Istanbul Trip

I shall be in Istanbul from the 20 to 25 February. If you'd like to book a consultation or arrange a pop-up astrology event, get in touch.

Egypt: Your Enemy is in the Mirror

Anwar Sadat, President of
Egypt, assassinated in 1981.

Astrology tells us that the assassination of President Anwar Sadat back in 1981 links to the current riots in Cairo. How so?


Read on and find out.

Tunisia's National Chart

This is the chart I used for my analysis of the Tunisian Uprising in the previous post. It's dated for the founding of the Tunisian Republic and it includes progressions and current transits from the outer planets.

 Click on it to see it larger.

Tunisia: Revolution Now or Never

 "Bliss was it in that dawn to be alive,
  But to be young was very heaven!--"

William Wordsworth wrote these words about the French Revolution more than 200 years ago. But he was a spectator, a friend of France, not a participant, and he never suffered through what became known as the Terror.

Aquarius: Boys Will Be Girls

Dame Edna
(aka Barry Humphries) (17 Feb 1934)

Sometimes the pictures tell the story. Need I say more, my cheeky water-bearing friends?
If you can find any more cross-dressing Aquarians, do tell me.

Astrology of Now: Fresh Starts

Winter aconite
photo: Martin Olsson Wikimedia Commons

On a crisp winter day, when the frost-rimed grass beneath your hooves crunches and the sunlight lies palely on green branches, and the air is still, think of the life waiting to burst out of the earth, think of the sap in the tree, think of the crocus bulbs sending up white shoots through the cold ground.

It's the middle of winter here in the north, cold and dark, but yesterday, I saw winter aconites, tiny yellow star-flowers, blooming under the skeletal protection of a beech tree, and on the freezing air I caught the scent of wintersweet.

There are two important new beginnings this week.

Harry Potter and Ophiucus

Here is a tale of two books written about 2000 years apart.


All the hooha about the intruder constellation Ophiucus sent me to my well-thumbed copy of Manilius' Astronomica, the Roman astrology manual dating from around the second century. I knew there'd be a tit-bit in there.

Jupiter and Uranus: Last Tango in Pisces

Shade and Darkness – The Evening
before the Deluge. JMW Turner 1843

A wall of water ripped through inland Australia tearing up trees, tossing cars and buses like flotsam, swamping houses and taking lives.

Today hundreds of Brazilians died in muddy landslides caused by torrents of rain.

In Sri Lanka, they say that a million people have already been displaced by flooding.

Not to mention this summer's biblical inundation in Pakistan, the consequences of are still with us.

What's going on?

Ghostwritten by Chiron

Jules et Jim (1962). Ghosts
from long ago summers.

This is a true story, but it's a little off the wall, so bear with me.

I had a kind of waking dream the night before last in which the ghost of an old, old boyfriend came and spoke to me. Now in real life I have not seen this guy in many years, but I have no reason to suppose he is dead. Further, I had no particular reason for him to be on my mind and in truth it was all so long ago that I rarely think of him these days. When I do though, it is with great affection.

So his "ghost" visited me and we had a kind of conversation. Now I've never seen a ghost, but I do sometimes have these conversations which may be with a dead person – not too often and usually with one or other grandmother. I've never really worried about whether these were real ghosts or just my mind playing tricks. In general, the message is the same: you're doing OK.

G: Nice kids.

Me: Thanks. What are you doing here?

Catherine Middleton's Birth Chart: Cool, Powerful and Sensitive

I want a William and Kate souvenir toothpick, please.

I received an email a while ago asking me to look at the chart of Catherine Middleton, who is to marry the heir to the British throne, Prince William, in April. Well, her birthday's on the 9th of January, so why not look at it today I thought.

Now, I have to admit I find it hard to get excited about the woman who will probably one day be Queen of England and mother of a king or queen. Something about her makes me glaze over and turn the page. Surely I should be in a froth of excitement – either monarchist or republican. She'll be filling a hugely important role in the mythology and psychology of Britain. She may well be the public face of Britain – or at least one of them for many years to come.

Even if you are not a supporter of the monarchy, its existence affects your personal identity as a Briton. I have yet to meet anyone in this country over the age of  30 who has not had a dream visitation from some member of the royal family. That's how deeply embedded they are in the national psyche. And, of course, everyone has an opinion – for or against.

Astrology and Art: Capricorn Self-Portraits

There are two main ways I like to use astrology when I'm thinking about art.

1. Knowing an artist\s birth chart or simply natal Sun can give you real insight into how planets might work out in real life. Works of art are a non-verbal expression of character that often speaks more directly than flabby paragraphs. (In short, "a picture paints a thousand words")

In particular, I find the self-portrait tremendously revealing since it is necessarily a self-examination. Here are a couple of self-portraits by Capricorn artists. Take a look and see how they speak of January's cardinal earth sign.

Berthe Morisot (1885), self-portrait

Paul Cezanne (c.1894), self-portrait in a felt hat

Royal Wedding Astrology: Juno Lends a Helping Hand

Here's great-great-great (oh forget it) granny
Victoria getting hitched to Albert.

Juno (discovered in 1801 but largely ignored by astrologers until fairly recently) is the asteroid associated with marriage – and she's an obvious place to look if you're thinking about weddings.

So I thought I'd quickly check out the Middleton/Windsor Juno placements. And yes, you'll be relieved to hear, astrology does work.

The thing to look at is progressions to and from the natal Juno.