Judi Dench

Judi Dench, a dame of the British Empire for her services to acting, is probably currently best known as "M" in the 007 Bond films - although her status changed dramatically at the end of the latest Bond film Skyfall. Dench was born on 9th December 1934 in York, UK. No time of birth is available so the chart is set for noon, putting her Sun conjunct Venus in Sagittarius right at the top of the chart, as this is a noon chart.

Although there's no time of birth, a fair amount of information can be gained from looking at the overall aspect pattern in the chart, together with the aspects, aspect patterns and their colours. All these relate to inner, often unconscious motivation.

The aspect structure has a slightly off-balance, tipping feel to it - there's a sense of movement and fluidity and even though the overall shaping is quadrangular - making her security-oriented - this drive sits alongside the tangential linear aspects. She will not be one to rest on her laurels, probably always seeking new challenges.

There are 4 red: 6 green: 5 blue aspects in the chart. With a surfeit of green, she will have a strong mutable approach to life, always wanting to try or learn new things. This can easily be related to her continued success as an actor, taking on new roles. Now 79, she shows no signs of easing up on her career.

A lesser-seen but interesting aspect pattern that she has is the Striving figure. This is pinned by Saturn, Moon, Venus and Pluto, with Pluto at the apex. The apex planet is usually the one whose qualities the individual strives towards, and at its highest level, Pluto is about the perfection of being. In Dench's case, I'd view Plutonic perfection of being as what she is striving towards in the acting roles she undertakes. The three ego planets - Sun (by default as it is conjunct Venus), Moon and Saturn - are all involved in the Striving figure, indicating that this aspect pattern could be a major driving force in her acting career. People with Striving figures are always aiming high and striving for goals, but don't always reach them, often collapsing or giving up before the target is reached and the goal attained. Their energy may be erratic, and will not always support the drive needed for a final push to the finishing line. In Dench's chart, I'd say she's overcome this potential hazard; her career to date is testament to that.

To find out more about the Striving figure, see my book Aspect Patterns in Colour- available as an e-book and in paperback.

2013 - New Year, new start

The New Year often marks a change in intention and orientation, as those who make New Year resolutions will know. The renewal of the gym membership, going on a diet or restarting a jogging or fitness programme are just some of good-intentioned resolutions  that are made. All too often we weaken and fall by the wayside as, after a promising start, our enthusiasm falls away. 

Some will look to predictions of the year ahead for their Sun sign to offer guidance of what might happen in the coming year. If you're familiar with this blog and with the Huber Method of Astrological Psychology, you'll know that I don't do predictions of this kind, but instead - as this method is concerned with encouraging people to make their own decisions and take responsibility for themselves - what I'd encourage anyone seeking a new start for 2013 to do is to connect with and develop their own sense of self, their mind and their will. These are all attributes of the SUN in the natal chart, which acts like the conductor of the full orchestral range of the planets in the chart.

Whether it's a new start, a restart at the gym, a diet or a new orientation in life, it's the Sun which will be engaged. To maintain the initial momentum you can connect with and use your Sun in effective ways to keep you on track in 2013. I describe some of these in the video below, and in my book The Living Birth Chart. Happy New Year!

Sunset time and the Winter Solstice

Sunset at Llandudno, North Wales, on 15th December 2012 at 15.45

Watching the Sun set on 15th December from the top of the Great Orme, a seaside mountain adjacent to the rather grand Victorian resort of Llandudno in North Wales, I thought it would be interesting to look at the chart, and share some of the photos I took of the event. First, the chart.

Three things are immediately obvious.

• The Sun is setting so is right on the horizon, the DC, and at the time was making semi-sextiles to Mars and Venus. How appropriate this was is borne out by the fiery beauty of the event (see photos).
• The Projection figure aspect pattern, a feature of the forthcoming Winter Solstice chart for 21st December and the end of the Mayan calandar, is already in place and will have been for some time. At the time of this particular sunset, the Moon was conjunct Pluto, one of the pinning planets in this pattern (see below for my previous posting on the Solstice chart). Moon/Pluto can be pretty intense - as were the effects on me of the changing aspects of this sunset.
• Jupiter, at the apex of the Projection figure, is in 12th house, so has just risen above the horizon but would not have yet been visible. But look up at night because Jupiter is shining brightly right now and is easy to spot in the night sky. When you find it, look to the right and slightly upwards to find the Pleiades(also known as the "seven sisters"). If you don't look directly at them, you'll see them better. Best of all is to use binoculars to see this stunning group of stars.

Astronomy and astrology can sit side by side quite easily and if you're an astrologer it's always an inspiring and humbling exercise to look up at the sky and relate what you see to the chart. Now for the photos. May the return of the light at the Solstice fill you and inspire you.

 

The setting sun at 15.52....

 

 

 

 

....and 15.53....

....at 15.54....

...and at 15.57

In memoriam for Newtown, Connecticut

Rose. Image courtesy of Maylis Curie

In memory of the children and their courageous teachers whose lives were lost in the senseless massacre at Sandy Hook Elementary School, Friday 14th December

The Mayan 2012 Prophesy

Chart set for 21.12.2012 at noon in London

Is the end of the world coming on 21st December 2012? The 2012 Mayan Prophesy of armageddon and cataclysmic events coincides with the end date of the 5,125 year cycle in the Mayan calendar, and a trawl through the internet will provide far more information on this than I'm going to give here. But the chart for this "event" is worth considering as  astrologers have been giving attention to it for some time now.

What is special about this chart and what can it tell us? I'm approaching this from the viewpoint of astrological psychology, which is not like predictive astrology. Is the world going to end on the Winter Solstice? I doubt it, because dramatic and cataclysmic changes are already happening. Global temperatures and the temperature of the seas are rising and huge chunks of ice in the polar regions are breaking off and melting. Extreme weather patterns and storms are headline news and glaciers have been receding for years. We could say that armageddon is already here.

The chart itself is dominated by one complete aspect pattern - the triangular Projection Figure, pinned by Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto. Jupiter, at the apex and receving only red/green aspects is highly sensitised because of this, making it primed for action. The hopes, fears, perceptions, experiences, knowledge and sensory awareness associated with Jupiter are projected on to the blue screen pinned by Saturn and Pluto. Jupiter is strongly placed by sign in Gemini and will be extremely adept at gathering  a wide variety of relevant information in order to get the big picture.

Saturn is likewise strongly placed by sign in Scorpio, and as one of the screen's pinning planets will be unlikely to take any nonsense. Paring things down to the essential bare bones of survival is indicated here, along with ditching what is no longer necessary. This approach is echoed by Pluto's equally strong sign placement in Capricorn. Change is needed in all areas of established "authority" - change of mind and change of heart too. Pluto, at it's highest level, is about perfection of being. Humankind collectively has to undergo a transformation in order to survive. We can't go on using the planet as a dumping ground for the toxins we produce, and which give us the easy lifestyle we've grown accustomed to.

But of course there will be resistance to this just as there always is to big change. Jupiter is opposite Mercury and Venus indicating polarised viewpoints, discussion and desires as an outcome is sought.....if it will, in the short term, ever be sought. 

I'm reminded of the Chinese proverb: Crisis is Danger and Opportunity. Yes, there's probably danger around in the timing of this event - Saturn and Pluto in their current configuration certainly hint at that. But there are also opportunities there to be taken and used if we wake up to what is going on in our world and environment, and begin to take it more seriously. And this is the energy and drive that Jupiter represents in this Projection Figure aspect pattern in this particular chart and at this particular time. If the world really does end on 21st December none of this will matter. But it it doesn't, it will continue to matter a lot.