Rebekah Brooks

(Photo courtesy of The Guardian)

Rebekah Brooks, former chief executive of News International and former editor of The Sun and The News of the World was born on 27th May 1968 in Warrington, UK. No time of birth is available so her chart is set for noon, which puts the stellium containing her Sun and Moon right at the top of the chart. But beware, they would be far more likely to be somewhere else in the chart with a correct time of birth. 

Brooks has notoriously been close to, and potentially involved in, the phone hacking scandal which emerged after the mobile of a murdered schoolgirl was apparently hacked into by journalists working for her newspaper. Further scandalous details of phone hacking of a variety of well-known people has emerged, as have implications surrounding her friendship with British Prime Minister David Cameron, set alongside her long term close association with News International mogul Rupert Murdoch.

Brooks has been charged today with conspiracy to pervert the course of justice over the phone hacking inquiry. Charges relate to alleged offences in July last year including concealing documents and computers from police.

What can be gleaned from her chart without a time of birth? The overall aspect pattern shows a predominantly Fixed motivation; there are two quadrangular figures which suggests Brooks wants and needs security and strives towards this. The colour balance of the aspects indicates someone who is more strongly motivated to be busy, active, working, with a ratio of 4 red: 2 green: 3 blue aspects. Cardinal, activity-oriented red will dominate, so in order to feel secure, she will need to be busy.

Aspect patterns involved are a Provocative figure, making her never quiet or lazy and with the capacity to be downright annoying and irritating to others. It's a creative figure, and as such can call forth new ideas and provoke others into action. There's also a Decorative figure, a perfection-seeking aspect pattern which is alert and easily able to decode information and present it in a clear form - very useful for a journalist. These and other aspect patterns are detailed in my book Aspect Patterns in Colour (see details on Books page of this blog).

The strong line-up of planets in Gemini are entirely appropriate for a journalist - news is ephemeral, today's scandal is tomorrow's fish and chip wrapping, and the agile focus of interest is good at moving on to what is new. Brooks is approaching her 44th birthday, placing her Age Point on the Balance Point of the 8th house, from where she may be called, within the next year, to reassess her life and re-orientate herself in the context of both her family and professional life.

David Attenborough

Chart of Sir David Attenborough, born 8.5.1926 in Isleworth, London. Original chart used was set for noon as no time of birth was then available.

Update June 2015 - Attenborough's rectified time of birth of 02.58 (approx) is now available, with a Rodden rating (RR) of C, which puts his Saturn, which I speculated upon in my original post (see below) firmly and authoratively at the top of the chart and in 9th House.

David Attenborough celebrates his 86th birthday today, 8th May. He's well-known and much-respected as a naturalist and is an ever-enthusiastic broadcaster. In spite of his more senior years he's still making stunning wild-life documentaries which take him all over the world and, for me, he has retained his sense of awe, respect and love of the natural world over many decades of broadcasting.

Although no time of birth is available for him, we can look at his chart and get some ideas about where his apparently inexhaustible enthusiasm for his subject might come from. His chart has a high proportion of red aspects which give him a cardinal, go-ahead energy. This will fire his seemingly unstoppable quest to explore, discover and learn more about all aspects of the natural world.

Note, he has 3 planets in Aries, itself an initiatory Sign which wants to get on with things and keep them moving. Mercury (learning, communication) is there along with Moon (his child-like curiosity and ability to engage energetically with his subject) and Venus (a strong urge to relate). Combine these factors and it's not hard to see how his long-term engagement with his subject, as well as his ability to put it across and share it with others, could be partly attributed to these placements in his chart.

There are three distinct aspect patterns in his chart - a Dominant Learning triangle, a Single Ambivalence figure and a Double Ambivalence figure. I'm not going to discuss them here (you can read about all three in my book Aspect Patterns in Colour), but I am going to speculate on the role of Saturn in his chart, as it is a focal point for several aspects.

Saturn relates to systems, structures and organisation, and as such to a scientific mind. Attenborough is a scientist, and to find Saturn acting as a focal point which connects to many of the other planets in his chart isn't altogether surprising. Saturn feeds into the three aspect patterns mentioned, and it's in Scorpio, a Sign whose characteristics include in-depth, forensic-like investigation - very appropriate for a scientist.

Many happy returns to one of my favourite broadcasters, and long may he continue to inspire and educate both on screen and in his other areas of work (just one of them being President of Butterfly Conservation).

Astrology and Astronomy

Astronomers can be very snidey and dismissive of astrology because it doesn't fit neatly into their scientific parameters, and can't be "proved". Yet astrology and astronomy were originally twin sciences and were studied side by side at the great European universities in the middle ages. Up until the 17th century the two subjects were two sides of the same coin, astronomy being more scientific and astrology more philosophical.

Any astrologer who has undergone formal training in the subject will have also had to learn some astronomy and at the very least be able to understand how a birth chart relates to the positions of the planets in the sky. Media sientists such as Richard Dawkins and Brian Cox take note, and pause for a moment or two before you publicly slag off the subject, asking yourselves if you have studied astrology for yourself before you denounce it.

As an astrologer with formal and intensive training in the subject, along with over a quarter of a century's experience of working with astrological psychology, I enjoy moving into the astronomical field from time to time, and often the simplest way to do this is to look up on a clear night and see the stars and planets and identify some of the constellations. On a trip into the deserts of New Mexico, where a lot of space observation takes place, I visited the museum of space discovery near Alamagordo. The roll of honour included men and women instrumental in breaking barriers by their space flights, along with such key astronomer/astrologers as Kepler and Copernicus. Included in the names honoured was that of Clyde Tombaugh, whose observations from an observatory in the desert of New Mexico led to the discovery of Pluto in 1930. And I remembered learning about this way back in the 1980's when I was taking a formal course in astrology.

Also located in the same desert area is The Very Large Array (VLA) - an impressive line up of 27 radio telescopes which track and pick up signals from space, rather like the Jodrell Bank Telescope, close to where I live in the UK. The work at the VLA is highly scientific, yet it focusses on space and what is physically beyond us, making it for me, a fascinating place to visit. The VLA, which has been featured many times in films as the backdrop formed by this Y-shaped alignment, is dramatic and impressive.

If you look up at the night sky, and if there are no clouds in the way, it's a good way of reminding yourself - if you're an astrologer about to set up a chart - of the old, old saying: "As above, so below".

The Titanic

This is the chart of the maiden voyage of the passenger ship Titanic, claimed to be unsinkable when she embarked on her journey from Britain to the USA on 10th April 1912. Sadly, the claim of unsinkablity proved to be wrong as she sank 5 days later after being hit by an iceberg off the Newfoundland coast.

The chart is set for 10th April 1912 at noon, which is when she sailed from Southampton, UK. The centenary of her sinking is on 15th April. This is being marked by exhibitions and by the media in various ways.

The maiden voyage of this luxurious liner, which had a strong "Upstairs Downstairs" theme with its well-to-do passengers on the upper decks and steerage passengers in the less glamourous and cramped quarters below decks, is well-documented. Interestingly, the chart image for this event could be seen as a capsized/upturned boat with Jupiter at the apex of what might be a sail or funnel - but then it's easy to say this after the event and in view of the tragedy that took place.

The overall aspect pattern shape is one which presents a solid picture - there is a 5-sided structure pinned firmly at the top of the chart by Sun, Mercury and the Moon's North Node. All are in Aries, all are in 10th house, and all would appear to herald a new start, an important event and the embarkation on a new venture. There are no less than 3 Learning triangles embedded within the overall structure, suggesting much to be learned from this event (tragically, there was).

Saturn sits, intercepted, on the Low Point of 10th, in steady and practical Taurus, and sends a questing, searching green quincunx aspect to that isolated Jupiter which in turn aspects the Sun, forming a Search figure. I can only speculate on the significance of this here (and the answers are all there in the subsequent research that was made - the provision of lifeboats was insufficient), but were the safety measures checked and secured sufficiently? This would be be one of Saturn's questions to Jupiter, symbolic of learning from experience, wisdom and knowledge, and in astrological psychology, the planet associated with perception and vision. Interestingly Jupiter becomes unaspected - and therefore not linked in to the main aspect pattern - at the time of the iceberg hit and Titanic's subsequent sinking.

You can find out more about Low Points and aspect patterns, such as Learning triangles and the Search Figure by visiting astrologicalpsychology.org where there are courses and a variety of books with more information available.

Rick Santorum

Following the Super Tuesday close result on who will eventually win the Republican nomination as the candidate to run for President, the question on some people's minds is likely to be "Will it be Romney...or Rick Santorum?"

Rick Santorum, Republican hopeful for the nomination, was born on 10th May 1958 in Winchester, Virginia USA. No time of birth is available so his chart is set for noon. What information can it offer about him?

Santorum's chart shows a mixture of restlessness and adaptability in his underlying and often unconscious motivation. It's high on blue aspects which suggests that having things stay put, fixed and the way they are is important, as well as enjoying the fruits of his labours and being able to sit back and rest on his laurels. But it's low on red aspects, which help to get things going and keep them moving. The chart has enough green aspects to help offset any polarisation between doing and not doing; it's important he engages with this ability to see things from all sides and not just rely on the "blue view" which could lead to stasis. This could be helped by the presence of the Dominant Learning triangle pinned by Sun, Moon and Jupiter - he has the capacity to learn and continue learning from life's big lessons.

Santorum's Age Point is right on the Midheaven - the highest point of the chart - and as such there will be a lot of pressure felt to perform and be seen to be an outstanding individual, regardless of whether the person concerned is wanting to run for president. Age 54, which this coincides with, is the culmination point of the chart - the age and stage at which one is psychologically geared to standing alone. This in itself can be challenging, especially if the individual hasn't already been tried and tested in some way in the past to withstand this "head and shoulders above the parapet" stance.

With no time of birth available, it's not useful to speculate in great detail about other features. His Taurus Sun suggests, on a broadly general basis, practicality and an appreciation and enjoyment of the good things in life; his Sagittarian Saturn, on the other hand, could prove to be a bit of stickler and maybe not take too many risks.