Wayne Rooney

Hearing England manager Svedish Sven speaking about the behaviour of Wayne Rooney at a press conference following England being knocked out of the World Cup, I decided to take a look at his chart (24.10.1985, Liverpool. No time of birth so set for noon).

Sven was saying something along the lines of "He has a temper, but you'll have to learn to live with that if you want him around - you're going to need him, he's the best you've got" ( or words to that effect).

It was the mention of the temper that got me intrigued, following on from seeing him stamp on the groin of the Portuguese player he'd collided with during the match, and getting sent off. That stamp looked pretty nasty, vicious and decisive to me. I reckoned that his chart could contain some indication of where that kind of behaviour comes from.

And I wasn't disappointed. Rooney is a Sun Scorpio - the Sign that is renowned for its sting in the tail and for having the last lash of revenge, which is exactly what that stamp on the groin looked like to me. Not only does he have a Scorpio Sun, he has 3 other planets in this Sign as well, emphasising Scorpionic traits. Most significantly, Pluto is conjunct his Sun, suggesting that he has an urge to control, manipulate, dominate and generally put his power out into the world. This, when channelled through his sporting skills, makes him a star player. However, at 20, he's young and as yet unable to control this energy, so it spills out into on-field behaviour as agressiveness and temper ( it may well do off-field as well, but I don't read the sports pages or the tabloids..! I simply observe).

Sun/Pluto are part of the red Efficiency/Performance Triangle, which contains a lot of working energy, itching to be expressed via the apex planet Jupiter. Interesting to see that the opposition, where the energy is held and stored, is pinned by Sun/Pluto at one end and the Moon's Node at the other. Experience suggests that if the Node is part of an aspect pattern, the pattern does not work as smoothly and as completely as it might if that area of life where the Node is placed is being ignored or is under-developed. As I don't have Rooney's time of birth, I can't speculate more about which area of life this might be, but it's worth remembering that the South Node is opposite the North, so is conjunct his Sun/Pluto. The South Node indicates a place where behaviour and responses are very familiar, well-worn and easy to fall into, suggesting that Rooney will opt for the powerful Scorpionic "sting" as a matter of habit, because it serves him well.

Read more about the Efficiency/Performance Triangle - and other aspect patterns - in "Aspect Pattern Astrology" and "The Cosmic Egg Timer", and about the Moon's Nodes in "Moon Node Astrology", all available from the APA on-line Book Shop.

The Battle of the Somme

This year marks the centenary of the Battle of the Somme in World War 1. It will be remembered in England and France. At 7.30 am on 1st July 1916, allied troops went "over the top" in an all-out assault against the German army. The battle proved to be the most devastating in living memory, as the many war graves in this area of northern France bear witness to. The attack took place along a 30 km front from Arras (which is where the chart is set up for) to Albert. The battle continued until 18th November, when it was called off. On the first day alone, 58,000 British troops were lost.

I was curious to see if the chart for the start of this battle held any symbolism which reflected the sacrifice and carnage which followed. It's not the sort of chart which can be interpreted on a personal level as it doesn't relate to an individual, so I've approached it more on a symbolic level. I was struck by the large stellium of planets in Cancer, grouped around the 11th and 12th House. My immediate response to these was to see a visual image of a group of soldiers leaving their trench and going over the top. Flashes of the final episode of "Blackadder" came to mind, along with the many graphic black and white photographs and grainy films of troops leaving trenches.

All three ego planets - Sun, Moon and Saturn, are lined up in the stellium, along with Venus and Pluto, which is on the Low Point of the 11th House. Intuitively, this feels significant, as does Pluto's position as leader of the group....going over the top to almost certain death? The stellium itself is in Cancer, the Sign of home, family, neighbourhood, belonging, nurturing and caring, reminding me of the many groups of "Pals" from towns around the country who all joined up together, many of them perishing together in the battle. And strains of the First World War song "Keep the home fires burning" come to mind, continuing the Cancerian theme.

Jupiter is in the 10th House, right at the top of the chart but very weak by Sign; was too much expected from this battle? Was the optimism set too high? The North Node is in the 6th House of service to others, on the Existence axis. It's opposite Neptune with its qualities of illusion, dissolving and, on the highest level, sacrifice and love; all these are graphic symbols of the ultimate service and sacrifice that so many made "for king and country".

Belle-fille's Recorder

Deviating from my original "mission statement" of discussing the charts of people in the news, I'm taking a look at the chart of my belle-fille, Maylis (22.1.1977, 08.15, Amiens).

The French "belle-fille" and "belle-mere" (that's me!) sounds far nicer than the English daughter/mother-in-law, translating literally as beautiful daughter/mother. I like that!

Maylis's chart looks like an open mouth, eager to taste and take things in, and open ( perhaps sometimes vulnerable?) to meeting other people, and/or situations as well. I choose her chart to look at right now because she has created her own blog, http://maylisandhugh.blogspot.com

and she has an on-line gallery showcasing her photography: www.maylisphotgraphy.com

Maylis's chart shows heaps of talent which is embedded within the 3 Small Talent triangles she has: one in the lower, unconscious, hemisphere of the chart pinned by Mars, Venus & Jupiter, one is pinned by Moon, Mercury and Uranus, and spans Houses 2-9, and the other is in the upper, consious, hemisphere pinned by Saturn, Neptune & Pluto. The presence of a Small Talent Triangle in a chart suggests the person has a still-developing talent or ability. There is inherent potential to be had, but this has to consciously worked at so that the development of the talent is on-going throughout their lifetime. Maylis's talent appears - to me at least! - to be connected to photography and the use of image. Many of her photographs have a special "something" about them, and this I relate to the presence of both Neptune and Saturn (for practically "grounding" and manifesting the images that she sees - she learned to develop them herself too, before digital cameras came along) in the upper Talent triangle.

Look closer and you will see that this upper hemisphere aspect pattern does not stand alone; it is attached to a Search figure, and is actually a part of the larger quadrangular figure called a Recorder. This is described by the Hubers in "Aspect Pattern Astrology" as functioning like a recorder which "stores, among other things, feelings, situations and destinies, and can replay them in such a way that one imagines they are there."

What is interesting is that the Small Talent triangle in the lower half of the chart links directly into the Recorder, via Mars in Capricorn in the 12th House. Mars acts as a fulcrum, energising both upper and lower aspect patterns, and appears as the possible moving force not only in activating the talent embedded within her chart, but also as the driving force for the open mouth image.

Take a look at her on-line gallery, where you can also buy copies of her work, and see for yourself an example of how something that shows up in a chart can be expressed in real life. www. maylisphotography.com