married five times and had nine children he acknowledged. Possibly more. He directed one of my favourite films, Fanny and Alexander (1984). 

In this rich, abundantly creative group of Cancerians we must include prolific folk singer-songwriter Woody Guthrie (1912-1967) who had three wives and eight children. He mentored Bob Dylan.  His fierce respect for truth, and his strong opinions reveal a Cancerian theme - the guidance of emotions and intuition will not be denied, even if they do take a while to reach the surface. And when they do, their impact is all the more potent.

Here in 2009 Venus begins her approach to square up to Saturn on the 28th, while Mercury approaches a quincunx (yes! that delectable word again) to Pluto. Potentially testing times, but as my grandmother always observed, it is the grit irritating the oyster that makes the pearl. Creativity and love will require hard work this week, but what eventually emerges will be stronger, shinier, and more valuable.

 

 

 

 

 

 

13th July
Mars, planet of action, is now in talkative Gemini, and approaches Pluto in Capricorn in one of those strange and esoteric aspects that still manage to pack a punch when you're not looking. It goes by the wonderful Harry Potterish name of a quincunx. Or, sometimes, it seems to me like a word from some 18th century erotica.

But whether Hogwarts takes your fancy - or you prefer something more grown-up, just be aware that hasty decisions, or the rash unveiling of innermost secrets - especially in business - are inadvisable for the next couple of days. If you have natal planets between 0 and 2 degrees of Gemini or Capricorn, or you were born between May 20-23, or December 21-24, keep a lid on it! Discretion, at this moment, is the better part of valour. Fate may, however, have other ideas up her pretty little sleeve. Hmmn.

Today is also the birthday, in 1527, of mysterious, brilliant, and altogether magical Cancerian, Dr. John Dee. He was a true Renaissance man, being an astronomer, astrologer, mathematician, alchemist, navigator, philosopher, occultist and (it is widely supposed) a spy for the Virgin Queen herself, Elizabeth 1st.  He embraced science and magic as one entity, and with his passion for mathematics saw the secrets of the universe written in elegant numbers. One or two of his magical items are in London's British Museum, and his imagined presence graces many novels. He died in 1608 or 9 at Mortlake, venerable but impoverished.

 

 

 

 

7th July
'Love and compassion are necessities, not luxuries. Without them humanity cannot survive.'

So says the 14th Dalai Lama, exiled spiritual leader of beleaguered Tibet, born on 6th July, 1935, and identified as the reincarnation of the 13th Dalai Lama before he was three years of age.  He shares the day, but not the year, with George W. Bush, former president of the (Cancerian) United States of America, born in 1946. Perhaps we can say that Mr.Bush's religious beliefs shaped his life in a rather different way.....

On 5th July we have Jean Cocteau (1889-1963) another extraordinary Cancerian. He was a French playwright, designer, artist, film maker, poet, novelist  boxing manager and sometime opium addict. You can see his mysterious and thought-provoking religious mural, completed in 1960, at Notre-Dame de France in Soho, London.

His Cancerian spirit shines through this quotation, which resonates with the values we typically associate with this complex sign:  ' I love cats because I enjoy my home, and little by little, they become it's visible soul.'

My own tabby cat adopted me, so I do not know her birthday. She is clever, eccentric, playful and gorgeous, and most partial to roast pheasant. Fortunately, she is terrified of the legions of garden frogs. A sweet, stripy, visible soul to have around though.

Happy lunar eclipse!

 

 

 

 

July 2nd

The perfect summer sky isn't torn, exactly, but an intriguing pattern is forming as we approach the lunar eclipse on the 7th.  The weekend of the 4th and 5th July smoulders with energy, some of it deceptive, some of it confrontational and explosive. And some of it, frankly, completely and utterly howling-at-the-moon mad. Watch the news and see what you think. But please do resist rash promises, snake oil salesmen, midnight swims, and the comfort of strangers. Those born under, or with planets in, the fixed signs of Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius could be especially susceptible.

Technically, Mars in Taurus is moving towards squaring off with Jupiter, Neptune, and Chiron, and making a dynamic aspect to Uranus, planet of revolution and electricity. And there's still an echo of Venus in the mix. Plus, on American Independence Day itself Mercury opposes Pluto. Quite busy then. Factor in an approaching pair of eclipses and it's not exactly a zodiac chill-out zone. Accusations may fly, and if you're a Cardinal sign - Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn, you may have to eat all the words you spit out over the weekend. So, maybe don't say much then. 

Turning away from the global cauldron towards some lighter entertainment:   yesterday's Cancer birthdays include the amazing pioneering British pilot, Amy Johnson (1903-1941) who drowned under mysterious circumstances after bailing out in the Thames Estuary on a secret war time mission. Her body was never recovered.

Another wild Cancerian (yes, you see, they exist) was prolific French novelist George Sand (1804-1876). Her real name was Amandine Dupin. She was a scandalous, libidinous baroness, strolled around Paris in male attire, smoked cigars, and was passionately involved with Chopin for ten years. She, like Cancerian George Orwell, held a high regard for truth. She said:

'Simplicity is the most difficult thing to secure in this world. It is the last limit of experience and the last effort of genius.'

It is more than possible that simplicity will be in short supply over the coming days. An abundance of smoke and mirrors seems more likely. Enjoy the show. But don't forget to go home afterwards.

 

 

 

 

 

June 30th

If you're a June Cancerian you may be wondering where all the famous birthday folk have got to. So here's a little group for you to ponder. June 25th offers an interesting duo - George Orwell (25/6/1903) and George Michael (25/6/1963).  Orwell is one of the most important writers of the twentieth century, coining the phrase 'Big Brother is watching you' in his unsettling novel 1984, published in 1949. Horribly, brilliantly prescient...... 

George Michael's music has uplifted and entertained millions for the past twenty years. In truly emotive Cancerian fashion he said 'you'll never find peace of mind until you listen to your heart.'

And finally, what about Henry VIII of England, born on 28th June 1491? He was very musical, composing a number of songs. In between he managed to start wars, marry six women, catch syphilis, and behead anyone who upset him. He is said to have been moody and emotional - recognizable Cancerian traits, I think you'll agree. He also hated letting loved ones go, and although fickle in his affections he seems unafraid of love's vulnerability. He wrote this song lyric:

Whereto should I express
My inward heaviness?
No mirth can make me fain
'Till that we meet again.

 

 

 

 

 

26th June

Farewell, then, to Michael Jackson, who died suddenly last night in California. Sometimes dubbed the most famous man in the world, he had worked, since the age of seven, for more than forty years. A Virgo (29th August 1958) with a Pisces Moon, his chart reveals sensitivity, and a lifelong struggle for identity and validation.

People sometimes ask me if you can see death in a horoscope. The answer is no. You can see important themes, meaningful times, or even crises, but death in the sense of an ending, a full stop, does not appear. It is more mysterious than that.

Millions share Jackson's date and time of birth. They will carry on. Some of them may have died years' ago. This is where destiny, the soul's path, and what is written for us in our astrological horoscopes create a rich bed of possibility, choice, and potential. It is where issues of destiny and free-will dance together, sometimes one leading, sometimes the other.

Whenever an iconic person dies it tends to encourage reflection about such things. Whatever we thought about Michael Jackson as a man, his music has accompanied us somewhere through decades, and belongs to the soundtrack of our own memories, and (unless we are very young) our own era.

Here's something he once said:

'If you enter this world knowing you are loved and you leave it knowing the same, then everything that happens in between can be dealt with.'

 

 

 

24th June
Midsummer Day and it's the official birthday of St.John the Baptist, slap bang opposite Christmas, and the official birthday of his cousin, Jesus Christ. If you like to dig and delve you can find a veritable cornucopia of fascinating information about this extraordinary, numinous figure. Was he born under the sign of Cancer? We do not know. But both the 23rd and 24th June are very important dates if you're interested in magic, paganism, myth, legend, and what's been hidden away down the centuries.

On this day, for example, there were festivals associated with Ishtar, supreme Mesopotamian goddess; with Isis, the great Egyptian goddess; with Fors Fortuna, Roman goddess of good fortune; and in 17th century England with Witches Night, a night for telling fortunes by breaking a hen's egg in a glass of water and reading the patterns you saw with your inner eye, the eye of both artist and seer.

Meanwhile, out on Bayou St. John in 19th century New Orleans, the St. John's Eve Voodou rituals performed by Creole Voodou Queen Marie Laveau II (1827-1895) attracted many thousands of spectators. Must have been quite a sight. Marie Laveau II, a Leo, and her mother, the original Marie Laveau (1801-1881), a Virgo, have inspired music, films, and novels. You could start with Dr. John's song about her if you fancy some kind of soundtrack for today's bewitching vibrations.

The sign of Cancer is, quite rightly, associated with motherhood, home and family - but it's important to realise that this is also a deeply intuitive water sign, capable of ruthlessness, loyalty, biting wit, and often possessed of great charisma and alluring presence.  Not just cosy homebodies then, oh no. I hope to prove my point by bringing a quirky selection of fascinating Cancerians out of the closet this summer.

Finally, the waxing Moon leaves Cancer today and enters Leo this afternoon. But sometime during the late morning (GMT) it connects with Uranus - emotions may surprise or subvert. Happy Midsummer Day!

 

 

 

 

23rd June

It's Midsummer Eve, and a new Moon waxes in its own sign, Cancer, giving us a double dose of emotional, feminine Cancerian energy on one of the most magical nights of the year.

If you stayed awake on this night, watching and waiting, it is said you would see the souls of the living wandering around, or the spectre of your future true love coming to see you. There were men leaping through bonfires, torchlit processions, love spells and charms aplenty.

Whatever you think about all this, (and I long for those flickering flames and a salty wave of romantic anarchy) it's still a fertile time for opening up to the hidden world of the unconscious mind, and seeing what a little jolt of imagination and intuition can do for you.

A lovely tarot card for this day might be the High Priestess, mistress of the silvery realms of the Moon, and guardian of the secrets hidden away in our inner beings. Our own potential is sometimes a secret we keep from ourselves.

Time for a little midnight, moonlit stroll perhaps?

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

21st June

It is the summer solstice today. Venus and Mars are embracing in the sensual sign of Taurus, so whatever else is going on I do believe there must be room for a little astrologically-inspired desert. Strawberries and sugar are ruled by sweet Venus, cream belongs to the silvery realms of the Moon.

Here is a medieval recipe (adapted in the l950's) for the ultimate June indulgence:

'Take a deep cold bowl half full of cream. Whip the cream slightly, but do not make it too stiff. Then drop into it as many strawberries as it will hold, the smaller ones being put in whole, the larger cut up. Stir as you go, mashing slightly, and when the cream really won't cover another strawberry, leave it to stand for an hour. It will then be a cold level pale-pink cream. Crust it over with dredged white sugar and serve forth, in June, on a green lawn under shady trees by the river.'

From: Food in England by Dorothy Harley (1954)

Bon appetit!

 

 

 

 

20th June
It's solstice eve, and the Sun enters the cardinal sign of Cancer the Crab early tomorrow morning. And although this is a mystical, magical date in our calendar, and the first day of summer in the northern hemisphere, it is not yet old Midsummer Day. That comes in a few days' time, infused with an ancient, heady mix of magic, fortune-telling, bonfires, witches and fairy folk. 

At the solstices, the rays of the rising Sun illuminate certain alignments in the neolithic and bronze age temples of Europe - Stonehenge is the most famous I think, but there are many others. And whenever I've visited any, they really do seem to have a hold-your-breath kind of atmosphere. Speculation says they were places of healing, and places where important people were buried. And calendars, of course.

Modern astronomy and astrology - yes, it seems like a long way from those huge stones and earthworks, but these sacred calendric monuments are where both have their infancy, thousands of years' ago. We don't know much about those prehistoric rituals (although they often seem to have involved roast pork), so we can plunder intuition and make up our own.

Anyway, you don't have to be a pagan to feel that it's encouraging to have more than one special turning point in a year. I mean, January 1st never seems quite right to me. All those dreary resolutions and tiresome diets.... So over the next few days with magic in the air and a new Moon rising (22nd) it's new beginnings for whatever you fancy. Or perhaps a little personal alchemy and a bowl of fresh strawberries. Don't forget the cream.

 

 

 

 

17th June
The Summer Solstice (or the Winter one in the Southern hemisphere) approaches in just a few days, and doubtless Druids and pagans everywhere are preparing their ritual robes, ready for sunrise on that special day. Just as a by the way, I recently discovered that British prime minister, Winston Churchill (1874-1965) was initiated as a Druid in 1908.  Who knew?

Astrologers like to cast a horoscope for the Sun's entry into Cancer on the 21st June, since it shows the overall themes and flavours of the coming season. What can we expect?

Themes are, unsurprisingly, fractured. Lots of gossip, tweeting and twittering, and probably some major whistle-blowing as well as what's known as the 'general public' (that's us) communicate, debate and discuss what's going on around them. Much emerges from beneath in every way - secret files, buried antiquities, drowned villages....We are very restless, and that's not changing any time soon. Some summer optimism blooms in the fiscal deserts, and the quick-witted make money and get out before the cosmic autumn gales. Trying to channel idealism into practical action is the real challenge here, whatever your profession.

Meanwhile, there is a little earthy practicality around (Venus and Mars in Taurus trine Saturn in Virgo) and sensible measures put in place this summer should prove enduring. For some, it's a positive time to get married, or embark on a more serious love relationship. There's a lot of tension between tradition and innovation, but somewhere in the middle of that tug-of-war lies a whole new set of unexplored possibilities. Expect continuing focus on nuclear power as alternative energy, and nuclear weapons too. Not very cosy, but there it is. All the more reason to turn to love's pleasures and seize life by the throat. Oh, and keep asking questions. You'll get an answer eventually.

 

 

 

June 15th
There are, of course, zillions of famous Geminis. But I think you'll agree that this one takes some beating.

 

It's Lisa del Giocondo's birthday today (1479-1542/51). She was the enigmatic model for Leonardo da Vinci's 'Mona Lisa', a portrait that has inspired more international speculation than any other. She lived in Florence. You might, then, want to raise a glass of Chianti in honour of her birthday.

This week a fizzing, unstable, and potentially disruptive energy prevails (Sun square Uranus), threaded through, eventually, with spiritual, creative, and potentially healing possibilities (Sun trines Jupiter and Neptune).

 

Religion, culture, education, invention, and the uncertainties of volcanoes and thunderstorms are all highlighted, cosmically speaking. Some of these themes may emerge in the news, others in our dreams or creative moments. Revolution and sacrifice are in the air.

 

But life is also intimate and personal, and responding to these patterns in your own world might shine a provocative light on stale old problems and situations. What if? It's a great week for questions. Answers, though. Perhaps not just yet.......

Finally, I have now counted twenty nine frogs in the garden pond. And for this, too, there are no answers. Only much croaking.

 

 

 

 

 

June 14th

Mercury re-enters his home sign of Gemini today, and Jupiter reverses in Aquarius tomorrow (15th). Airy fairy?

 

Certainly some interesting ideas percolate upwards, outwards, and onwards into our consciousness over the next few days.  Some we forgot. Some surprise us all over again. We have, after all, been wandering around in the Land that Time Forgot for a few weeks.....

Meanwhile,the gibbous Moon wanes in Pisces, and the tide goes out, leaving all manner of flotsam and jetsam lying on the sand. Some of it is worthwhile. So expect an 'ah ha' moment somewhere or other along the line.

 

Time for digging around in the archives and doing a spot of archaeology in your soul, wardrobe, or down at the beach. It might be hard to focus hard and sharp, but if we try we can unearth treasures, one of Pluto's gifts to us in his mythic role as Lord of the Underworld, and guardian of buried treasure.

After a lot of clever argy-bargy, astronomers refer to Pluto as a 'dwarf' planet nowadays. But as everybody knows, size is not always important. It's what you do with it that counts. And astrologically, Pluto still packs a potent cosmic punch. You just don't always see it coming.

 

 

 

 

June 13th
'Tread softly because you tread on my dreams' wrote William Butler Yeats, born on this day in 1865 (he died in 1939). He remains one of my favourite poets. And what a tender plea from a Gemini soul that line is.

In some ways the dreams of air signs (Gemini, Libra, Aquarius)  seem to be the most delicate and easily-crushed of all. Their birth in concrete form - poems, songs, paintings, inventions - represents a special effort for those who inhabit the airy realms, or those who have significant planetary patterns in air signs. The dream is so perfect while it is locked up in your mind. Once released, well, that's another matter entirely.

W.B Yeats embodies some of the eclectic qualities of Gemini at its best - his political battles, mystical quests, intellectual passions, idealistic love affairs...... and at the core that elusive, flickering combination of light and shadow, melancholy and joy that those born under this dual sign offer the rest of us. If you love a Gemini individual, you must have noticed this. It drives you mad, probably. Tread softly, though.

Perhaps it's apt that today is also the feast day of St Anthony of Padua, patron saint of lost objects. The waning gibbous Moon will connect with Jupiter and Neptune today  -  objects melt, morph, or simply disappear. For a while, anyway. But love and dreams, yes indeed, they're having a fine time. And faintly, in the dark, a chorus of twenty frogs croaks in agreement from my pond.

 

 

 

 

12th June
Today marks what would have been the 80th birthday of Anne Frank (12th June 1929 - dying from typhus in Bergen Belsen in March 1945).

Her vivid diary, written while in hiding from the Nazis, is her enduring legacy. When you read it, you hear her voice and feel like her friend.

 

When I first read it myself, aged 15, I was inspired by her feisty character, her honesty, and her warmth. A communicative Gemini, yes; a gifted writer, without a doubt; and way beyond these - a personification of hope, and the shining wonders of the human spirit.

Here's something she wrote, a few months before her imprisonment and death:

'It's difficult in times like these; ideals, dreams, and cherished hopes rise within us, only to be crushed by grim reality. It's a wonder I haven't abandoned all my ideals, they seem so absurd and impractical. Yet I cling to them because I believe, in spite of everything, that people are truly good at heart.' Anne Frank, July 21st, 1944.

 

 

 

 

8th June
So consider this. There are mysterious ring formations in the arctic ice, visible from high above, in uninhabited regions. And in the fields of Wiltshire, England (and elsewhere) elaborately beautiful crop circles are appearing one after another, just as they do every year since the late 80's and early 90's. What forms them? In an inhabited region they must, surely, be created by artists? Mostly, I suspect they are. You can visit the Circlemakers website to find out more about that.

But wait! On this same website you will find a fascinating section about strange lights and other weird anomalies the crop circle artists have experienced at night out in the fields. Playing along with our fantasies of aliens? Or an example of inspired trickery meeting inexplicable mystery, and getting all tangled up until you don't know where one ends and another begins?  Genuine fakes (as vendors cheerfully cry in the night markets of Thailand)?

Maybe the alien circlemakers are in charge after all? Double bluff! Whatever the origins, guiding spirits, or otherwise, these are stunning creations to be enjoyed.  And like that nervous, fake smile you paste on your face at an interview or on a first date, there is a moment when something kicks in, and you're smiling for real.

Mercury, planet of the mind, meets dream weaver Neptune this week in an aspect that suggests trickery and illusion in the news, in your neighbourhood, or in your head. Find the beauty in the trick and you're half way there. Just avoid signing anything.

 

 

 

 

 

Weekend of 5th - 7th June
It's a weekend of endings and beginnings. What happens on Friday and Saturday has been a long time coming, and as the full Moon approaches on the 7th, we should see some interesting tensions or even resolutions and solutions. If you're a Sagittarian, Piscean, Virgo or Gemini this weekend could be an important turning point for you. If it's your birthday weekend, a memorable year.

Venus, planet of love and shopping, enters sensual Taurus on 6th June, moving towards a flowing link with the Lord of the Underworld, Pluto. Emotional intensity and passions thrive. Milk and water types shiver in their shoes in the face of red-blooded energies and uncompromising stances during the coming days.

And if all this is too much for you, consider that, on 6th June 1844, The Young Men's Christian Association was founded in London by George Williams - making it a sociable Gemini institution.

It's thirty years since the Village People had a hit with Y.M.C.A. in 1979, but singing this iconic disco song might ameliorate some of the angst being stirred up by those pesky planets. It doesn't matter if you do it in an ironic manner either. All together now.....

 

 

 

 

 

3rd June
Two famous, charismatic Gemini free spirits have a birthday today. American Beat generation poet, Allen Ginsberg (1926-1997) and Josephine Baker (1906-1975), dancer, singer, spy, and civil rights spokeswoman.

Ginsberg was a bisexual who spoke out freely about gay rights, breaking the taboos surrounding open discussion and acceptance of homosexual relationships. He spent time in India, Morocco, Paris, and San Francisco, embraced Buddhism, and railed against hypocrisy in all things.

Josephine Baker, known as La Baker in France, was an African American who left America at a time when racial segregation was stifling and oppressive. Her erotic dancing, wearing little more than a tiny skirt made from artificial bananas, was a sensation in Paris, and she became a muse, inspiration, and the lover of many men and women. Her work for the French Resistance earned her the Croix de Guerre after the Second World War. She once owned a pet cheetah which wore a diamond collar, and adopted twelve children from around the world - calling them her 'Rainbow Tribe'.

In one of those little cosmic coincidences that are so amusing and thought-provoking, it's worth mentioning that Gemini actress Angelina Jolie celebrates her birthday tomorrow, 4th June. She has her own 'rainbow tribe' of adopted children, her own diverse collection of past lovers (male and female), and her own interests in human rights and freedoms.

And here's something Josephine Baker said about herself that demonstrates Gemini wit and double-speak at its best:

'I wasn't really naked.  I simply didn't have any clothes on.'

 

 

 

 

June 1st

Yes, there are still three weeks of springtime to come. June, the month of roses and strawberries, begins today with some extravagant, romantic eroticism woven into its planetary symbolism under a waxing, gibbous Moon in Virgo. Until this afternoon when it enters Libra, that is.

Virgo can be romantic, of course, but has a reputation for being prim and proper. However, everything (except vampires) casts a shadow, and none deeper than that cast by the avowed puritan. Consequently, there is sometimes something a little perverse about Virgo.  Mostly, this remains hidden or unexpressed.

So, Moon in Virgo is, perhaps, briefly balancing out Venus and Neptune's mists of fantasy and desire. You can imagine mermaids singing, or capricious fairies stealing human lovers away in the night.

Close to the witching hour one night over the weekend I watched a lone fiddler lead a procession of robed men, their faces obscured by carved deer masks, real antlers curving above their heads.  The music was mesmerising, yearning, haunting. The crowd silent, almost holding its collective breath. The dance is ancient, the effect magical. For a beguiling moment everything was suspended in time, and we were lifted out of our mundane selves. And for some of us, it could be that kind of week.

 

 

 

 

May 31st
Today is American poet Walt Whitman's birthday (31st May 1819 -26th March 1892) - one of a number of iconic Gemini wordsmiths and poets including Bob Dylan, Cole Porter, W.B.Yeats and Prince. There are many more. Barry Manilow anyone?

Whitman was a largely self-taught original thinker whose words sparked controversy and devotion. Here's a poem he wrote about the night sky:

When I heard the learn'd astronomer,
When the proofs, the figures, were ranged in columns before me,
When I was shown the charts and diagrams, to add, divide,
and measure them,
When I sitting heard the astronomer where he lectured with
much applause in the lecture-room,
How soon unaccountable I became tired and sick,
Till Rising and gliding out I wander'd off by myself,
In the mystical moist night-air, and from time to time,
Look'd up in perfect silence at the stars.

Mars enters the fixed earth sign of Taurus this evening  -  money matters just won't go away (ker-ching!) but a more practical approach is now possible. Stubborn refusals to explore a range of possibilities are, however, likely to trip some of us up (ker-plunk!). I'll be making sure I look up at the stars from time to time.

 

 

 

 

May 30th

Mercury turns direct in the early hours of tomorrow morning. But I have to tell you something important. And annoying. As he tiptoes forwards, slowly, he can create more hold-ups, cancellations, and mad computer mysteries than ever. Just for a couple of days. And then, as if that weren't enough in this adrenaline junkie world, there is the shadow to consider.

This means that until Mercury arrives at the same place in the zodiac where he slowed down and went backwards you should be cautious, thoughtful, and factor in a little extra time when travelling. That happy day is 14th June. So read the small print, the manual, the map and the subtext with extra special care. And celebrate, when you can, the joys of slowing down and savouring something. It's a great time to look at our home galaxy, the Milky Way, light pollution permitting. Or tune in to the Taurean vibes of Mars and Venus and smell the roses. Those old species roses have an intoxicating scent. Mmmn.

 

 

 

 

29th May

Patterns, symbols, and resonances form the heart of astrology's language, for at one level they can be read just like any other language. And meaningful coincidences bounce around this matrix, creating fascinating connections and provoking questions.

So, here's one I came across that fascinated me. Today is Oak Apple Day, a day that commemorates the restoration (in 1660) of flamboyant, sexy, and altogether colourful King Charles II to the British throne. It was his 30th birthday. In 2003, a film called Stage Beauty starred flamboyant, sexy, and altogether colourful English actor Rupert Everett as King Charles II. And today is Mr Everett's 50th birthday (29/5/59).

Neptune turns retrograde today, seeming to travel backwards until November. Could be an excellent time to revisit past fantasies and see whether they have something to tell us. Or pay attention to strange coincidences. Now and again, they can nudge us onto the right track.

 

 

 

 

May 27th

So giant red Jupiter joins giant blue Neptune today, the conjunction is visible in the south-eastern night sky if you're feeling astronomically inclined. And have a telescope. Jupiter is, however, visible to the naked eye. Neptune remains mysterious and true to its symbolic nature, floating out there in space. That's where the telescope comes in.

 

This is the first of three conjunctions this year, the others occur on 10th July and 21st December. A triple conjunction hasn't happened since 1971.

This is, above all the potential confusion, a day for dreams. They can be fragile things, can't they? But infinitely precious all the same.
Here's something I like very much that Goethe wrote. I think it resonates with today's planetary symbolism:

'Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.'

 

 

 

 

May 26th

As it began, so it ends. May is alive with dancers. And this past weekend, now the fixed Christian festival of Whitsun or Pentecost, is one of the many Morris dancing times in the European folk calendar. Whitsun was once celebrated by brewing special Whitsun beer, making garden mazes and love seats, and dancing. With bells on, in the case of the Morris dancers. Origins are ancient and obscure, but have some links to Spain and Morocco, or so they say.

What matters is that fat little bells are still tinkling on ankles, staves are still clattering one against another, and hankies are still a-flutter to the beat of a drum and the sweet wail of a fiddle. You can laugh all you like, or sneer in a post-modernist way.  But under the new waxing Moon, a spot of dirty dancing might be just the right way to acknowledge an exuberant cosmic pattern, exact on 27th May.

Jupiter, Neptune and Mars are involved in this exciting, unstable pattern - and if you have natal planets at around 26 degrees of Aquarius or Aries it's a direct hit of vibrant confusion, straight to the heart. But many of us are already hearing this cosmic siren's song - and numerous horoscopes in all the signs are being bewitched, inspired and confused. Look out for 26 degrees in your chart.  If you have a planet at that degree, open your mind and see what happens. Or get out your bells and dance like a dervish. Your energy may lead you somewhere rich and strange.

 

 

 

 

May 20th
The Sun enters Gemini today. But just in case it's your birthday and  you think you're a Taurean, relax. You could be.

 

The date of the Sun's ingress (entry) into a sign wobbles just a little, meaning there is a variation from year to year of a day or so.  It's called a cusp. A professional astrologer can tell you which side of the cusp you sit. Taurus or Gemini? You probably have a bit of both.

And there are two anniversaries today that demonstrate that cuspal mix of practicality (Taurus) and a kind of childlike daring (Gemini).

In 1927 Charles Lindbergh, a visionary Aquarian, took off on the first transatlantic solo flight from New York to Paris.  Thirty three and a half hours!  And on this day in 1932 Amelia Earhart, a fiery Leo, flew from Newfoundland to Ireland, the first solo transatlantic flight by a woman.

 

I'd like to share two inspiring quotes from this pioneering character.  They highlight her fire sign spirit, and for me they are helpful things to remember in our troubled, yet oddly restrictive, times:

'Worry retards reaction and makes clear-cut decisions impossible'

'Adventure is worthwhile in itself'

 

 

 

 

 

May 18th
So what does Saturn turning forwards in Virgo actually mean?

 

Since 31st December 2008 the great ringed planet, symbol of authority, structure, and the very bones of things, has been grinding along in reverse. We've been asked, endlessly, to check details, to make lists, to sieve things through a fine mesh. Really, quite tedious for most of us.

 

The devil has certainly been in the details for some people. And still is my little chums, and still is. So no careless rapture just yet.

 

Planetary energies have favoured cut-backs and clear-outs, preparation and planning. This suits some of us, but others have found it heavy going. So, hoorah! It is almost time to move forwards with stalled projects, or dip your toe (go on, try a whole naked foot) into the waters and see what happens.

 

Swashbuckling progress will take time, and another Saturn-Uranus opposition in September says more pruning may be necessary. Could be your values and priorities have changed without you realising it. Could be you want to create a new philosophy for yourself.  But a shape begins to emerge. Do you know what it is yet?

 

 

 

 

16th May

This weekend takes confusions, delusions, scandals and soaring flights of fancy in its stride. Like red wine drifting gently downwards through a glass of water, all edges are blurred, all cats are grey in the night.

 

The Sun meets Uranus, Jupiter and Neptune, and Saturn reverses his stolid tramp through the sign of Virgo. The Moon passes through Aquarius, adding some publicity and lighting up snatches of gossip, or intimate secrets.

 

Things leak (water, gas, poison, secrets). Could be most entertaining, even bewitching, but possibly not for everyone...........It will be hard to know what's going on, and yet intuitive people will sense much, but describing mundane reality proves to be a slippery challenge.

 

How apt, then, that it is the anniversary of the very first Hollywood Academy Awards in 1929. The glamour and illusions of a budding global film industry, celebrating itself under a different sky - although the Sun was close to Jupiter then, too, and squaring up to fantasy-prone Neptune just as it is this weekend.

 

This weekend also sees the wedding anniversary of Marie Antoinette and Louis XVI of France (1770) - an utterly glitzy, delusional couple. Since they were only 14 and 15 when they exchanged those fateful vows, I think we should forgive them their early careless excesses in the way of pastel silks, powdered wigs and all-night gambling. They can hardly be said to have got away with it in the end.

 

And finally, today is the anniversary of the first meeting, in 1763, of another resonant historical couple. Dr. Samuel Johnson and his faithful companion and biographer, Mr James Boswell. Johnson, a curmudgeonly, meticulous Virgo, and Boswell, an intense Scorpio with a weakness for London's prostitutes, met in Russell Street, Covent Garden. Here is what they said to each other:

Boswell:  Mr Johnson, I do indeed come from Scotland, but I cannot help it.

Johnson:  That, Sir, I find, is what a very great many of your countrymen cannot help.

On such spiky 18th century beginnings a precious lifelong friendship rests. Whatever you're thinking this weekend, hold on, or hold off and wait for the cosmic fog to lift a little. But don't forget to catch your dreams. They may contain the seeds of something wonderful.

 

 

13th May
Brrr! It is the third night of the spooky Roman festival that took place around midnight on the 9th, 11th, and 13th May. For this is when, whisper it softly, the lemures, ghosts of the malevolent dead, are around.

 

The protective, good spirits were called lares. But the lemures had to be distracted with sneaky late night offerings of black beans, and banished with much banging of brass trays. You know how it is.

Just before midnight, Mercury enters Taurus, where it remains until June 14th, although it turns forwards on 31st May.

 

If things are unravelling for you, perhaps this is a good time to distract or charm someone, or maybe decide to banish what's holding you back?

 

Traditionally, retrograde Mercury isn't a brilliant time to make forward progress. But why should forward progress be the only kind? Recycling, rewinding, reinventing....all good.

 

Is forward progress the only kind? No, that would be ridiculous. The wheel of fortune is round, after all. Beans and brass trays at the ready! Oh, and remember, don't look behind you......those lemures really don't want to be your friend.

 

 

 

May 12th

"From the smallest particle to the largest galactic formation, a web of electrical circuitry connects and unifies all of nature, organizing galaxies, energizing stars, giving birth to planets and, on our own world, controlling weather and animating biological organisms. There are no isolated islands in an electric universe."

David Talbott and Wallace Thornhill - Thunderbolts of the Gods


A friend's link to this website (www.thunderbolts.info ) gave me (and now you) this thought-provoking quotation about the electric universe - a fascinating, controversial hypothesis.

 

Not least because it meshes rather beautifully with ideas more familiar to readers of magical, mystical texts. Yes, it's all about connections!

 

So what does it take to feel that sense of connection? When you're stressed out it's just so fragile isn't it? For me, watching the frogs in my pond works well - if I can see them.

And in truly random fashion, with no obvious connection at all, today is the feast day of St. Pancras, Roman Christian martyr, and patron saint of adolescents.  No jokes about railway stations or frogs are possible.  But, if you're in the vicinity, a stroll around St. Pancras station is quite entertaining.

 

All about connections again, you see. In the station you'll see a statue of John Betjeman, an Aries who channeled some of that inimitable Arien fighting spirit into saving magnificent, bonkers St. Pancras (the Victorian building, that is).

Here is something he wrote about childhood - an eternal part of the Aries soul expression. And perhaps, I do so always hope, part of all of us:  

'Childhood is measured out by sounds and smells and sights, before the dark hour of reason grows.'

(Summoned by Bells, 1960)

And with the astrological cosmos in such an anarchic and subversive mood, what better time to plunge into the world of sounds and smells and sights?

 

You haven't had a better excuse all year.

 

 

 

 

May 11th

Today is Salvador Dali's birthday (1904-1989).  A multiple Taurean with Cancer rising, he fascinates us still with his flamboyance, his prolific genius, his exuberant self-promotion tinged with a kind of child-like vulnerability. He delved, endlessly, into the subconscious mind, the realm of dreams where symbolism thrives and where mystical arts assume a rational disguise.

 

In the 60's he created a series of twelve lithographs showing the signs of the zodiac, later - towards the end of his long life - he created The Dali Tarot.

 

Dali appears in the deck (amongst various examples) as the King of Pentacles, asleep on a throne. Pentacles is, according to many interpreters, the earth suit of the tarot deck's minor arcana. Dali was an earth sign, Taurus, so perhaps he knew something about tarot reading. I like to think he did. The King of Pentacles is a man who often makes money, is ambitious, and revels in the world of the senses. And in honour of this month's first (of three) mystical, delusional, surreal conjunction of Jupiter and Neptune (I know, I'm obsessed with it) here is a quote from the great mustachioed one:

"The difference between false memories and true ones is the same as for jewels: it is always the false ones that look the most real, the most brilliant"

 

 

 

 

May 9th
A full Moon in Scorpio rises tonight. In the late afternoon and early evening (GMT) it might be especially gothic in its effects, or fuel bouts of restlessness, paranoia and revenge fantasies. But only if you’re that way inclined.

 

 

 

 

May 8th
Oh. My. Goodness. I went to make a cup of tea. I glanced into my sitting room. And there, sitting quite still, was a young fox!  In my house! In the middle of the afternoon! In the middle of a city! There just aren’t enough exclamation points to express how I felt. I held my breath. It ran out through the open back door.

 

According to my trusty book of planetary rulerships (The Rulership Book by Rex E. Bills) foxes belong to Mercury. Some say red foxes are solar animals, because of the colour. But across numerous mythologies foxes are seductive tricksters, sometimes for good, sometimes for ill - just like one of the attributes of the planet Mercury in astrological symbolism. Mercury’s in reverse, what better time to see a fox in your house?

 

Foxes are legendary shape shifters as well, and they belong to the in-between times of day - twilight and dawn - those times where you can’t quite see what’s real, what’s solid, where something ends or begins.

 

I was so excited. I know urban foxes are everywhere these days, bold as brass and barking in the night. But not in your house. Yet. And you know how something strange and unexpected can shift your thinking a little? I did find a frog (a lunar creature) in the kitchen one evening, and a squirrel (an annoying creature) ran in one morning.... but really, I think you’ll agree, a fox in the sitting room tops that. Kind of witchy. Kind of foxy. I am reduced to inarticulate expressions of wonderment. Wow.

 

 

 

 

May 6th.

The Eta Aquarid meteors are falling through the night sky in the constellation of Aquarius. Romantically, poetically, they are falling stars. You could close your eyes and make a wish. Specifically and scientifically though we know they are bits of dust left behind by Halley's Comet. And there it is again, an example of how we think about things, and how it is possible to squash things flat by eliminating poetry, and why we do that. Why? Do you know?

 

Either way, a falling star is a beautiful thing to see, even if it is only some comet's dust. Is it love, or is it a mixture of dovetailing neuroses and bonding chemicals, released in intoxicating quantity when we kiss? I mean, which do you prefer? And surely there's a place in between where a delicious cocktail of mystery, delicately infused with illusion can be enjoyed? Oh, I can hear the ice clinking already.

 

So, anyway, as Mercury appears to reverse in Gemini tomorrow morning, I'm puzzling over such things.  Mercury communicates, Gemini plays with words. That's what the black arts of spin and pr are all about. Nobody wants to be a mug punter do they? But the intricate wit and wordplay linked to Mercury in Gemini can be given a warm round of applause. In reverse, of course, Mercury in Gemini must be viewed with the intellectual equivalent of a queer eye for a straight guy. Get picky and read the small print. By the 13th, Mercury will reach Taurus and a more down-to-earth view of the past may prevail. Or some clunking great cover-up emerges. If you've got practical things to do, cultivate patience and consider the virtues of slowly but surely this May. And that includes making the perfect cocktail.

 

 

 

 

 

 

May 4th.

Thinking about the vast and expanding universe makes you feel a bit weird doesn’t it?

 

It is the International Year of Astronomy this year. Once upon a time astronomers were astrologers as well.  Four hundred years since Galileo looked at the night sky through his telescope. And he had astrology books in his library. And it’s five hundred years since Johannes Kepler wrote New Astronomy. He was a radical, revolutionary and passionate astrologer as well. He said that astrology was ‘the music that impels the listener to dance.’ I love that.

 

So you could dance to your planetary tune, or sit it out on the sidelines, or lurk by the bar, sulking. Or get your coat because you’ve pulled. Free will can be bursting with multiple choice options.  You just never know, do you?

 

 

 

 

 

May 1st

Here it is. The Merry month of May. There used to be a lot of dancing around May poles and running into the woods to gather blossoms and greenery. And, apparently, indulge in carnal delights.

 

Most of this has been stamped out or sanitised over the centuries. There were May poles in London until the 19th century. Can you imagine?

 

May Day in the old Julian calendar was in the middle of May in our calendar. So that explains some of the enthusiasm for al fresco revels. It might have been a bit warmer by then in the northern hemisphere. Really the whole month is magical, particularly this year. Well, I think the conjunction of Jupiter and Neptune should bring something surreal or fantastical at least. It’s symbolic of gurus, mystics, travellers, and a fascination with the vast and expanding universe. Also, perhaps, dramatic storms at sea or floods. But then, Neptune is also the ruler of bluff, delusion, illusion, and the collective madness of crowds. And Jupiter rules the law, and also money.  Put them together and what have you got? Hmmn.

 

 

April 30th

It’s May Eve, Walpurgis Night, Beltane - the season of luscious fertility, witchery, and crackling fire festivals. It is when the Wicker Man burns, and what an entertaining movie that is. Kitsch yet sinister in true 70’s style. Yes, there was a remake. But it didn’t capture my attention.

Beltane is the sister festival to Samhain, or Halloween, and is full of legends of fairies, vampires, and spirits as well. If you are susceptible, now’s the time to see them.

 

This year, Mercury enters Gemini, it’s home sign (with Virgo) tonight. Oh, much tricksy trickster energy will be around, encouraging those symbolic elves and pixies to make mischief no doubt. Or, in the material world, spin doctors and gossip-mongers can anticipate a busy season.

 

So don’t believe all you hear. These people have more in common with the fairy folk than they know. And it’s not all sweet and sparkly either. Just check out Rumpelstiltskin and you’ll see what I mean. Fairies used to command respect laced with a frisson of fear. And they never wore pink.