Nude by Francis Cadell. “There must be possible a fiction which, leaving sociology and case histories to the scientists, can arrive at the truth about the human condition, here and now, with all the bright magic of the fairy tale.” – Ralph Ellison, Born March 1, 1913 Sun in Pisces, Mercury in [...]

 “What if you had a really big seed and you could draw on it and if you planted it, your drawing would grow into a real thing?” “What would you draw?” “A kitten.” Neptune (imagination) is squaring my six-year-old’s Mercury in Gemini (story-telling) [...]

Princesss Elizabeth and her dashing consort Philip at a polo match in Kenya, just days before she succeeded to the throne in 1952. The 33 daughters of the Roman emperor Diocletian, cast adrift in the grey sea (after murdering their 33 dreary husbands), saw land – a white land, rising from the [...]

JMW Turner. Snow Storm. Let me tell you why you haven’t heard from me for a few days. This is how it was meant to be. I was meant to go out to France on Wednesday and come back Sunday, having graced my elderly parents with my presence, and caused as little disruption to the […]

Thought it was time to revisit this post, which I wrote back in April. Neptune goes back into Pisces on the 3rd or 4th of Feb, depending upon where in the world you are. Catch that wave. Neptune’s Horses by Walter Crane. Neptune, the great god of the sea, has dived into the ocean of […]

Thatcher: Saturn Rising Recently, I asked a businesswoman friend, who was complaining about bankers’ bonuses, when she thought the rot had set in. She answered with one word: “Thatcher.” And she’s right, what we are experiencing now, financially and socially is the [...]

Meryl Streep inhabiting Margaret Thatcher Meryl Streep’s impersonation of Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher in The Iron Lady is almost frightening in its accuracy, believability, naturalness and depth. How did Streep dig down and find that character and then make her live so vividly on [...]

“Am I in love? – Yes, since I’m waiting.” The other never waits. Sometimes I want to play the part of the one who doesn’t wait; I try to busy myself elsewhere, to arrive late; but I always lose at this game: whatever I do, I find myself there, with nothing to do, [...]

Sandro Botticelli’s painting depicts exactly what will be happening in the skies at the beginning of February when Venus opposes sleeping Mars. Mars the planet of action aggression and war is about to go retrograde in the sign of skill, precision and organisation, Virgo. As you doubtless [...]

Here is the question that Iris asked on this site: Could you say a bit about how you would distinguish the cutting away of the unnecessary by Saturn from the letting go of the unnecessary by Pluto? How might they feel different? Iris is right: both of these planets bring loss and even death. [...]

Saturn is in Libra Oct 29, 2009 – Apr 7, 2010    Jul 21, 2010 – Oct 5, 2012 Sept 21, 1980 – Nov 29, 1982     May 6, 1983 – Aug 24, 1983 Nov 20, 1950 – Mar 7, 195      Aug 13, 1951 – Oct 22, 1953 Oct 7, 1921 – […]

In the past 12-month, I have read a lot of charts for people experiencing either their first or second Saturn Return. And the more I have looked at these charts and talked to these individuals, the more I have asked myself: did these Saturn Return generations get dealt the nastiest planetary [...]

2011: Idealism + action / Neptune + Uranus Neptune, the god of idealism, illusion, fashion, faith, glamour and mist, is in the very last degree of Aquarius now. This is momentous because he will not return to this spot for, oooh, another 160 years or so. We are in the very end game of Neptune [...]

I still get a small thrill when I walk past number 20 Northmoor Road after dropping my kids off at school. Half a century ago, JRR Tolkien wrote The Hobbit and the first two volumes of The Lord of the Rings in that unprepossessing suburban house. I’ve often wondered if there were [...]

Listen to this. You wouldn’t think that the British singer Adele turned 21 last May, would you? She has the voice of, well, experience. When I hear a voice like hers, I ask myself where’s the Capricorn? Nina Simone…what a voice This is because I’ve noticed that Sun [...]

The Orphic Egg from which the first god hatched. Happy New Year, everyone.  Like quite a lot of people, I spent a while last night thinking about New Year’s resolutions. And you know, I can’t think of one that I have made or kept, so I thought this one should be different, [...]

Heart was purring, but you wouldn’t think so to look at him! Hey, it’s rather an auspicious Christmas this year. Who’d have thought it! Astrologically, it’s a pretty thrilling couple of days – with a New Moon in earthy, sensible Capricorn today (Christmas Eve) at [...]

Sometimes you get an overwhelming sense of one planetary energy from a particular room. I have a friend who’s North Node, destiny or even destination, is conjunct the planet Neptune, the planet of music and the sea. Sitting in her studio for an afternoon is immersion in Neptunian vibes [...]

Eclipses always signify endings. Some more major than others. This ending is a biggie. On Friday, by rejecting closer fiscal co-operation, UK Prime Minister David Cameron put Britain in a minority of one within the European Union. The British departure from the European project has closed [...]

The ugly step-sisters flank Cinderella in last year’s panto at the Oxford Playhouse. What is it about our brothers and sisters? It’s the longest relationship for most of us. And so often it is a knot of jealousy and loyalty, love and loathing, betrayal and trust. We share a [...]