That Uranus/Pluto square again

Uranus/Pluto square exact on 20th May 2013. Chart set for noon, London.

Here we go again. Big shots Uranus and Pluto are squaring up again for the next round of their current cosmic dance. You can see what I wrote about them in October 2012, but this time they have a busier chart full of aspects as their background, and they're linking up with Mercury and Venus to form an aspect pattern called a Learning triangle.

Both planets are on 11 degrees of the signs they're in, and in the Huber Method of Astrological Psychology, this is the strongest place for a planet to be, by sign. So we have Uranus potentially firing on all cylinders in Aries, and Pluto doing likewise in Capricorn. The other planets in the Large Learning triangle which has formed are Venus and Mercury, both currently in Gemini. So what might be going on? Learning triangles are made up of all 3 aspect colours used in the Huber method - red, green and blue. This brings the capacity for all-round awareness and in the charts of people, and the capacity to learn a specific subject and learn it well.

As we're not looking at the chart of a person here, I can only speculate on current events, both nationally and globally, that might have some echoes in the current configuration which the two big heavies are currently a part of. What we're learning more about here in the UK are the activities of well-established male broadcasters at the BBC, and actors working with the commercial channel ITV, who are being accused of rape and sexual misconduct with under-age girls and sometimes boys. This took place in the 1970s and 80s, apparently in some instances on BBC premises. 

Pluto in Capricorn: a lot of nasty stuff, aligned with power play and sexual misconduct which took place in one of the most prestigious institutions.

Uranus in Aries: uncovering these shocking and distasteful events. The accused are now mainly older men, some in their 80s, who were stalwart and well-liked figures at the time these events took place.

Venus/Mercury in Gemini: this news is rapidly hitting the headlines in the UK, with tabloid front pages milking it for all it's worth. The sad thing is that if these accusations prove to be true (one long-established broadcaster has admitted his guilt) the lives of mainly young children, now adults, have been despoiled. There's nothing attractive in that.

On a global scale, North Korea is flexing its muscles and being threatening, the conflict in Syria goes on. Israel have made 2 attacks on them and the US, UK and France are beginning to make noises about intervention. There's a way to go yet with this square, but remember this - Uranus, at its highest level, is concerned with creating the perfect world, and Pluto, at its highest level, is concerned with becoming the perfect being, cleansing and shedding unwanted irrelevant baggage along the way.

As an antidote to some of the negativity out in the world, here are some thoughts to ponder:

Real peace is neither

A matter of emotion

Nor a matter of duration

In time.

It is first and foremost

A matter of relationships

From individual to individual

Which contagiously spreads

From group to group,

The idea to share

While being of benefit to each one

Becomes the only means

Of safeguard and survival,

Of future and freedom for all.

Pere Andre Marie 

Another Happy 100th Birthday

This must be a record. Two one hundredth birthdays in two months to celebrate, and the charts of two centenarians to talk about on this blog, both of them for people I know. The first was of Sylvia, who reached 100 on 6th March. Today's 100th birthday is of Nellie, a family member and a bright and happy person who it's always a pleasure to see.

Nellie (her full name is Ellena) was born in 29th April 1913, in Lincoln. She doesn't know what time she was born, but says it was during the night. On the strength of that, I've set her chart for midnight, as the Sun would have been below the horizon.

 

Nellie's Taurean Sun is conjunct Venus at the apex of the triangular Ear/Eye figure in her chart. This aspect pattern sits like a small but perceptive radar dish, picking up information from the environment in a fairly random way, and storing it for future use. Nellie is communicative and has a good memory. She's sharp, and misses nothing. She likes to read a lot, and to do crosswords and other puzzles, so her Ear/Eye will provide her with a lot of information which she can draw upon in these leisure pursuits. 

Like Sylvia, who was 100 in March, Nellie's chart also has all three transpersonal planets in the same signs, but a quick comparison of their charts shows that the aspect configurations are different, as the planets have moved and new aspect patterns have formed.

Sylvia's chart 6.3.1913 set for noon

Nellie's chart  29.4.1913 set for midnight

                                                 
Sylvia's chart shows an overall fixed motivation with a dominant 4-sided aspect figure - a complete Detective aspect pattern. In Nellie's chart this aspect pattern is there, but is incomplete as the planets have moved on slightly, leaving the Ear/Eye as the only complete component part. Neptune, in Sylvia's chart, is unaspected; in Nellie's chart it's opposite Jupiter and trine Mars. Nellie's chart is more loosely held together by aspects, but all are included in the overall pattern. Sylvia has just one sister; Nellie comes from a large family of 10 children. How might this have impacted on Nellie's early life as a young child and teenager?

The overall shaping in her chart is mutable and flexible, showing an inner motivation which would have helped her adapt to changes as she grew up, such as taking on helping roles when she was old enough, and was no longer the baby of the family. In a family of boys and girls, she says she needed to survive and be as good as the boys, although she does admit to being a bit timid sometimes.

As an adult, Nellie moved house numerous times and with her Moon conjunct Uranus in Aquarius this isn't entirely surprising. Change was almost a constant thing, making the overall mutable, adaptable shaping of her chart very useful to have.

Nellie revelled in the variety of jobs she's done. In the 1930's she went off to London to work in service with various families, which she enjoyed a lot and was always treated with courtesy and included in the family she worked for. She's run a city-centre pub and loved doing this - hard work but fun because of the people she met. She and her husband also owned and ran an antique shop, living in the flat above the shop. I gather that almost all the items in their flat were also antiques and up for sale, so it wasn't unusual for one of her daughters to come home and find that the wardrobe and/or bed had been sold when they went into their room. The only thing not up for sale was the TV, bought in 1950 when it was rare for people to have something so new fangled!


Like Sylvia, Nellie will be receiving birthday wishes from the Queen, and no doubt the card will be proudly displayed for all to see along with all the other good wishes from family and friends when they visit, as I shall, to say

Happy Birthday Nellie!

Jupiter and the Art of Risk Taking

Mr. Peacock by Maylis Curie.

Jupiter, that larger-than-life planet, is in 2016 currently moving through the sign of Virgo. It's the planet which represents our drive to open up, experience, know, perceive, and learn from experience. Often associated with luck, it won't actually bring you good luck, but if you can tune into the opportunities around and are prepared to take a risk and move beyond your usual boundaries, then luck and good fortune may well come your way. But don't bank on it - what we want in life usually requires work and effort as well! 

This is the planet that is associated with sight - how we see and perceive things. Perception can alter depending on where we're looking at things from. They may look rosy and positive, or dark and forbidding. Jupiter, with its innate optimism and large take on life, can encourage us to see things more as wholes, rather than fragmented parts. The way I look at charts, using Astrological Psychology, is Jupiterian because the whole chart is looked at first and foremost, and this offers a rounded and inclusive picture of the potential of the person it belongs to.

Jupiter encourages us to think outside the box, to take some risks and step outside of our normal comfort zones. In most instances, this is the only surefire way to grow and make changes in our lives, and challening though it may be, it's also rewarding as whole new vistas open up and life can become a lot more interesting and rewarding.

Here's what I have to say about Jupiter and risk taking on my YouTube channel:

 

David Bowie

  David Bowie

 8th January 1947 - 10th January 2016

Musician and style icon David Bowie was born on 8th January 1947 at 09.00 in Brixton, London. In 2013 he was the subject of an exhibition at the V and A Museum in central London, where a broad range of Bowie’s collaborations with artists and designers in the fields of fashion, sound, graphics, theatre, art and film  are on show. 

Bowie's change of image was a constant throughout his career, which began with the formation of a his first band when he was 15. One of his most famous alblums is A Space Oddity, and his cult Ziggy Stardust persona was massive in the 1970's.

His chart shows a predominantly fixed motivation which suggests the need for security, but with an excess of flexibility working alonside this. His Capricorn Sun, closely conjunct Mars in 12th house, is on the Balance Point, where both planets can work hard and efficiently together. They receive only blue and green aspects, reinforcing the overall inner, unconsious motivation shown in his chart via the aspect colours. With a high proportion of green aspects, and only one red aspect, Bowie would always have had a wealth of imaginative potential at his disposal. His chart contains two Projection figures; in themselves they create the drive to undertake new and, with so many green aspects, ever-changing projects. This enabled him to express creative and imaginative ideas.

Bowie used his own physical body as a canvas during his career, wearing strange, weird and wonderful costumes as well as stylish and sometimes rakish outfits. A glance at his 7th house Leo planets - Moon, Saturn and Pluto all close to the DC, the area of the chart where the individual and the outside world meet - personifies this use of his body as vehicle. Saturn relates to all things manifest, including the body; Pluto symbolises change and transformation and Moon in Leo suggest great delight taken in this as well as a natural ability to reach out to the "You"/others.

Projection figure

It's also interesting to see that Bowie's Sun/Mars conjunction is at the apex - the projection point - of a Projection figure. Here, these planets seek to project their ideas on to the "screen" formed by the sextile at the other end of this figure. Perhaps no coincidence then that the Moon/Saturn/Pluto conjunction is pinning one corner of the screen.

Bowie's Neptune, part of the large fixed Double Ambivalence figure, is on the Low Point of 8th house, suggesting a potent source of inspiration for him, coming from within. Venus, so fittingly in a linear blue trine aspect to his Moon and Saturn, is the highest planet in the chart. With a style like Bowie's where better to be placed? 

His passing comes with his Age Point in the 12th house, close to his Sun/Mars conjunction in Capricorn. He will be remembered as a true icon in the world of artistic expression, channelled through his music and personal style.

Pope Francis I

The cardinals have chosen their new pope. Jorge Mario Bergoglio has become Pope Francis I, naming himself after St. Francis of Assisi. He was born on 17th December 1936 in Bueonos Aires, Argentina. No time of birth is available so his chart is set up for noon. [Edit - see below for update 23rd March as correct data and chart added.]

And what an interesting chart it is visually. A zig-zag linear set of aspects looking like giant legs striding forward, intersected by one complete aspect pattern - an Irritation triangle.

In the chart set for noon it is positioned horizontally, but be aware that it would be in a different position if his correct time of birth was known. Pinned by Mars, Saturn and Neptune, and composed of green and red aspects, the Irritation triangle acts like a small green dagger which comes out and unexpectedly "stabs" by giving vent to something which has irked the individual. It may be that they speak out vehemently about injustice - in the case of Francis this is unlikely to be a personal injustice that is felt and could be far more likely to be about gobal rights and wrongs. I only speculate here....but it's something to watch out for. He comes into office with a record of being refreshingly humble and connected with the outside world. The pinning planets in this figure suggest an ability to stand up for himself (Mars and Saturn) but also to stand up for his faith and for inclusivity (Neptune).

Might there be a sense of humour at work too? His Sagittarian Sun is conjunct Jupiter but is also conjunct the North Node - as a spiritual figure we might expect that he's well aware of fulfilling his personal destiny, but we don't know in which area of life, according to his chart, as we don't know his birth time which would put his Node in the house/area of life which he'd need to develop.

His overall inner motivation shows two modes of behaviour - mutable and able to adapt using the triangular shaping (the Irritation triangle) and cardinal (pardon the pun) and restless, making him potentially edgy and initiatory using the disconnected linear aspects.

For more on how to spot motivation in aspect colour, chart shaping and aspect patterns, see my co-authored book The Cosmic Egg Timer.

Update 23. 3.2013
My thanks to Giovannina Celeni who has contacted me (see comments), saying: The birth time is 21h (9 PM). An hour ago, the Argentina astrologer Claudia Rizzi has sent a copy of the birth certificate. The pictures of it are on the Astro-Databank page. This gives the data the highest AA rating of being accurate.

Chart with correct birth time of 21.00

The updated chart for Pope Francis shows the main features discussed above still in place, but with an additional semi-sextile between Moon and Mercury, giving him an almost-but-not-quite-complete Small Learning triangle. This pulls his Moon/Venus conjunction into a more direct working and ongoing learning relationship with Mercury and Uranus. 

The correct birth time shows some very interesting features. A few initial thoughts on these: 

• Uranus is the highest planet in the chart, in the cardinal area of the 10th house; already he is establishing his own approach and is refreshingly different. He's already shown he has a mind of his own when it comes to pomp and ceremony.

• Neptune is now at the bottom of the chart, very strongly placed on 3rd cusp. Francis is reputed to be a man of the people, and more humble and "ordinary" than his predecessor.

• The new birth time places the Irritation triangle on the 3/9 communications house axis, where he can use it to speak out ( see what I previously wrote about this aspect pattern).

• Saturn is stressed before the 9th house cusp. Will there be issues about control, organisation, protocol, tradition?

• His Sun in Sagittarius is on the Balance Point of the 6th house, where it will find ease of expression in his calling

• The chart direction/motivation is a mixture of horizontal and vertical aspects - good for making contact with others and good for asserting his individuality as a leader.