Roman aqueduct, Segovia, Spain. In the first century AD, Rome’s 11 aqueducts delivered tons of fresh water to the one million citizens who thronged the capital of of the world’s biggest empire. Without those aqueducts and the giant cisterns that held fresh water, there would have [...]

It all started with this picture. The sculpture’s called Spring and I thought it was a pretty good representation of Lilith conjunct Sun in Capricorn. Lilith is, of course, all that is unmentionable and dark about the feminine. She is, among other things, the vagina dentata. I believe [...]

In the Northern Hemisphere, nature is sleeping. The leaves have fallen and the ground is frost-hard. Here at England’s navel, dusk is at 4pm. The dark is rising outside my window. Today the Sun moved into the sign of the strange goatfish, Capricorn, ruled by cold Saturn. Capricorn is the [...]

Rene Magritte: Rider in the Woods My friend Q has been rather cross recently. As far as she is concerned, life is not working out. Somewhere on the journey, she took a wrong turn and found herself in a thicket of gorse and shale instead of travelling through the beautiful beech wood she had [...]

Various Aspects by Deborah Stevenson Is your head about to explode  From information overload? Just asking. Last time Jupiter was in Gemini, the internet was probably not in your pocket. That was 12 years ago. Jupiter is the planet of expansion. Gemini is the sign of facts, data, journalism, [...]

Through grey mist a ship of fools floats out to sea under the Golden Gate Bridge. The year is 1950, exactly half way through the “American Century”. Much has been written about Paul Thomas Anderson’s new film The Master. It’s a warp and weft of images, sounds and words [...]

Yesterday evening my daughter told me that her friend has been receiving nasty anonymous notes. These have been left in her desk for about a week. It is a recrudescence of previous bullying but in a new form. I thought it was a perfect example of astrology in action. Mercury, the planet of [...]

A detail from Hieronymous Bosch’s The Garden of Earthly Delights “Beware the slinking whisperer who whispers into the hearts of people, whether he is from the world of spirits or the world of humans.” – Sura 114, The Qur’an “The mind is its own place, and in [...]

Black Iris III The American painter, Georgia O’Keeffe, was an über-Scorp, with Sun, Moon, Jupiter and Mercury all in the sign that rules – among other things – dissection and sexuality.  Her bold studies of irises show how such things can be beautiful. Like some other Scorpio artists – [...]

Neptune in Pisces – right at the beginning again. Chiron, the wounded healer, in Pisces too. Both planets have turned direct this week. If you need to cry, let your tears flow. It is part of the healing. Listen to kd lang (Sun conjunct Neptune, Chiron in Pisces) and Roy Orbison (Chiron-Moon [...]

Amy Winehouse (born with Saturn in Scorpio) Wouldn’t it be nice if we could just gloss over the nastier side of human nature and pretend there’s no jealousy, no murderous rage, no stomach churning fear, no madness? We could all live in a happy, smiling Libra world…. but we [...]

The boy hero was educated by Chiron, the centaur. Here depicted by John Singer Sargent Silver-footed Thetis, the sea goddess, leaned over the the River Styx, and dipped her demigod baby into its dark current. The magical water made the boy invulnerable. But there was one spot that stayed dry – [...]

October by James Tissot, who was born with Sun Libra, Saturn and Mercury in Scorpio. Saturn moving into Scorpio represents a major energy shift, and it’s time to apply some astrological knowledge instead of just theorising about it. Saturn likes rules, boundaries and organisation, so [...]

It turns out that the seven-times Tour de France champ Lance Armstrong cheated. Apparently, he was doped up to the eyeballs, bullied other team members into joining him and lied and lied and lied. The US Anti-Doping Agency says Armstrong was the leader of “the most sophisticated, [...]

William Turner: Snowstorm at Sea Neptune, the planet of illusion and delusion welcomed Saturn, the planet that rules old age, acquired wisdom, maturity, rules, boundaries, reality into the realm of water this month. What could this mean? Saturn is at 0° Scorpio trining Neptune at 0° Pisces. [...]

Marc Chagall The Eve of the Day of Atonement Today, 27 September 2012, is the Jewish Day of Atonement. The Books of Life and Death have been closed, the tally of good and bad deeds has been taken for the year, and you’ve apologised to your family, friends, colleagues, the milkman for the [...]

Ivan Shishkin. Autumn My mother is celebrating the end of Saturn’s passage through Libra with a new hip. The symbolism could not be simpler. She has a Sun-Mars conjunction at 24° Libra. This represents both her actual body and her physical energy among other things. Saturn, which rules [...]

Keanu Reeves (Sep. 2, Virgo Rising) and River Phoenix (Aug 23, Scorpio Rising) They’re all a bit older now (except perhaps for M. Phillippe). But here they are in their pomp. Ryan Phillippe (Sep 10) Jeremy Irons  (Sep 19, Leo Rising) Hugh Grant (Sep 9, Virgo Rising) Richard Gere (Aug 31, [...]

The Bather, Ingres.He was born with Venus in Leo and Sun in Virgo. This picture combines Virgo mastery of technique & perfectionism with Leo luxury. The planet of beauty is in the golden sign of Leo, what could be more luxurious. Here are some suggestions of how to make the most of this [...]

Freddie Mercury. Mercury, the trickster, lay down and took a nap in the Sun last week. Now he’s staggered to his feet and is laboriously retracing his steps through Leo. He’s a little dazed and confused poor fellow, asking this question: who am I? Mercury in Leo: it’s about [...]