“That old black ram is tupping your white ewe.” Othello strangles Desdemona  from Othello Othello rose to the highest public office; he fell because of a fatal flaw, a personality defect so big that it opened its mouth and swallowed him. Right now we are witnessing a tragedy. [...]

“Some people say little girls should be seen and not heard, but I say, Oh bondage, up yours!” Thank you Poly Styrene, for giving me something to shout as I drive up to the school gates to pick up my little girls. The pioneer of feminist punk died today at the age of 53. If […]

Liz Taylor had glamour. Right up to the end she sparkled with magical, movie star enchantment. Neptune sprinkled her with stardust, but cursed her as well – with boozers, with losers, with no boundaries. She was such a Pisces. Look at those famous violet eyes. I’ll let you draw your own [...]

We all know what the books say about the sign of the fishes: mystical, dreamy, impractical, gentle, unwordly… So it’s more than a little interesting that Rupert Murdoch, proprietor of that Orwellian behemoth News Corp was born with the Sun in sweet Pisces. He’ll be celebrating his [...]

I want a William and Kate souvenir toothpick, please. I received an email a while ago asking me to look at the chart of Catherine Middleton, who is to marry the heir to the British throne, Prince William, in April. Well, her birthday’s on the 9th of January, so why not look at it today [...]

A priestess of the goddess Vesta, “tutelary deity” to Capricorn.Here imagined by 19th century painter  Lord Leighton. Capricorns is a dull sign, ruled by that old curmudgeon Saturn – right? It’s all about status and work and dads and being sensible bla bla bla. [...]

  Captain Beefheart (far right) and the long-suffering Magic Band, back in 1969. A creative visionary died this week. Don Van Vliet (aka Captain Beefheart) (born January 15, 1941 at 4.25pm) was a legendary avant-garde musician and performer and a damn fine painter. In both his chosen [...]

Steel Orchid. She stands, tiny and fragile behind the iron fence, then graciously she accepts the gift of a flower and puts it in her hair. The people of Burma are cursed to have such terrible governance, but blessed with such a leader. Aung San Suu Kyi is indomitable, indefatigable, brave, [...]