Andy Murray, tennis champion

July 2013 - Many Congratulations to Andy Murray on becoming Wimbledon Champion on 7th July 2013, and achieving the goal he's worked towards for so long. With his Age Point in Aquarius, and in the cardinal zone of the 5th house, he fully deserved this win and has worked hard towards it.  Well done Andy!


2012 update
I first wrote about Murray's chart in 2007, when he was 20. This post is now due for an update, with Murray's recent magnificent gold medal triumph in the London 2012 Olympics, swiftly followed by his win at the US Open in Flushing Meadows in September 2012.

Murray has doggedly and determinedly moved on towards his goal of becoming a Grand Slam Champion, and with this we've seen him mellow and become much more lovable and loved. Looking back at where he was by Age Progression when I wrote about him in 2007, his Age Point was at the intersection of his natal and node charts, and I mentioned that his focus would be on aiming to stand out in some way (like a champ!) The Age Point had, at that time, entered the sign of Capricorn, an earth sign, and has been steadily moving through this sign until just recently, when it moved into the air sign of Aquarius. When the Age Point changes signs, it also changes elements. Moving through an earth sign can be good for laying down strong foundations, for building up structures and for being organised and careful. But it can get a bit heavy at times, especially as the Age Point reaches the end of the earth sign. It could feel like wearing heavy boots clogged with mud, so a change of sign and element from earth to air - and in Murray's case, from Capricorn to Aquarius - will feel liberating and things will feel much lighter. So it's not really surprising that Murray has himself lightened up a bit, and in the process has achieved what must be a long-held ambition in his successful Olympic gold followed by winning the US Open.

Congratulations to Murray on his superb achievements this summer and on not being so dour as he's previously appeared!

Here's what I wrote in 2007: Andy Murray’s performance on tennis courts around the world is being watched keenly as British hopes for a Wimbledon victory rise. This young Scot, still only 19, is rated the UK’s best player and his world ranking has recently risen from 14 to 12. Now approaching his 20th birthday (born 15.5.1987, 14.10 BST in Glasgow), his Age Point is in Capricorn and on the Individuality axis of his chart. This should help fuel the determination of the already fiery and determined Murray!

The visual image in his chart is like an explosive firework, bursting upwards from the conjunction of Saturn, Moon and Uranus on the IC. Both Moon and Uranus are opposite Mars at the top of the chart, a combination in opposition which could give rise to explosive reactions and a flaring temper. (the famous John MacEnroe had a Moon/Mars aspect too!). Interestingly, Murray’s Wikipedia entry says he is “known for frequently petulant behaviour”.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Andrew_Murray_(tennis_player)

The chart shows a strong vertical direction - Murray is motivated to achieve and wants to stand out; Sun and Mars high in the chart and are strongly placed in 9th and 10th Houses respectively. But both are fairly weak by Sign, making the drive towards individuality more of a challenge.

At tennis tournaments, his mother is always present and has been influential and supportive in his career. Let’s take a look at his Family Model. Saturn, representing the mothering principle, sits firmly on the IC alongside Moon, which represents the child. This closeness reflects his mother’s presence and support when he plays, and perhaps indicates Murray’s need for a stable “home”. Moon is sandwiched between Saturn and Uranus - on the one hand, Murray is close to his mother and needing her support; on the other hand, he can be rebellious, unpredictable and want to go his own way. There is a potential “push me-pull you” effect at work here; Murray could go either way. Add to the Moon/Uranus conjunction that opposition to Mars, and the irascible behaviour comes out. But Saturn’s influence sits alongside with his mother perhaps acting as a guiding mentor as well as a psychological anchor for him.

The Sun, representing the father figure, sits high in the chart demanding recognition. Along with Moon, Uranus and Mars, the Sun is part of an Irritation triangle. Could there be a more edgy, uncertain relationship with his father? The motivation associated with Irritation triangles is for the individual to respond quickly and explosively to situations when things start to feel pressured, or there is more going on than can be handled comfortably. The person will feel put upon and a blow up will ensue, followed by a fairly rapid return to normality. It may well be that Murray lives this out quite frequently when on the tennis court. How he might experience this aspect pattern in the context of the Family Model is something that could only be ascertained for sure through discussion with him.

One final profound feature in his chart: at age 8, his Age Point was conjunct Pluto. He was one of the children in the school where the Dunblane massacre of 16 pupils, along with teacher, took place. Understandably, he does not like to speak of this event, but his Age Point bears graphic testimony to this event.

Looking ahead, 2007 could be a key year for him. The Age Point of his natal and nodal chart is currently intersecting on the Individuality axis, so this will focus mind and energies on standing out in some way. And when he played in the Australian Open in January this year, he said that this was the best performance in his career.

Anita Roddick's very red chart

Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop, has recently been in the news announcing that she has hepatitis C, contracted through a blood transfusion when she gave birth to her daughter in 1971. Famous for combining social and ethical campaigning with success in business, she is now on a mission to raise public awareness of hepatitis C and get more government funding to help treat the disease.
Born in 23.10.1942 in Littlehampton (no time of birth available; chart set for noon), Roddick's Sun is still just in Libra, a Sign it shares with 4 other planets. With Libran qualities emphasised, it's not surprising that she has demonstrated a strong sense of fair play in those fields of endeavour she is famous for. Considered to be the originator of many aspects of ethical consumerism and business, she was also a pioneer of fair trade in the UK. As a social entrepreneur she offered goods for the consumer keen to buy brands that reflected their belief system.
Her chart is predominantly red. There are 6 red, 2 green and 3 blue aspects giving her an imbalance of "doing" and "being" energy - the red, "doing" motivation dominates, and this is effectively embodied in the two closely placed Efficiency Triangles which dominate the chart. Both figures focus on Jupiter at the apex, at the "outlet" point of these figures - fitting for an entrepreneur with a strong sense of social justice who is not likely to say "no" to a challenge!
Although Jupiter is at the sharp end of this figure, the planets that drive it are her Aries Moon and her Libran Sun, Venus and Mars. The Sun/Moon opposition indicates a potential battle between head and heart when decisions have to be made, but the inner conflict that the placements of these planets implies find its expression through Jupiter in Cancer and her entrepreneurial need to DO something, together with a strong social conscience and caring for more than just making money.
She took some knocks and harsh criticism last year when she sold The Body Shop to L'Oreal, not renowned for ethical testing of its cosmetics, but business associates claim that the sale wasn't about the money; she had already announced that she was giving away her fortune to support other ethical entrepreneurs.
Her health may be poor - she has cirrhosis of the liver and will need a transplant - but her campaigning spirit is strong. Her mission now is to bring hepatitis C centre stage and raise the profile of this often-forgotten disease, something that the red motivating energy in her chart will surely be applied to.

Of herself, Roddick says: "I'm not a good business-woman......most entrepreneurs aren't. We're delinquents. Everything these days is to do with economics - people speak as if you were put on this earth to keep the economy going. Well I'm sorry, no f***ing way. I'm here to be a good mother, a wonderful friend and an activist. End of story".

Happy Birthday Dear Blog! - Colour Balance and Motivation

It's a year since this blog was "born", on 4.3.2006 at 16.14 in Knutsford. I set up the blog site, noted the time, and then looked at the chart later. I wasn't too impressed to see that it contained only red and blue aspects - ideally there should have been some green aspects too, to give a rounded balance between red/doing energy and motivation, green/thinking motivation and the enjoyment and stability that the blue/being aspects confer. Huh! So much for the "ideal" being around in this blog - with only red and blue aspects it seemed at the time that this might turn out to be an experience of either on or off, of energetically writing it or letting it lie still and do nothing! With no green aspects to prod me into awareness to keep up it's momentum, I might just forget about it and let it fade lazily away into the background of my life. Had I been one of those astrologers who insist on electing a time - the right time! - to start a new project, I could have hung around waiting for some planetary movement which would have made green aspects appear. As it is, I have an excess of red aspects in my chart (see one of my first posts, March 2006, about my own chart) so this approach didn't appeal at all. I resigned myself to having a red/blue blog start chart, and to creating some of the green awareness it appeared to lack, myself. This has worked reasonably well; the posts seem to flow fairly well, but I only write when the need or the interest or the spirit moves me. I'm aware of not leaving too long a gap between posts and have aimed for around 3 or 4 a month - that feels comfortable. And in a way it reflects, to some extent, the on/off motivation of a colour balance or ratio of

6 Red: 0 Green: 5 Blue.

Yes, it's a "You" sided chart, with the majority of planets on the DC side. Sun is aptly placed in the 7th House, eager for contact with the world and ever-so-appropriately conjunct Uranus, the planet often associated with astrology. But hang on - Sun is on the Low Point of the 7th House, meaning it is eager to get out there and be noticed, yet often is not. It can be frustrating, for sure, not knowing if anyone ever reads this blog! Moon is slap bang on the MC. It's the highest planet in the chart and by heck it wants recognition! It's very strongly placed in the 10th House, is quite strong by Sign too, and fairly craves comments to be left - readers please note, I love to hear from you! I'm off now to light the candle on the cake - one year on and you're still going strong! Happy Birthday Dear Blog!