Astrology and News
The 2008 TIME 100 most influential people - how does your star sign measure up?
TIME have just produced their list of the hundred most influential people of 2008. It must be difficult having to produce these lists year after year, because you don’t want to repeat yourself too much. Perhaps that’s why Pope Benedict XVI and Venezuelan leader Hugo Chavez aren’t in this year’s list.
TIME also, I assume, has to give the the impression that it’s up to date, and is covering all segments of society. So fifteen year old singer and actress Miley Cyrus, a Sagittarian, gets into the 2008 list, in the ‘Artists & Entertainers’ category.
It’s easy to be critical of TIME’s pick, but maybe part of its function is to make us think - about people we might not have heard of, but who in their own way are making a big difference to their environment. I suppose this would apply particularly to people working in the areas of science, medicine and charity. Though from an astrological point of view, this is annoying - because when you’re dealing with such people, who at the moment aren’t widely known, it can be difficult to get hold of their birth data. So, when I did a star sign analysis of the TIME list, I could only find the signs of around seventy of the hundred names. Well, actually, it was a bit more than hundred names, because certain people got joint placings - for example Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, and the Coen brothers.
Anyway, here’s my star sign analysis, covering about seventy percent of the list, showing how many people, from each of the twelve signs, are in it:
Aries: 5
Taurus: 6
Gemini: 3.5
Cancer: 7
Leo: 4
Virgo: 9.5
Libra: 5
Scorpio: 7
Sagittarius: 7
Capricorn: 2
Aquarius: 9
Pisces: 7
I don’t include people born ‘on the cusp’ - if I’m not sure of someone’s star sign I don’t include them. Where two people share a spot, they contribute half a point each. So Brad Pitt contributes half a point for Sagittarius, Angelina Jolie half a point for Gemini.
Now it’s possible that a more industrious astrologer than me would discover the star sign of everyone on the list, and my partial analysis will be shown to be statistically well short of the mark. So my findings are very provisional, and no firm conclusions should be drawn.
Anyway, the big surprise is that there are more Virgos than any other sign, with 9.5 of them. The reason it’s not a whole number is the Coen brothers, who get a shared placing - Ethan Coen is a Virgo, his brother’s a Sagittarius.
It’s tempting to conclude, given how many Virgos there are, that Virgo is the most influential sign of the Zodiac. However we have to remember it’s the 2008 list. Virgoans are influential this year, perhaps because Saturn is moving through their star sign, while Jupiter is moving through the creativity sector of their solar chart. As a result they’re hard working, and they’re able to get their talents out into the open - in such a way that they get recognised.
At the other end of the scale, there’s poor Capricorn, getting a score of only two. Which is very strange, given that Jupiter, the planet of good fortune, is passing through their star sign. But we should remember that in January the planet Pluto entered Capricorn as well. This planet is a heavy-duty influence, which intensifies everything it touches. Perhaps Capricorns are taking time to get used to Pluto, and they’re finding it difficult to make an impact?
Finally, what about your star sign? How influential are you going to be in 2008? Given my analysis of the TIME list, I’ll give the following provisional ratings to the twelve signs:
Five stars, a real mover and shaker: Virgo and Aquarius
Four stars, a serious player: Cancer, Scorpio, Sagittarius and Pisces
Three stars, waiting for your moment: Aries, Taurus and Libra
Two stars, acting behind the scenes: Gemini and Leo
One star, hiding in the mountains: Capricorn
If you’re a Gemini, Leo or Capricorn, don’t worry, 2009’s another year!
David Cameron - a Sun in Libra and a Moon in Leo doesn’t make him Margaret Thatcher
David Cameron is a British politician, leader of the Conservative party. His party is well ahead in the polls, and they have done stunningly well in recent local elections. Under these circumstance, there is a growing assumption that he’ll be British Prime Minister some time in the next couple of years.
So far I haven’t paid much attention to his astrology - I’ve been mesmerised by the dreadfulness of ongoing trends in current Prime Minister Gordon Brown’s horoscope. And I can’t help thinking of the John Boorman film Excalibur, where the condition of King Arthur and his kingdom are inextricably linked - a damaged king makes for a damaged land. Yet in Gordon Brown’s case there’s no Holy Grail.
Anyway, it’s now time to focus on the man who’s supposedly going to be Prime Minister very soon. His star sign is Libra, which is a great sign to have if you want to be a politician. Although Librans can be weak and uncommitted, those that succeed in politics can be cleverly manipulative, using their understanding of human nature to help propel themselves to the top. Vladimir Putin is a Libran, and so’s Italian Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, and neither man strikes me as being a weak leader.
Most significantly, Margaret Thatcher is a Libran. And I think she illustrates one of the key points about this sign. The symbol for Libra is the Scales, and most Librans want to adjust themselves, so that they harmonise with their environment. Yet Margaret Thatcher had a reputation for being uncompromising - ‘The lady’s not for turning!’ being one of her most famous quotes. It seems that in many cases she wanted the world to adjust to her, rather than the other way round.
When I look at David Cameron’s chart, I get a feeling that he’s not in the mould of Margaret Thatcher. Aside from the Sun, he’s also got the Ascendant and Venus in Libra. I get the impression that this is someone with great social skills, who wants, as far as possible, to make everyone happy.
And while his Moon in Leo makes him a proud and sometimes forceful person, it’s not the same Moon as Margaret Thatcher. Her Moon, like that of Winston Churchill, was positioned right at the end of Leo, close to Regulus, the royal star. David Cameron’s Moon, by contrast, is in early Leo - so it’s unlikely to provide the kind of drive, ambition and intensity that was such a defining feature of the careers of Thatcher and Churchill.
Though to be fair, David Cameron does have the planet Mars on Regulus. The astrologer Vivian E. Robson said of this position:
Honour, fame, strong character, public prominence, high military command.
Still, when I look at David Cameron’s Hindu horoscope, I start to wonder what he’s doing in such a high political position. As far as I can see, there just isn’t the mark of political greatness. Also, in Hindu astrology, he has an opposition between Venus and Saturn, slap across his crucial First-Seventh house axis - Gordon Brown having the exact same feature. To me this is troubling, and I’ve got a hunch that David Cameron, despite his desire to make everyone happy, is capable of making enemies, particularly until May 2011, when the full power of the Venus-Saturn aspect is in force.
On the plus side, David Cameron’s chart isn’t as badly afflicted as Gordon’s Brown’s, and as things stand there’s no reason to believe that he won’t be Prime Minister. And he’s helped by a wonderful conjunction between the Moon and Jupiter, that takes place in Leo in Western astrology, in Cancer in Hindu astrology. This conjunction really is very fortunate, and suggests a man who has got a fair mount of luck.
Nonetheless, I can’t help thinking that the Conservative Party could have picked a leader with a better horoscope. Things might be OK now, but fast-forward a couple of years, to Cameron as Prime Minister, and it might be a different story.
Josef Fritzl, Aries gone bad
My astrology teacher, the late Olivia Barclay, was never one to mince her words. While talking to her in a pub in Walton-on-Thames, she told me that everyone with an Aries star sign was a bastard. And being a teetotaller, she wasn’t drunk. Of course Olivia was making a massive generalisation, but I think I know what she was getting at.
Aries people like to do what they want, when they want, and sometimes they can appear selfish. Yet in my experience they tend to be straightforward. Usually they tell you what’s on their mind, and there’s not much that’s kept hidden. So it was with some surprise that I discovered that Josef Fritzl, who imprisoned his daughter in his cellar for twenty-four years, while forcing her into an incestuous, child-bearing relationship, had Aries as his star sign.
On April 9 1935, when Fritzl was born, the Sun was at nineteen degrees Aries, its point of maximum exaltation. According to traditional astrology, the horoscope Sun in this degree position should make someone very powerful, not to mention fortunate. However it seems that in this case, it’s lead to blinding egotism - a person who is so obsessed with themselves that morality, decency and humanity get thrown out of the window.
To top it all, Fritzl went on holiday to Thailand, leaving his daughter and her children trapped in his cellar. It’s true that Aries people like going on holiday, often at short notice, but Fritzl is Aries gone bad. A man so depraved and selfish that he can put his short-term and very perverse gratifications before anything else.
It’s worth noting that American murderer Jay Wesley Neill was born on April 9 1965. In 1984 - the same year that Fritzl imprisoned his daughter - he killed four people while robbing a bank, three with a knife, one with a gun. He was in a financial mess, and a bank robbery seemed to be the answer to his problems. That’s Aries gone mad - you hit an obstacle and you take immediate action, without caring less about the consequences.
Then there’s Russian serial killer Alexander Pichushkin, born on April 9 1974, who killed at least forty-eight people. Known as the ‘chessboard killer’, he wanted to kill one person for each of the sixty-four squares on a chessboard. Before being sentenced to life imprisonment, he said ‘I was judge, prosecutor and executioner’, suggesting a massive, almost godlike ego.
Josef Fritzl took it upon himself to completely control his daughter for twenty-four years, to force her, and then her children, to live in a dungeon that he himself had created. Did he, in some warped way, believe that he had the right to do what he did? Did he think he was some twisted god? I don’t know, but to say the least, he strikes me as being a real bastard.
April 28 - a big day in Hindu astrology, time to plaster the economic cracks
Combining Western and Eastern astrology can be mentally taxing - having to work with different Zodiacs, that start in different places. In 2007, using the Western Zodiac, Mars entered Gemini on August 7. But using the Eastern Zodiac, it didn’t happen until September 16. And right now it’s the Eastern Zodiac I want to talk about.
Usually Mars stays in a sign for around six weeks. However recently this planet, from the Earth’s perspective, has been going very slowly. So the movement into Eastern Gemini on September 16 was a major shift - because it stayed in this sign for months on end. Indeed, it will finally leave Gemini, and move into Cancer, on April 28. That’s over seven months in one sign!
In Hindu astrology Gemini is not a good sign for Mars to be in, all things being equal, because Mercury rulers Gemini, and according to the rules of the system Mercury is an enemy of Mars. A lot of talking, a lot of worrying - and perhaps an inability to get anything done.
Matters got even worse on November 21 2007, when the planet Jupiter entered Eastern Sagittarius. Although Jupiter is usually happy in this sign, it was opposition Mars - in the Zodiac Gemini and Sagittarius are signs that are opposite each other. The influence of this opposition continues, until Mars leaves Gemini, on April 28. It’s been difficult to be optimistic, with so many irritations to deal with, and the world has appeared a dangerous place.
From April 28 onwards, I suspect that there’s going to be a feeling of relief. For many of us the pressure will ease up, and from a global point of view there could be a feeling that we’re returning to normal. It might only be a temporary reprieve, in an economic and political sense, but we should enjoy it while it lasts. As I’ve always maintained, it’ll be at least another year before things get really bad. The cracks in the global economic system might be appearing, but at the moment it’s still possible to plaster them over.
Hillary and Obama - is the worst yet to come?
Let me briefly recap on my views of the presidential race. I don’t believe that Barack Obama will be the next US president, and if Hillary Clinton or some compromise candidate doesn’t get the nomination then John McCain will definitely win the prize - provided he stays fit and healthy, which is statistically likely. As I think Barack Obama will discover in 2008, it’s not enough to be a talented and charismatic politician. You have to get your timing right, and he’s going for the top job four to twelve years too early.
From an astrological point of view, it’s difficult dealing with Hillary and Obama, because we don’t have an unambiguous time of birth for them. Sure, astrologers have put up timed birth charts, but so far the information about their birth times is either patchy or contradictory. Still, there are certain things we do know.
In Hindu astrology Barack Obama has a conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn, in Capricorn. This conjunction is important, not least because he’s going through a period of life ruled by Jupiter. Furthermore, he has a conjunction between the Sun and Mercury, in Capricorn’s opposite sign of Cancer. Before anyone complains, I should point out that the Hindu signs of the Zodiac are currently twenty-four degrees behind their Western counterparts - so Obama has a Leo Sun in the West, a Cancerian one in the East.
Hillary Clinton also has planets in Cancer, in the Hindu Zodiac - to be specific, a conjunction between Mars and Saturn. We can therefore see the potential for a real clash.
One might think that there’s already a clash, as they’re both battling for the same prize. But it’s likely to get more intense. After all, on April 28th the planet Mars moves into Cancer, in the Eastern Zodiac, and it stays here until June 21. It triggers Hillary’s Mars-Saturn conjunction, and also Obama’s Sun-Mercury conjunction. Not to mention being opposition his Jupiter and Saturn.
Under these circumstances, these two candidates can do considerable damage to each other, unless one of them drops out of the race. It’s difficult to say who is most vulnerable to the destructive influence of Mars. My guess is that it’s Obama - Mars affects four of his planets, including Jupiter, which is the ruler of his current planetary period.
Though I should say that under normal circumstances Mars’ movement through Cancer wouldn’t be too much of a problem, because it happens approximately every two years. Yet when you’re in a high profile position, battling to be US president, it’s a different picture.
At this stage I should mention security risks. Forty years ago, on June 5 1968, Bobby Kennedy, one of the candidates for the 1968 Democratic nomination, was shot by Sirhan Sirhan. There is an astrological tie-in between the 1968 and 2008 presidential elections. In early 1961 there was a conjunction between Jupiter and Saturn, and just over seven years later, when the two planets were a hundred and twenty-six degrees apart, Bobby Kennedy was assassinated. Likewise there was a Jupiter-Saturn conjunction eight years ago, in the year 2000. Put simply, the years 1968 and 2008 are at the same stages of the Jupiter-Saturn cycle. In fact one of the precise days when their angular separation is the same as it was at the moment of Bobby Kennedy’s shooting will be August 4 2008, which is Obama’s forty-seventh birthday. So perhaps he should be careful who he invites to his birthday party?
In Bobby Kennedy’s case, we have a time of birth, and his horoscope has a clear signature of an assassination danger - much clearer than that of his brother John. His Hindu horoscope had a Mars-Saturn conjunction in the Seventh House of enemies. While Hillary also has a Mars-Saturn conjunction, we don’t have an unambigious time of birth and we therefore don’t know which house it’s in.
Nonetheless, given the events of 1968, it’s better to be safe than sorry, and I feel that the period from April 28 to June 21 could be more dangerous than usual, for both Hillary and Obama. But I must emphasise, that I think it very unlikely that anything terrible will happen. It’s just that from an astrological point of view, there is an elevated risk.
On a non-physical level, both candidates must make a special effort to keep their cool - thanks to Mars’ influence there’s the possibility that in the heat of the moment they make very big mistakes. Of course that’s perhaps what the next stage of the campaign is all about, with each candidate hoping that the other one puts their foot in it.
Yet from the point of view of Obama’s political career, he really does need Hillary to win the Democratic nomination if he wants to be president. If he’s the main candidate he’ll lose in November, and that could cause long-term damage to his political capital. On the other hand if he doesn’t get the nomination, perhaps because the super-delegates get the jitters, he can claim that he was deprived of what was rightfully his. And with his honour in tact he’d have a good chance of being elected president in 2012, 2016 or 2020.
Richard Quest, a Pisces with loads of Aquarius, arrested in New York
Richard Quest is a British reporter for CNN, who last Friday was arrested in New York; he had a controlled substance in his possession. Just before the arrest, he had been stopped by the police in Central Park, at a time of night when it was out of bounds to the general public.
At first sight Richard Quest (born on March 9 1962) doesn’t appear to be a typical Pisces. On television he seem to be a real extrovert, who is verbally very fluent. But as I keep saying, one should never forget that the ruler of Pisces is Jupiter. A planet that’s looking for new horizons, that’s often unhappy being in one place for too long. So it’s hardly surprising that one of his main areas of expertise is business travel.
It’s easy to understand how a Pisces can do well in the world of television - they can use their emotional sensitivity to respond almost effortlessly to the demands of their audience. However in Richard Quest’s case he has a fair few planets in Aquarius - Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. Aquarius is an individualistic sign, and I believe it helps him to stand out as someone with unique talents.
In Richard Quest’s horoscope there is a close Mars-Jupiter conjunction, which is opposite to Uranus. This suggests that he’s a person with a lot of energy, who puts a high premium on freedom. And maybe there are times when his need for freedom has unexpected results.
From the Spring of 2007 through to the end of 2008 the planet Uranus is close to his Sun in Pisces. Uranus is the planet of unexpected happenings, as well as being a significator of dramatic change. So the arrest might have been influenced by Uranus, with Mars acting as a trigger - I say this because last Friday Mars was making an 120 degree aspect to his Sun.
It’s also possible that Richard Quest is sensitive to the Mars-Jupiter cycle. He was born at a conjunction of these planets, and at the moment they are opposite each other. This might mean that he is being challenged to use his energy in a constructive way, and that he’s perhaps making the odd mistake.
We might also be dealing with Fate. I don’t know what impact, if any, the arrest will have on Richard Quest’s career, but maybe Fate is giving him a gentle hint that it’s time for a change. Yes, he’s very good at his job, but maybe he could be making even better use of his talents somewhere else?
Am I a fraudulent medium?
It’s a bad time to be a British psychic. The 1951 Fraudulent Mediums Act is being repealed, and it’s going to be replaced with the Consumer Protection Regulation. The Fraudulent Mediums Act, as its name implies, is meant to protect the public from people claiming to be mediums and psychics, who use fraudulent methods to get their results. However it has lead to very few successful prosecutions, and very soon much tighter legislation will be coming into force. People visiting psychics and mediums will be regarded as fully-fledged consumers, with legal redress if the service they’re paying for isn’t adequately provided.
The key phrase in the Fraudulent Mediums Act is ‘intent to deceive’. If a purported psychic deliberately deceives their client, they are breaking the law. On the other hand, if they are acting in good faith, but still give bad advice, they are, as I understand it, doing nothing wrong. With the Consumer Protection Regulation, acting in good faith isn’t enough.
I’m not a lawyer, but I’m wondering if astrology might also come under the new Consumer Protection Regulation. When people come to me, they often want to know what’s going to happen next. And being an astrologer, I do unashamedly claim that by looking at the movement of the Sun, the Moon and the planets I can get insights into the future. Of course making hard and fast predictions is very difficult, and very rarely do I tell a client that an event will absolutely, a hundred percent, definitely happen.
Unlike many psychics, I don’t make extravagant claims about where I get my information from. I just say that I got the position of the planets from the computer, or from my books of astrological tables. And I then use standard techniques, plus a lot of judgment, to convert the raw data into actual forecasts. So I can logically explain to a third party how I reach my conclusions. They might not agree with my underlying assumptions, but they can at least see my workings.
There is nonetheless a more extreme and more scary view about how astrologers get their answers, that would put me in the medium camp. In the early 1990s I saw a flyer in a fish and chip shop, put out by a local church, advertising a lecture on astrology. I went along, and having endured an incredibly long session of praying and singing, I got to listen to the visiting preacher. At first he was very rational, appearing to say that astrology was superstitious nonsense. Then the tone of the lecture changed, and he described the astrological consultation as a triangular process, involving the astrologer, the client and the Devil. You mean humble me, channelling satanic forces? I was flattered but not convinced.
The psychic consultation is far more interesting than anything I can do. I’ve known many psychics in my time, and they’re a mixed bunch, some of them very sane and very down to earth, and others completely mad. Yet I don’t believe that any psychic I have met deliberately set out to deceive his or her clients. Their claims can nonetheless be over the top. For example, that they get their information from their client’s dead relatives, or from other disembodied, quasi-spiritual entities. And this is why there’s been so much pressure for tighter legislation. It seems that psychics are taking advantage of people who are deeply troubled, and in particular, those who have lost loved ones.
The Consumer Protection Regulation doesn’t spell the end of professional psychics and mediums. Still, they do have to be more careful. They must make sure that they don’t make any claims to the validity of what they do, and they probably have to get their clients to sign a disclaimer, saying that their service is only for entertainment. Which is not the impression that the average psychic wants to give.
Psychic-bashers are delighted by the change in legislation, but their triumphalism is possibly premature, and seems to fly in the face of human nature. Since the dawn of history mankind has been consulting psychics, and has been trying to get in touch with dead relatives. Organised religion provided some respite, with Christians being able to deal with death via prayer, ceremony and priests; but with the collapse of Christianity in many parts of the world, especially in Western Europe, it’s not surprising that there’s a continued demand for the services of psychics and mediums.
Of course just because there’s a demand for something doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be clamped down on. For example, there’s demand for heroin, cocaine and methamphetamine, and by and large it’s considered advisable to discourage this demand, not least because these drugs can kill people. However is it really so bad to consult a psychic in an attempt to get in touch with a dead relative? The client wants to believe that the relative is, in some form, still alive. And the psychic does their best to provide a service. Now it’s possible that when psychics gets messages from the deceased they’re deluding themselves. But they’re giving the client what they want, and more importantly, they’re trying to provide some comfort. We might criticise the psychic for taking money, but they’re just doing their job. Likewise, people pay for Christian funerals, and some of that money goes to the church, and indirectly to the priest who promises ’sure and certain hope of the resurrection to eternal life’. Maybe the priest should sign a disclaimer, saying that his or her services are only for entertainment, and eternal life can’t be guaranteed?
Perhaps we should also look at the competitors to psychics and mediums. Whenever we hear about a big tragedy, we’re told about the response of the emergency services. We’re then informed about the teams of counsellors who have been sent in to deal with the shocked and the bereaved. Do these counsellors do any good? Do they do more good than psychics, who might claim to be in touch with the dead victims? I suppose a counsellor is more likely to be psychologically stable than a psychic, and will also (hopefully) have had a minimum of three or four years of training and supervision. Nonetheless, they are taking financial advantage of another person’s tragedy, just as much as the psychic. And very often their fees will be higher. So why is it immoral for a psychic to take money from a bereaved client, yet reasonable and acceptable for a counsellor to do the same thing? And will a counsellor get their client to sign a disclaimer, agreeing that there’s very little scientific evidence that counselling and psychotherapy actually work? I know, the bereaved don’t always have to pay for counselling, but usually someone’s paying for it - and maybe, in the final analysis, it’s the taxpayer. Professional psychics, on the other hand, have to get their money directly from the client, because health services, local authorities and insurance companies won’t reimburse them.
So what’s the answer? I think one simply has to recognise that different professions have different limits. Psychics, priests and counsellors shouldn’t have to make their clients sign a disclaimer, saying that their services are purely for entertainment value. Yet there could be a disclaimer that accepts the limitations of the service. Sometimes religion, counselling and mediumship can make people feel better, but their success can’t be guaranteed. And neither can their fundamental basis. We don’t know for sure whether God exists, whether psychics can talk to the dead, whether psychotherapy has any scientific validity. In terms of forecasting the future, I try my best, but I’m also humble. Astrology, after all, is just scratching at Destiny’s surface, and the only person who really knows the future, in all its interlocking complexity, is God. Or am I deluding myself?
Piscean freedom fighters turned politicians - George Washington and Robert Mugabe
Should Pisceans go into politics? I don’t see why not. Jupiter, the ruler of Pisces, has strong opinions, and often has a powerful sense of justice. At the same time, Pisceans tend to be very sensitive. They can pick up the currents swirling around them, and they know what the populace are thinking and feeling. And one of the most successful Piscean politicians was the first American president, George Washington, born on February 22 1732 . In the run up to the War of Independence, against the British, he could see which way things were going, and he surely wouldn’t have signed himself up to a hopeless cause? George Washington, having first been a soldier, spent eight years as president, before retiring gracefully, with his honour and prestige in tact.
In the context of British politics, we can think of Harold Wilson, who was Prime Minister on and off between 1964 and 1976. A lot of people couldn’t stand him, but he was a master politician, who was known for his ‘bedside manner’. In other words being able to talk to the nation, via the television, and making everyone feeling comfortable. It has been said that one of reasons he retired from politics was because he became aware that his formidable mental facilities were coming off their peak, and after his retirement he developed Alzheimer’s Disease. So arguably Harold Wilson the Piscean was sensitive to his own mental and physical state, and there’s certainly no way he can be accused of clinging on to power.
Robert Mugabe, like George Washington, was a freedom fighter. He’s also a Pisces, born on February 21 1924. These two leaders surrendered themselves to a cause, and in the process took major personal risks. However we’re looking at two types of Pisceans. George Washington was a Fish who had the freedom of the oceans, who was able to move with the global currents. He fought the British, he made peace with the British. And when president, during the Anglo-French wars of the 1790s, he enforced a policy of strict neutrality. Many Americans wanted to support France against the old colonial power, but George Washington, being a wise Piscean, was keeping pace with a changing world.
So what happened with Mugabe? Some Fish stay in a one place, a stagnant pool that’s water quality is declining by the moment. Put another way, Pisces is an emotional sign, but there’s a danger that it gets trapped by its own feelings. I would guess that Mugabe is a man who has powerful emotions, but he’s somehow stuck in the past, fighting old battles. In a way you can’t blame him. He had a tougher time than George Washington, and endured years in a Rhodesian prison. Worse still, his young son died of malaria while he was in prison, and he wasn’t allowed to go to the funeral. And then Harold Wilson’s government refused to grant his grieving wife political asylum in the UK, in spite of Mugabe’s desperate personal pleas.
The evening before Robert Mugabe’s birth, on February 20 1924, there was a Full Moon. In fact, this Full Moon was so tightly aligned that it was actually a total eclipse; and that evening, when the Moon rose above the horizon in the village of his birth, it would possibly have had a reddish hue. Traditionally eclipses herald the birth of great men, and it’s therefore not surprising that for many Africans Robert Mugabe is an enduring hero, who helped complete their continent’s liberation from the colonial yoke.
At the time of the eclipse the Moon was in the first degree of Virgo - to be precise, at 0 degrees 46 minutes Virgo. On April 18 1980, when Zimbabwe became independent, when Mugabe became Prime Minister, Jupiter, the planet of good fortune, was also in the first degree of Virgo, at 0 degrees 20 minutes of the sign. Then, a few decades later, in early September 2007, Saturn, the planet of restriction and Karma, moved onto this same degree. Surely the end of Mugabe’s reign was close? Mugabe remained in power, but Saturn went backwards, and on May 3 2008 it comes to a standstill at 1 degree 41 minutes Virgo. It’s certainly symbolic of an end, and if Mugabe was sufficiently aware of the big picture he’d take the hint.
Interestingly, Robert Mugabe’s big rival, Morgan Tsvangirai, is also a Pisces, born on March 10 1952. And he was born the day before a Full Moon. So both men are not only Pisceans, but they were also born close to a Full Moon. Two freedom fighters, prepared to suffer and risk their lives for their cause, involved in a major and perhaps epic struggle - with apparently little room for compromise. Saturn’s movement through Virgo is creating problems for Mugabe, but it’s not going to give Tsvangirai an easy time either, and I think it’s going to be a long year for him. In fact the growing influence of a Saturn-Uranus opposition could present Tsvangirai with some serious challenges.
As far as a resolution is concerned, I’m inclined to look forward to the total eclipse of the Sun, on August 1 of this year. This eclipse is directly on the meridian in a number of African countries, including Sudan, Zimbabwe and South Africa. In the following months it could bring changes of leadership, and also changes of influence. For example, how easy will it be for China to maintain and enhance its economic influence in the region? I know, it’s a complicated world, and you perhaps need to be a flexible Piscean to keep pace with it.
Piscean of the week: Pete Doherty, anti-darling of the tabloid press
I was recently asked, by Sue from Leeds, about the inherent psychic powers of the sign Pisces. In general it’s true that Pisceans are sensitive, and some of them might even be telepathic. However historical factors have caused Pisces to be misrepresented. To be more specific, in 1846 the planet Neptune was discovered, and it wasn’t long before Western astrologers started associating Pisces with this planet - its traditional ruler, Jupiter, being de-emphasised. Neptune is the God of the Sea, and the sign Pisces has gained a reputation for being chaotic and unreliable, not to mention being a sucker for the latest new age crazes - channelling, crystal healing, past life regression, you name it.
Yet the basic rules of astrology were in place by the Second Century of the Christian era, and prior to 1846 there was never any doubt that Jupiter was the ruler of Pisces. While it’s true that Pisces has an affinity with water, this is very simply because it’s a Water sign, with the Fish as its symbol.
Jupiter is the planet of expansion, that likes to go beyond its normal boundaries. It’s also the planet of excess - being inclined to take things too far, and not knowing when to stop. Also, Jupiter has strong beliefs, that it’s not prepared to compromise. These beliefs can be honourable and humanitarian, they can also be divisive, destructive and vicious.
There are two signs that are ruled by Jupiter - aside from Pisces there’s Sagittarius. Sagittarius perhaps represents the ‘active’ side of Jupiter. Tending to make one’s own decisions, creating one’s own philosophy, deciding what areas one wants to expand into. Pisces, on the other hand, is more like a rocket going through deep space. It doesn’t need any fuel, instead it keeps going, according to the laws of physics. And sometimes the only thing that can stop it is a collision with a hard object.
The musician Pete Doherty, of Babyshambles fame, is a Pisces. And this week he was sentenced to fourteen weeks in prison, for breaking a probation order - he has had, by the way, a number of drug-related run-ins with the law. Not surprisingly Pete Doherty is an anti-darling of the tabloid press, his supposedly scandalous lifestyle being the stuff of their dreams.
It’s tempting to regard Pete Doherty as an illustration of why Neptune rules Pisces. But as I’ve said, Jupiter is the planet of excess, and it wants to reach beyond the bounds of everyday reality. Pete Doherty is, by all accounts, highly intelligent, as well as being well-grounded in poetry and literature. He probably has a distinct philosophy on life, that maybe isn’t apparent to the tabloid commentators. Also, he doesn’t seem to have much respect for certain aspects of the law - not only is he hauled before the courts, but he appears to disregard some of their orders.
Looking at Pete Doherty’s horoscope, set for March 12 1979, and there’s some cause for concern. He was born just before a Full Moon, his Moon being in Virgo. And on the date of his birth Mars in Pisces was making an opposition aspect to Saturn in Virgo. We therefore have a big astrological conflict between the opposing signs of Virgo and Pisces. Also, his Sun in Pisces is making a stressful, 90 degree aspect to Neptune, a planet that has drugs as one of its associations.
Pete Doherty has passed his twenty-nineth birthday and is now entering his Saturn Return, when the planet Saturn returns to the place it was when he was born. While Saturn Returns can be stressful for all of us, he has to be particularly careful, because his Saturn is so closely linked to Mars.
Astrologer Reinhold Ebertin, in his book The Combination of Stellar Influences, described the principle of Mars and Saturn as follows:
Harmful or destructive energy, inhibited or destroyed vitality.
The negative potential of the Mars-Saturn combination in Pete Doherty’s horoscope will perhaps always exist - though that doesn’t mean the negativity will definitely manifest. However when the combination is activated by Saturn, in July, August and September of 2008, the potential for harm will be at its maximum.
But I must emphasise that I’m not predicting that anything bad will happen. I’m just saying that from an astrological perspective, this a dangerous time, when caution is required. And it might be that any negativity will be experienced subjectively, in terms of thoughts and feelings, instead of through actual events. Still, if I was advising Pete Doherty I would recommend that for the rest of 2008, and for most of 2009, he plans a quiet life, and he that he finds constructive ways of releasing his energy. Martial arts might be a good idea, or he might consider doing a lot of drumming - because drumming has a special association with the Mars-Saturn combination. Also, when he gets out of prison he should consider living somewhere isolated, away from the bright lights, that’s by the sea, or close to a river or lake.
I hope Pete Doherty will reach these conclusions by himself, because he doesn’t strike me as being the kind of person who consults astrologers.
Charles and Camilla, happy third wedding anniversary!
Prince Charles and the former Camilla Parker-Bowles were married three years ago today, on April 9 2005. Which was a Saturday. I think they planned to get married the previous day, but it clashed with Pope John Paul II’s funeral. There’s an irony in there somewhere, but I can’t quite work it out. So unlike many marriages, it wasn’t planned for a Saturday. And really, I can’t understand why people get married on a Saturday. I know, it’s the weekend, and guests can make it without missing work. But of all the seven days of the week, Saturday is the least fortunate, because it’s ruled by Saturn. It might be the planet of duty and responsibility, but it’s also a malefic. And if everyone got married on Thursday instead, ruled by lucky Jupiter, I reckon divorce rates would be lower and birth rates would be higher.
Yet in terms of judging a horoscope, the day of the week is only one small factor. In the case of Charles and Camilla, they were married around 12.30 pm. The ascendant at this time was early Leo, at three or four degrees of the sign. In Charles’ own horoscope, the ascendant is five degrees Leo - so he had a close and personal astrological link with the timing of his second marriage. The ruler of the marriage ascendant is the Sun - which was at nineteen degree of Aries, its point of maximum exaltation. A fantastic signature, that must surely mark the beginning of a successful enterprise?
Unfortunately, the wedding chart has some negatives, and I wouldn’t have chosen this date to get married on. The Sun might be strong, but it’s moving towards a stressful aspect with Saturn. This is important, because Saturn rules Leo’s opposite sign of Aquarius. We can therefore say that the Sun is the Prince and Saturn is his bride - particularly as Saturn is connected with older people, and Camilla is over a year older than her husband. The Sun-Saturn aspect suggests some areas of friction, that could be exacerbated by the marriage itself. Being constantly in the spotlight mightn’t be to Camilla’s taste, while Charles might feel that his marriage restricts his freedom. There is also the problem that the Moon, in late Aries, was void of course - it had made its last aspect before leaving the sign. The question is perhaps not whether the marriage will last, but instead, where is it going?
If we compare Charles and Camilla’s horoscopes, we immediately notice that she’s a Cancer and he’s a Scorpio. This is a great combination, though its long-term success can’t be guaranteed. And let’s not forget that Charles’ previous wife, Princess Diana, was also a Cancerian. If we look at things a bit closer, we see that Charles’s Sun is at twenty-two degrees Scorpio, while Camilla’s Sun is at twenty-four degrees Cancer. So the two Suns are close to being a hundred and twenty degrees apart, which is one third of the circle. There’s an ease to their relationship, and perhaps also a mutual comfort in each other’s presence. Maybe we can say that they’re used to each other? But looking purely at the astrology, I think it unlikely that their relationship is compulsive.
And what about the future? Since October 2007 Charles has been experiencing his Saturn Return, and this goes on until July 2008. The Saturn Return happens every twenty-nine years or so, when Saturn returns to the place it was at birth. During Saturn Returns things often come to roost, and he’ll perhaps become aware of what he has and hasn’t achieved. Also, there might be existential issues. What is his role and function? How could he be making better use of his time? Such concerns could have an impact on his marriage.
I think, with the Saturn Return, that it would be a good idea for Charles to bring his ideas together, and also to do some writing and lecturing. But mental discipline is important, and he must make sure that he thinks everything through. And over the next couple of years he’ll be a Prince who can learn, but also a Prince who can teach. But can doesn’t mean will!