We had a flying visit from our Indian friend this week with whom I had our usual discussion about things astrological. We soon got around to the subject of that great big ring. What ring? The engagement ring Prince William gave Kate Middleton. It’s a large sapphire surrounded by [...]
See moreCategory: Perspectives on Power
History, politics, economics, revolution, terrorism, the Catholic Church, current affairs: all through the lens of astrology.
- Catholic Church
- Current Affairs
- Economy
- History
- Middle East
- National identity
- Peace
- Philosophy & Ethics
- Politics
- Royals
- War
Korea: Toxic Sibling Rivalry
Poster for the 2004 Korean blockbuster, The Brotherhood of War. So South Korea is a successful, entrepreneurial (if rather corrupt) Leo Sun and North Korea is an angst-ridden, self-hating Virgo. Sibling rivalry is rarely this toxic. The two countries were born just a few weeks apart on the 15 [...]
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Royal Wedding
Goodness me! Prince William (Cancer) is finally going to marry Kate Middleton (Capricorn), his girlfriend since, like, forever. That’ll take our minds off the economy then . I did predict – in passing – that it would be soon. See this post on my blog from October 20th for the context. I [...]
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Burma: The Ugly Face of Astrology
Did you know that the moment of Burmese independence was chosen by an astrologer? That’s why everyone had to get up before dawn to inaugurate the brand new state at 4.20am on 4 January 1948. Burmese astrology, like its cousin Hindu astrology, is surprisingly similar to ours, but with a [...]
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Aung San Suu Kyi: Embodying the People’s Dream
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, [...]
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Shrinking Britain
Cometh the hour, cometh the man. George Osborne is going to be one of the most hated public figures of our time. But he can take it This afternoon George Osborne, the British Chancellor of the Exchequer, gave the most important speech of his life – and maybe ours. Is this a full [...]
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Libra: Peace or War?
Baroness Thatcher has Libra Sun and Leo Moon like Mahatma Gandhi and David Cameron. A belated Happy Birthday to you, Mrs T. (ex-PM Margaret Thatcher Oct 13, 1925) And to you Silvio. (PM Berlusconi, Italy September 29, 1936) And Bibi, Happy Birthday, to you in advance. (Netanyahu, the [...]
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A Libran’s Seven Social Sins
Mahatma Gandhi. Libra Sun/Leo Moon Here’s something to think about while the Sun sails through the last ten degrees of the sign of justice and balance, Libra. Mahatma Gandhi, that arch-Libran, said there were seven social sins Politics without principles Wealth without work, Pleasure [...]
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Heavenly grrrl power!
Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Brazil. Is the mother goddess giving a helping hand? In Brazil, Dilma Rousseff; in Australia Julia Gillard, who’s next? Are sisters finally doing it for themselves? Here’s what I think happened in the heavens that might give us a clue. On the [...]
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A Fairytale Ending for Milibands
Once upon a time there was a miller who had three sons. When he died his oldest son took the mill, his middle son took the donkey, and that left the youngest son with nothing but the cat. Well, we know who got the better deal in the end. Puss-in-boots helps the youngest son to […]
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The Subtle Knife
Whenever I go past the alley of trees in this picture, I think of how somewhere between them may be the Sunderland Avenue, North Oxford, Summer 2010.gateway to a parallel Oxford. In His Dark Materials, Philip Pullman‘s fantasy trilogy, Will Parry, the boy hero, creates an invisible [...]
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The generation that won’t shut up
Gustave Doré’s Red Riding Hood. Usually, conversational gambits at the school gates go something like this: “How is Ermyntrude settling in?” “Isn’t the traffic awful?” “A bit nippy this morning eh?” Not the most thrilling set of references. So [...]
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Newspaper horoscopes: should you bother?
Desire Dehau reading a newspaper by Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec (1890). They didn’t have horoscope columns back then but it’s a nice picture. I wrote this a while ago for a pilot partwork, but I think it’s worth republishing. Every day in newspapers and on the internet, [...]
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How I struck oil on holiday
On Winchelsea Beach, the mud is dark sable. Sometimes, you slither across the top of it. But sometimes your foot sinks right in, mud spurts between your toes. And sometimes, you sink much deeper, over your ankles, up to the knees. When that happens, your feet encounter another texture, silkier [...]
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Times are changing
This is from an old copy of the defunct magazine Punch. I can never see the joke, but it does seem appropriate. We had dinner with an entertainingly gloomy Irishman last night. He’s clearly enjoying the credit crunch a lot – because it means that he can wallow in deepest pessimism, [...]
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A Special Relationship – but do they understand each other?
She’s just not that interested. How do you tell that to someone? It’s tricky – especially if you’re reading someone’s chart and you can tell by the look in his eyes and the still way in which he’s holding himself, that this is really important – and [...]
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