The Festival of Britain - 60th anniversary

In the UK in 2011, the 60th anniversary of the Festival of Britain is being celebrated.The Festival of Britain was a national exhibition which was officially opened by King George VI in London on 3rd May 1951. The main site was on the south bank of the River Thames, but there were also exhibitions at other sites in cities around Britain. The purpose of the exhibition was to provide a "tonic for the nation" - an opportunity to celebrate and herald the regeneration of Britain following the end of the Second World War. Rejuvenation of the cities, many of which had been bombed, was needed and British design was encouraged in this process of rebuilding.

Here is the chart for the official opening, set for 12 noon on 3rd May 1951, in London.
The chart has a strong, solid feel. The aspect structure is Quadrangular/Fixed in motivation, reflecting the firm mission statement of the exhibition - to create a new Britain. A noon time also gives Sun conjunct Mars in Taurus on the MC - another strong and practical statement. The colour balance of 7 red: 5 green: 5 blue aspects is top heavy on red "doing" energy - not a bad thing when regeneration and new projects are called for. The relatively high number of green aspects, most of them embedded within the centre of the overall aspect structure, is indicative of the importance of new, fresh ideas and the ability to "think outside the box" in this celebration of renewal.
Most of the green aspects are located inside the Bathtub aspect pattern which sits across the chart and is pinned by Mars, Pluto, Neptune and the North Node. The Bathtub is an aspect pattern indicating thinking, mulling things over and the subsequent agitation of ideas and information. There's a lot of internal stimulation with this aspect pattern, and for an event created to stimulate new ideas and growth it's appropriate for this chart, especially when the qualities of the pinning planets are considered - Mars to get things going, Pluto to regenerate, Neptune to bring inspriation and the Moon's North Node (not a planet, but a point of growth) located in the 7th House, symbolic of the public and populace of Britain.

Now for a brief trip down memory lane. I was a young child growing up in London in 1951. My parents took me to see the Festival of Britain and although I don't remember that much about it, I do recall the general atmosphere of excitement at the open air exhibition centre on the south bank and a few of the things I saw. The main, central exhibition hall was called the Dome of Discovery, and looking at its design and structure, it is reminiscent of the overall shaping of the chart shown above with its zig-zagging struts. It also looks a bit like a flying saucer. Standing next to it is the creation which I have the strongest memories of - the Skylon. This was unimaginably tall and impressive and I loved it!

One final thing I remember seeing and being very fascinated by was the Guinness Clock, a weird Heath-Robinson like contraption which told the time, but had many extra features. The Sun revolved and there was an entertaining array of moving parts - wonderful stuff for children to stimulate the imagination!

For more about the Bathub and all aspect patterns used in the Huber method, visit the Astrological Psychology Association's on-line Book Shop for details of the Huber's book, Aspect Pattern Astrology and my book, Aspect Patterns in Colour.

The Royal Wedding

This is the chart for the Royal Wedding - the nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton - on 29th April 2011 at 11.00am in London.

I'm not going to make any predictions about their life together, just offer a few observations on the chart which marks this point in time. It will be a day of considerable significance for them as marriage is a big committment, even more so if you're doing it this publicly and - in Kate's case - marrying into a high profile family firm with a long trail of scandals and divorces.

Red aspects are predominant in the chart, suggesting the presence of a lot of energy and activity. The triangular aspect patterns indicate flexibility and an easy adaptation to change - something which both Wills and Kate could need to cultivate as the royal family is not held in such high regard as it was 50 years ago. They have already established a more "normal" lifestyle - but will the powers that be want this to change?

The overall aspect structure in the chart is very vertical. There are 5 planets in Aries, on view up at the top of the chart. This gives a strong emphasis to Houses 10 and 4 - the Individuality axis - in 10th there is the ability to stand out and be recognised. But in 4th sits steady Saturn indicating a firm "feet on the ground", practical approach. In this chart Saturn provides the necessary grounding and an anchor point.

With so many planets in Aries, this event rightly looks high profile. The large stellium of planets suggests the potential for something new; hopefully William will enjoy a happy marriage with Kate, something which eluded his mother Diana.

Although this chart is heavy on Aries energy, it's interesting that the Sun is actually in Taurus and stands to one side, slightly away from the the main action at the top. Symbolically, the Sun could be the Queen, herself a Sun Taurus, standing to one side and allowing her grandson his special day in the public eye.

Here's wishing Wills and Kate all the best - a happy,memorable day on 29th, and a long and happy married life together.

For more in this blog on the charts of Kate, William and the Queen, search under "Royalty", or seach for them by name.

The Astrological Houses

The Astrological Houses: A Psychological View of Ourselves and Our World

I'm pleased to be announcing a new publication on the Huber Method of Astrological Psychology, and one which acted as my "bible" and main source of additional information when I first became a student of the Astrological Psychology Association back in 1986.

Before this updated version was published, I read it and was as impressed now as I was 25 years ago by the breadth, depth and scope of its contents. I'd term it "essential reading" and a classic in its own right. It's available from the APA on-line Bookshop, and the summary shown below outlines the contents. This book does what it says on the tin, and as one reviewer says:

"This is a book filled with illuminating thinking and having worked with the Huber's approach to chart interpretation for some 30 years, I can assure any propsective reader that it really works!"

Summary:This is a revised version of the classic book by Bruno & Louise Huber, first issued as 'Man and His World' in 1978. A thorough understanding of the houses is essential for psychological analysis of the horoscope because the houses establish the actual framework of individual personality and relationship to the environment. Unlike earlier approaches, the twelve houses are considered not as a classic space structure but as dynamic developmental tendencies that result from the combination of crosses (modes) and temperaments (elements). This book shows how the houses relate to ourselves and to our life experience in the world, providing a foundation stone for astrological psychology.

Uranus in Aries

I wrote this post in 2011, when Uranus moved out of Pisces and into Aries where it still is now, at the start of 2017. As we move forward into a new year with Pluto in Capricorn for another 7 years it may we useful to get a handle on what Uranus represents and symbolises.

Uranus - world improver?

 Uranus is in the last few degrees of Pisces and moves into Aries on 12th March 2011. In their book “The Planets”, The Hubers call Uranus “The World Improver”. The Uranian qualities of improvement through change via the overthrow of old, rigid, undemocratic systems have all been evident in recent dramatic events in the Middle East. Revolution in Tunisia sparked and fired revolution in Egypt. Demonstrations against outdated regimes are now taking place in Bahrain, Algeria, Yemen and Morocco. The current situation in Libya is dangerous and chaotic, developing day by day and moving closer than ever to civil war.



These events are ongoing and unrest in the Middle East is spreading, with people rising up against outdated dynastic regimes.

It's as if Uranus, reaching the final degrees of Pisces, is agitating the fishes’ tails ahead its imminent move into Aries, with its ram’s head ready to butt. This suggests there could be more to come and that the hunger for change is still in its early days.

Aries is symbolic of new plant life shooting forth from the earth as well as being symbolic of the ram's horns. It also rules the head, where new ideas are created, and are sometimes expressed in a headstrong way. The transit of Uranus through Aries could therefore be a time of fruitful new ideas, as reforms are sought and creative ways of providing security are tried out. Of Uranus on the mental level, the Hubers say it “symbolises the power of the independent spirit that pushes forwards over the habitual boundaries of thought and into the transpersonal realm, from worldly to universal thinking”.

The Uranian Spirit is about maintaining security, and people are often surprised by this. They perhaps only know about the revolutionary qualities associated with this planet, it’s ability to turn things upside down, create chaos and move on to the new. Yet Uranus brings about change in order to gain more security in the future - the old and outworn is discarded in favour of new ways of doing things which enhance and improve the living conditions of all. Uranus is associated with technology, and it was interesting to see just how powerful the use of mobile phones and internet networking sites was in the recent Egyptian revolution. Likewise in Libya, where there have been internet blackouts. So threatening were these to the authorities that access to them was shut down, proving that the power of instant communication is undeniably mightier than the sword.

The spirit of Uranus thrives on opposition. Its calling is to right wrongs and improve conditions, seeking divergently to find solutions to problems. Creative intelligence is brought into play and original ideas are put forward to bring about reforms. Uranus is concerned with finding the perfect world, and this it does through research, knowing that there may be no final solution. The search itself is what is truly important. Uranus at its highest level can tap into the pure creativity of the universe, the place where sudden brainwaves come from, and that elusive “a-ha!” moment.

Here's what I say about Uranus on my YouTube channel:

Colin Firth & "The King's Speech"

Colin Firth last night won a BAFTA for his role as King George VI in The King's Speech and is hotly tipped to win an Oscar as well. Update and edit 28th Feb: Last night he won the Oscar for Best Actor - congratulations to Colin Firth!

Born on 10.9.1960 in Grayshott, UK, his chart is set for noon with no time of birth available. It's possible, though, to take a look at his inner, unconsious motivation using the aspect patterns and their colours in his chart, together with the placement of the planets by Sign.

Firth has 3 planets in Virgo - Sun, Mercury and Pluto - making him something of a perfectionist as all Virgo qualities will be reinforced with ruler Mercury in its own sign together with Virgo Sun/sense of self and Pluto adding intensity and depth to his expression of Virgo qualities. This is apparent in his acting, in which he offers an exact and in-depth portrayal of the character he is playing. In The King's Speech I was at times moved to tears by the intensity and sensitivity of his portrayal of a man whose childhood conditioning had stunted his expression of his true self.

Firth's overall aspect shaping is a mixture of triangular aspect patterns and linear offshoots which don't form patterns or shapes. This indicates a flexible motivation with a tendency to be tangential, going off doing his own thing and possibly being changeable; not all bad when you're an actor, with each new role bringing challenges of getting under the skin of the character and requiring this degree of flexibility. The colour balance of 5 red: 1 green: 5 blue aspects suggests a strong either/or approach to life.

The all-red Efficiency/Performance figure, fired up by Jupiter and Mars, and with Mercury at the apex, looks good for an actor, who has to communicate well, powerfully, be physically fit and bring all relevant life experiences to the role he's cast in.

There are 2 Dominant Learning Triangles in the chart - one direct and one retrograde - meaning that some things he'll pick up and learn very easily, others will need more application and trials before the lesson is learned. Both learning triangles include the green quincunx between Moon and Jupiter which, in this very red/blue chart seems highly important. Jupiter will percieve and participate in life, gaining experiences and impressions; Moon will tap into feelings and emotions. It's interesting to see how both these planets connect with Mercury at the apex of the Efficiency triangle, feeding into what and how he communicates.

Uranus, part of the retrograde learning, is also part of the Ambivalence figure which also involves Jupiter and Mars. These 3 aspect patterns, linked as they are, will work together to feed into the whole mode of being flexible and adaptable, but with the red/blue Ambivalence figure there may be a need for independence, freedom involved. For more on these and all 40 aspect patterns used in the Huber method, see my new book, Aspect Patterns in Colour.

Firth's BAFTA is well-deserved; let's hope he gets the Oscar too.