James Bond and The Beatles

No, James Bond and The Beatles is not the name of a new music group. It relates to something more unusual than that. On 5th October 1962 in London the first Bond movie - Dr. No -  and the first recording by The Beatles - Love Me Do - were both released, 50 years ago today. No time is available for either event, so the chart is set for noon.

It'a an interesting chart. Historically, the Swinging Sixties were poised to take off and in the chart you can see the approaching Uranus/Pluto conjunction in Virgo is ready to form. The chart has mainly green and blue aspects, perhaps reflecting the escapist qualities of film and the creative qualities of music. An Ear/Eye also known as an Information triangle aspect pattern, pinned by Sun/Mercury, Neptune and Pluto sits slighly apart from the overall aspect structure, the blue trine from Sun to Saturn looking like a scanning beam coming from a hovering UFO.

The two red opposition aspects form the internal core of an incomplete Irritation rectangle, itself a fairly rare pattern. The opposition between Jupiter and Uranus has a "wake up" feel to it, and that is precisely what was in the air at the time - big changes started to happen in the 60's. Likewise, Saturn's opposition to the Moon's Node in Leo could also have been calling for a spot of risk taking and approaching life with more gusto. The Irritation triangle is open, with one side missing. It's the side that faces on to the sign of Leo, allowing some of this abundant energy in to what would otherwise be a tightly and rigidly held, highly sensitive, rectangular pattern.

Wasn't that what the incoming vibrant energies of the 60's challenged? The "proper", stiff upper lip approach? The music of The Beatles was in the vanguard of breaking down barriers, and the James Bond films set out to thrill in a way not seen before, even though the Bond novels by Ian Fleming - himself once an agent involved in secret wartime work - had first been published in 1953.

There's lots more about aspect patterns in my book Aspect Patterns in Colour. You can find it on Amazon as well as in the Book Shop on the Astrological Psychology Assocation website.

Robbie Williams weds

Pop singer Robbie Williams is going through a significant life phase. He's recently announced that he's rejoining Take That, the boy band (now a very successful group of grown men!) where his career took off, and he's just got married.

Robbie was born on 3.2.1974 in Newcastle-under-Lyme, UK.

His chart is set for noon as no time of birth is available. I wrote about his chart when I discussed it live on air at BBC Radio Stoke 6 years ago, when he was 30. Being a local lad, the media in Stoke-on-Trent are always keen to follow his career and life events. You can read what I said about Robbie's chart in 2003 here, at the Astrological Psychology Association web site, and at the BBC Radio Stoke and Staffordshire newspage archive.

So what of Robbie and Ayda, who wed on Saturday 8th August in Robbie's back yard (aka known as a beautiful estate overlooking the San Fernando Valley in California!). I was invited back once again to Radio Stoke to talk about how these two might fare as a married couple, and you can read a brief news item onwhat I said.

Ayda Field, a TV actress and Robbie's girlfriend of some 3 or more years, was born on 17.5.1979 in Los Angeles. Her chart is quite different from Robbie's - his has a Fixed shaping making him motivated towards security and stability. Ayda's chart is Dynamic, with triangular and linear aspect patterns, making her far more adaptable and flexible. Robbie will tend to need security and to know where he is with things, whereas Ayda will be much more likely to be flexible and go with the flow. This could create a good balance between the two of them.

Aquarian Robbie, with Sun/Jupiter in this sign and at one of the arms of the Kite figure in his chart, will want a certain amount of airy freedom & space; Ayda's strongly emphasised sign of Taurus will be more focussed on earthy practicalities as well as having a yen for good living (she's married a multi-millionaire!). This earthiness, in turn, could provide Robbie with the grounding and security he needs. Robbie is now 36, the time when the Age Point reaches the DC and crosses from the lower to the upper hemisphere of the chart. It's a time of coming into your own and of waking up to the many more possibilities which lie ahead. Life can feel like it's opening up anew, or big time. Robbie's marriage and his return to Take That are both indications of this.

With no birth times for either Robbie or Ayda, I 'm not going to be more specific. All that's left is to wish them both well and say that I'm pleased to hear that Robbie at last appears to have a good woman in his life!


Robbie and Ayda, but not, I assume, on their wedding day!

Amy Winehouse

The first time I saw Amy Winehouse perform on TV, several years ago when she was up-and-coming, I thought she had a whole lot of talent. Much water has passed under the bridge since then, and Amy’s profile has been raised and her lifestyle analysed by that section of the media who feed on the cult of personality.

This is the Virgo month and Winehouse is a Sun Virgo. She was born on 14.9.1983 in Enfield. No birth time is available, so her chart is set for noon, and using the Huber Method of astrological psychology we can still find out quite a lot about her inner motivation and what is likely to make her “tick” without having her birth time.

Her chart has a strongly Fixed shaping, being dominated by a large quadrilateral figure - the Animated Figure - meaning she will be motivated towards security and stability and to preserving and maintaining a structured existence. She needs to feel safe and secure in her life and almost certainly to feel secure about herself. However there is one blue but restless linear aspect between Moon/Neptune and Pluto, and her Jupiter/Uranus conjunction is unaspected. I’ve not studied Winehouse’s life or biography in any depth, but I have seen various media reports on her lifestyle, and it is to this linear and tangential aspect and to the unaspected Jupiter/Uranus that I would look for her more wayward, unpredictable and rebellious behaviour, were I to be working on her chart with her.

Her balance of aspect colours, which reflect the amount of energy available, is 3 red: 1 green: 3 blue. Winehouse lacks in green aspects, which give awareness, sensitivity and the ability to bring some kind of balance between the activity of doing which is the realm of the red aspects and their energy, and the ability to relax, rest, indulge and enjoy, which is what the energy of the blue aspects can confer. It could be useful for her to be more aware of how she’s using the red/blue energy she has available. There’s likely to be a high output of activity through her Sun/Mercury conjunction, and this being in Virgo could suggest she’s something of a perfectionist, being her own worst enemy if she doesn’t come up to her own high expectations of herself as a performer.

The Animated Figure is described by the Hubers in Aspect Pattern Astrology and by me in Aspect Patterns in Colour. The Hubers say of this pattern that it requires “...imagination, patience and a lot of hard work”. They also note that “...a person with this figure can rapidly switch from approval to disapproval”. This sounds a bit like some of the media reportage of Winehouse.

There are some interesting planetary conjunctions in the chart, relating to hot spots of potential in her psychological makeup. In addition to those already mentioned, Winehouse has a Pluto/Saturn conjunction (powerful physical appearance and/or presence - who could ignore that beehive hair and the 1960’s eye makeup?). The Moon/Neptune conjunction is perhaps currently being expressed on its lowest level of being drawn to escapism of all kinds, where feelings can be dulled and their intensity at least held at bay by drink or drugs. At their highest level, Moon and Neptune can be a source of compassionate love. The potential is there for her to develop these qualities. The conjunction of Venus/Mars in Leo speaks of being noticed, appreciated and applauded, something she will need like the air she breathes, and of being equally appealing as a performer to men and women alike. This conjunction also suggests the capacity to combine both male and female energies and without doubt Winehouse is a feisty woman.

Update and comment 25th July 2011: I feel sadness and shock to hear of Amy's passing. A talent is lost for the world, and a young life cut short. In the context of Age Progression and her psychological life phase, Amy was on the Low Point of the 5th house in her chart, a crisis point where the demands of the outside world would have been felt keenly along with professional pressures. In their book LifeClock the Hubers say of this period of life "..there is a real danger that the human being, in self-overestimation expects too much of himself, of the environment, and the future". May she now be at peace.

Jason Orange of "Take That"

I have a bit of a special interest in Jason Orange as he attended one of my astrology courses in South Manchester a few years ago. On enrolment night at the College of Further Education where the 12 week course was being held, I was asked by one of the organisers to talk to "the young chap over there" who was interested in joining the course. I chatted to him about what he'd learn on the course and he decided to enrol, although at first he sounded very sceptical and suspicious about it. I had no idea who he was (not being into the UK boy bands who were hugely popular in the early 1990's) but when the class started there was a flutter of something interesting going on as the ladies present visibly preened their feathers and became rather smiley and friendly in his direction. Someone whispered to me "Is that Jason Orange?" I said yes, and asked why she wanted to know. It was then I discovered that he was one of the Take That pop group

After the initial flutter of excitement from the class, things settled down as Jason was a thoroughly nice person who joined in everything and was just like any other member of the class. And the ladies, being regular common-sense Mancunians, didn't stay distracted by his presence for long.

What of Jason's chart? (which he learned to draw up for himself). He was born on 10.7.1970 in Manchester, but didn't know his time of birth so we used noon, as is shown in the chart here. His is a very striking looking chart, and the image it conjures up for me is of high powered activity, fast movement, perhaps of someone whirling with an arm and leg outstretched - use your imagination a little here, half close your eyes and you'll maybe get the picture! It was only later that I learned that Jason got into the acting scene because of his skill as a break dancer; this is graphically reflected in the chart image.

With an inner motivation to be restless, changeable and dynamic, his chart has a high ratio of red and green aspects which will make him react and respond sometimes sensitively and be a bit touchy (well, he does have his Sun in the Sign of Cancer and Cancerians can be moody), but it also makes him very aware to what's going around him, and suggests he has a lot of nervous energy. Cancerians have an innately caring nature and love hearth and home.

His chart doesn't have any fully complete aspect patterns, because none of the aspect lines join up to form either triangles or 4-sided figures, but Jason does have an almost-complete Small Talent Triangle, made up of 3 blue aspects which don't all quite meet up at the apex where Moon, Uranus and Pluto are. A Small Talent Triangle indicates a still-developing talent, one that the person has to work on and perfect. The planets at the apex, which does not quite meet up, will have to work extra hard to develop the innate talent and get it out into the world. It has to be used and developed over a period of time, polished and made perfect. With Moon involved, it's likely that working at his talent and improving it would be something Jason would enjoy. The presence of Uranus alongside Moon gives his unique talents a quirky touch too.


At the time Jason joined my class "Take That" had disbanded. One member of the group, Robbie Williams, is now world famous, and you can read what I've written about his chart here. "Take That" re-formed in 2005 (without Robbie) and are now well established once again, touring to sell-out audiences. For me, it was especially good to see Jason and the other members of "Take That" on stage at the new Wembley Stadium in London when they performed at the memorial concert for Diana, Princess of Wales. And now they are back on the scene, I've become a firm fan of Take That this second time around! So Jason, if you happen to be reading this - good on you! And all the best for your future, now you're back on stage where you belong.

Photo from Jason Orange appreciation website

For more information on aspect patterns and astrological psychology, see www.astrologicalpsychology.org

If you liked this posting about Jason, read what I said about Robbie's chart and Robbie's wedding to Ayda Field on BBC Radio Stoke, where you can also listen to me talking about astrological psychology and Robbie's chart.

Elton John's Kite & Jupiter

Elton John recently turned 60 ( born 25.3 1947, Pinner. No birth time available on his official website so chart set for noon). As his Age Point entered the 11th House, his threw a lavish party, and dressed up in one of his trademark elaborate and OTT fancy dress outfits, something that he's become well known for. That set me thinking about his dress style way back in the early 1970's when he was thumping out "Crocodile Rock" on "Top of the Pops", seated at the piano and dressed in over-sized specs and knee-high gold boots with enormous wedges and heels. He's never been one to hold back from dressing up, and his style is distinctly Jupiterian!

With such a larger than life presentation, I wondered where and how Jupiter, with its larger than life qualities, might feature in his chart. Although there is no time of birth to work with, making it impossible to say which House Jupiter is in, it's clear to see that it does play a key role in the Aspect Pattern it's a part of. Jupiter, together with Sun, Saturn and the Node, are the pinning planets in the Kite figure in his chart. Sun and Saturn span the sides of the Kite, while the Node is at the aspiration point, at the top of this figure, and Jupiter is at the tail of the Kite.

The Kite is a quadrangular figure and is therefore motivated towards security. With only red and blue aspects, it may operate in an on/off manner, seeking to intersperse periods of rest in the blue aspects with a somewhat tense approach to the work that needs to be completed in the red opposition. This figure contains large quantities of talent (its component parts include two talent triangles) but the individual may prefer not to tap into this talent and produce something until they absolutely have to. This figure is found in the charts of artists and creative people, who often go right to the wire when producing something to a deadline. They may find it easier to stay in the blue part of this figure until close to their deadline, when the red finally kicks in. The Hubers say in "Aspect Pattern Astrology" that people with a Kite have a certain charisma, and that they may also be a hedonist. Interestingly, Robbie Williams, whose chart I've written about, also has a Kite (see the Chart Interpretations page on the API (UK) website.

Jupiter at the tail of the Kite is in opposition to the Node at the aspiration point, that part of the figure which the individual can develop and grow - if only the time of birth were known so that the House/area of life experience where the Node lies could be pinpointed accurately. The only information we have is the Sign it's in - Gemini - suggesting communication. I guess Elton has done a fair bit of that via his many hits over the years. Of course, Jupiter at the tail of the Kite could be that planet/psychological drive which holds back growth, so the lavish costumes, the excessive amount of money he regularly spends on flowers to fill his home and the ownership of a football club (I don't remember which one!) could all be expressions of this planet.

Madonna

The singer Madonna's chart has been requested in response to my invitation to Suggest a Chart (keep asking - I will respond!). Madonna's adoption of baby David Banda from Malawi last month has been riding high in the news and a look at her chart could reveal some interesting possibilities about the superstar herself.

The chart structure clings predominantly to the "I" side and the images that comes to mind are a wide open mouth, a jaunty head-dress, a "Bird of Paradise" flower, crystals growing in the hidden depths of a cave - and the 2 triangular shapes might even remind you, as suggested by one of my students, of the pointy conical bra that Madonna wore in one of her videos! (thanks Jane). There is a touch of the exotic about some of these images, and that relates to what we know about her public persona.

Her motivation is to be flexible, to move on, and this is borne out by her constant re-invention of her image and style. The aspect structure has a predominantly vertical movement, and although there are horizontal features the strongest motivation here will be to achieve. Alongside this there will be a strong drive to improve and understand herself.

Initially suprising is to see that Madonna's is an essentially private chart, with most of her planets in the 12th House. But with a large stellium of planets spanning the 12th and 1st Houses, this sets up a polarity on the 6/12 House axis of Existence and the 1/7 axis of Encounter, so these issues are likely to form the backdrop of her life. Someone with planets on the Existence axis is going to ask questions about why they are here, and seek to justify their existence; the equally emphasised Encounter axis is going to bring up issues of relating to others as well as the importance and need to be able to put herself across in ways which will attract attention, admiration and love. Her Leo planets will seek this, and her Moon in the 1st House will yearn for contact. However, with her AC and 3 planets in Virgo, what she puts out is likely to be carefully detailed and well-prepared. She herself may be her harshest critic.

The chart consists of 2 Small Learning triangles ( see "Aspect Pattern Astrology") which give her the capacity to successfully learn and use specific skills. In 1977 she dropped out of college to go to New York in order to pursue the dance career she longed for as her Age Point squared the Moon. She says of this move "It was the bravest thing I've ever done".

In the Family Model, the Moon represents the child, Saturn the mother and the Sun the father. Madonna's Moon is likely to be a needy one. Her mother died when she was 5, at the first crossing point of the natal and nodal chart, with transitting Uranus and Pluto conjunct her Moon. This, not surprisingly, had a profound and long-lasting effect on her. She says that her mother's death gave her the urge to prove herself. It also brought the experience of being motherless, which may relate to her current controversial decision to adopt a child. It's interesting to see that Saturn, representing the mothering figure, is slightly detached from the main chart structure, and appears out on a limb in Madonna's chart, remote and not quite there.

Jupiter is on a Low Point, indicating that its perceptive sensing works in an inner, less obvious way - yet Madonna herself could never be accused of being retiring as she projects her Leo Sun across the chart! Conjunct Neptune and the North Node, this group which includes Jupiter could be an important key to understanding her ability to pick the right, yet sometimes controversial style she projects in her performances. It will act as a good sensing tool; both Jupiter and Neptune are part of the Small Learning triangle, and the Node will emphasise the lessons of the 2nd House - to develop her sense of self-worth. Jupiter may also endow her with the ability to take risks and be an opportunist, moving into new areas, taking new chances, seizing the moment. It crops up repeatedly as a featured planet in her Age Progression - it was aspected when she graduated from high school, made her first singles recording deal, published her controversial book "Sex", got into studying Kabbalah, married her first husband Sean Penn, and it's around now, making an aspect in her Moon Node chart as she brings baby David from Malawi to adopt.

The Moon Node chart brings to the surface those things which we may repress; we often project things from this chart out into the world around us, so it appears as if they come from somewhere else outside, not from deep within us. Not only does the Age Point in Madonna's Node chart make a trine aspect to Jupiter, suggesting taking a chance, seizing an opportunity, it also makes an oppostion to her Sun. This could mean that she would experience her authority being challenged, and that is reflected in the mixed reception to her decision to adopt. At the same time, Saturn is currently in Leo, moving like a restraining hand over her 12th House Sun. As it does so, she is facing the criticism of the UK adoption agencies and the press for her actions, amid accusations that she has circumnavigated the red tape involved in adopting an African child.

Finally, it's worth considering where her Age Point is right now as this controversy rages on around her. It's in earthy practical Taurus, and when she was 48 in August, it entered the 9th House. In astrological psychology, this life phase is a philosophical one where the Hubers say "it is essential for the human being to find true values for his existence". With such an emphasis in her chart on the Existence axis and her reasons for being here, Madonna may well be trying to work through or express something of this search in the adoption.

Madonna, born 16.8.1958, Bay City MI, USA at 07.05 EST

Suggested reading:

The Cosmic Egg Timer - an Introduction to the Huber Method

Aspect Pattern Astrology
Aspect Patterns in Colour

LifeClock
Using Age Progression

All titles available from the APA on-line Book Shop

Addendum - 11th December 2006

Madonna is again in the news after being seen in Mayfair wearing a coat made from the skins of 40 dead chinchillas. It's estimated cost is £33,000. How sad that Madonna is unable to extend her good will towards the animal kingdom, and chooses to support the fur trade by wearing dead animals. Chinchillas are docile, beautiful creatures. Does she really need their dead bodies to support her ego?