Al Gore - "An Inconvenient Truth"

I may sound like a film critic, but I urge you to go and see Al Gore's film "An Inconvenient Truth". It is essential viewing and is yet another wake up call to the fact that global warming is happening now. Not some time in the future, but right now.

The film is based around Gore's current tour of world cities where he is lecturing on global warming. It's his way of spreading this "wake up" call. The material he shares is scientific fact, intermingled with his own personal experiences and explanations of why he's doing this. In 2006, the film has become a runaway success. The bare and true facts about global warming are set out clearly. Gore's presentation and delilvery is graphic and clear, and it was his impressive presentation, plus what he shared of his personal life and upbringing (all spliced into the lecture theatre scenes) which made me want to look at his chart.

He was born on 31.3.1948 in Washington DC, at 12.53 EST. His chart is visually striking with an "active" strong flavour of someone striding forward, carrying a large wide load in their arms. The direction is predominantly vertical, suggesting his motivation is to individualise, yet he has Moon conjunct Jupiter in the 5th House and closest to the DC, offering the capacity to make contact with others easily. Using the combined sensing ability of these two planets he can connect with prevailing moods and feelings out in the world as well as put what these planets pick up to good use for others - the Moon is approaching the 6th cusp and both planets will be more attuned to and interested in being of service to others. Significantly, his Age Point was conjunct Moon/Jupiter in 1976 when he went into politics.

Gore has a Medium Learning triangle which includes the powerful stellium of Pluto, Saturn and Mars in the 1st House. It is from here that the learning of any new skill or information will start and it will finish here as well - it's where his own sense of "I" will be focussed, and is likely to be constantly under review, growing, changing. This stellium links to the other aspect pattern in his chart, the Single Ambivalence figure, and suggests to me that it will be to himself that he will return time and time again when he needs to review things and check out his own life experiences. He will have the ability to assess himself against what life throws up for him, and with Pluto, Saturn and Mars there at this fulcrum point, he can stay the course, on a personal level, and transform.

In the film he speaks of two significant happenings in his life, both of which brought the importance of family life and how we treat each other as human beings into sharp focus. The first was in 1984 when his sister, 10 years his senior, died of lung cancer. He speaks passionately of how the tobacco companies were allowed to promote smoking, even though there was much evidence of it as a cause of cancer. He was 36; his Age Point was crossing the DC, signifying an opening up of greater consciousness.

The second life changing event was in April 1989 when his 6 year old son was seriously injured when he was hit by a car. Gore speaks in the film of how he spent a month sleeping by the boy's hospital bed, and how this experience brought home to him the importance of life and what we do in life. His Age Point was square Venus, which rides high in the 10th House in his chart but is intercepted. It relies on its quincunx aspect to Jupiter for expression as it has no natural outlet into the world in the 10th House - so we are back again with the Jupiter/Moon conjunction which helped usher him into politics when he was age 28. It's interesting to note that Venus sits along with Uranus in a red/green linear aspect, and that both home in on that Jupiter/Moon conjunction, emphasising its importance.

Venus, too, crops up at significant times in Gore's life - his Age Point was opposite this planet when he married in 1970, was square to it at the time of his son's accident, and in 2006 was conjunct when "An Inconvenient Truth" became the unexpected box office hit of the year. Venus is often described as the planet associated with balance and harmony: Gore's book on the state of the environment is entitled "The Earth in Balance".

There's more - his Nodal chart reveals some signficant correspondences with the path his life has taken, and bears reference and further study in the context of the 2000 Presidential election that he "lost" to Bush.

I could say much more about Gore's charts - both House and Node chart reflect and support many of the points he himself makes in his narration of the film and in the lecture scenes. All I wish to do is to whet your appetite to go and see this film - it may repeat many of the things you already know, but it's likely to tell you a whole lot more too, and it closes by suggesting practical ways that YOU can make contributions to help slow down the process of global warming and help preserve our precious planet.

But without political will, what we do may not be enough. As the person who saw the film with me said: " ...as Gore himself says, the trends have been clear for many years. What is missing, and still seems to be missing despite moving from denial to displacement/ projection, is the political leaders willing to take a leadership role in promoting a way forward. Who will be the environmental Churchill?"

Further suggested astrological reference and reading (books by myself and Bruno and Louise Huber):
Aspect Pattern Astrology; Moon Node Astrology; LifeClock; The Astrological Houses - Man and his World; The Cosmic Egg Timer; Aspect Patterns in Colour; Using Age Progression.
Available from the APA Book Shop.

Madonna

The singer Madonna's chart has been requested in response to my invitation to Suggest a Chart (keep asking - I will respond!). Madonna's adoption of baby David Banda from Malawi last month has been riding high in the news and a look at her chart could reveal some interesting possibilities about the superstar herself.

The chart structure clings predominantly to the "I" side and the images that comes to mind are a wide open mouth, a jaunty head-dress, a "Bird of Paradise" flower, crystals growing in the hidden depths of a cave - and the 2 triangular shapes might even remind you, as suggested by one of my students, of the pointy conical bra that Madonna wore in one of her videos! (thanks Jane). There is a touch of the exotic about some of these images, and that relates to what we know about her public persona.

Her motivation is to be flexible, to move on, and this is borne out by her constant re-invention of her image and style. The aspect structure has a predominantly vertical movement, and although there are horizontal features the strongest motivation here will be to achieve. Alongside this there will be a strong drive to improve and understand herself.

Initially suprising is to see that Madonna's is an essentially private chart, with most of her planets in the 12th House. But with a large stellium of planets spanning the 12th and 1st Houses, this sets up a polarity on the 6/12 House axis of Existence and the 1/7 axis of Encounter, so these issues are likely to form the backdrop of her life. Someone with planets on the Existence axis is going to ask questions about why they are here, and seek to justify their existence; the equally emphasised Encounter axis is going to bring up issues of relating to others as well as the importance and need to be able to put herself across in ways which will attract attention, admiration and love. Her Leo planets will seek this, and her Moon in the 1st House will yearn for contact. However, with her AC and 3 planets in Virgo, what she puts out is likely to be carefully detailed and well-prepared. She herself may be her harshest critic.

The chart consists of 2 Small Learning triangles ( see "Aspect Pattern Astrology") which give her the capacity to successfully learn and use specific skills. In 1977 she dropped out of college to go to New York in order to pursue the dance career she longed for as her Age Point squared the Moon. She says of this move "It was the bravest thing I've ever done".

In the Family Model, the Moon represents the child, Saturn the mother and the Sun the father. Madonna's Moon is likely to be a needy one. Her mother died when she was 5, at the first crossing point of the natal and nodal chart, with transitting Uranus and Pluto conjunct her Moon. This, not surprisingly, had a profound and long-lasting effect on her. She says that her mother's death gave her the urge to prove herself. It also brought the experience of being motherless, which may relate to her current controversial decision to adopt a child. It's interesting to see that Saturn, representing the mothering figure, is slightly detached from the main chart structure, and appears out on a limb in Madonna's chart, remote and not quite there.

Jupiter is on a Low Point, indicating that its perceptive sensing works in an inner, less obvious way - yet Madonna herself could never be accused of being retiring as she projects her Leo Sun across the chart! Conjunct Neptune and the North Node, this group which includes Jupiter could be an important key to understanding her ability to pick the right, yet sometimes controversial style she projects in her performances. It will act as a good sensing tool; both Jupiter and Neptune are part of the Small Learning triangle, and the Node will emphasise the lessons of the 2nd House - to develop her sense of self-worth. Jupiter may also endow her with the ability to take risks and be an opportunist, moving into new areas, taking new chances, seizing the moment. It crops up repeatedly as a featured planet in her Age Progression - it was aspected when she graduated from high school, made her first singles recording deal, published her controversial book "Sex", got into studying Kabbalah, married her first husband Sean Penn, and it's around now, making an aspect in her Moon Node chart as she brings baby David from Malawi to adopt.

The Moon Node chart brings to the surface those things which we may repress; we often project things from this chart out into the world around us, so it appears as if they come from somewhere else outside, not from deep within us. Not only does the Age Point in Madonna's Node chart make a trine aspect to Jupiter, suggesting taking a chance, seizing an opportunity, it also makes an oppostion to her Sun. This could mean that she would experience her authority being challenged, and that is reflected in the mixed reception to her decision to adopt. At the same time, Saturn is currently in Leo, moving like a restraining hand over her 12th House Sun. As it does so, she is facing the criticism of the UK adoption agencies and the press for her actions, amid accusations that she has circumnavigated the red tape involved in adopting an African child.

Finally, it's worth considering where her Age Point is right now as this controversy rages on around her. It's in earthy practical Taurus, and when she was 48 in August, it entered the 9th House. In astrological psychology, this life phase is a philosophical one where the Hubers say "it is essential for the human being to find true values for his existence". With such an emphasis in her chart on the Existence axis and her reasons for being here, Madonna may well be trying to work through or express something of this search in the adoption.

Madonna, born 16.8.1958, Bay City MI, USA at 07.05 EST

Suggested reading:

The Cosmic Egg Timer - an Introduction to the Huber Method

Aspect Pattern Astrology
Aspect Patterns in Colour

LifeClock
Using Age Progression

All titles available from the APA on-line Book Shop

Addendum - 11th December 2006

Madonna is again in the news after being seen in Mayfair wearing a coat made from the skins of 40 dead chinchillas. It's estimated cost is £33,000. How sad that Madonna is unable to extend her good will towards the animal kingdom, and chooses to support the fur trade by wearing dead animals. Chinchillas are docile, beautiful creatures. Does she really need their dead bodies to support her ego?

Pluto

Pluto, the outermost planet in our solar system, was officially demoted to "dwarf planet" status whilst I was a away on holiday, and blissfully out of touch with current events.

A few days after my return, I was asked "Is Pluto still a planet?" when on air on BBC Radio Stoke. Well, of course Pluto is still a planet! It's not disappeared or disintegrated. It's pretty much as it always has been. Pluto takes an amazing 248 years to make one circuit of our Sun, so in any birth chart it appears to move very slowly and remains in the same Zodiac Sign for many years. Like Uranus and Neptune, it's sometimes known as a "generational planet". I was born when Pluto was in Leo (1939 - 1958) - this generational span covers people born during and after the 2nd World War. Those born post-war are the "baby boomers" who are now reaching the age of 60.

Pluto was discovered in 1930, and like Uranus and Neptune, the other outer planets, it's discovery heralded the splitting of the atom and the development and eventual use of the atomic bomb. Pluto's energy is not cosy. In astrological psychology we view Pluto, as represented within the psyche of the individual, as the drive to renew ourselves and to become reborn. But before we can do this we have to plumb our own murky depths and clear out the things within us which have accumulated in dark corners. This takes courage, and by doing so we may have to confront those parts of ourselves which we'd rather not acknowledge, or would prefer to keep hidden. Pluto is about us becoming a "perfect being", leaving behind our outworn responses and actions, and moving on to a higher and more enlightened plane of being. To help us in this task it may be useful to bring to mind the qualities of people we admire ( such as our heroes and heroines) which we aspire towards.

And of course, Pluto is going to be there at the far distant edge of the solar system, regardless of whether it is classified as a "full" planet or a dwarf planet. It was there long before it was discovered, and now it's been around for over 70 years it's not suddenly going to go away. For astronomers, its size and status might matter, but for astrologers (well, this one anyway!) Pluto will remain as a planet of great significance.

It embodies powerful transformative energies which are there for us as human beings, part of humanity as a whole, to draw upon and use to raise ourselves up to a higher level. How can we do without this at a time when the survival of life on earth as we know it now is under threat from mass materialism and global warming? It's time to wake up and make some radical changes and transform our way of being, and this is the very thing that Pluto's good at!

Read about Pluto and the other planets in my co-authored book "The Cosmic Egg Timer"

Saturn

Astrological symbolism is all around! The qualities of the planets, which in the Huber Method represent our psychological drives, can be found everywhere in the environment - if we know how to to look for them! Take, for instance, Fort Boyard, pictured here. Located off the west coast of France, it's a strong, enclosed, impenetrable fortress. Surrounded by sea, it could be a haven of safety for those inside. Trying to get into it would be extremely difficult, it would be relatively easy to repel all unwanted visitors and if this structure were a person, they would be an expert at "stone-walling"!

Boyard has strong Saturnian qualities. Saturn is the planet which represents our drive for safety, security, our need for fixity, protection, for keeping things the way they are, as well as our need for structures, rules and systems that work efficiently.

Astrologically, Saturn is not always regarded as a bundle of laughs. It's a bit too solemn, stern and forbidding, and represents nothing more than restrictions, rules and regulations for some astrologers. But those trained in the Huber Method see Saturn quite differently.

• Take a look at the courses APA offers

Saturn represents the world of matter and form. We ourselves are physical forms, and in the natal chart, Saturn symbolises, amongst other things, the physical body. It also symbolises, on a psychological level, such things as memory, the ability to be well organised, to create structures and systems, and yes, our doubts and fears will be somewhere in there too because they are part of the innate protective mechanism that helps keep us safe.

In the context of The Family Model (see chart of Princess Beatrice in previous post), Saturn also represents the principle of mothering. Traditional, conventional astrologers who equate mother with the Moon, throw hands up in horror at the thought of "Saturn as mother" - but hang on! I said mothering principle. Stop and think for a moment about who looks out for our safety and well-being when we are small, who feeds us, clothes us, keeps us warm, gives us the "rules" and guidelines to help us fit into society as we grow up, tells us to wash our hands before we sit down at the table, to clean our teeth and to be home by a certain time. It's the person in our lives who fulfils the function of mother. It may not be mum all the time; in our rapidly changing society it may be father who stays home and looks after the family, or grandparents, a significant other family member or guardian. Whoever it is, they will fulfil that mothering role. And this kind of caring and protection is attributed very firmly to Saturn.

For fun you could start to look out for manifestations of this planet in everyday life. Happy Saturn spotting.

Beatrice's chart - and Family Model

Well, here is Beatrice's chart (see previous post). It's a complete mystery to me why it wouldn't upload the last 7 times I tried ( I joke not...!).

A few more thoughts about her chart on the eve of her 18th birthday:

• Saturn is closely conjunct Uranus; both ride high in the chart. There could be a "push-me-pull-you" effect of craving change and needing security.

In the context of the Family Model, Saturn represents the mother figure. In Beatrice's case, this is Fergie, and according to what can be read in the newspapers, they get along well. But check out the Moon, which represents the child - Beatrice herself - and you'll see that this is opposite the Saturn/Uranus conjunction, hinting at sparky times of conflict and confrontation between the two of them. This could be particularly pronounced in the area of relationships.

Not only that - if Saturn represents Beatrice's mother figure, then doesn't the conjunction with Uranus fit in with what is known about Fergie? Never one to conform to the "expected" norm of a royal-to-be before her marriage to Prince Andrew, she appeared as a bit of a lad, up for a laugh and with a mind of her own.