We are in the middle of a season of retrogradacity. Mars until June 30 Mercury until May 22 (in the shadow until June 7) Saturn until August 13 Pluto until September 26 Meanwhile, Jupiter and Venus have both turned direct. This should give you a hint — do good, beautiful, generous things — and [...]

Mercury, messenger of the gods, will be crossing the face of the Sun in a few hours.  You’ll be able to see this from Earth — with the right equipment. This particular event is not rare — but it is unusual. It happens about 14 times per century — and it’s always in Taurus or Scorpio — […]

When we talk about Venus, we talk about allure. When Venus, the planet of beauty and attraction, is in Taurus, she is in her own sign. Fixed Earth: the sign of full-busting spring in the north, when thoughts turn to what the birds and the bees do. Venus is, of course, the planet of love and [...]

One of the pleasures of this retrograde period… Saturn Rx in Sagittarius, the sign of higher learning, the exotic and libraries Mars station (Rx on April 17) also in Sagittarius Mercury in shadow (Rx on April 28) in Taurus, ruled by Venus the goddess of beauty and art Jupiter Rx in Virgo, the [...]

This extraordinary gory painting, possibly by Caravaggio, was found in an attic in the French city of Toulouse a couple of years ago, but not presented to the public until yesterday. It’s fascinating that it should be revealed at just this time of retrogrades, a time of retrieval — perhaps [...]

“I want these crimes to be made public”, leaker “John Doe” to the Süddeutsche Zeitung. It turns out that very rich people have been hiding their money in secret bank accounts abroad. Why do they feel the need to do this? Either a) because the money is stolen or b) because they are avoiding [...]

Here is the chart for the moment the first gunfire was heard at 8AM on March 22 in Brussels. Depressing. Notice the packed 12th house of secret enemies, Pluto, the ninja on the MC being trined by the Moon, which is just moving from Jupiter Retrograde (religious fanatics) to the North Node (a [...]

Wipe away the steam and fog of Pisces, and look out through the crystalline window into the new year, freshly hatched in Aries. The equinox – which was officially yesterday – is a moment when day and night are held in balance. Then we tumble into Aries. We leap into impetuous spring. It’s a [...]

Wonderful, maverick, true artist Thornton Dial passed a couple of days ago at the age of 87. He had Sun in Virgo — the sign of detail and craft — Venus in Libra (artistic) conjunct Mercury. The titles of his works were important, and the works speak. Saturn was one degree [...]

As you probably already know, the 27 Club is a term for all those singers who died too young, at the age of 27. The list is long and it includes, off the top of my head, Amy Winehouse, Jeff Buckley, Jimmy Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Kurt Cobain and Janis Joplin. In fact there is something important [...]

It’s an extraordinary — and rather difficult — start to 2016. But amidst the tumultuous energies there are some strong positives. Here’s the gen. Mercury is retrograde in Aquarius, then from January 8th, in Capricorn . The time calls for rethinking and practical [...]

Velvety magic at the winter solstice. Light of the Sun swallowed, we spend a long night of darkness, but there is comfort in the night’s embrace. Even in these modern times, we can turn out the electric lights and gather round the fire, letting the dark cushion our backs. We are in a [...]

If you know your astrological symbolism, you will have realised that The Eagles of Death Metal*, who were playing at the Bataclan in Paris when it was attacked last month, are a Scorpio band. The eagle is one of the symbols of Scorpio, along with the scorpion and the snake. It is also used as [...]

The holiday season promises to be charged with emotions this year, with a Full Moon on Christmas Day, and the Moon and Jupiter embracing on New Year’s Eve. But before then, mid-December looks a bit sticky, as Mars, the god of war, clashes first with the Lord of Underworld, Pluto, and [...]

This is a good news story, so bear with me and see where it leads. Victims of the condition variously labelled Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) or Myalgic Encephalitis (ME) are used to being disbelieved, disrespected, and ignored. They know about being labelled liars, shirkers, fantasists. [...]

With Jupiter’s move into Virgo this summer, and Saturn’s move into Sagittarius, we are seeing a shift of emphasis into the mutable signs. Neptune and Chiron, also both slow-moving, are already in Pisces. This creates a T-square pattern — at least by sign if not by exact [...]

“Love is the one thing stronger than desire and the only proper reason to resist temptation.” ― Jeanette Winterson, Venus and Mars in Virgo “The kiss itself is immortal. It travels from lip to lip, century to century, from age to age. Men and women garner these kisses, offer them to others and [...]

The movement of the outer planets, Pluto, Neptune and Uranus, is generational. In particular, Pluto’s movement is slow enough — it takes about 15 years to get through a sign — to give us a wide cohort. Pluto tells us what is powerful, what is transformed, what is lost. [...]

Venus, who has spent the whole summer lolling around in the lap of luxury (Leo), moved into Virgo today. This means she will be out of the shadow of her retrograde by tomorrow. If you have been having to rethink, reinvent or reassess your attitudes to love, money, values or friendship this [...]

The Grand Mufti of Saudi Arabia has this to say about more than 700 people being crushed to death at Mina during the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, the Hajj: “As for the things that humans cannot control, you are not blamed for them. Fate and destiny are inevitable.” Fate and destiny are by [...]