The Fourth Plinth: Antony Gormley's live art project

Today, at 09.00, artist Antony Gormley's living art project "One and Other" began. For 100 days, the empty Fourth Plinth in Trafalgar Square in London will be occupied, hour by hour, by a different person who will each become a work of art. The chart is set for 9 a.m. on 6th July 2009, London.

I have a vested interest in this unusual art project as I applied to take part and have been randomly selected!

My hour of fame on the plinth will be on

Monday 3rd August from 3-4 p.m.

The chart for the start of this project shows a strong and somewhat dizzying vertical zig-zag of aspect patterns, indicating perhaps that this is all going on at a height! (8 metres ) .There's a Small Learning triangle and a Search figure in the chart. Jupiter conjunct Neptune on the DC are a part of the Learning triangle, which also involve s Uranus and Mars.

This aspect pattern raises questions about how this art project will be received by the public - it's innovative(Uranus), risky and experiential (Jupiter), art in one of its many forms (Neptune) it could be a learning curve for all who take part ( it feels like that to me as I ponder on what I shall be doing up there!), and it feeds into Mars conjunct Venus as the highest planets in the chart - a blend of male-female energies, the masculine and feminine - straddling the Signs of earthy Taurus and airy Gemini.

Both Sun (mind and will) and Saturn (physical form and fears) stand aside, joined only by a completely separate linear aspect. It's as if the "anything goes" switch is on, and ordinary people can step out of their normal safety zone and put their own creativity on a pedestal. . .or alternatively, just be themselves.

I shall be writing more about Fourth Plinth as my ideas about what I shall do up there evolve. I gather I can now call myself a "Plinther"! You can read my Plinth profile here.

Addendum:And here's the link to the article my local newspaper has written about me being on the Plinth!

Astrology for Babies: The Family Model

The Family Model is a technique exclusive to the Huber Method of Astrological Psychology, and it can be very helpful for parents to understand something of what this indicates in the charts of their own babies. This could be especially so for new parents, but the Family Model is relevant at all stages of development, from childhood and way into teenage years. The Family Model of parents and child is represented in the chart by the Sun (Father), Saturn (Mother) and Moon (child).

The Sun represents the outgoing, independent and leadership qualities which the child will look for and seek to emulate as it becomes less dependent on the care and protection of the mother. This normally starts to happen when the child reaches the age of 3 or 4, when he or she seeks independence and tests out how far it's possible to travel away from the security and symbiotic relationship with the mother. Ideally, the Sun is positioned in the upper half of the chart, the higher the better.

Saturn represents the mother figure who provides security and safety for the child as it grows and develops. She is the person who instills in the child the guidelines to help it fit into the world and environment into which it has been born; she sets the limits and boundaries and reminds the child to clean its teeth, wash its hands etc. She makes the child's physical well-being and survival her priority. The love which is vital to the development of every child comes from other aspects of the mother's personality, but it is the mothering and caring, mentoring principle which is associated with Saturn. Because Saturn is concerned with stability and security, it is best placed in the bottom half of the chart.

The Moon is representative of the baby or child itself. It responds to and in the moment, often picking up and mirroring what it senses from the environment. Babies and children have many needs, and the Moon represents the emotional needs which, in young babies and children, are indicated through gurgles, tears, laughter and happy mimicking of the sounds they hear as they develop language and an understanding of the world around them. The child needs to develop and grow through contact with others, so contact and love are vital. The Moon is best placed along the horizontal I/You axis of the chart, in the area of the Ascendant/Descendant, where it will be able to relate to others most effectively and reflect on how this applies to itself.

The "ideal" placement of Sun, Moon and Saturn doesn't happen too often as the child learns and grows through experiencing an environment which will spur it on to move forward and develop in life rather then be presented with something "perfect" to begin with. The Sun might be at the bottom of the chart, Saturn at the top, and the Moon anywhere else in between! The different positions of these planets can offer an understanding for parents, and for the child itself when it's older, of what the environment is presenting, and what there is to learn.

This 3 year old has the Moon right on the Descendant, on the You side of the chart, making it easy to make contact with the world as well as pick up on, sense and mirror what it is learning from the world about feelings and emotions, and its own emotional sense of self.

Both Sun and Saturn are high up in the chart; good for the Sun to be there but maybe not so "perfect" for Saturn, as mother figure to be there too. Saturn is, in fact, the highest of the 3 Family Model planets and is placed strongly on the MC - the highest point of the chart. This suggests, in the context of the Family Model, that the child could view both parents as role models, but with mother coming out strongest! She could appear, to the child, to be the one who "rules" the household. In fact, this is a mum who now works and has her own career (as many working mums do) but who is very mindful of and responsive to the needs of her child and who cared for her child full time before returning to work.

The forthcoming new book on Astrological Psychology and the Huber Method, "Family, Relationships and Health", covers the Family Model in detail. The book is due to be published in July/August, and will be available from the APA on-line Book Shop.

D-Day Landings: 65th anniversary

The 65th anniversary of the 2nd World War allied D-Day landings in Normandy, northern France, is on 6th June 2009. The chart is set up for 06.30, the time the landings began on 6th June 1944, along a stretch of the coast of Normandy near Ouistreham.

The chart image shown in the aspect structure is reminiscent of the landing craft which transported soldiers from the ships standing off shore to the beaches of Normandy. War-like Mars conjunct Pluto is at the blue pointed end of the triangular Ambivalence figure aspect pattern; on the landing craft, this was the fulcrum which opened the ramp which the disembarking soldiers had to move down into the sea and on to the beach, guns raised and ready. Countless numbers were under fire and perished in this brave endeavour. The linear aspects which zigzag across the prow of the landing vessel image look like cross fire.

In 2004, the 60th anniversary of D-Day was celebrated in France amidst much publicity, and with much press coverage. It's interesting to see that the Age Point was conjunct Mercury at the time of this ceremony; everyone seemed to know about it and it was attended by veterans who took part in the landings operation. The veterans were presented with a medal by the Mayor of Caen. Amongst them was Richard Llewellyn, Founder of the UK Astrological Psychology Institute.

The 65th anniversary and its associated ceremonies and celebrations does not seem to be attracting quite as much attention, even though the Age Point is conjunct the 11th House Sun in the chart for this event. 65 years on the 2nd World war might seem a long time ago to many readers, and of little significance. But my colleague and co-author Richard Llewellyn, was involved together with a paratrooper cousin I never knew. Both took part in the landings. My cousin survived the beaches but was later shot by a sniper weeks before the war ended, and before I was born.

I'm taking this opportunity to honour the heroes, survivors and those who paid the ultimate sacrifice.

Chart Image: how to start interpreting a chart

Here is an extract from "The Cosmic Egg Timer" , the book I wrote along with fellow Huber astrologer Richard Llewellyn, and available from the Astrological Psychology Association Book Shop as well as Amazon and other book sellers:

"One of the most important things we can do when starting to look at a chart is to do simply that - to look. Setting aside and perhaps even temporarily “forgetting” any astrology you already know, the first way into the chart is via the senses, the eyes and the intuition.

Cast your mind back to the time when you were a small child. Maybe you had a coal fire in the house where you grew up. Can you remember looking into the embers of the fire and seeing pictures or scenes, faces or figures? Similarly, you may have done the same thing when looking at clouds in the sky: “That one looks like a dog..........now it’s changed and looks more like a dragon.” and so on. Using your eyes, your senses and your imagination, you were perhaps able to see pictures and images, based on the shapes you saw in the clouds or the embers of the fire.

Using a similar approach when first looking at a chart, we can train ourselves to look for an intuitive picture or image, and we do this by looking at the overall aspect structure which fills the large central area of the chart. In the context of astrological psychology, this area relates to the unconscious motivation of a person. Often the essence of the person is contained within this area of the chart, and through developing the intuition we can gain a sense of the person simply by looking at this central core of the chart and absorbing and reflecting upon the pictures or images that we see there.

You can try this out for yourself using a Huber-style chart. Allow yourself to get a sense of what is in the chart. From this a picture or image may emerge. Some of the images people have seen in charts are as diverse as a flower opening, a tent or marquee, a pyramid, a butterfly, a space rocket, an open book, a yacht, a flag - the variety of images is limitless, and is based upon what has been intuitively seen and perceived from the chart. You may not see an image or picture, but you may have a strong sense of a predominant colour in the aspect structure, or a sense that everything in the chart is spread out, or squashed, or clinging to one particular area of the chart. If you are unable to see an image or picture, be aware of whether you are picking up something in the chart via your other senses.

Prince Charles's chart looks like a "witches hat" roundabout in a children's playground - is life like a never-ending roundabout of waiting to become King?

The approach taught by the Astrological Psychology Association emphasises the importance of taking the time to look at a chart before setting off into the realms of deeper and more technical interpretation. This approach is Jupiterian - using our eyes and our intuition, we look at the chart, taking in the whole picture before moving on to the finer points and details. This is different from a more conventional Mercurial approach to astrological chart interpretation, where facts and detailed information about the chart are considered first and foremost using the logical mind and the overall picture of the chart is not necessarily taken into consideration.

Looking at and absorbing the chart in this way is the first of a series of “foundation stones” or “building blocks” that can be set in place to enable us to find a way into the natal chart. Chart interpretation can be daunting and difficult, especially if there are a mass of other factors to hold in mind all at the same time. Using this Jupiterian approach, where the eyes, the senses and the intuition are engaged first and foremost, we have the ability to begin our exploration of any natal chart in considerable depth, as we start by looking at the very essence and the unconscious motivating energies of the person concerned."

There's lot's more on how to work with charts in "The Cosmic Egg Timer"!

Tennis player Venus Williams's chart recalls the constant movement of both tennis player and ball across her half of the court.

Joanna Lumley, the Gurkhas and Gordon Brown

Joanna Lumley, British actor and now political activist, was born on 1.5.1946 at 19.30 local time in Srinigar, Kashmir. She has hit the UK headlines recently as she's long campaigned to allow Gurkhas, who have fought for Britain, to settle here.

Yesterday Lumley went to see Prime Minister Gordon Brown to put the case for the Gurkhas, following the government's defeat in wanting to restrict their rights of residence. Gurkhas are Nepalese with a key role in the British army, with whom they have fought for 200 years. Lumley's father fought alongside them in the 2nd World War, as did my older cousin. They were held in very high regard in my family with their reputation is of fearless fighters.

I wanted to look at Lumley's chart to see if there were any significant LifeClock and Age Point aspects to planets at this time of her high profile fight for Gurkha rights; there are. Lumley's Age Point is in the 11th House and in Libra, the Sign which seeks fair play and justice. It is coming into conjunction with Neptune, the planet associated with high ideals, visions of what may be, selflessness and compassion. Lumley is doing something she passionately believes in, and she's doing it for others, not for herself or to advance her career or raise her profile.

At the same time as her Age Point conjuncts Neptune in her natal chart, the Age Point in her Moon Node chart sits on her Mars/Pluto conjunction in Leo. Aspects coming from the Moon Node chart force out our responses to events in the outside world.

Lumley is liked and much respected as an actor and presenter with her glamorous style and intelligence. With Mars /Pluto qualities backing and supporting the Neptunian urge to support Gurkha rights, Lumley spoke of her meeting with Gordon Brown in terms which were like silk and fire:

She said Mr Brown had taken the matter "into his own hands" and would come up with a "solution" to the issue of residency rights by the end of May. Lumley described her meeting with Mr Brown as "extremely positive" and said the prime minister was "wholly supportive" of the Gurkha cause.

Lumley said she wanted Gurkhas to be given the same rights to settle as soldiers from Commonwealth countries who had fought for the UK. She said Gordon Brown was a "man of integrity" and she was "absolutely confident" that an agreement could be struck now that he was intervening personally over the issue.

"I trust him," she said of the PM. "I rely on him and know he has now taken this matter into his own hands."( source: news.bbc.co.uk)

In effect, Lumley has boxed Brown into taking action in a very classy and stylish way, effectively demonstrating a combination of Neptunian ideals underpinned by a Martian and Plutonic-like energy - not unlike the formidable fearlessness of the Gurkhas themselves.