Whatever happened to Lobby Ludd? Some Mercurial musings.

 

Family Group in London, 1950s. Personal archives. Is that Lobby Ludd in the hat?

An inconsequential incident at home has provoked a few Mercurial musings, mainly about how ingrained the symbolism of the planets is in our daily lives and our culture.

The question, "Whatever happened to Lobby Ludd?" arose as my husband was  giving a touch of fresh paint to the area between our kitchen door, which leads to the utility room and also has a door  giving access to the garage. I call it the lobby. He calls it an alcove. Daughter calls it a porch.

Using the word “lobby” had us both remembering a certain character called Lobby Lud, who was around in the late 1950s/early 1960s when we were taken on seaside holidays with our respective parents – me to Clacton-on-Sea, him to Blackpool and Scarborough.

Mercury, the winged messenger

As I remember, Lobby Lud was a mystery man who roamed around the resort, probably wearing a trilby hat and carrying a newspaper. People were encouraged to look out for him, and if they recognised him from his picture in the newspaper, to approach him and say “You are Lobby Lud and I claim my £5”.

The whole thing was a promotional ruse to get people on holiday to buy a daily newspaper. As I recall, it was probably either The Daily Mail, or The News Chronicle who ran this event, and it was done to boost newspaper sales. People often didn’t bother to buy a paper whilst on holiday so this was a way to encourage them to do so, with the potential £5 as the prize. £5 was quite a lot of money in the 1950s. Enter the planet Mercury and some of its manifestations in our world. We speak of mercurial minds, mercurial wit, and the speed at which this planet orbits the Sun in our solar system is relevant here. 

 

Mercury, closest to the Sun, completes its orbit in 88 days as opposed to our 365 days for Earth, with Saturn clocking up 29 years. Mercury, in astrological parlance, symbolises speedy communication of all kinds plus the learning and gathering of facts and sometimes snippets of useful information. English-speaking Newspapers have adopted the qualities of this planet of communication in their names, such as The Daily Mail, The Daily Express, and The Telegraph all have associations of speed and communication. Other regional newspapers attach a Mercurial association to their name by using the word Courier. 

 

Mercury, renowned as a trickster too, is also known as the messenger of the gods. The delivery company Hermes uses this name, which is the Greek version. Hermes was the Greek god of trade, language and travel, amongst other things.

Back to Lobby Ludd carrying his newspaper, and with a nod to Mecury in trickster mode, the whole thing had a quaint, slightly quirky ring to it. I don’t think my dad ever saw Lobby Ludd when we were out and about – or if he did, he tried to get me, but an innocent young child at the time, to go and challege Lobby and ask for the £5. I would never have dared to do this, but I was always on the lookout for a man in a trilby hat, carrying a newspaper when we were walking around in the central promenade area near the pier.

Those were days of innocent holiday family fun alright. In Clacton, as well as Lobby Ludd, there was a concert party on the pier twice daily and live entertainment and shows to go to. Today’s holiday makers are more likely to go to a multi-screen cinema with a bar, and read the news on their smart phones or tablets. And more often than not it’s only the older generation who have a folded, well-thumbed tabloid tucked under one arm. 

The essence Mercury prevails, but now it comes in different, technological forms.

 

Looking back to a year ago - and where we are now

A year ago, in March 20th/21st, I was flying overnight from Houston to the UK, ahead of the first lockdown which started on March 23rd. Covid-19 was taking hold, it was getting downright scary, and with great regret we cut short our stay with the family and had to find an alternative route back as our flight was cancelled. Saying goodbye to our grandchildren was the hardest thing to do.

We decided to splash out and travel Business Class - in the interests of our own safety and because we could afford to dip into the savings. The return flight was in three stages, it took 25 hours. It's a long story, but we were upgraded to First Class - that's me here trying to relax into this one-off experience just after we'd boarded. It's very unlikely we'll ever travel First Class again!

I'm taking a retrospective look at what was going on this time last year, and taking a look - with an astrological-psychological slant - at where we are now, what has changed and what is ongoing.

Pluto  -  the planet of transformation and clearing out of that which is outworn and outdated - is still making its way through Capricorn. Unsurprisingly a few shocks have rattled the bars of the so-called establishment this year so far. Harry and Meghan's interview with Oprah Winfrey is one; the Metroplitan police handling of the London vigil to highlight safety for women, following the abduction and murder of Sarah Everard, is another.

Astrologically ongoing is the challenging configuration between Uranus and Saturn. There's work to be done here, and if the energy isn't harnessed and utilised productively, a real spat and a standoff could develop as they square up to each other and edge closer together in the summer. I see them as already working well together.

Uranus seeks stability and finds innovative ways to provide this, often causing a fair bit of distruption along the way. It's not regarded as the planet of revolution for nothing, so there could easily be more distruption to what we used to consider, pre-Covid, as the norm. Uranus is sometimes quirky and  individualistic, but significantly it's a researcher, coming from the mind.

Like a scientist, it wants clear answers and bases hypotheses on trials and facts. I'm thinking here of the scientists advising the government on what's needed to move us away from the need to lockdown and ease the effects of the pandemic, such as the roll out of the vaccination programme, the vaccine itself created by the work and research of scientists.

Saturn prefers the stability of the status quo and resists change, fired by fears, doubt and caution. It wants to hold on to what it's got, maybe wanting to please everyone, and it's very efficient at ensuring all systems are working properly and safely. Saturn is associated with matter and the material world, and this apsect of it is symbolised by the weighing up, by governments, of how to maintain the economy in this ongoing pandemic.

Interestingly, Saturn in currently moving through the sign of Aquarius, whose qualities actually promote and encourage a creative approach to problem solving, with "off the wall" innovative tendencies, and technologies. It is the natural astrological "home" sign of Uranus and it may therefore be Saturn's role to shape and structure what has emerged in the past 12 months.

Looking back over the past year, with these intertwined signs and planetary energies and qualities, I am amazed and imressed at how far we've come technologically. Using this astrologial lens I can see an example of how Uranus and Saturn have worked together. A year ago most people wouldn't have imagined, in their wildest, oddest dreams, that they would not only be using Zoom for work and social interactions, but that they would have learned and mastered it too. Many of us hadn't heard of it; now it's in common usage as the needs of the lockdown/working from home/staying home have replaced previous behaviour.

Jupiter, associated with vision, looking to the future, opportunity and even risk-taking, is journeying through Aquarius throughout this year. It briefly rubbed shoulders with Saturn at the start of the year, but will hang around in the background, hopefully acting as a positive, encouraging presence, perhaps softening the edges and protective barriers which Saturn might be tempted to erect. There are probably still plenty of changes ahead, which are way beyond my desire to "predict", but I see Jupiter's role in this snapshot of time as a door opener, an inspirer, and yes, a visionary of what might be.

We all want to look to the future to; right now we can't make any plans and have no idea yet what the new "normal" might be. All we can do for now is sit tight and do our best to cooperate in helping get this pandemic under control, and  - in the words of Jean Luc Picard, captain of the Star Ship Enterprise -  "Make it so" to the best of our ability.

Saturn

  

Arnol Blackhouses, Isle of Lewis, Outer Hebrides

               

This article offers a practical exploration of Saturn. Readers  - you do not need to have any prior knowledge of astrology, or of what the planet Saturn represents - although what I've written here will give you some ideas to mull over.

Do you check the weather forecast before you leave home to see if you’ll need an umbrella, carry a train timetable with you when going to the station, and make sure you have a map in the car when setting off on a journey to a new destination? If you answered “yes” to any of these, then you were probably drawing on your own resources of Saturnian energy.

In astrology, the drive associated with Saturn is for Security. Saturn is concerned with structure and form, always seeking to organise, preserve and maintain things within manageable limits. In our solar system, Saturn is the furthest planet that can be seen by the naked eye.  Before the outer planets were discovered, following the invention of the telescope, Saturn’s position marked the outermost limit of our knowledge of the solar system, so it is not altogether surprising that astrologically it symbolises limitation, boundaries and our own security drives.

It is the planet that swings into action when we need to know just exactly where we stand, so having social structures, guidelines and rules to abide by are all part of Saturn’s realm. Saturn gives the physical sense of self which we gain through the body. The structure, organisation and limitation associated with Saturn are present in the various systems in the body - the respiratory system, the circulatory system, and the digestive system, to mention just a few. The skeletal system provides a firm, solid physical structure around which the other systems are organised. As all these systems are interdependent, their clear-cut organisation is vital. The skin - our own boundary which marks our physical outermost limits - contains them all.

Saturn helps us to become responsible and reliable as individuals; if we live within the rules and guidelines of society then we reap the benefits of feeling safe and secure. Saturn is the perfect foil to  unfettered over-expansiveness and behaviour which can get out of hand. If not contained, our excesses can take us beyond the limits of acceptability.

Saturn helps in curbing what might become outrageous behaviour by giving us a sense of caution and responsibility. Taken to extremes, this sense of caution can become fear,  holding us back and restricting us in everyday life, so it’s important with Saturn that we get the balance right, and that we don’t allow our fears to hold us back from doing what is important for us. 

Because it symbolises such qualities as  responsibility and caution Saturn may not sound like much fun, so it’s important that we understand its positive attributes. It’s value should not be underestimated as it plays an essential role in our psychological make up. Like all the planetary qualities and energies, it can operate at different levels of consciousness, sometimes dormant and inert and responding in a habitual manner, but at its highest level Saturn will endow us with the ability to act with dignity and maturity. 

Then we can live with a clear conscience, accessing the deep learning of life we have developed, and become a mentor and benefactor  to those who seek our help, support and advice.