The Astrological Journal - November 2020

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The Astrological Journal November/December 2020 1
Contents
The Astrological Journal November/December 2020 Volume 62 No.6
36 Working with the planets by Roy Gillett

Mastering the Mars retrograde followed by major
astro events to January 2021
41 Report from Planet Fashion with Christina

Rodenbeck
Soldier fashionistas – Notorious RBG and
Melania Trump
43 Mars: When the Red Planet turns Green

The warrior celestial has agricultural associations.
Julian Venables’ journey starts with the Beirut
explosion this year
page 22
48 Not the astrology column with Anne Whitaker
Neptune and the ‘gift’ of uncertainty
Astrology’s next big challenge
22 More astrological research is the answer to geeky 50 Generational shifts and the Jupiter-Saturn mutation
J. Lee Lehman explores the elemental shift into air
debunkers, argues Robert Currey in December – what can we expect?
66 Sign Language with Pam Crane

Plague and volcanic eruptions: the astrology of
hard times
71 Astro-X-Ray: Michael O’Reilly

The former Dell Horoscope book reviewer reveals
his favourite astrology writers
page 07 page 50
Features
07 The predictive power of eclipses
World-leading financial forecaster Bill Meridian
explains why eclipse analysis is so powerful
page 41
20 Data News with Frank Clifford
Keeping up with steely matriarch Kris Jenner of the
Kardashian clan Regulars
26 The stationary Mars in mundane astrology
03 Editor’s letter
André Barbault’s masterly essay on the link between
the Sun-retrograde Mars and Sun-Mars opposition 06 Ad rates in The Astrological Journal
cycles and wars. Followed by….
59 Books: Robert Galbraith (aka JK Rowling), Wanda
30
Dates ahead to test Barbault’s Sun/Mars retrograde Sellar, Michael O’Reilly and Liz Greene
observations
Victor Olliver applies Barbault’s technique to our 65 Letters
current troubles 69 Transits: November-December 2020.
By Sarah Cochrane
32 Great conjunctions: the Lowlands-by-sea
Oscar Hofman examines the Netherlands’ Jupiter- 70 Astrology Crossword 35. Pam Crane’s unique puzzle.
Saturn conjunction birth chart Win a book prize
2 November/December 2020 The Astrological Journal

Editor’s letter
Let’s embrace astrology’s data geeks
The cover of this issue is dominated by Robert Currey’s satirical cartoon. Basically, it’s
saying: we as astrologers can’t win with the debunkers. They claim to seek a theoretical
basis for astrology yet castigate and try to block any attempt to publish or publicise
astrological research studies. As editor of Correlation Robert seeks exacting research that
tests astrology’s contentions – he accepts that his magazine (published by the Astrological
Association) cannot ‘prove’ astrology as a science, but it can demonstrate that astrology has
validity by ruling out chance as a probable explanation for outcomes. If chance is not the
answer, what is?
The cartoon illustrates Robert’s piece, ‘Is astrology returning to an Age of Endarkenment?’,
"The measure of our mastery
a cri de coeur to astrologers to turn their attention to evidence-based data lest our work end
of Uranus is our ability to
up fragmented or buried by the likes of an ex-popstar TV physics professor and his Twitter
tolerate and accept every
variety of expression within fans. I wholly agree with Robert – one of astrology’s rare business entrepreneurs – but I
the cosmos – even where would add this: there is the need to explain what astrological study results amount to in
this is totally opposed to our down-to-earth terms. Scholarly papers couched in the argot of statistics – personally, I did
own." not come into astrology to worry about p-values – may communicate a great deal to data
geeks, but often present a brick wall to the rest of us. The value (as well as the p-values) of
Pauline Stone, The a study must be set out straightforwardly in supplemental pieces. Speaking simply is not
Astrology of Karma, The to be simplistic.
Aquarian Press, 1988,
p. 76. (Spotter: Frank C. Relevant to this, in our Books section I review Michael O’Reilly’s excellent The Ultimate
Clifford) Book of Astrology Books, a huge collection of his Dell Horoscope critiques of astrology
titles published over 27 years – or one whole progressed Moon cycle. On page 764 he
reviews The ‘Mars Effect’ by Claude Benski and others which is the sceptics’ answer to the
Gauquelins’ seminal research on the prominent Mars in the charts of sports champions and
military leaders. On the attempts to ‘prove’ astrology, O’Reilly writes: “Breaking astrology
down to its atomistic, mechanical components is the realm of today’s data-obsessed
analytical mind…It leads to a total lack of passion, spirituality, or anything that would offer
a comprehensive philosophy of life”. So, let’s embrace research. But also, let’s embrace the
fact that astrology is not to be confused with horology.
Martian invasion and a great mutation

Mars is a big theme in this issue – inevitably as the planet transits its own sign of Aries
and soon ends its retrograde (the shadow covers more-or-less the entire Aries Mars transit
from start to finish – adding a complication) – and en route squares Jupiter, Saturn and
Cover: Cat Keane Pluto in Capricorn. None of us can be too surprised by the resultant chaotic happenings
Cartoon: ©2020 Robert Currey
globally as national populations chafe against Covid-19 restrictions and economies creak.
The late French astrologer André Barbault in 1997 wrote a masterly piece examining the link
between wars and the Sun-retrograde Mars and Sun-Mars opposition cycles – all pertinent
Join us on Instagram to the current Mars transit. We are honoured to publish Kate Johnston’s translation of the
Barbault essay while Roy Gillett examines the Mars transit against other astrological events
www.instagram.com/astrologicalassociation
in our turbulent world. In addition, I test Barbault’s techniques by applying them to our
current situation and immediate future.
Join us on Facebook
It is left to J. Lee Lehman to map out what the rare Jupiter-Saturn conjunction in air (on 21
www.facebook.com/AstrologicalJournal December 2020) means for humanity as we experience the ‘great mutation’ (elemental shift)
in the cycle of these two planets. We are grateful for her widely acknowledged scholarship
and research, and her superlative guidance through the rules of classical astrology.
Follow us on Twitter
www. twitter.com/AstroJourn
Join us on YouTube
Victor Olliver
Astrological Association
Editor

The Astrological Journal
Volume 62 – Number 6
November/December 2020
Editor Victor Olliver, BA, DMS Astrol, MAPAI

email: journal@astrologicalassociation.com
Copy editing Ian Tonothy
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All charts use Placidus house cusps except where indicated
The Astrological Association
President Roy Gillett B.ED (Hons Ldn) ACII

Vice-President Dr Nicholas Campion BA, MA, PhD,
DMS Astrol, Hon DFAstrolS
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understanding as an art and science. Astrology is the practice of
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The Carter Memorial Lecture 2020
The predictive power

of eclipses
Bill Meridian
This lecture – delivered on 27 June 2020 at the online Astrological Association
Conference – traces the development of eclipse analysis which is regarded
as one of the most powerful tools in astrology, as demonstrated in a series of
amazing examples by a leading financial and world affairs forecaster
“A really adequate discussion of the significance of My eclipse is partial. The ‘path of maximum intensity’ runs
visibility areas of eclipses and transits would fill a large right through Vienna, Austria and shadows Eastern Europe.
book.” – Charles Jayne, 1947 At New York University, I became interested in Ludwig Von
Mises and the Austrian School of Economics. At that time, I
Much of this work comes from Dell Horoscope magazine had trained to be a psychotherapist for nine years. And the
which I am sad to say published its last issue in April 2020 wife of the chief psychiatrist, Eva Broch, was a philosopher.
after 84 years in business, one Uranus return. I wrote for them Her father was a philosopher, and they were from Vienna,
for one Saturn return. Also, thanks to Ken Irving at American Austria. In New York I met my wife who is also from Vienna.
Astrology. After living in Abu Dhabi, we settled in Vienna. That is how
important that point is in my life. The white lines you see,
Before I get into the tedious details of how you determine those are the AstroCartography map: you can superimpose
which eclipse is yours at birth this is my natal eclipse path: the eclipse path onto an ACG map and see where you get
crossings with the white and the black lines. You can see
here my Mercury and my Venus lines intercept the ‘path of
maximum intensity’ and I have spent a lot of my time in coffee
houses, listening to live music, writing and that is how it has
worked out for me.
I was born on 25 April 1949, three days prior to a solar eclipse

on my Venus in the 4th house. I have lived in beautiful places.
Your birth eclipse will energise that chart area in which it falls
for the rest of your life. If you have an eclipse on your Mars,
you will feel very physically active. The birth eclipse energises
that area for the rest of your life. When it gets re-eclipsed by For my wife, the eclipse line [in red] starts in Madagascar
transit it is a major event in your life, something one always and ends in New York. She was born in Austria and moved to
remembers. New York where she met her first husband whose origins are

The predictive power of eclipses
from Madagascar. This is her ACG map superimposed with then that eclipse chart is extremely important to you.
the eclipse path. There are extension lines: these are parallel Because in such case the eclipse or its planets intensify
and perpendicular lines drawn from the Sunrise point, the or amplify any planet they configure in your birth chart…
Sunset point and the Noon point. If you project straight up And by ‘eclipses’ I do not mean merely the position of the
from Madagascar it intersects her Venus line at Abu Dhabi, eclipse itself, I mean the position of any planet or planets
which is where we lived. If you go horizontally it intersects at the time of an eclipse relative to any planetary position
her Venus IC line in Rio de Janeiro which is where her first in the nativity.”
husband proposed to her. The eclipse cuts through her Jupiter
Midheaven line right through New York which is where she To summarise: Johndro would look plus or minus six months,
always found ample employment, so these are the important which is what I do and what Jayne did, and then do a synastry
points in her life. between the eclipse chart and the person’s natal chart. For
example, if the eclipse greatly energises the person’s Mars and
Introduction to eclipse analysis pioneers that person is an athlete, the eclipse and the shadow are both
important. In the case of Charles Harvey, two eclipses were
The idea originated with Edmund Troinski, who developed
both essential, I could not distinguish the strength of one from
tertiary progressions. His notion was that when an eclipse
the other.
occurred it would have control and rulership over the events
that occur plus or minus three months from the date of
occurrence.
Bill and the 1949 oil field
In Abu Dhabi, in 1995, a Saudi television show described their
Lorne Edward Johndro, an astrologer from California living largest oil field. It was hitting its peak production and it came
in Los Angeles, was a mathematician and radio engineer. His online in 1949, the year of my birth. I thought, “This feels like
astrology was very advanced even by today’s standards. He a peak in my career as well”, and looking back, it was. So, the
worked with a man named Ken Brown of Cleveland (Brown oil field and I were ruled by the same eclipse. The entity does
being the front man) who brought in the business, and not have to be a living being…it can be a club or corporation.
Johndro being the man that developed advanced techniques. Johndro also wrote:
Jayne told me that they were the astrologers who did all the
work for the legendary stock market trader W.D. Gann. “Eclipses quite largely define issues for whole groups.
But eclipses forward destiny through the medium of
Johndro developed the idea of the birth eclipse: i.e. the eclipse mortals far more than merely through varying the
is the ruler of that time period and anything that occurs within climate, the rainfall, the crops, etc. That is to say, men
it. If a social club is started, a corporation, a team plays its are so born in time as to respond, in an allotted way, to
first game, any event, it is under the rulership of that eclipse. some particular cosmic purpose delegated, so to speak,
That was the hardest thing for me to accept when I started through the eclipses. The importance of your allotted role
reading this in the ’80s. As that eclipse chart moves forward, depends greatly upon if and how your nativity ties in with
you progress the chart of the eclipse and if Jupiter or Saturn the eclipses (and their) planets in and around your birth
become prominent then all the entities under that eclipse feel year.”
it; some will feel it quite directly because their charts tie into
the eclipse chart quite closely. The eclipse itself affects the whole group. It energises individual
people to fulfil that task. When he says “in an allotted way”,
There are some people who do not connect so closely, so the here’s my personal example: the eclipse of April 1949 fell on
effect is variable. Johndro came up with concepts and Jayne my Venus and it is amazing how many people have asked me
developed the idea. Johndro might mention the idea in an if I am in showbusiness. I have a lot of friends who are artists.
obscure magazine. Jayne would apply them again and again,
developing concepts and additions to the rules. “Readers must not suppose [that] an eclipse’s effect on
mankind is limited to the date thereof; not that events
If the eclipse is connected to you then the eclipse’s shadow follow in the exact order of the eclipse sequence. Rather,
must be very important. And Johndro explains it thus: eclipses are the highlight patterns of the trends of their
joint times.” [Edward Johndro, 1930s].
“For most of us, however, the eclipses that affect our
nativities are anything from a few days to six months, and We had an eclipse on 26 December 2019 at 4° Capricorn,
in some cases a full year before or after our birth dates. followed by one at 0° Cancer on 10 January 2020. Anybody
In any case, the prime consideration is not just how near caught in the middle of the pair is energised; if they are hit
this or that eclipse falls to a birth date, but whether the by the first eclipse you know they will be energised by the
eclipses, or the planet thereat, closely overlay or closely second eclipse. Charles Harvey said that after fifty or so years
aspect any of the natal planetary positions. If they do, of research he was uncertain of the length of time an eclipse

was in effect. The rough rule of thumb is 90 days in advance When Jayne wrote for Dell during World War II, he noted
of a solar eclipse and as long as a year afterwards. For a lunar that military campaigns started in the week prior to an eclipse
eclipse, it was up to six weeks prior and six weeks following. rarely went as planned. As I said, sometimes a client is forced
For example, say the eclipse falls on a client’s Jupiter and the to make a decision and if that person cannot extend the
client says to the astrologer, “I think this could be the start of deadline then the astrologer can advise the client, based upon
something big”, you can assure your client that is true. Ninety the position of the eclipse and all the planets in the eclipse
days before the solar eclipse is conjunct Jupiter, it begins to chart, as to how to proceed and what the person might face.
heat up; and as you get closer to the eclipse, it is getting hotter
and the inner planet transits to the natal Jupiter of the client If your birthday is in the week prior to an eclipse you have a
are more meaningful. The energy will hit a peak and for the very unexpected year coming up, a lot of changes, it is a year
next year it will decline in effect. that you will remember. However, if your birthday is one or
two days after the eclipse it is simply going to be an important
The eclipse rules year, but matters do not necessarily work out unpredictably.
1. Events which occur in the days around an eclipse are 4. Eclipses near birth have an effect upon the life of the
memorable. The ‘time orb’ is plus or minus 10 days. Events individual. This eclipse may occur before or after birth.
taking place in the seven-to-10 days before an eclipse work [Johndro]If the natal eclipse is again eclipsed, the effects
out in an unexpected fashion. Affairs take turns that are not are powerful.
anticipated. [Jayne]
5. Rules governing the eclipse paths:
2. Solar eclipses can have an effect of up to three-to-six months
A. the total eclipse is the strongest;
before they occur and as long as one year afterward. Their
lunar brethren have an effect for about six weeks before B. the central path is the most powerful part of the
and after the lunar eclipse. [Jayne] eclipse’s shadow.
3. There is a difference between the seven-to-10 days before My experience with an eclipse on your Sun is that it strengthens
and the seven-to-10 days after an eclipse. The events everything related to the Sun. Your will increases as does
occurring before the eclipse take on the added attribute of your desire to accomplish. One becomes indefatigable and
being unpredictable and fated, the period of unpredictability one refuses to accept any defeat. How many of us had heard
to last until 24 hours after the eclipse. Matters work out the name Julian Assange before there were eclipses conjunct
unexpectedly. If one must make a decision in the week and opposite his Sun? Or how about the 1963 John Profumo
prior to an eclipse, then expect to make significant changes affair? As an eclipse was conjunct his Sun, there was talk
in your plans in order to reach your objective. about making him high in the government. He was Minister
of Defence at the time. Six months later the eclipse opposed
‘Time orb’ is an idea or a concept that comes from Johndro. his Sun and he was swept up in a scandal involving prostitutes
Jayne developed the rule. He shortened the time frame to that removed him entirely from the public eye.
seven days and said it lasted up to 48 hours after the eclipse.
For example, the marriage of Lady Diana to Prince Charles An eclipse conjunct your Sun emboldens and strengthens you;
was a week before an eclipse; it did not work out as hoped. opposite your Sun, it is like being knocked down on a soccer
field. Suddenly you are looking up at the sky wondering, “How
If an event occurs on the day of an eclipse, then it is very fated. did I get here?”. If the native eclipse is eclipsed again, I have
It is like being in the surf; you have to let the wave carry you, found that is particularly important.
you cannot fight it. Whenever I look at anyone’s horoscope I
tell them in a week prior to the eclipse that it is best to defer 6. If an eclipse occurs after your birth, see when it comes
decisions until the week after the eclipse because in the exact by secondary progression. This can be a vital year.
week before the eclipse you are, so to speak, in the shadow [Johndro]
of the eclipse. In the week following, you will uncover news
7. If a natal planet is conjunct or opposite this eclipse, the
or discover something that will change your mind and will
planet becomes very powerful for life. [Johndro]
cause you to make a different decision. I changed jobs in the
week before an eclipse, and Jayne told me it would not work
8. Eclipses conjunct opposite the Sun, Ascendant or
out, which turned out to be true. If you are forced to make a
Midheaven are always more powerful. This is due to the
change in the week prior to the eclipse, then it will work out in
fact that these points have zero latitude by definition.
an unexpected fashion. One will have to make extraordinary
The eclipse will also have zero latitude. Thus, there will
efforts in order to achieve your goal. One will run into all
be conjunctions and oppositions in both longitude and
developments that you could not expect.
latitude which are very powerful. [Jayne]

The total eclipse is the strongest. The central path is the

most powerful part of a total eclipse. If the eclipse obscures
50% of the sunlight, then it is only half as powerful as a total
eclipse, and so on. If an eclipse happens after your birth – five
days after I was born there was an eclipse by progression, so
eclipses by progression are quite important.
One such transit-to-progressed eclipse case is that of Bill

Gates. There was an eclipse by secondary progression; then
a transiting eclipse fell right on the progressed eclipse and
I thought he might step down as head of Microsoft – and
certainly that was the time he made the decision to do so and
to engage in charitable work.
Further to eclipses conjunct or opposite the Sun (which I have

already mentioned): I include the Ascendant, the Midheaven
and the Nodes: they are always much more powerful because
the Sun’s path defines the plane; the Ascendant and the
General George Marshall was born on the day of an eclipse: 31
Midheaven are on that plane. If an eclipse is conjunct or
December 1880. He was the planner of the D-Day invasion for
opposite the Sun, they are not only conjunct and opposite in
the US Army and the path connects America to Europe.
longitude, they are conjunct and opposite in latitude. It is what
Jayne would call a linear configuration. He wrote a pamphlet
about this called ‘A New Dimension in Astrology’ which he
had written as an article in Dell in 1948. These are extremely
powerful: any eclipse on the Ascendant, Descendant,
Midheaven, IC conjunct or opposite has zero latitude, because
by definition that is where the Sun is, so you get a line-up.
One of my favourites, Robert E Lee, commanded the

Confederate States Army during the American Civil War and
the eclipse energised his Mars. He went to West Point and
he became a military officer and led the Confederacy defence
against the Union invasion and that line is still very active
today.
My favourite example, born on the day of an eclipse, is Karl Harriet Beecher Stowe who wrote Uncle Tom’s Cabin, which
Marx: 5 May 1818. His theories were designed to affect the is one of the key elements that brought all these racial tensions
working-class of England and Europe, but of course the first to everyone’s mind, is also on the same plane and intercepts
country it swept through was Russia. He was born on the day this path at the side of the Gettysburg battle.
of the eclipse, so he was the embodiment of the idea, and we
all know his name today: that is how powerful his Sun energy An eclipse swept through America a few years ago; it was
is. called the Great American Eclipse – so whose statues were
they tearing down? Robert E Lee’s. The eclipse intercepted
Lee’s and Harriet Beecher Stowe’s eclipse and suddenly the
American Civil War is on everybody’s mind; not quite in the
right mind, but it is on the mind.

on 28 April, or if you are like Karl Marx and you are born on
an eclipse, that is it. Those born about two months from one
eclipse and four months from the other, like Bill Clinton, then
you have to take the eclipses and weigh them carefully. One
eclipse landed on Clinton’s Midheaven which is also his Sun-
Moon midpoint. We ask: are male/female relations important
in the career and reputation of Bill Clinton? Yes. When that
eclipse was repeated, there were very important events in his
life and that is how this eclipse was determined. As a little boy
he was career-oriented and he watched political speeches on
television. These events occurred when the natal eclipse on his
MC was re-eclipsed.
What to look for

There are four criteria:
Extension lines are simple. The concept derives from an
1. Time.
article from the Astrologer’s Guild Journal by Charles
Emerson. That is the path of General Douglas MacArthur who 2. The fit of the eclipse chart to the natal chart.
Commanded the US forces in the South Pacific. You will note
3. The path of the eclipse.
the dashed lines. These are drawn from the Sunrise point, the
Sunset point and the Noon point and they run horizontally 4. Repetitions of the eclipse and their effort on the person.
and vertically. The Noon point, running straight North, goes
through Hawaii; the Sunrise point runs westward through Re: point three: if you know a person who moved to Hawaii
Manila. The North line runs through Tokyo. Westward, it runs and built a successful business there, you would look to the
through next to his offices in New York City and his birthplace eclipse that ran through Hawaii, if there was an eclipse. If the
in Little Rock. time element is not obvious, I would go to points 2, 3 or 4. Let
us say that a person was born with Jupiter trine Uranus. The
person is very inventive. If that eclipse chart makes the trine
tighter than the natal trine, then that defines the person. That
is evidence that might well be the eclipse that you should look
at. This was the case with Henry Ford.
Born on the day of a lunar eclipse

Investor, June 27 1953, 10:10am, Atlanta, Georgia, ASC Virgo
28° 24′.
See the slide of the Karl Marx path with extension lines; note
the focus on England and France.
There are three types of people to work with:
1. Those born close to an eclipse, like myself, and Karl Marx.

2. Those born from two months from one eclipse, and four
months from the other, like President Bill Clinton.
3. Those who are born equally spaced between eclipses in

time.
With case number 1, if I am born 25 April and there is an eclipse

I wanted to point out that this person, like President Trump, is

born on the day of a lunar eclipse.
She and her husband met in Africa. Note the extension line
intercepts her Venus line in Eastern Africa where she met
him. He is from the area around Sumatra. They retired and
engage in their favourite activity, sailing, in the region around
This is the area of visibility. At the bottom, I inserted the East Asia. They were very concerned because she, having been
arrows. The lunar eclipse does not cast a shadow but does have born on the day of an eclipse, read my book, and knew this
an area of visibility. This map can be obtained from Occult was her eclipse and they wanted my advice about going sailing
4.0 from the International Occultation Tracking Association, in that region. They thought it might be like the Bermuda
IOTA, a free download. It gives you a map of the eclipse and all Triangle. I calmed them down by explaining that the shadow
the data that you need to look at lunar eclipses and the linear described their interest in that area.
configurations. This person and President Trump only need
four to five hours of sleep per night: that is the advantage of
being born on a lunar eclipse; it gives them a shot of energy.
This person was born in Russia on 12 July 1979 in Leninsk,

Kazakhstan. Her mum and dad have PhDs in Space Technology,
so they were sent to the Secret Soviet Cosmodrome at Baikonur
This is the chart of a lady born on 14 February 1934 in in Kazakhstan. That is where she grew up and started to study
Copenhagen. This is her natal path in red and the extension ballet. Notice the Moon conjunct Pallas in Aquarius: her mum
lines. is a space scientist and a big influence in her life. I determined
that this is the selection of eclipses.

These are all the eclipses I considered as being hers and

compared them to her chart.
When I went to this eclipse I said: “Your mother must be a big

influence on your life”, and “Your mother is a very brilliant
person”. Pallas as we know is Athena, goddess of wisdom
and technical problem-solving ability. It is in Aquarius, so it
relates to all matters Aquarian. They were sent to Baikonur
because of their degrees in aviation and space. That is where
mum took her, age 5, to ballet lessons. I thought this one is far
more interesting than the other ones because the eclipse falls
on a luminary, the Moon.
‘Eclipse 1’ is down in her 5th house 7°-8° of Pisces. It is not

making that many contacts to her chart, so I went to the
second one.
This is the eclipse shadow. And when I went through this

process with her she became a bit startled and said that she
was invited to dance all over the world, but China was her top
choice because she wanted to study the dance there. I later
found out that her grandfather was sent there by the Stalin
government, and when he returned, he was executed because
he had simply been out of the country. So, when she went to
This one is at 29° of Leo up in the 10th house. Then I went to China, she saw a dancer doing a dance she had never seen
‘Eclipse 3’. before. She learned it and returned to Russia. Her television
performances of that dance made her very well known. Was
this area in China important to her? Yes.

I use the Uranian planets and asteroids are added to the chart.
I zeroed in on the 2 December 2 1937 eclipse which was at 10°
Sagittarius.
I saw that the 18 August 2016 eclipse fell on her natal eclipse.
The eclipse was conjunct Pallas, and both were on her Moon-
Pallas-natal eclipse conjunction. This was an indication of
a return to China. About six months later, she was indeed
invited. You will note it is on the IC of her chart, her Midheaven is
at 10° Gemini and the eclipse is at 10° Sagittarius. She has
always worked for herself and from home.
This is the horoscope of Mary Downing born 28 January 1938

in Saint Louis, Missouri. Mary was the National Secretary for
NCGR. Mary asked if I could identify her natal eclipse:
If you go to a 90° dial, you put this on the 90 and you will see it
picks out Cupido, the angles and Apollon. Cupido is everything
to do with integration within the self. It also rules artwork to
the extent where artwork and singing traditional songs makes
everyone feel unified, that is how Cupido works. She majored
in art and she was particularly interested in foreign cultures.
Apollon makes things widespread: one can have far-flung and
wide interests. So, the area of the horoscope that has to do
with learning about foreign cultures and artwork is energised,
as is the MC-IC axis.

The minute I looked at this I wondered how to interpret

this water eclipse. Do you tell the client better luck next
incarnation? That is not the way to look at it. These eclipses Bill Clinton is one of my favourite cases. He was born 19
can be valuable if you insert the extension lines: August 1946. There was an eclipse on 29 June 1946. It
preceded his birth by about a month-and-a-half; the eclipse
is on his Midheaven. That is the Sun-Moon midpoint, and
there is a flock of midpoints at that degree so the fact that the
eclipse is there energises the Midheaven. In other words, this
young man is very career-orientated and is very concerned
about what people think of him. Unfortunately, this of course
energises his natal Mars, Neptune and Venus rising. When
I first wrote about this in Dell Horoscope in the ’90s I said,
“Female problems or scandals will plague his reputation
with that square to his Midheaven and this eclipse energises
it”. This eclipse path connected the US to Europe and a few
people remember he was a Rhodes Scholar, so he went over to
England and travelled through Europe.
The purpose of this example is to highlight eclipse repetitions.

What happened when that eclipse was repeated?
• In June 1954, there is another eclipse at that degree – his

family moved to Hot Springs. In 1954 his family first began
to notice his leadership abilities. In the following year they
bought a television and young Bill developed his interest in
his politics.
• In June 1973 – he graduated from Yale and returned to

The eclipse line is in red. I drew the extension line to the point
Arkansas, setting his political sites on the 1974 Democratic
by Mexico and dropped the extension line straight down. Her
nomination for Congress. He did not win but made such a
Master’s thesis in art was based upon the study of artwork of
good showing that he came into the spotlight for the first
the people on Easter Island. This was quite an amazing hit.
time.
You see it in her chart, she was energised to do artwork, and
the eclipse path tells us where that interest is focused. • In June 1992 – this eclipse gave him the boost that
he needed going into the Democratic convention. The
[Further case study examples can be found in the full
Gennifer Flowers scandal was hurting his prospects. But
text available free on the AA website. And the lecture
as this eclipse gained energy in the 90 days prior to the
audio can be purchased. See details at the end of this
30 June eclipse, that matter was completely forgotten.
lecture.]
He went into the Democratic convention and this eclipse
greatly energised his career.

The Hindenburg Path For example, if you wish to practise mundane astrology, an
easy way is to go to the Internet and look up “people born
Paul von Hindenburg was born on 2 October 1847 only eight
today” on the day of an eclipse. You automatically know the
days prior to the 10 October eclipse. On 10 October 1847, the
eclipse chart is their solar return so you can say a movie
Heppenheim conference took place. At that time there were
actress is going to have an extraordinary year or a politician or
many efforts to unite all the individual principalities into one
a sports athlete. If their birthday is the day of a solar eclipse it
state in what is now Germany. The conference occurred on the
is going to be an important year and you can pull up the chart
day of an eclipse, so of course, the people at that conference
and you can point people’s attention to it.
had the power, they had the influence, to make it happen: the
other conferences that did not occur on the day of an eclipse A lunar eclipse, having had one on my birthday several years
– these did not have that solar energy to make it happen. That ago, has the same effect but it is not as powerful. It is not a
eclipse moment was the key date to make a German state. And year that I will remember. I will remember it but with some
18 liberal members from a variety of German states met to thought. It is not all that important but what it does do is
discuss common motions for a German nation state. to put you in the spotlight whether you like it or not, as the
Sun is opposite the Moon. When I had a lunar eclipse on my
Hindenburg became part of this idea because he was born
birthday, I had a bad flight and I had a lot of inconveniences.
only eight days before the eclipse. This eclipse was re-eclipsed
I remember that I turned on the news and there was the head
on 10 October 1912 at the outbreak of the Balkan Wars. This
of a bank who came to New York and he was charged with
eclipse marks the birth of the movement towards a Democratic
trying to molest one of the female hotel employees. I looked
Republic for the German people and it is notable that with
up his chart and he was born on the same day in the same
Hindenburg’s loss of the war in 1918, Germany became a
year as myself. So, he was put into the spotlight, it was not a
republic. But he was born before an eclipse, so an unexpected
major issue, it was in the headlines and then it was out of the
outcome of his life effort was that he handed power over to
headlines.
Hitler. The shadow of the eclipse cut across northern France,
the furthest point of the German advance in World War I and To wrap up, a quick and easy way to get to begin, is to look
the path of the Hindenburg line. at people’s birthdays on an eclipse but also look at the path
of an eclipse. In 1979 there was an eclipse along the China-
This demonstrates four principles:
Vietnamese border and China invaded Vietnam. There was
an eclipse in an area just off the coast of Argentina and the
• Matters begun after the eclipse are powerful.
Falklands War occurred. Just looking at the path or by looking
• Matters begun before the eclipse work out unexpectedly. at people born on the day of an eclipse you can learn a great
deal. I always like to go through the eclipse sequences, nations
• The area shadowed is important. and people’s lives.
• Births near the eclipse tie the person into the issue. In conclusion, I have focused on determining the appropriate
eclipse for your chart which gets you into synastry and have
explained the connection to politics and mundane work.
Our grateful thanks to Sophie Winter King for

transcribing Bill Meridian’s Carter Memorial
Lecture.
The lecture had to be shortened for space reasons. The full text
can be read free on the AA website: astrologicalassociation.
com. The audio can also be purchased: astrologicalassociation.
com/purchase-recordings/ and search for R1072 The Power
of Eclipses Bill Meridian 2020.
Graphics Copyright © Cycles Research USA 2020
This is Hindenburg’s eclipse path. I like this example because

it takes mundane astrology, personal astrology and the eclipse
path and it marries them all together.

Buy at billmeridian.com
Under publications - We accept PayPal, credit
cards and checks
Bill Meridian has been in the investment and

astrology fields since 1972 and specialises
in mundane and financial astrology. He
studied core-energetic therapy with Dr.
John Pierrakos. He is a member of the
Kenos Circle, a Vienna-based futurist
society. He has authored four books. In 2002 and in 2016,
he was ranked the number 1 stock market timer in the US
by Timer Digest. He is also ranked number six in all-time
market forecasting by TD. He wrote the mundane column for
Dell Horoscope from 1990 through 2020 and has recently
agreed to continue his writing in The Mountain Astrologer.
He is also a contributing writer at Forbes.com. In April 2020,
he was elected to the board of the new Foundation for the
Study of Cycles. His website: billmeridian.com.

Astrology & Medicine Newsletter
To subscribe, go to
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and look for publications

Data News by Frank C. Clifford
Keeping Up with Kris Jenner http://www.frankclifford.co.uk
Osbournes, Seacrest saw great potential in going behind the

scenes with another famous dysfunctional family. The show
first aired on 14 October 2007 (at 10:30 pm across America)
and avid viewers will know that it offers insight into the low-
and highlights of relationship dramas, the egos, family feuds
and immense privileges from the pampered but media-stalked
Kardashian-Jenner clan.
Currently in its eighteenth season, its enormous success has

led to a worldwide Kardashian brand of endorsements and
sponsorships, numerous spin-offs, and literally billions of
dollars of income for the family and the networks.
But what of the workaholic matriarch and her horoscope?

Kris, like ex-husband Bruce Jenner, has the Sun in Scorpio,
and she has a Moon in Cancer and Virgo rising.
Whatever the books tell you, birth charts can’t predict whether
you’ll be rich or poor (if they could, Kris’ astro-twins would
have her net worth, too – estimated to be anywhere between
US$90-140 million). Aside from anything, too many non-
They’re a clan the mass media refuses to ignore, and she’s astrological factors can influence wealth (or the lack of). But
the steely matriarch of this global, guilty pleasure known birth charts can tell us how best to earn money should we
as ‘the Kardashians’. Meet Kris Jenner (born Kristen Mary have (or make) the opportunity to do so. Kris’ chart describes
Houghton), the savvy businesswoman and perfectionist it beautifully.
behind the reality TV show, Keeping Up with the Kardashians,
One of my favourite books for working astrologers on business
a 21st-century Brady Bunch skewed for a social media era of
and vocational astrology is Money: How to Find it with
self-absorption, narcissistic self-entitlement and monumental
Astrology (Data News Press, 1994; reprinted AFA, 2006) by
media whoring.
Lois Rodden. On page 126, she writes, “The first indication of
So…here’s the story of a lovely lady…who marries lawyer
Robert Kardashian on 8 July 1978 and together they have
four children (Kourtney, Kim, Khloé and Rob). The couple
divorces in March 1991. Robert, who had dated Priscilla
Presley before he met Kris, goes on to be part of the ‘dream
team’ defending infamous O.J. Simpson in 1995. Kris, who
had been best friends with Simpson’s murdered wife, Nicole
Brown, goes on to marry retired Olympic decathlon champion
Bruce Jenner on 21 April 1991 and together they have two
daughters (Kendall and Kylie).
As the story progresses, Robert dies of cancer on 30 September

2003, daughter Kim makes a sex tape, marries a Damon then
a Kris and then a Kanye. Mum Kris splits with Bruce during
filming in October 2013 and divorces him in December 2014.
Then Bruce officially becomes Caitlin in 2015, now the most
famous transsexual in history.
Confused? Or barely Keeping Up?
The notorious reality show was devised by Kris and former

American Idol host Ryan Seacrest. After the demise of The

Data News
Moon in Cancer (and Uranus in the 11th) and square

to the power duo of Jupiter-Pluto in Leo, which in
turn sextiles the MC. And in addition, Mercury (the
Ascendant, MC and 10th house ruler) is conjunct
Neptune (mass-marketing a brand) and both are
trine the MC in Gemini. Finally, the Sun in the 2nd
is sesquiquadrate/sesquisquare to the MC (planets
at 135° to the MC show a sudden, no-turning-
back change in reputation, often a quantum leap
to a new profession). Rather remarkably but not
unsurprisingly, most of Kris’ chart is connected – or
leads back – to the 2nd house.
Kris Jenner: 5 November 1955, 2:47 PST, San

Diego, California, USA. Source: Birth certificate,
obtained by Viktor E. RR: AA.
Frank Clifford is the author of a dozen books

including Getting to the Heart of Your Chart,
Horoscope Snapshots, Palmistry 4 Today and The
Solar Arc Handbook. He teaches astrology online
(londonschoolofastrology.com) and in person
how and where people can make money is shown by a planet in the 2nd at the London School of Astrology. Frank was
house in aspect to the MC or to a planet in the 10th house”. honoured with The Charles Harvey Award in 2012,
a writing award from ISAR in 2016, and a Regulus
In Kris’ chart, Saturn (ruler of the 5th house of children) is in Scorpio Award nomination at UAC 2018. Frank’s website
in the 2nd (her iron grip on finances?) trine the Moon in Cancer (the can be found at frankclifford.co.uk.
family clan/business). Next up, Venus, the ruler of the 2nd, is trine the

Is astrology returning to
an Age of Endarkenment?
Robert Currey
How can astrology avoid fragmentation or sinking back into obscurity as sceptical
scientists such as Prof. Brian Cox try to debunk what they do not understand? One
answer lies in putting more effort into research in an age of evidence-based knowledge
Astrology has reincarnated more often than Kenny in South The point is that fans of scientism never needed to get
Park. Our last decline coincided with the final demise of the their hands dirty – astrology was marginalised by religious
Renaissance along with Galileo, Kepler and Lilly during the prejudice. Even when I started looking into astrology in the
17th century. While the West entered the Age of Enlightenment, late 1970s, I was surprised by how many people objected to
astrology entered an Age of ‘Endarkenment’. astrology on religious grounds.
Astrologers were forced underground into a counterculture. Astrologers come out

Benjamin Franklin, like many other astrologers publishing
But gradually this self-righteous criticism waned as we
almanacs, hid behind a pseudonym. Some of Ben’s fellow-
transformed into a secular society. Astrologers came out
founding fathers dabbled in astrology through secret
of their closeted observatories – well, our makeshift attic
masonic membership and left their elegant graffiti in discreet
cubbyholes. No need to hide behind pseudonyms. No need to
astrological symbols in the architecture of Washington
cite Matthew 2:2 to defend our existence. We hitched a free
(Ovason 1999).
ride on the back of the so-called New Age wave. Astrological
societies expanded. Conferences boomed. Schools prospered.
How did we go from purveyors of the ‘royal art’ to anonymous
Astrology shops opened with over a thousand astrology books.
peddlers of cheap almanacs? Sceptics argue that astrology
Glossy magazines flourished. The Mail on Sunday newspaper
was no longer tenable under the brilliant glare of the scientific
gained over 100,000 readers through an astrology reader
method. Science was the new magic – it transformed the
offer. I know this because I fulfilled the offer with the help of a
quality and quantity of life without which human lives would
factory in Swindon. These were heady days for astrologers and
have been solitary, nasty, brutish and short (Hobbes 1651).
all things celestial.
Science prevails against an undercurrent But it was the seemingly irresistible rise of the Sun Sign
of religious intolerance column in the media that baited 186 leading scientists,
including Nobel Prize-winners, to circulate their objections
But while materialism became the spirit of this enlightened
to astrology. Sceptical groups mushroomed around the world.
age, the scientific method hadn’t percolated through to the
Though their members masquerade as investigators, they
consciousness of the general public who were still deeply
want nothing more than to debunk astrology by fair means
religious. Science posed an existential threat to religion. The
or foul. In their minds, astrology is the enemy of science and
1860 evolution debate in Oxford confirmed that religion
reason, but explaining how or why somehow eludes them.
could not beat the logic of science, but they still carried the
devout masses. So, a deal was reached where the rational
The irony is that whenever these hardened sceptics orchestrate
and irrational could co-exist in separate faculties. In this
experiments to disprove astrology, it backfires. Some tests are
great partition, astronomy dumped astrology. Without any
obviously flawed. But some provide unimpeachable evidence
academic status, astrology became the unacceptable face of
to support astrology. It started when Professor Ertel and
heathen superstition.
Ken Irving reviewed research by sceptical groups who tried
to refute M. et Mme. Gauquelins’ formidable results (1996).
Religious intolerance was evident with Kepler whose mother
Then the sceptics’ flagship experiment known as the Carlson
was tried for witchcraft and with William Lilly who prudently
Test was sunk and re-floated with new colours by Ertel (2009;
named his famous tome Christian Astrology. Two centuries
Currey 2011). More recently, Geoffrey Dean’s landmark
later, leading 19th century astrologers hid behind benign
Extraversion and Neuroticism Test (Currey 2017) was turned
archangels with pseudonyms, such as Raphael and Zadkiel –
on its head to give strong support for the astrological elements
divine masks to appeal to a God-fearing public.
in natal charts.

Is astrology returning to an Age of Endarkenment?
Brian in the brain-clone

recycling factory
The prejudice is fed by a vicious circle.
Generations of science educators teach
students that astrology is bogus – without ever
looking into it or reviewing current research.
This factory churns out oven-ready bigots.
As our technology expands, more students
are studying science and maths. So, this pre-
programmed clone is multiplying and coming
to a home near you. Now, most families have
at least one sophist prepared to ruin our warm
and cosy family Christmas or other festivities
to validate his or her disenchanted universe.
So, this trend is marginalising astrologers
personally and socially.
For the ultra-sceptic, astrology is a closed

book. All their impressive claims about open
scientific enquiry and self-questioning of
assumptions mean nothing the moment
you mention the ‘A’ word. It’s a wonderful
hypocrisy.
Professor Brian Cox is the archetypal product

of this brain-clone factory. Every time
he attacks astrology with no evidence or
reasoning, one has to wonder what qualities
earned this good-looking celebrity popstar
(and host of BBC Two’s Wonders of the
Universe documentary series) with a D in
maths ‘A’ level, a professorship in physics.
It’s fine that he is a science professor, but he
But nobody outside our beautiful walled garden knows and nobody seems needs to act like one. His nonsense is typical
to care! and reveals that there is something rotten in
the heart of academic science. Yet, scientists
These significant victories are not enough to undo three centuries in are astonished that so many people no longer
the academic wilderness. A recent Press Gazette article1 (that included trust their advice – even when they present us
a response from the editor of The Astrological Journal, Victor Olliver) is with trustworthy facts.
typical of most of the criticism of astrology today. No longer are we angels
of darkness predicting a future that only God should know. Now, the new Astrology could fragment to
yardstick is that astrology is not evidence-based. stay under the radar
This has and will continue to marginalise astrology in online searches and But that is not our problem. Even without the
dictionaries such as Wikipedia. Schools such as Kepler College should never negative publicity of Professor Cox or NASA’s
have lost its accreditation. We can blame the Internet as to why astrology 13th sign hoax, we are losing traction with the
books are no longer profitable and why long-established magazines such as general public. Our current trajectory could
Prediction and Dell Horoscope were forced to close. However, there are still lead astrology to fragment into three fields. The
bestselling books on Amazon on pop psychology. And magazines glorifying first is into an ‘astro-psycho-therapy’ where
appearances, image and material goals proliferate on newsstands. the practitioner ‘explores’ nebulous themes in
the chart that are meaningful to the client. A
This closed mindset has contaminated the chatrooms of power. In the UK, second route is that we go strictly divinatory
astrology is regulated out of existence on television and radio by the Office of – where errors are down to the reader
Communications (Ofcom). misinterpreting ‘spirit’. Our third path is to

study astrology as a dead subject as history or as a sociological

phenomenon. These routes stay under the sceptical radar
since testable claims are avoided.
Resisting cherry-picking and how to

qualify our claims.
All three options are valuable in their own way, but most
practitioners work with claims. Every firm statement in a
cookbook is a claim. For example, without specifics, vocational
advice is hopeless.
And what’s more, we know these claims work. The problem is

that it’s so damned hard to verify them objectively. Nowadays,
in the minds of the public, a claim without evidence is fake
news.
But what qualifies as reliable evidence? For most practising

astrologers, evidence is mostly from our written tradition or
anecdotal. Go to any conference and presenters will produce
example charts to prop up their new theory. This is cherry-
picking, and like anecdotes, is biased sampling to scientists.
And this is not unreasonable because we can claim anything if
we select and reject evidence – even if we do it unconsciously.
Speculation is fine, even entertaining among astrologers. But

we need to qualify our published claims if we want credibility
outside our bubble. Who was the original astrologer who
made the claim – Ptolemy or Liz Greene? And how can the
author support the claim? Is it:
• Intuitive – based on psi?

We need astrologers who work on the frontline with clients
• Theoretical - based on planetary symbolism? on a day-to-day basis, as I do, to be more involved. We have
some truly brilliant researchers providing ground-breaking
• Anecdotal – based on personal experiences and people? material, but most are self-taught in astrology and many are
not consultants. So, there is a disconnect between theory
• Exemplar – based on examples of public figures?
and practice. For example, simply counting planets in signs,
• Empirical – inferred from statistical studies? houses or aspects and comparing the results with cookbook
snippets does not reflect how we, practising astrologers, look
This way the student, consultant or researcher can know how for themes and contradictions within the chart.
reliable the evidence is and how strong the effect to gauge how
it can be applied. To any rational person who gets astrology – it is mind-
bogglingly shocking and real. It defies explanation, undermines
The role of Correlation: Journal of our education and shatters our perception of reality. But once
we are in that bubble where it works so elegantly for us and
Research in Astrology our clients, we stop caring about how the Muggles in the
So, where is this evidence from statistical studies? Well, that’s outside world see astrology.
our job at Correlation – the Astrological Journal’s smaller,
younger, (smarter?) sister. We are the premier journal for However, the outside world could once again present us with
astrology research. In the current edition (Vol. 32.2 2020), an existential threat – only this time the witch hunters are
sixty-three published studies that support the fundamental anonymous geeks on their laptops. To counter this trend, we
notion of astrology are listed. I am currently editing Volume must look at astrology from their point of view. How are we
33.2 and we have more evidence that will enhance our practice different from the flat earthers? It means looking under the
and our credibility. bonnet of our car that runs so perfectly but nobody knows
how. It can mean looking into the abyss of the possibility that

we are the ones who are delusional. This is frightening, but the a pseudo-science. It’s more useful to think of it as a symbolic
truth is out there, we know it and there is a consensus. system rooted in ancient ideas and practices. Many, many
people relate to astrology through their star sign – but there’s
So, we need to work together to ensure that astrology doesn’t
a lot more to astrology than just star signs. Media horoscopes
return to an underground counterculture in an endarkened
offer an opportunity to readers to reflect briefly on their
age.
lives – to view situations and events as part of something
spiritually bigger. This offers a valuable contrast to the
References
world of hard fact that drives a newspaper or magazine – it’s
Currey, Robert (2011): ‘U-turn in Carlson’s Astrology test’, worth remembering that a publication serves many different
Correlation. Vol.27 (2). purposes, as information provider, entertainment and as a
Currey, Robert (2017): ‘Can Extraversion & Neuroticism, as thoughtful prompt. Not all life can be driven by literal fact.
defined by Eysenck, match the four astrological elements?’ Sometimes, truths of another kind help to inspire, guide and
Correlation Vol.31 (1). comfort readers”.
Ertel, Suitbert & Irving, Ken (1996): ‘The Tenacious Mars Effect’.
The Urania Trust.
Ertel, Suitbert (2009): ‘Appraisal of Shawn Carlson’s Renowned Robert Currey is described on Wikipedia
Astrology Tests’, Journal of Scientific Exploration, Vol.23, No:2.. pp as “an astrologer and entrepreneur”. In
125-137. 1981 he founded the astrological company
Equinox, and in 1989 The Astrology
Hobbes, Thomas (1651) Leviathan. Chapter XIII.
Shop in London’s Covent Garden. This
Ovason, David (1999) The Secret Architecture of Our Nation’s gained an international reputation with
Capital. Perennial. David Ovason was a pseudonym for astrologer, his pioneering of computerised horoscopic reports. His
photographer and writer, Fred Gettings. specialism is Astrocartography. Robert also enjoys a high
profile in the print media and on TV as an astrological
Endnote spokesman. In 2016 he won a Lifetime Achievement Award
1 . Press Gazette, ‘Is there a future for newspaper astrologers in at the 26th International Conference organised by the
the era of fake news?’, 17 July 2020: pressgazette.co.uk. The Institute of Vedic Culture and the Krishnamurti Institute
article arose following the ‘sacking’ of Shelley von Strunckel of Astrology, Kolkata, India. In 2017 he won the Charles
from the Sunday Times after 28 years’ service as its star sign Harvey Award for Exceptional Service to Astrology from the
astrologer. Victor Olliver said in response to the headline Astrological Association. He now edits Correlation magazine.
question: “Astrology is not a science. Therefore, it cannot be

The stationary Mars in
mundane astrology
André Barbault
In this 1978 essay, brilliantly translated into English by Kate Johnston, the late
French master of world astrology leads us through his discovery of a possible link
between wars and the Sun-retrograde Mars and Sun-Mars opposition cycles. It so
happens that in the last quarter of 2020, these cycles are active as Mars transits
Aries, having turned retrograde in September before the Sun’s opposition…so
which dates should we look out for in 2020 and 2021 as trigger points?
The road that the lone mundane practitioner must travel to this devil of an astrologer brought out a second book of world
acquire a personal knowledge of the correlations between forecasts. He announced that something very important would
celestial phenomena and historical events is a very long one. happen around 10 March 1938, a forecast that returned like
a leitmotif in chapter after chapter and was put on the cover:
In the course of this journey they will come across temporal “March 10th, the great fear”. On page 96 was a clarification:
parallels with such and such a configuration and such and “On March 10th we will find that Hitler’s fist will be brought
such a world situation in a way that is fortuitous, an encounter down hard on the European concert table”. Well, the huge
that may come and go, without knowing if there is really an event of 1938 was the annexation of Austria by Nazi Germany
astrological link between them. It takes time to see whether on 11 March!
the same connection regularly repeats itself, and for a whole
network of valid correlations to be woven. How had he achieved this brilliant predictive success? That
was the ongoing question that would never stop gnawing at
Incidentally, to read a spectrum of 45 cycles needs preparation: my brother and me, until we found the answer.
a long training in historical research is necessary.
We made no progress at that time. Apart from Privat, who
With my correlational research into planetary cycles, I have had worked it out by himself, I don’t know quite how an event
come to see the correspondences of the four giant planets quite that was as fantastic as the Anschluss passed under the noses
clearly. However, I am very far from having covered the whole of astrologers without any warning. Only [Gustave-Lambert]
network of correlations linking the configurations as a body to Brahy (in Europe at least) had become an expert in genuine
the diversity of historical events which we are experiencing. correlations, but these were limited to fluctuations in the
world economy, aptly linking prosperity to harmonic aspects
Nevertheless, what I have found so far is sufficient to arrive at and crises to dissonant ones.
an elemental practical conclusion: the events taking place all
the time on the world stage are the expression of configurations It was necessary to go further by integrating the idea of the
which create the context of their respective moments. cycle and picking up on the multi-cyclic play of Sun and Mars
conjunctions (in particular) with Uranus and Neptune, at the
‘Search the sky of the day and you will find what is happening same time as European engagement in the Second World War
here on Earth’: this is where the formula leads us. Logical was evolving.
and necessary as it may seem – it is the characteristic of a
correlation to be the link in the coordination of celestial time It was on an experimental path like this that a similar
and terrestrial time – nonetheless it is a piece of experiential equation took shape and finally became a rule of thumb or an
sensitive data which makes it debateable. interpretive principle for practitioners. But, even so, is this
way of relating the sky to the earth a perfect one?
Privat on parade: it started with his
Such a claim would give rise to a storm of protests from the
“sensational forecast” proponents of “deferred influences” (Lasson, Volguine…
I still remember having been fascinated, when I was sixteen, traditionalists) for whom, for example, such and such an
by a sensational forecast made by Maurice Privat [1889-1949: eclipse today will only take effect in ten months or years.
author, astrologer and adviser to French PM Pierre Laval And without going as far as this extreme, which is difficult to
during WW2]. At the end of 1937, in the Medici publications,

The stationary Mars in mundane astrology
support (and not justified by the least forecasting success up The synodic revolution of Mars and
to now) it is necessary to reserve a place for the part which is
predisposed to a return of a certain duration: ingress, lunation, retrogradation
any configuration being incidentally only the integrating Orbit of the planet, orbit of the earth:
moment of the evolving time of a cyclical phenomenon.
But these theoretical restrictions must not preclude terrestrial

life, as it unfolds, having its reflection in the parallel variations
in a concomitant astral environment.
[But let us move to a historical example which brought me

closer to the Sun-Mars cycle in relation to international events
of aggression.]
The Second Italo-Ethiopian war of 1935:

a Sun-Mars configuration of war?
The slice of history that I know best, and which I studied most,
focused on the period of the two World Wars. I studied all This diagram shows us the Sun surrounded by the orbital circle
the charts of the major events that happened. And the work of the Earth and further away there is a segment of the orbit
involved in reading them familiarised me with the general of an outer planet, Mars in this case. The respective distances
circumstances of the time. of Sun-Earth-Mars are not respected in this drawing, but no
matter, the relationships stay the same. Extremely simplified,
Yet, when I looked at the celestial chart for 3 October 1935, the two planets are rotating in the same direction, the nearest
I couldn’t bring myself to think that those configurations to the Sun being faster than the one furthest away. This
could truly account for the event that occurred that day: the recreates the situation of two trains running parallel where
outbreak of war between Italy and Ethiopia which completely you have the impression that the other train is starting to go
upset the European diplomatic scene and had catastrophic backwards because the train you are in is moving faster. Such
consequences. is the phenomenon of retrogradation.
The configuration which accompanied this military explosion

that was of such great importance is seemingly insignificant.
I tried to hold onto the Mercury-Uranus opposition, because
Mercury was stationary [it went retrograde on the 6th]. But
apart from the fact that this aspect only had a 2° orb, this
dissonance does not have the weight [or is insufficiently
weighty to match the event].
I had to find something else, to look elsewhere, especially

as another astrological event presented itself. Throughout
the month of May 1935, Mars was stationary at 6-7° Libra
[it moved from the 8th to 7th degree right at the start of May]
where it had been four-to-five months earlier. On 3 October,
the Sun was at 8-to-9° of Libra, almost the exact place where
Mars had been stationary. Had I found or rediscovered a new
type of configuration for war?
[It should also be added here that Mars was stationary direct
at 6° Libra on 17 May 1935 and the Sun actually conjoined
that degree in that sign on 29/30 September 1935, as final
preparations were being made for the Italian invasion days
later on 3 October. – Roy Gillett]
Before trying to find out, let’s remind ourselves of some

elementary astronomy.

Mars’ perigree and the 15-year perihelic 18 September 1909 (0, 389)
opposition cycle 22 August 1924 (0, 372)
27 July 1939 (0, 387)
7 September 1956 (0, 378)
12 August 1971 (0, 375)
22 September 1988 (0, 393)
I still remember what an astonishing blazing glow the planet

made in the firmament during the beautiful summer of 1939,
when Hitler unleashed the powers which were to rage in the
War.
But if the opposition is at the point of perigee, this incursion of

Mars in the terrestrial field will last for the whole curve of its
trajectory, beginning at its first stationary point and finishing
at its second, with about 20 degrees between them. This is the
time during which, in space, the Martian loop can be seen from
the Earth.
Regarding the two initiatory conjunctions, the first and

last of the cycle, it is the whole of this opposition with the
two stationary points either side which must be taken into
consideration in the interpretation.
Does power build on Mars’ stationary

retrograde point – waiting to be
released by the Sun?
Now, if…the perigee at the Sun-Mars opposition is a peak time
This diagram [above, drawing by Michel Malagié, as used in
of war, in contrast the immobilisation of the planet when it
the origin publication] represents the movements of Mars
becomes stationary (from a geocentric position) naturally
in relation to the Earth between 1927 and 1942. One can see
makes you think of a spatial compression, as if there is an
around the central circle the rose-like seven loops or epicycles
accumulation of astral energy at the degree of the stationary
which represent the incursions of the Red Planet into the
point. It therefore becomes the temporary reservoir of the
terrestrial zone: the planet passes closest to the Earth when it
Mars tendency. A subsequent transit to this point [such as by
is in opposition to the Sun. When Mars’ perigee (the point in
the Sun] is then able to trigger the potential of this pocket of
its orbit which is the shortest distance from Earth) falls within
hostility.
its perihelion (the point in its orbit which is the shortest
distance from the Sun) it forms a perihelic opposition, which This is a possible explanation of what happened on 3 October
generally happens every 15 years: that is when Mars comes 1935. At the end of February 1935, Mars became stationary at
closest to us. 24° Libra; the Sun-Mars opposition took place on 6 April 1935;
and the second stationary point (i.e. Mars’ move direct] which
You can see that that happened in August 1939 and then in
occurred in mid-May 1935 was at 6° Libra. In March, Italian
October 1941. It is at the solar opposition when Mars is at
military preparations for the conquest of Ethiopia began in
perihelion in August-September: that is to say, closest to the
Eritrea; and in May, the powder keg was already full: the Sun’s
Sun, that we have the shortest distance between Earth and
passage over the second stationary point [direct] was enough
Mars.
for this explosive situation to erupt.
In the course of the perihelic oppositions in the 20th century,
In another example, when Mars became stationary direct in
the minimum distances between Mars and Earth (less than
January 1976 at 14° Gemini and when the Sun passed over this
0.4 astronomical units (Earth-Sun distance = 1) are:
degree on 4/5 June, the Syrians and Palestinians went to war

in Lebanon (which the Syrians had entered six days before) In December 1962, Mars was stationary retrograde at 24°
with 500 Palestinian deaths in three days. Leo. On 18 August 1963, the street revolution that had been
rumbling for two days in the French Congo brought about the
[But as we shall see below, this example of the stationary direct resignation of President Fulbert Youlou. On the same two days
point is more the exception than the rule: it is the stationary a revolutionary climate took hold in South Vietnam threatening
retrograde point we want to look at more closely…] the Diem government. And on the 23rd the Gerhardsen
government fell in Norway after 28 years in power. On the 17-
18 August the Sun was at 24° of Leo.
The phenomenon also seems to happen when Sun and Mars are
in transiting opposition. In August 1830, Mars was stationary
at 2° Aries. The Belgian revolution of 1830 happened between
the 23rd and the 26th the following September when the Sun
was moving from 1-3° Libra.
The return of Mars to its stationary position or its transit at the

opposition to this point could also be significant.
We have just looked at the Belgian revolution of 1830: the

Polish revolution broke out on 29 November 1830 when Mars
had returned to 1° Aries.
In November 1960, Mars was stationary retrograde at 18°

Cancer. Very shortly after Mars returned to this degree in this
sign, the unsuccessful American attack on Cuba took place on
17 April 1961. [To be strictly precise, Mars was at 20° Cancer
on that day.]
Likewise, it was stationary in April 1858 at 2° Sagittarius. And

Inner Wheel: McKinley assassin. Mars retro we find it again at 1° Gemini on the 27 April when war broke
Natal Chart 13 Jan 1901, Sun 07:01 EST +5:00 Buffalo, New York out between Italy and Austria.
42°N53'11'' 078°W52'43'' Geocentric Tropical Placidus Mean Node
Furthermore, it is worth asking whether this delayed ‘effect’
Outer Wheel: McKinley shot Sun on Mars point
Natal Chart 6 Sep 1901, Fri 16:07 EST +5:00 Buffalo, New York
lasts all through the cycle of the synodic revolution.
42°N53'11'' 078°W52'43'' Geocentric Tropical Placidus Mean Node
In February 1856, Mars was stationary at 21° Libra. When the
Sun passed over this point on 12-13 October 1857 [20 months
later] the great economic crisis of that year catastrophically
Yet more historical examples of a Sun- erupted.
retrograde Mars war signature
In October 1864, it was stationary at 18° Gemini. On 14 June
What lends credence to this interpretation is that this case is
1866 [Sun at 23° Gemini and Mercury at 20° of the sign] war
not unique or even that isolated, as the following examples
broke out between Prussia and Austria.
from history demonstrate. Remember, the Mars stationary
degree is triggered when the Sun passes over the same degree
These latter observations tend to weaken the value of the
in the same sign later.
former ones: one can always find signs which are not actually
true correlations. In the last two cases the indication would
In January 1901, Mars was stationary retrograde at 12° Virgo.
have been more convincing if the event had happened a year
On 6 September 1901, US President William McKinley was
earlier, at the first solar transit. Curiously, with the exception of
shot – at this moment, the Sun was at 13° Virgo. McKinley
the case of the Second Italo-Ethiopian War of 1935, it is always
died of his injuries on 14 September.
about the same stationary point, the first (i.e. retrograde)
In October 1943, Mars was stationary retrograde at 22° of the two, the one before the Sun-Mars opposition. Is this
Gemini. On 13 June 1944 (with Sun at 22° Gemini) the V1 and because the Red Planet looks as if it is charging at us?
V2 offensive against England began.

Astrologers, to your studies!

In the actual scheme of things, how much of this research Dates ahead to test
Barbault’s Sun/Mars
has any bearing on reality? It is still too soon to say. I don’t
want to imply that I’ve discovered something new: this type
of unprecedented correlation still needs a foundation: a few
swallows don’t make a spring. It must always be based on a retrograde observations
continuous series of results.
We have to undertake a systematic exploration of history, of

Victor Olliver
this century and preceding one if possible, which is no small
feat. Apart from that we must train ourselves to observe the With Mars currently transiting Aries and in retrograde
possible manifestations of each new Mars stationary point. from 9 September to 14 November 2020, involving
a Sun-retrograde Mars opposition in October, there
And there’s nothing to stop us applying the same research is no better time to test Barbault’s insights. Using
to the stationary points of other planets, to those of Venus Barbault’s Sun-retrograde Mars mundane system in
especially. relation to major international events such as war and
conflict, here are a few dates to look out for.
We just have to do the work. And in our astrological environment
which seems only to live by conferences, symposia and other In September 2020, Mars was stationary retrograde
gatherings, we are far from having any discussion about the at 28° Aries. The Sun will pass over this point on and
real research that will advance our knowledge. around 17-19 April 2021, a potential trigger point,
according to Barbault’s thesis. Additionally, if we apply
However, whoever manages to solve this problem of the the Sun’s opposition to this Mars retrograde point (i.e.
stationary Mars will be sure to be remembered by astrologers, Sun at 28° Libra), we should also keep an eye on 21
while nothing will remain of the intellectualist wind of the October 2020 (or thereabouts) when the Sun reaches
platform jugglers. this degree: too late for this issue to cover.
First published in The Astrologer, no. 43, third Another date not to forget is 13 October 2020 (the
quarter 1978. English translation for The Astrological Nov-Dec 2020 issue will be at the printers by this time)
Journal by Kate Johnston. when Mars opposes the Sun for the first time since 27
July 2018.
Barbault advises that the Mars stationary direct point

is not nearly so potent as the retrograde’s (with the
exception of the Second Italo-Ethiopian and Syrians/
Palestinians war examples], but you can test it if you
like. Mars is stationary direct at 15° Aries in November
2020. The Sun reaches this point on 4-5 April 2021.
If we apply the Barbault Mars shadow observation – i.e.

when Mars (direct) returns to the degree on which it
went retrograde – then we should look to early January
2021 (let’s say the 2nd) for another possible flashpoint
in international matters.
And if you care to take up where Barbault left off in his

work on stationary Mars, please let us know.
André Barbault

More mundane astrology breakthroughs: Part 3
Great conjunctions: the

Lowlands-by-sea
Oscar Hofman
In the concluding essay of his trilogy series on the great conjunction (GC) of Jupiter
and Saturn used as an alternative national birth moment, the author investigates
how the GC chart applies to the history of his homeland, the Netherlands
Author’s note: By using the great conjunctions of The Netherlands and its GC
Saturn and Jupiter, it is possible to draw up a reliable
After presenting the GC natal charts of two very important and
natal chart for countries and cities. This amounts to a
influential countries, the UK and the US, in the previous two
major breakthrough in mundane astrology because it
articles, it is now time to take a look at a smaller country, the
puts to an end the discussions and lack of clarity about
Netherlands where I was born. It was in the 16th century, to be
what counts as the time a country or a city was born. In
precise on 26 January 1581, that rich provinces in the western
this third article of a series of three, the chart of my own
part of the Lowlands declared their independence from the
country the Netherlands is presented.
Catholic Spanish crown ruling this region. This secession was
In the first of my three articles on the use of the great triggered not just by profits that these provinces earned through
conjunctions, I explained how these can be used to produce trade, but by the Reformation: the Middle Ages were ending
reliable, precise charts for countries and cities [Jan-Feb and change was in the air. The declaration of independence
2020 issue]. The idea is to take the exact moment of the from the Spanish is called the “’Plakkaet van Verlatinghe”,
great conjunction of Saturn and Jupiter (GC) that precedes which means “Announcement of Abandonment”: it was the
the foundation date as the time to calculate a chart. The start of what would become Holland.
‘foundation’ dates allow us to see the first unity under one
It was also the start of a long war of independence with the
king, a fundamental turning point in the history of a country
Spanish which was finally won by the young, dominantly
or a declaration of independence. The best policy is to go back
Calvinistic republic. However, the southern part of the
as far as you can: ‘radix’ is Latin for root and the deeper the
Lowlands remained under Spain, finally becoming what is
root, the better the chart.
now known as Belgium.
The great advantage with this GC approach is that there will
To produce a reliable chart for the Netherlands, the GC of
be no further confusion or controversy about timing.
Saturn and Jupiter preceding the ‘Abandonment’ in 1581
The nature and all the historical developments of a country should be used. This brings us to 4 September 1563 when
will be reflected in such a mundane great conjunction there was a great conjunction in the last degree of Cancer:
chart. For example, the real root-chart for Russia goes back the location is Amsterdam, still the dominant city of the
at least to the 15th century. It is not the start of the Russian Netherlands. The value of this technique is evident: there is
Revolution, an important historical event shown by the older no doubt about which time or chart to use; everything is as
foundation chart. As discussed in Part 2 of this series [July- crisp and clear as you could wish.
Aug 2020 issue], for England we would take the GC preceding
the Norman invasion by William the Conqueror as the basis The Netherlands radix [see author’s chart]
for calculating the mundane radix. It is true that there was In this Dutch radix for the Netherlands], the position of the
a history before that, but this invasion was such a radical Ascendant immediately strikes the eye as it is very close to
turning point that it can be treated as the foundation. The GC two powerful bright stars of the first magnitude, Deneb and
UK chart with super-royal Regulus on the Ascendant works Fomalhaut [not shown]. As with people charts, the star on the
very well, right down to the lunar returns! Ascendant by projection shows one of the main mythological
stories in the life, so this is very important. For instance, in the

Great conjunctions: the Lowlands-by-sea
Piscis Austrinus
cusp of foreign countries, and the Netherlands did and does

business with many other countries. Indeed, knowledge of
foreign languages among the Dutch used to be very good.
Of course, a small country between England, Germany and
France does not have too much choice. But the chart simply
mirrors this fact. Personally, I stand in this Dutch tradition
Netherlands GC chart very much: I teach courses in six languages to students of
classical astrology worldwide in more than thirty countries,
UK chart the star on the Ascendant is Regulus, the powerful including China.
Lion’s Heart which gives an empire. In the Dutch chart it is
either Deneb, the main star of the Swan, or Fomalhaut, the Another striking Mercury characteristic of the Netherlands
Fish’s Mouth (in Arabic “Fum al-Hut”), the main star in the is that is has one of the biggest harbours in the world, in
Southern Fish, Piscis Austrinus. In longitude, Deneb is a little Rotterdam. And Amsterdam Airport Schiphol is a major
closer but Fomalhaut is closer in latitude and is one of the worldwide hub for international connections, quite unusual
‘Watchers’, four very bright powerful stars symbolising the for such a small country. Pre-lockdown you could hear aircraft
cosmic cross of the equinoxes and solstices. roaring in from so many different places and growth has not
yet stopped. Mercury’s position on the western side of the
Fum Al-Hut, the Watcher of the South, is the ‘Mouth of the chart is also telling: even now, Dutch earning power is very
Fish’ in which Aquarius pours the water from the famous jug much concentrated in the western provinces where it all began
on his shoulder. The water in the jug is sweet; it can be drunk (in the popular region called the Randstad [“Edge City”’], on
by a human being, so it is ‘tamed’. It’s not the dangerous, wild, the edge of the greener parts).
salty stuff. This is the main Dutch myth: our notorious struggle
against floods; so much energy and money is spent on keeping Mercury is also the planet of thieves and treachery and this
the sea at bay – in fact, 26% of the country is below sea level. brings us to the Dutch financial world. On the south side of
The other name for the Lowlands illustrates this: it is Hol-land Amsterdam, the Zuidas (‘South Axis’ in Dutch) has developed
which describes the land that was hauled – “Haul-land” – to over the past 20 years. It’s a fancy district of skyscrapers
keep the water in check. It is always a concern, shown by the that’s home to all kinds of financial ‘facilitators’ such as
sweet water Aquarius keeps safely in his jug. These facts are trust companies that use the flexible Dutch tax rules to
quite amazing. It is only one star on the Ascendant, but its assist worldwide tax avoidance, designing ‘helpful’ financial
story encapsulates a whole culture and nation. schemes. The government is not keen to put an end to these
dubious practices. Walking through this district you can smell
Very literally, the Netherlands is not much more than a the money, and many people think it does not stink.
densely populated river delta, as illustrated clearly enough by
the picture of Fum al-Hut. So, if you thought Switzerland and Luxembourg were financial
bad guys, the Dutch have better PR – and this typically
Another striking point in this chart is that Mercury sits on Mercurial pragmatism in money matters has a long history.
the Descendant. Every planet on an angle will manifest very
strongly in the life of a person or a nation. Mercury is the There is a bright side to this attitude: the readiness to strike
planet of trade and the Netherlands has always been a nation a deal. This is called ‘polderen’ which means compromise
of traders. Mercury also squares the Moon on the 9th-house and taking everyone’s interests into account which includes

consensus politics. Playing hardball and dogmatism are not Eating the pudding
appreciated because then a deal is unlikely. Striking a deal is
So yes, the GC chart seems to indicate a lot of Dutch
more important than your personal position or goal; every
characteristics. But to be sure about its correctness it has to
foreigner should be conscious of this. In the relationship
work predictively, too. This is the real proof of the pudding:
between the English and the Dutch this often creates
dramatic events should show up clearly in the relevant
problems: Regulus-dominated – ‘lionhearted’ – Brits tend
techniques. Clearly is a key word here: if we have very nasty
to draw the power card which does not fit Mercury’s style.
things happening, we need very nasty developments in the
Many things are possible, but in the Netherlands do not try
charts. Of course, you cannot figure out in advance exactly
to dominate too obviously: we are here to make some money
how the cosmos is going to show an event; you should always
together, aren’t we?
be very open to what the chart is giving you, but you have be
Mercury (as mentioned before) squares the watery Moon in strict on clarit. Digging up trans-Neptunian Orcus, asteroid
watery Scorpio on the 9th-house cusp of foreign countries. Margaret Thatcher or a sesquisquare will not do!
This reflects the sea-faring nature of Holland, and its Calvinist
The first dramatic event to be looked at is a trauma still very
roots (9th house of religion). Once, the Netherlands was a
much present in the Dutch collective memory: the North
Calvinist republic in which Catholics were only tolerated. The
Sea flood of the southern province of Zeeland (Sea-Land) in
Moon is in its fall in Scorpio where it cannot function as it
January 1953. More than 1,800 people lost their lives and
should; it cannot express its emotional, fluid nature very well
large parts of the Zeeland province were covered by water.
there. This is an indication of the Calvinistic rigidity manifest
This is the ultimate Dutch nightmare, the sea taking back
in the well-known paradox that though the Dutch were always
the haul-land. It was such a shock that it must be indicated
religious preachers (Moon on 9th-house cusp) they were also
in the relevant returns and progression based on the 1563
merchants (Mercury square 9th-house Moon). This amounts
natal chart. Indeed, the solar return covering the flooding is
to a ‘flexibilisation’ of the fixed Moon which is both puritanical
very clear, and it is the fixed stars again that make the real
and morally lax, a contradiction that is often true to Mercury.
difference; without them the picture grows a bit dim.
This paradox is apparent even today: the Dutch present
themselves as moral guides to other countries, yet just about
anything goes in the Netherlands – for instance, Amsterdam’s
red-light district is a major tourist attraction. The country is
a centre of international drug trafficking and of large-scale
production of synthetic drugs. It is the old merchant-preacher
dichotomy in modern guise. Tolerating what may be regarded
as dubious activities in other nations is seen as part of a
healthy and acceptable code of ethics.
Pragmatic Mercury has the upper hand. Remember, Mercury

is on an angle.
Selling marijuana in the notorious coffee shops is semi-legal;

customers can buy their stuff there, yet it is illegal for the shop
owners to buy what they sell from the weed growers! You can’t
get much more Mercury than that.
The Moon on the 9th-house cusp is also trine the GC of

Saturn and Jupiter in the last degree of Cancer, underlining
its importance. Saturn rules the 1st house and Jupiter the
10th. Saturn is in detriment in Cancer. Its ability to impose North Sea flood 1953 solar return
limitation and restriction is weakened, and this debility is not
helped by freedom-loving Jupiter in exaltation nearby. This North Sea flooding of 1953: solar return
shows the Dutch progressive and socially liberal tendencies.
[see author’s chart]
The Netherlands was the first country to legalise same-sex
marriage back in 2001 and it pioneered abortion clinics and The return Ascendant is on Algol, “the most malefic star in
euthanasia. Along with the nation’s Mercury pragmatism, this the heavens”, and connected to major disastrous events.
Saturn-Jupiter conjunction explains why the Dutch have this In traditional astrology the orb before a house cusp is five
need to get rid of ‘old-fashioned’ restrictions. degrees, and Jupiter is close to the rising point and Lord 8 of
death in the return chart. Jupiter can be connected to the sea

coming in or inundation; breaking through boundaries is one

of Jupiter’s characteristics. It strikes the eye that the nodal
axis close to Pluto is conjunct return-Mercury which falls
again on the natal-Mercury opposing the natal Ascendant. We
have the return-MC on tiny Terebellum, one of the three stars
of fate: these stars are not very bright, but they keep popping
up again and again in charts connected to dramatic events.
The MC also opposes the GC itself, a clear sign that something

important will happen. And the moist Moon in moist Pisces
opposing the dry Sun is on Skat, a star in Aquarius: specifically,
his leg is standing in the stream poured by Aquarius.
Fortuyn murder progressions
orb is very small. The Part of Fortune which is the Part of

the Moon (position calculated on the basis of the secondary
progressions of the Sun and the Moon and the primary
direction of the Ascendant) is entering Leo, activating the Sun
(as Leo’s ruler) which appropriately is in opposition to Pluto
in the natal chart.
The Part of the Sun (its formula is the reverse of the Fortune
formula) is entering a notorious crisis zone (26° Taurus-9°
Gemini): note that this part moves backwards in progression.
Skat Finally, the progressed Moon conjoins the North Node, always
This seems to meet our criteria for successful ‘pudding- indicating some important event.
eating’. Another shocking event in Dutch history was the
We may accept this GC chart as the Netherlands’ nativity
murder of populist politician Pim Fortuyn in May 2002. In
because not only does it describe important Dutch
this case the progressions/directions are analysed in relation
characteristics but reflects dramatic events with sufficient
to the Netherlands natal chart. Notice the square between
clarity.
natal Mars and natal Venus: Mars is in its detriment in Taurus
manifesting its worst sides and Venus is Lord 8 of death. So,
it is not strange that this aspect is activated again and again in Oscar Hofman (4 February 1962,
the case of shocking violence: it is the Dutch ‘murder square’. Amsterdam) is the founder of the
International School of Classical Astrology
In examining the predictive features, we shall proceed which runs a long-distance learning
by traditional principles, looking at the movements of programme in six languages for students
the luminaries, their ‘essences’, the Arabian Parts of the in more than thirty countries. He has
luminaries (Part of the Moon and Part of the Sun) , the angles written four books on traditional astrology, is published
and anything striking the eye. in six languages and was the first European astrologer to
be translated into Chinese. He is a well-known pioneer
Fortuyn murder progressions in reviving classical medical astrology. Oscar also holds a
[see author’s chart] Masters degree in epistemology. His book Fixed Stars in the
Chart was published by The Wessex Astrologer in November
In progression, Mars in Scorpio is squaring natal Venus
2019. Email: oshofman@xs4all.nl. Website: www.pegasus-
in Leo/Lord 8 of death. Mars is slowish in progression,
advies.com.
therefore less precise as a timer, but we can include it as the

Working with
the Planets
Roy Gillett focuses on
November 2020 to January 2021
Preparing for the future
Until now, 6 September to 10 November 1941 was the only time events may occur. Getting just one right is nowhere near as
for nearly 160 years that a Mars retrograde had been entirely important as describing its context clearly, and so advising
in Aries. Through 1941 we see the following: the violence of wisely on how best to handle our situation.
World War Two building between Britain and Germany in
North Africa, the German invasion of the Soviet Union and André Barbault did both in his July-August 2020 Astrological
the imminent Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour. Journal master article that was first published in 1997. He
clearly described 2020-21 as a whole and specifically placed a
At such times, thinking ahead (making plans for the future) possible pandemic as the driving force of our difficulties. [See
takes second place to facing what we have to do in our day-to- also Barbault’s essay on the Mars retrograde in this issue and
day lives. And so, it is today: this time, we are faced by a very how his specialised technique can be applied to the immediate
different global enemy in the midst of the 2020 Mars-in-Aries future.]
retrograde period. We know about the archetypal meanings of
the upcoming change to Aquarius and have our wishes on how This accepted, it was with some perverse satisfaction we
we might emerge regeneratively into it. noticed that the UK government announced its ‘Rule of Six’1
restrictions on gatherings indoors and outdoors the very
Yet, until we have reached and travelled the depths of the day of the Mars retrograde station [9 September 2020]. The
reality of our present predicament, what comes next is just building political counter-reaction to such ‘rule by diktat’ was
theory or hope (at best) for the future. itself in tune with retrograde motion. Many of the UK Prime
Minister’s own supporters saw it as an over-reaction. Amidst
At such dramatically difficult times, we need to be informed a crescendo of complaints over the government’s failure to
by astro-cycles; to track the detail that puts what happens in provide sufficient tests, it responded by imposing even greater
perspective. Not to lose our way in fear, blame and unrealistic restrictions to certain regions, coming near to defeat in the
expectation. To know what lies behind what is happening House of Commons.
(how long it will deepen, change, and then become easier)
is vital. As far as possible, hold everything in reserve, to use The fear of the past repeating itself, amidst an atmosphere
when it will be most effective, more beneficial. filled with failed decisions and actions, is typical of Mars
building the speed of its apparent retrograde motion. This is far
So, this issue’s column focuses on the detail of the present stronger, because its retreat aspects its own planetary position
Mars retrograde that will have worn down the world even and those of Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto in the March/April
further as this magazine goes to press. We have to get through 2020 days, when the virus first started to peak. Astrologers
this, seek to remain together, hoping to be ready to emerge had anticipated both this (when Covid-19 was announced at
and rebuild our world as a far better place for everyone. the beginning of the year) and the present autumn second
wave. If everyone had listened to astrologers we could have
Mastering the Mars retrograde been better prepared.
Regular readers will know how little glory this column offers In the USA, the Mars retrograde reflected the extreme contrast
to astrologers’ claims of precise prediction. Understanding in debate style between the two candidates. One seems to
of cycles is best used to describe trends, and to time the celebrate the flouting of human contact restrictions. The other
processes of change. The best astrologers do not fix the world adheres to them rather too rigidly. Then came the death of
in unshakable predictions but help to liberate potential and the US Supreme Court justice, the iconic Ruth Bader Ginsburg
possibility. Within this environment of possibility, revealed by and the (some might say) rather distasteful haste to announce
integrated astro-cycles, a number of highly relevant specific a conservative-leaning replacement.2

Working with the planets
Mars Daily Motion: 1 September to 1 December 2020
Date Daily Motion Date Daily Motion Date Daily Motion Date Daily Motion
01/09/ "+00°07'" 23/09/ "-00°11'" 16/10/ "-00°18'" 08/11/ "-00°04'"
02/09/ "+00°06'" 24/09/ "-00°11'" 17/10/ "-00°18'" 09/11/ "-00°04'"
03/09/ "+00°05'" 25/09/ "-00°12'" 18/10/ "-00°18'" 10/11/ "-00°03'"
04/09/ "+00°05'" 26/09/ "-00°13'" 19/10/ "-00°17'" 11/11/ "-00°02'"
05/09/ "+00°04'" 27/09/ "-00°13'" /10/ "-00°17'" 12/11/ "-00°01'"
06/09/ "+00°03'" 28/09/ "-00°14'" 21/10/ "-00°17'" 13/11/ "-00°00'"
07/09/ "+00°02'" 29/09/ "-00°15'" 22/10/ "-00°16'" 14/11/ "-00°00'"
08/09/ "+00°01'" 30/09/ "-00°15'" 23/10/ "-00°16'" 15/11/ "+00°00'"
09/09/ "+00°00'" 01/10/ "-00°16'" 24/10/ "-00°15'" 16/11/ "+00°01'"
10/09/ "-00°00'" 02/10/ "-00°16'" 25/10/ "-00°15'" 17/11/ "+00°02'"
11/09/ "-00°00'" 03/10/ "-00°17'" 26/10/ "-00°14'" 18/11/ "+00°03'"
12/09/ "-00°01'" 04/10/ "-00°17'" 27/10/ "-00°13'" 19/11/ "+00°03'"
13/09/ "-00°02'" 05/10/ "-00°17'" 28/10/ "-00°13'" /11/ "+00°04'"
14/09/ "-00°03'" 06/10/ "-00°18'" 29/10/ "-00°12'" 21/11/ "+00°05'"
15/09/ "-00°04'" 07/10/ "-00°18'" 30/10/ "-00°11'" 22/11/ "+00°06'"
16/09/ "-00°05'" 08/10/ "-00°18'" 31/10/ "-00°11'" 23/11/ "+00°06'"
17/09/ "-00°06'" 09/10/ "-00°18'" 01/11/ "-00°10'" 24/11/ "+00°07'"
18/09/ "-00°07'" 10/10/ "-00°19'" 02/11/ "-00°09'" 25/11/ "+00°08'"
19/09/ "-00°07'" 11/10/ "-00°19'" 03/11/ "-00°08'" 26/11/ "+00°09'"
/09/ "-00°08'" 12/10/ "-00°19'" 04/11/ "-00°08'" 27/11/ "+00°09'"
21/09/ "-00°09'" 13/10/ "-00°19'" 05/11/ "-00°07'" 28/11/ "+00°10'"
22/09/ "-00°10'" 14/10/ "-00°19'" 06/11/ "-00°06'" 29/11/ "+00°11'"
15/10/ "-00°18'" 07/11/ "-00°05'" 30/11/ "+00°11'"
It will be an astrological education par excellence to monitor

the events and banter surrounding the US presidential
campaign alongside the Mars-in-Aries retrograde period.
Going beyond, it will be a lesson to see how various parts
of the world handle the larger Covid-19 challenges. The
retrograde will reveal a vast array of ways this part of the Mars
cycle expresses itself.
The Mars Daily Motion table [shown above] is created by

Solar Fire’s Ephemeris Generator. It shows the daily motion
of Mars between the 1 September and 1 December 2020.
Notice that the longitude of the planet’s retrograde speed
hardly increases between 9 and 11 September and moves
backward an extra one minute of arc each day until 18 and
19 September. From then on, the backward motion is a little
less than a minute a day extra; and from 3 October less still.
From 16 October, the number of minutes of daily apparent
backward movement decreases ever more so up to the direct
station on 14 November.
Adding to the confusion, just as Mars is slowing its apparent

retrograde motion, on 14 October Mercury makes a retrograde
Mercury Direct Station Natal Chart
station, going through a similar process between then and
3 Nov 2020, Tue 17:49:42 GMT +0:00 London, United Kingdom
when it makes a direct station on 3 November [see chart 51°N30' 000°W10' Geocentric Tropical Placidus True Node
right] – the day of the US presidential election!3

This column is being written in the first days of October

2020, just as the retrograde daily motion is easing to slow
its increase. The Supreme Court justice selection has started.
The first chaotic, shouty TV presidential debate has occurred
leading to a major outcry and demands for the tightening of
debating rules. And in early October, President Trump and
the First Lady tested positive for Covid-19.
In the wider world, a massive crisis seems to be brewing as

fear of a second wave clashes with reckless impatience to
break free. We are weary of defending ourselves against our
fears. Some express this by dreaming up hoaxes or predicting
a magic cure that will quickly restore our lives to pre-2020
‘normality’. By the time you get to read this column, much of
what I am writing about will have moved on. For late readers,
the Mars retrograde will have completed. Look back from
where you are now. Look at the details in the Mars Daily
Motion table. See how the subtle changes in the pressures of
the retrograde fitted what happened.
Ruth Bader Ginsburg died just as the Mars retrograde was

completing its first burst backwards. The attempts to replace Jupiter conjoins Pluto Natal Chart
her quickly are against the retrogressive tide. Congress may 12 Nov 2020, Thu 21:37:55 GMT +0:00 London, uk
be stuck in procedural barriers. From 16 October, just as the 51°N30' 000°W10' Geocentric Tropical Placidus True Node
force of retrogression lessens, Mercury’s retrograde station
and then apparent backward movement signals the need for
on 1 November Mercury in Aries squares Saturn in Capricorn.
reconsideration right up to its direction station on election
Then, after making a direct station on the 3rd [see chart]
day on 3 November. Even if the result is clear and announced
it goes forward to complete its square on the 6th. Venus in
(by or soon after) the election, with Mars not going direct until
Libra opposes Chiron in Aries and then is quincunx Uranus
14 November, it is unlikely to be fully accepted. If the Supreme
through these days. An unpleasant, unhealthy atmosphere is
Court justice selection process is completed, a new president
suggested. Jaded reaction to defeat, reversal of fortune, long
and senate could make such success a Pyrrhic victory.4
anticipated disputes are all possible manifestations of such a
combination of astro-cycles.
Is it typical of Mars retrograde that the use of power in the
search for acquiring more (going forward) could be a major
The opposition between Venus in Libra and Aries Mars
contributing cause of losing power altogether? We shall see.
(still retrograde on the day the lunar cycle commences its
third quarter) suggests bad blood needing to clear. Mercury
Such questions will weigh with similar heaviness on outcomes
entering Scorpio, as the Sun trines Neptune in Pisces on the
for the world in the coming years. Apply the details to your
10th, suggests bad blood and an intensity of passion. The wise
country, your social and family group. Watch Mars force
will breathe in and keep their powder dry, as they prepare the
through an answer as it accelerates now in forward motion
ground for what is to come.
to complete its square to Pluto, just after the Winter Solstice.
Brutal intransigence is possible through the last waxing
Learn from what happens in the world through these difficult,
days of the lunar cycle. Jupiter conjoins Pluto in Libra on 12
confusing times. Use what you learn to apply new insights to
November [see chart]. And two days later, Mars makes its
the interpretation of all planetary retrograde cycles. With Mars
direct station. With Mercury ingressing to honour the Scorpio
it is readjustment of action, Mercury communication, Venus
New Moon on the 15th. Venus squares Pluto, then Jupiter
who/what we love or are attached to. Each year, over varying
on the 15th/16th. Expect no quarter to be given. Resentments
time spans, the outer planets expand (Jupiter), consolidate
boiling under the surface will erupt.
(Saturn), change (Uranus), believe (Neptune) and traumatise
(Pluto) with similar applying and easing cycles of pressure.
It does not need to be this way. If we are willing to reach down
deep into the mire of our disappointment, we may well find a
Major astro events bright new shining jewel. We may discontinue the mistaken
November 2020 to January 2021 sense of responsibility, urging us to fight to sustain our view
The period opens with intense and difficult communication, as of the status quo. We might even relax into realising that

Lunar Eclipse Natal Chart Winter Solstice Natal Chart

30 Nov 2020, Mon 09:29:41 GMT +0:00 London, uk 21 Dec 2020, Mon 10:02:20 GMT +0:00 London, uk
51°N30' 000°W10' Geocentric Tropical Placidus True Node 51°N30' 000°W10' Geocentric Tropical Placidus True Node
everyone is ‘us’ living in the world. There never really was a in Aries, and Venus sextiles Saturn, just before entering
‘them’ at all – just our misunderstanding of the way of the Sagittarius. Time to emerge out of the clouds of uncertainty.
Universe. Time for clear, effective action – or is this just a mood, a
sentiment, for this? The exact nature of that action will be
“If only it were that simple”, some might say. But it can be if we at a very early formative stage. Saturn enters Aquarius on 17
wisely use the changes in the energy. After Venus completes December, to be joined by Jupiter on the 19th. The next day,
its square to Saturn in Capricorn on 19 November, it enters the Sun conjoins Mercury, just before both leave Sagittarius
Scorpio a few hours before Sun ingresses Sagittarius. Ask for Capricorn. Time to get real maybe. But what is real and
yourself what you really want. Is it happiness and security or a what is it really about?
painful process of miserable confrontations that other people
tell you are the only way to find happiness? Look deeply and Each year in this column we remind ourselves that the Winter
question their motives for telling you this. Solstice marks the shortest, darkest day in the Northern
Hemisphere. That it therefore represents the turning of the
Neptune makes a direct station the day before the Lunar light to the ever-growing brightness of the solar year ahead.
Eclipse [see chart], then Mercury enters Sagittarius on Hence the chart of that moment will say much about the
1 December. What is happening may begin to feel more coming year.
acceptable, less challenging for a while. Why not accept things
as they are! The 2020 Winter Solstice [see chart] represents very much
more than this. Not only do we have Jupiter conjoining Saturn
For sure, compared to the previous month, the waning weeks in the first degree of Aquarius, but it is the first degree of an air
of the lunar cycle towards the Sagittarian New Moon, with sign. As many of you will know, Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions
the Solar Eclipse on 14 December, could see no more than happen every 20 years, but are nearly always in the same
normal cut and thrust; the disappointments and joys of day- element for about 200 years. For this length of time (except
to-day living. Do not be deceived! Much is going on under the for 1981) these conjunctions have been in earth signs. Earth
surface. It will start to emerge, as the Sun and then Mercury is the sign of material solidity, products, business, systems of
conjoin the South Node on 12 and 14 December, with Mercury financial exchange. Arguments and conflicts are focused on
square Neptune on the 13th. the distribution and sharing of wealth. [For more on Jupiter-
Saturn ‘great mutation’ elemental shifts, see J. Lee Lehman’s
The Solar Eclipse is total across South America, 100% just essay in this issue.]
south of Santiago in Chile. The next day Mercury trines Mars

The period of Pluto in Capricorn (2008-24) has reached a

climax with Saturn and Jupiter there too, with Uranus entering
Taurus towards the end. So, we have seen through these years
an increasing inability to keep finances stable and balanced,
in the face of monetarist-driven, obsessive desire for more
and more material growth. In this way, as we come to the end
of Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions in earth, we are witnessing in
2020-21 the very nemesis of 200 years of industrialisation
and exploitation of the planet, driven in the final four decades
by growth-obsessed monetarism. The Covid-19 pandemic is
hastening the disintegration of that system. As economist
politicians hasten us into ever-greater debt, the hoping of
bridging the gap to a return to ‘monetarist normality’ fades.
So, this 2020 Winter Solstice marks not only the 2021 New
Year, but also a new 200-year period where the focus will be
increasingly on ingenious ways of understanding the needs of
humanity, the joy of methods and invention – not just proud
piled-up possessions.
Of course, as in a single year, this is only the first light of

a much longer period. Winter Solstice 2021 is the early
US presidential inauguration 2021 Natal Chart
beginning of a process that will grow into realisation and take 20 Jan 2021, Wed 12:00 EST +5:00 Washington, DC
us ever further and higher. Consider the material condition of 38°N53'42'' 077°W02'12'' Geocentric Tropical Placidus True Node
the world in 1820, its social knowledge and possessions. We
are at a similar early starting point of progress to a very new Endnotes
way of understanding through the air centuries that lie ahead. 1. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/coronavirus-covid-
19-what-has-changed-9-september.
And we still have three more years of Pluto in Capricorn to go.
The old system is being dismantled. Many or most people will 2. Remember the role of the US Supreme Court in halting the
not know or accept this at first. Take it slowly. Be wise to what Florida recounts in the year 2000 presidential election. Would
is coming, accommodate, but do not rush. Skilfully allow the world ecology be as it is if Al Gore had succeeded?
future to emerge, let the baby of our future be born. Make an 3. If you have Solar Fire software, go to Dynamic/Generate
early start to ease it into healthy maturity – to be continued by Ephemeris, choose Mercury and generate a Daily Motion
our descendants. ephemeris for this.
4. A Pyrrhic victory is a victory that inflicts such a devastating
A brief look ahead toll on the victor that it is tantamount to defeat https://
Mars completes its square to Pluto just after the Winter en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pyrrhic_victory.
Solstice. It enters Taurus in early January 2021 and then
goes onto challenge the other outer planets. All the pent-up Roy Gillett is the Astrological Association
negativity of the very special 2020 Vernal Equinox (returned President and has been a full-time
to and reinforced by the long September-to-November 2020 astrologer since 1976. He advises on
Mars retrograde) will now force change upon a resistent astrology software and has spoken at
Saturn in Aquarius, as Mars semi-squares Neptune the next many international conferences. He first
day. Mars conjoins Uranus as Saturn semi-squares Neptune published mundane forecasts in 1978 and
to mark a most challenging US presidential inauguraton. Look has written this column since 2002. His
at its 20 January chart [shown]. Wonder as you note that book Reversing the Race to Global Destruction was published
Mars applies to square Jupiter on the 23rd. in January 2017. This combines astrology and Buddhism
to describe a kind, greed-free foundation for a new world
Expect to see the early, immature struggle between old and economy. The other books in his Astrological Quartet are:
Astrology and Compassion the Convenient Truth (2007);
new ways of doing things. For good or ill, the die will be being
Economy Ecology and Kindness (2009); and The Secret
cast as we begin to adjust to living in a very different world.
Language of Astrology (2011). He also has edited the English
translations of André Barbault’s The Value of Astrology and
May all that happens be for everyone’s benefit!
Planetary Cycles: Mundane Astrology.

Report from Planet Fashion www.oxfordastrologer.com
By Christina Rodenbeck
RBG and Melania: astrology of soldier fashionistas
The dissenter
US Supreme Court associate justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg
(aka Notorious RBG), who died on 18 September 2020, was a
role model for little girls everywhere who believe in equality,
justice and the rule of law — and have ambitions to make
decisions that matter.
In her later years, she was also a style icon. Dressed in the
obligatory courtroom black, she accessorised with flair, using
every inch available to her. Her heavy glasses, bright earrings
and smoothly pulled-back hair became totemic. But the
fashion item for which she’ll be especially remembered is the
detachable collar.
Now, a collar is a curious fashion

item. There have been periods
when the collar was extremely Ruth Bader Ginsburg: official portrait 2016
important. The Renaissance
However, here’s a thing. Black Moon Lilith is often prominent
collar was a symbol of power
in the charts of feminists. And RBG’s collar, the dissenter, has
and wealth. Think of Elizabeth
become a feminist symbol in the United States. You can get
I and her vast ruffs, Catherine
the T-shirt. She started wearing her flamboyant, yet discreet,
de’ Medici framed in lace or
collars to put a feminine stamp on the Supreme Court outfit,
Rembrandt’s portraits of wealthy
which is a boring black gown designed to be worn by men.
Dutch merchants in starched and
RBG was only the second woman to be elected to the Court,
folded linen. But the semiotics of
The Pegasus necklace by Stella and after Sandra Day O’Connor (who also sported a lace collar or
collars are not limited to money
Dot – RBG’s ‘dissenting’ collar two) — and they decided that a little feminine flare was called
and wealth; they’ve also been
for to jazz it up and make a statement.
used to show an attitude to life. The poet Lord Byron made
floppy collars fashionable and a sign of a certain worldly But there’s more astrology. One of the most notable features
loucheness, for example. The stiff button-on collars of the of RBG’s chart is the mutual reception between Mars and
turn-of-last-century set the office worker apart from a manual Mercury, in Virgo and Aries respectively. This would partially
labourer who saved his collar for Sundays. The psychedelic account for her very sharp mind. She was famous for her
wings of the 1970s were a colourful rebuke to Brooks Brothers. precision and attention to detail, as you might expect. Both
Mars and Mercury are also retrograde and in quincunx aspect
So, collars have meaning — and RBG wore her collars
to each other, so the relationship between armour (Mars) and
meaningfully. Bader Ginsburg had a full collection from old-
mind (Mercury) is dynamic and exciting. She wore her collars
fashioned lace to heavy metal. One in particular stood out,
— lacy, metallic, crocheted, welded — like armour. RGB’s
called the ‘dissenter’, which she wore when she gave one of
mind and words, her ability to write clearly, were her sharpest
the dissenting opinions for which she became renowned. The
weapons, of course,
other that became particularly well-known was a fabulous
golden collar that she wore when there giving a majority The gorget, or collar, was an essential piece of a knight’s
opinion. armour, protecting the throat and neck. This would be the seat
of the throat and voice, so maybe the gorgets that RGB wore
And the astrology? Well, you would be right to think that the
were symbolically protecting or even amplifying her voice.
first thing to wonder about is Taurus placements, since the
Mars conjoins Neptune, the fashion planet, so she’s literally
Bull rules the neck. But it would be too easy to find the planets
using fashion as a weapon too.
of fashion Venus and Neptune nestled in the heart of the Bull,
and since we don’t have a birth time, we can’t check the 2nd There’s some more astrology to discuss, of course. RGB
house, also associated with the voice and throat. became a pop culture icon in her old age. It began around

Report from Planet Fashion
Ruth Bader Ginsburg Natal Chart Melania Trump Natal Chart

15 Mar 1933, Wed 09:39:47 EST +5:00 Brooklyn, New York 26 Apr 1970, Sun 09:39:47 CET -1:00 Novo Mesto, Slovenia
40°N38' 073°W56' Geocentric Tropical 0° Aries Mean Node 45°N48' 015°E10' Geocentric Tropical 0° Aries Mean Node
2010, when Neptune, planet of glamour and influence, moved Mrs Trump has a distinctive style — stilettos, big shoulders
into Pisces and took off when Donald Trump was elected US and ‘very expensive’. Her look is classic, conservative, classy.
president in late 2015, when Neptune went through her North What you’d expect from a Capricorn Moon.
Node and opposed her natal Neptune in Virgo. That year, RGB
became a regular character on the satirical TV show Saturday She also has a penchant for quasi-military or hunting dress,
Night Live and a household name. which is quite interesting considering the placement of planet
fashion Neptune at 0° Sagittarius — the hunter’s sign —
Today, you can buy RGB mugs, tea towels, fridge magnets, opposing her Venus in Taurus. For her recent appearance at
T-shirts, dolls, bobbleheads and tote bags. Some of her fans the Republican convention she seemed to be channelling Fidel
have tattooed the spectacle-wearing grandma on a bicep. There Castro in an olive-green Alexander McQueen suit. On her solo
are RGB memes, quotes and jokes. Like Einstein, Groucho trip to Africa a few years ago, she dressed up as a colonial-era
Marx and Frida Kahlo, RGB’s image has been distilled. She explorer including pith helmet. Her notorious Zara jacket — I
is spectacles, earrings, pulled-back hair and that collar — don’t care, do you? — was probably the cheapest thing she’s
instantly recognisable. This image has become a symbol of worn in a while, but it also had a military feel. It was a strange
resistance to Donald Trump and everything he stands for. choice in many ways, not least because Mrs Trump usually
has an eye for quality and craftsmanship — another feature
When Neptune, the planet of moviemaking, reached her of Moon in Capricorn, Venus in Taurus. But generally, not a
exalted, feminine Venus in Pisces in 2018, two films were feature of clothes from Zara.
made about her. The documentary RGB and a feature film, On
the Basis of Sex. Venus is a fashion planet but associated also Because she says so little, Melania Trump’s clothes are
with fairness. constantly being parsed for meaning. Why did she wear
that jacket to visit children on the Texas border? Why was
The iconography is bound to live on — and indeed it will be she wearing a huge white hat to greet the Macrons? Are her
interesting to see what happens when Neptune reaches her clothes a cry for help or a statement of domination?
Sun at 24° Pisces. Could she possibly become even more
And she may really be communicating through her fashion
iconic?
choices. Her conjunction of Mercury and Venus in Taurus
might suggest that — especially since it opposes Neptune. But
The conservative Neptune is deceptive, a mirror, and perhaps Melania herself
Say what you like about Melania Trump, she always looks is a mirror reflecting the prejudices and desires of her enemies
terrific. She’s the best dressed First Lady since Jackie Kennedy. and her fans.

Mars
When the Red Planet turns Green
Julian Venables
The terrible Beirut explosion in August and the many Aries Mars squares to
Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto this year prompted the author to take a meandering
personal journey back into the history of mythological Mars and its many ancient
associations with conflict and beyond. Climate change activists take heart…
Introduction
Mars has been on my mind recently because of its long
retrograde stay in Aries, the sign of its domicile, as well as its
transiting squares to Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto in Capricorn.
I noticed its substantial energy boost (and brusque edginess)
to my day-to-day living. But the horrible Beirut explosion
in early August of this year really piqued my attention and
got me looking deeper. As I analysed the Beirut explosion
chart, I felt like an astrological Indiana Jones on an Arabic
desert adventure, as the symbols started to reveal and impart
something that I now present to you.
The trail of clues led me to a rediscovered understanding of

Mars. As you will see, Mars was worshipped by the Romans
in several different ways, as different personalities or Aftermath of the Beirut explosion. Photo by Mahdi Shojaeian (Creative Commons)
characteristics. One could choose which kind of Mars one
wanted to receive or interact with, depending on the condition
of Mars in one’s birth horoscope. The Beirut explosion 2020
On 4 August 2020, a monstrous explosion occurred in a
I revisited Mars Silvanus, dockside warehouse in Beirut, capital of Lebanon. The tragic
a Roman nature deity: this accident caused at least 200 deaths, 6,500 injuries, 300,000
offers a different approach to become homeless and up to $15 billion in property damage.
in interpreting Mars. It is The explosion happened at 18:07 [see chart].
not just the god of war and
strife, the lesser malefic, but There are several aspects in this chart that present a
a personality and character particularly fascinating symbolic story, especially when
that can be directed into considering its location, Lebanon, and the ancient history of
different areas of life. The that part of the Eastern Mediterranean.
Romans had many different
• Mars (in dignity) applying exact square to Jupiter (in fall).
types of Mars: in my current
research ‘Mars Ultor’ • Jupiter rising on the Ascendant.
(Scorpio Mars) and ‘Mars • Mars in the 3rd house rules Scorpio MC.
Grabovius’ (Taurus Mars)
• Sun in Leo separating from a square to Uranus (just after
stood out. Every type of
the Full Moon)
Mars has its own meaning
and purpose. • Uranus in Taurus conjunct the IC.
• Sun applying to trine Mars.
If we as astrologers re-
Bronze statue of Silvanus, said to be from
awaken these aspects of • Venus conjunct North Node.
Nocera in southern Italy
Mars, we may yet discover
new facets of this most important planet in helping ourselves Many astrologers were already expecting something fiery
and our own imperilled planet Earth. (Mars) and big (Jupiter) to happen as these two planets

Beirut: Jupiter rising in the east

In astrology the Ascendant is the place of birth, a new
beginning or maybe even a rebirth or resurrection. As I studied
the explosion chart, and I saw the symbols coming together
into a picture, I wondered what sat physically to the east of
Beirut. I got out my Lebanon map, and spotted that around
50 miles directly east of Beirut (and on the same latitude)
are the famous UNESCO ancient temples of Baalbek. This is
Lebanon’s biggest tourist attraction. It has some of the best-
preserved Roman temples in the Eastern Mediterranean, and
tellingly these include the…Temple of Jupiter.
Baalbek is now a modern city. But the site has been a sacred
place of fertility worship for over 5000 years, ever since the
Phoenicians. The Romans were the last great civilisation
to worship there. After 6th century AD the temples were
abandoned and fell into ruin. The site itself has a strong
historic thread of worship of nature gods and fertility gods.
What has all this to do with the Beirut explosion? Let us survey
the history…
Beirut explosion chart Natal Chart
4 Aug 2020, Tue 18:07 EEDT -3:00 Beirut, Lebanon A history of Jupiter worship in Lebanon
33°N53' 035°E30' Geocentric Tropical Placidus Mean Node
2500 BC–333 BC: Phoenicians with Egyptian, Hittite and
Assyrian rule:
squared exactly on 4 August 2020. Very, very sadly, the
The Phoenicians were so named because of the purple (Jupiter)
astrology proved correct. The Beirut explosion occurred as
dye they sold. They were trading sailors and merchants whose
Mars at 19° Aries 46’ was separating (only 2 minutes apart)
influence encompassed the whole of the Mediterranean. Ba’al
from an exact square to Jupiter at 19° Capricorn 44’. As
(the god of fertility, weather, rain, wind, lightning, seasons,
Jupiter rose in the east over Lebanon and Beirut, the chart
war and sailors) was worshipped and he mythically wielded a
captured that moment of Jupiter on the Ascendant angle.
thunderbolt. Baalbek city is named after this original fertility
god.
What started as a fireworks fire (Mars in Aries) in the dockside
warehouse spread (Jupiter) to a massive (Jupiter) 2750 tonnes 605 BC–332 BCP: Babylonian and Persian rule:
of unmonitored, carelessly stored Ammonium Nitrate. This is
a synthetic chemical fertiliser used in industrial farming and Ba’al was gradually replaced by Hadad. The bull (Taurus) was
agricultural production to accelerate crop growth, even in the symbolic animal of Hadad, a nature and fertility god.
depleted and exhausted soil. He appeared bearded often holding a club and thunderbolt
while wearing a bull-horned headdress (Uranus in
Ammonium Nitrate is a highly unstable chemical combination. Taurus). Hadad was equated with the Greek god Zeus and
It has a history of accidental explosions around the world the Roman god Jupiter. Hadad was known as Rammanu
including one in Kent in England in April 1916; in Texas City, (‘Thunderer’), lord of the sky with the power to determine
USA, in April 1947; and in Tianjin in China in August 2016. fertility.
Terrorists know of its capabilities – for instance, Timothy
McVeigh in 1995 used the fertiliser as an ingredient in the 332 BC–64 BC: Hellenistic rule:
Oklahoma City Bombing which killed at least 168 people;
Hadad was gradually replaced by Dionysus, the Greek god of
and groups such as the IRA used ammonium nitrate to cause
fertility worship.
terror.
64 BC–646 AD: Roman rule:
The ammonium nitrate had been sitting in Beirut for almost
seven years, ever since it had been impounded by customs Dionysus was renamed as Bacchus, the god of wine (harvest),
officials in 2014 from an abandoned Russian ship deemed wild abandon and frenzy (another form of fertility). The
unseaworthy. It was a ticking time bomb. Romans completely rebuilt the temple site of Ba’al, called
it ‘Sun City’ (Heliopolis) and built the current temples of

Bacchus and Jupiter (the father and son). Before the Roman Pluto/node, with both luminaries squaring Uranus in the 4th
Bacchus was the Greek Dionysus; before Dionysus was Hadad house of the underground (deep foundational past and ancient
and originally there was Ba’al. All were worshipped as gods of ancestry or history). A ‘perfect storm’ for a sudden and terrible
fertility. event, potentially.
In what I confess may seem a strange link-up between Transiting Sun in Leo square Uranus in Taurus: Lion to the
mythological history and a tragic modern event, the Beirut Bull. Both these fixed animals are known for their ‘roaring’
explosion was caused by the use of a synthetic, unnatural ability: in Middle English ‘bellow’ means “to roar like a bull”.
chemical fertiliser. The ‘superstitious’ might ask the question: A roar synonymous with the boom sound of an explosion and
are the ancient gods of nature fertility (to the east of Beirut) the Hadad- and Ba’al-thundering of ancient days.
symbolically indicating that a modern chemical fertiliser is a
great peril? But in the last many centuries there haven’t been the ears
to hear these gods roar anymore. Where are we collectively
The Bacchus asteroid link heading if we do not listen? Before you scoff read Jung below…
It is known that the Romans tended to take the Greek gods
and adopt them as their own. They set about making them A relevant digression to Jung
civilised and tidier and mostly ‘presentable’, so that they could Carl Jung reminds us of the importance of rediscovering our
become friendlier and relate to them. In consequence, what affinity to nature with this quote:
was once worshipped as raw and untamed nature energy was
given a new appearance, to make them a cosy part of Roman “As scientific understanding has grown, so our world
culture and family life. has become dehumanised. Man feels himself isolated in
the cosmos, because he is no longer involved in nature
In this way the wild and crazy Greek Dionysus became the and has lost his emotional ‘unconscious identity’ with
Roman Bacchus who mostly represented fun, frivolity, parties natural phenomena. These have slowly lost their symbolic
and intoxication. In the Roman age, if you were getting your implications. Thunder is no longer the voice of an angry
party hat on, then you were going to go out with Bacchus. god, nor is lightning his avenging missile. No river contains
a spirit, no tree is the life principle of a man, and no snake
So, having traced this evolution from Ba’al to Bacchus and its the embodiment of wisdom, no mountain caves the home of
link to the Jupiter Temple complex, I started to look at the a great demon. No voices now speak to Man from stones,
asteroid Bacchus – and amazingly found it to be active in plants, and animals, nor does he speak to them believing
Lebanon’s chart and in the explosion. they can hear. His contact with nature has gone, and with it
has gone the profound emotional energy that this symbolic
Asteroid Bacchus on the 2020 solar connection supplied.” – C.G. Jung, Man and His Symbols
eclipse
Jung might have put it thus: “So, as the once-worshipped gods
The first thing to note is that two months before the Beirut
aligned over Lebanon in a cardinal quadrature, exact on the
explosion, transiting asteroid Bacchus was at 0° Cancer
angles, their all-pervasive and inclusive qualities picked up the
14’, exactly on the 0° Cancer New Moon eclipse point of 21
instability of the unnatural industrial agriculture product…”
June 2020 [not shown in the Beirut explosion chart]. This
to me indicates that Bacchus was due to have some sort of a
Did our disenchanted modern civilisation see this explosion
reawakening. Turning to the Lebanon national chart for 22
as anything other than a warehouse storage mistake? Sadly,
November 1943, 12:00 pm [chart not shown], we see that
no. Collectively and spiritually, we are distant from our true
Bacchus is exactly conjunct the Sun in Scorpio, both at 29° -
nature and understanding.
the dread anaretic degree. Lebanon has suffered more than its
fair share of war and terror throughout its history (ever since
it gained independence from the French) so it’s no surprise to
What is the ‘lesson’ here – if any?
find wild Bacchus/Dionysus conjunct the Sun in Mars-ruled For me, what came through on studying these charts was
Scorpio (and in the 10th house). the notion that the nature gods had stirred to tell humanity
something: to stop using chemical fertilisers in industrial
In the Lebanon chart, if Bacchus is conjunct the Scorpio Sun, agriculture. The cycles beginning with the three planets in
and the Sun rules Leo, then the Pluto/node conjunction in Leo Capricorn indicate that it is time to find a different approach
is very potent and powerful – given that in modern astrology to nature and farming; to find the natural hierarchy of the
Pluto co-rules Scorpio with Mars. Astrologically, it is the growth cycles. An empowered Mars joins in this call as it
point which could act as a trigger for dramatic events. And squares Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto in the latter half of 2020.
just one day before the harbour-side explosion, there was the Humanity must stop using chemical fertilisers which disrupt
Full Moon in Aquarius (with Sun in Leo) exactly on Lebanon’s the natural order of nature.

Alan Titchmarsh Natal Chart Monty Don Natal Chart

2 May 1949, Mon 21:00 BST -1:00 Ilkley, United Kingdom 8 Jul 1955, Fri 12:00 CET -1:00 Berlin (West), Germany
53°N55' 001°W50' Geocentric Tropical Placidus Mean Node 52°N29' 013°E21' Geocentric Tropical Solar Sign Mean Node
As I researched this tragic moment in Lebanon and its links official priests dedicated to his worship. His attributes were
to Bacchus and Dionysus, I was reminded of something else his falx or pruning knife, pine branch or wreath and
about Mars which I’d like to share with you. dog. Silvanus lived on the boundaries and protected
both the forests (silva) – which gave him his name – and
The different types of Mars and the the fields. As a god of woodlands, he kept their dangers at bay
rediscovery of Mars Silvanus and allowed the flocks and crops to flourish. Silvanus was
associated with Pan, but they were different deities.
We have all been taught and understand that Mars was and
is the ‘god of war’. But he was also an agricultural guardian, a Silvanus was to be found enjoying nature with female nature
combination characteristic of early Rome. As well as wielding spirits, known as the Silvanae. And in the votive imagery he
a sword and shield, Mars was also a ‘green’ deity, associated appears to be more of a father figure, rather than an erotically
with burgeoning trees, woods and forests. aroused chaser. He appears to be quite the sober figure of the
woodland and the deep green forests.
If you think about the bursting forth of springtime energy,
then all plants and trees, all vegetation, surges with a power In today’s world, Silvanus sounds like the basis for the
that is competitive. The plants that get the most sunlight will archetype of the old gardener, the farmer or a groundsman.
eventually win and dominate. The vernal month of March was More likely to be found on a country estate than in a garden
named after him and, in this capacity, the Romans knew this centre. Mars Silvanus is mostly depicted with a canine
nature force, this deity, as Mars Silvanus. companion that represents the animal nature and protects
the home or farm. Many country people who venture into the
There is plenty of archaeological evidence that Mars was
forests or woodlands have a dog; it acts as the familiar with its
worshipped as a god of nature, including the UK’s Barkway
senses that are more fine-tuned in its search of game.
Hoard discovered in Hertfordshire in 1743. It is well known,
and taught as factual history in schools today, that once a
Mars Silvanus is shown naked in the bucolic fashion in most
Roman soldier had retired after 25 years’ service in the army,
images, like Hercules and other heroes. He appears as a sober,
he would be given a plot of land to farm. This indicates the link
un-erotic forest deity who’s friendly to human activity. In the
between a military Mars and an agricultural Mars.
21st century, when sustainability is the only way forward for
a healthy and life-enhancing future, rediscovering our inner
It appears that the Roman god Mars Silvanus was popular with
Mars Silvanus is a good idea.
the people as he was a protector of fields and crops. He had no

In terms of rulership of signs, Silvanus Mars still perfectly

fits Aries and Scorpio. Aries is the springtime rush and surge,
the initiative for growth and development; and Scorpio is the
mulching down and composting of the plants in nature, the
death of the old growth into that which will eventually become
regenerated through transformations.
“Blest...is he who knows the rural gods/Pan, old Silvanus,

and the sister-nymphs!” – Virgil
Encountering Mars Silvanus in the 21st

century
If you have a ‘difficult’ Mars in your chart and want to harness
its potential, have you ever thought to go green in your
lifestyle? There is a world out there that the heat and energy of
Mars can be directed into, with longer term results that calm
the mind and direct one’s actions and the general demeanour
towards a more happy and contented sense of being.
In you there is a Mars Silvanus waiting to emerge; this is

the deity that can bring about the bucolic life, the rustic
experience, the arcadia that we have always dreamed of.
A couple of perfect examples of how to transform a difficult

natal Mars can be found in two famous British television
gardeners, Monty Don and Alan Titchmarsh. Don’s natal
Mars is in its fall in Cancer, conjunct Uranus and square
Neptune [chart shown]. Titchmarsh’s natal Mars is in its
detriment in Taurus [chart shown]. Despite these challenges,
both personalities have found that the garden and outdoor life
bring them much happiness and contentment. And success.
Even in the world of television, the mythological Mars Silvanus 2nd century Roman statue of Dionysus (© Marie-Lan Nguyen CC)
can be found.
Julian Venables, D.F.Astrol.S, can be

contacted via his website londonastrologer.
com where he offers chart readings. You
can also sign up for webinars and astrology
classes. On YouTube, his channel ‘Julian the
London Astrologer’ has a number of his
astrology videos which are freely accessible. He has lectured
at many astrology conferences worldwide including the IVC
in India.
Temple of Jupiter in Baalbek (©CC Eusebius)

Not the astrology column
By Anne Whitaker
Neptune and the ‘gift’ of uncertainty
“…The constant dance between form and increasingly fragmenting UK, as the shadow of an impending
formlessness, being and non-being, order and chaos, no-deal Brexit lengthens under a chaotic government with
occurs in all epochs and at all levels. little apparent respect for the rule of law.
Humans have created a range of paradigms and metaphors, Neptune – as ‘chaos’– is surely gaining the upper hand. This
from ancient myths to modern cosmology, within which has been increasingly the case since Neptune’s entry into
to explore this dialectic. Our ancient Babylonian forebears Pisces in 2011/12; Saturn is struggling to maintain order: his
envisaged the beginning of the world as a battle to the shadow, Fascism, with violence as its inevitable companion, is
death between the great sea-serpent Ti’amat and her son, on the rise in various parts of the world.
the Underworld god Marduk. He vanquished her, creating
Heaven and Earth from her divided corpse. Meanwhile, the
grapple goes on.
Astrology has its own language for this struggle, speaking

through the polarity of Saturn and Neptune. Saturn at its
core represents the drive to take form; Neptune’s teleology is
that of dissolution…” 1
Here we are – again. We do not need astrology to tell us that

we are in the throes of that epic struggle between Ti’amat and
Marduk as the 200 years-long era of the Jupiter and Saturn
meeting in earth comes to a messy and turbulent end. The
official starting date of the incoming air era is on 2020’s
Winter Solstice, when Jupiter meets Saturn at 0° Aquarius.
The signs are everywhere you care to look: Covid-19 is brutally

upending our way of living, which has largely depended on
trashing Mother Earth since the outset of the Industrial and
Scientific Revolutions. On the one hand, fire ravaged parts
of Australia in 2019 and is currently blazing swathes of
destruction through California; on the other, the Brazilian Karl Jaspers in 1946
rainforests are aflame. Destructive flooding is on the increase.
Species extinction is advancing apace. Social inequality is As is often the case for me (and probably other writers), when
worse than it has been for a very long time. I could go on and I’m reflecting on a possible column topic which has been
on. chewing at me for weeks – in this case the Saturn/Neptune
order/chaos dialectic, and where uncertainty fits in – I came
Where astrology can be helpful, at least for those of us of a across an essay on the wonderful aeon.com site last Friday
philosophical bent, is via the perspectives which studying the which was really helpful and illuminating: it is by a philosopher
larger planetary cycles can provide. We can thus step back, whom I only vaguely recollected from university philosophy
zoom out as it were (quite the apt expression since much of (aeons ago, in my case!) – Karl Jaspers (1883-1969). The
the world is now Zooming!) and, with even a sketchy grasp header quote on the essay stopped me in my tracks: ‘To Karl
of an historical timeline, reflect upon the scary evidence of an Jaspers, uncertainty is not to be overcome but understood…’
increasingly divided world in turmoil – from a longer-term
and possibly more optimistic perspective. Jaspers’ work “…revolves around the meaning of uncertainty
in an increasingly precarious and radicalising world…he is
From observing both my own life and that of our wider one of the very few existentialist thinkers…who did not seek to
communities, it seems that the most fear-generating master, tame or conquer the unknowable and finite condition
dimension is the profound uncertainty which contextualises of human life. Instead, he tried to cultivate a relationship to
all our lives at present. None of us can plan with any confidence this essential quality of life and engage it on its own terms…” 2
for anything. Just today, as I write this on Monday, 14
September 2020, the coronavirus ‘rule of six’ has launched in Even a sketchy understanding of history reveals that our
Scotland – but with different restrictions in other parts of an

Not the astrology column
one another in the face of our many-faceted differences. Times

of uncertainty create great fear, but also greater potential to
renew ourselves. Let’s not forget that uncertainty can be a
harsh, but profound gift – which Neptune is offering us right
now.
PS: Of course, after writing this I couldn’t resist checking out

Astrodienst for Karl Jaspers’ horoscope [shown], and there it
was, as I had suspected, right up there in the 10th house in
Taurus: Saturn conjunct Neptune, focal point of a grand trine
with Moon/Uranus in Virgo and Venus in Capricorn. Maybe
we should all be reading him!
Endnotes
1. From The Mountain Astrologer, ‘Contemplating the 12th

House: An Optimist’s Take on Self-Undoing’ by Anne
Whitaker, in the Aug/Sept. 2014 issue.
2. From aeon.com (11.9.20), an essay by Carmen Lea Dege who

is currently writing a book on the theory and practice of
uncertainty.
Karl Jaspers Natal Chart
23 Feb 1883 NS, Fri 14:30 LMT -0:32:52 Oldenburg, Germany 3. From The Astrology of Crisis, Llewellyn Publications, 1993,
53°N08' 008°E13' Geocentric Tropical Placidus Mean Node
p116.
© 2020 Anne Whitaker.

collective attempts in every culture under the sun (“to master,
tame or conquer the unknowable and finite condition of anne-whitaker.com: Writing from the Twelfth House.
human life) have been held in the vast context of that dialectic
between Ti’amat and Marduk, Saturn and Neptune, order and Facebook Astrology Page: Astrology: Questions and
chaos. We have lurched between those extremes, with spells of Answers.
varying lengths in which we managed to get the two in balance Email: info@anne-whitaker.com
for a time – forever.
The 20-year cycle of the Jupiter/Saturn conjunctions,

concluding their journey through the earth element and
entering the new air era, can roughly speaking be mapped
onto the waning crescent of the ‘old order’ and the waxing
crescent of the new. This gives us a time period from around
2000 to 2040, a time in which, to use Robert Hand’s vivid
phrase, “…the past has minimum hold upon the present, but
the present has a maximum hold on the future…”. 3
We are in a unique time now: not only humanity, but the

whole of Mother Earth and all her creatures great and small
are suffering the pain and turbulence of increasing chaos as
the old order loses its grip. But without Neptune to dissolve
the deadening rigidities of Saturn past its sell-by date in any
phase of civilisation or culture, life could not go on. Dissolution
precedes renewal.
In the meantime, we need to cultivate qualities which do

not come spontaneously to most humans, but need to be
cultivated these days, probably more than ever before in our
long and bloody history: humility, patience and tolerance for Books by Anne Whitaker

Generational shifts
and the
Jupiter-Saturn mutation
J. Lee Lehman, Ph.D.
“Baby Boomers are creatures of the earth cycle. Millennials are creatures of air.
Gen X-ers are transitional, being born of earth, but growing up in air”. As the next
Jupiter-Saturn conjunction (21 December 2020) marks an elemental shift (or
mutation) from earth to air, what awaits the world next, based on past mutations?
Generational shifts are a natural part of human existence. observed that Jupiter-
Each person who lives a full life grows through dependency to Saturn conjunctions would
a certain level of autonomy and then to a state of diminished occur sequentially in the
capability, followed by death. This process can be interrupted same element, advancing
by personal or collective tragedy, but the overall pattern by roughly two trines each
serves to allow generations further along in their learning successive conjunction. The
curve to teach the younger generations and transmit their actual variation can easily
knowledge before passing beyond. All societies have ritualised range from 225 to 258°,
this process in many ways, but even the massive changes but because the advance
in industrialised and mechanised inventions have not yet isn’t precisely 240°, the
destroyed this basic pattern. conjunction will slip into
another element over time.
If we are to study these patterns, we need to use cycles longer This slippage is called a
than the usual yearly processes we apply to our clients or to mutation. Four slippages
the politics of the year ahead. take the sequence from fire, Abū Ma’šar
to earth, to air, and then to
Traditionally, the major method used for longer forecasts was water – and then back to fire. The return to fire marks a ‘great
the Jupiter-Saturn cycle. With conjunctions approximately conjunction’. Abū Ma’šar believed that this process took 960
every 20 years, this represented a rather longish generation years, with each element getting 240 years. But it was never
cycle to a society where people were married and reproducing neatly divisible by twelve. Retrogrades and elliptical orbits
by their early teens. A 20-year cycle was long enough to denote meant that the original estimation of 240 years per mutation
changing experience and short enough that a substantial was significantly wrong.
population would live long enough to experience more than
one cycle. The most contemporary fire conjunctions are shown in Table
1-1.
Nowadays, the tendency of astrologers is to see generations
through the lens of Pluto’s sign changes. But while this has
a satisfaction to it, the sign ingresses do not correspond
to the generation boundaries assigned by secular society.
Furthermore, the different length of Pluto’s transit through
each of the signs also adds complications. That said, there
isn’t much evidence that generations before the Baby Boomers
were sufficiently self-involved to give themselves permanent
names.
But since 1980, we astrologers face a sea change not observed

since the early 19th century: a mutation of the Jupiter-Saturn
cycle. The Arabic astrologer Abū Ma’šar (787-886), writing Table 1-1 From Astrology of Sustainability, p. 19
about an earlier mutation time, had defined it. Astrologers

Generational shifts and the Jupiter-Saturn mutation
Viewing Table 1-1, the last of these conjunctions occurred dynasty of James I closely followed the first fire conjunction.
in 1603. There were quite a few well-known astrologers
practising then: and they did consider this conjunction to be The reign of his son Charles II (1625-1649) corresponded to
a ‘great mutation’. the second conjunction: this time at 6° Leo. That conjunction
was opposite the Mercury-Sun conjunction for the chart for the
Abū Ma’šar discussed the importance of the element of the beginning of the House of Commons in Parliament: precisely
conjunctions in detail in his work, On the Great Conjunctions. the ‘problem’ that Charles I had: his bad relationship with
He specifies that the sign within each element that is furthest Parliament resulted in the English Civil War which he lost so
in zodiacal order from Aries is strongest: thus, Sagittarius is badly that he was executed. The brief English Republic which
the strongest fire sign, and the same for Pisces, Aquarius, and resulted lasted from 1649 to 1660 – when England returned
Capricorn in their respective elements. This idea of the relative to being a monarchy under Charles II, and the fire period had
strength of the three signs within an element is also applied in firmly established itself – while also instilling in European
medical astrology. monarchs a taste for both conservatism and absolutism.
Abū Ma’šar was clear in stating that the Jupiter-Saturn cycle

concerned beginnings, because this combination brings order.
“Since 1980, we astrologers
The magnitude of the beginning depends on the length of the face a sea change not
sequence. Thus, a great mutation could represent the advent of observed since the early 19th
a new religion; a mutation could represent a new dynasty; and
a single Jupiter-Saturn conjunction could mean a new reign. century: a mutation of the
But these are theoretical constructs because it was known that Jupiter-Saturn cycle”
not all reigns literally began every 20 years.
With so many fine astrologers populating both sides of the
And yet…a new conjunction, at the very least, represented a English Civil War, there was great contemporary discussion
new set of conditions, even if it didn’t literally mean a new of these matters as it was unfolding. We have from this period
king coming to the throne. And as for a mutation? That turns (but not from Abū Ma’šar) the observation that this sequence
out to be a little complicated. In all cases since the beginning of of mutation followed by return to the old element represented
the modern era, whenever there is a shift into a new mutation, a fundamental temporary incursion of something odd or
it is followed by a reversal into the ‘old’ element, before the erratic. Thus Richard Edlyn, who wrote a book on the Jupiter-
sequence fully establishes itself in the new element. For Saturn conjunction during this period of instability and
example, in 1603, the first conjunction in fire at 8° Sagittarius upheaval, called this incursion into Pisces “the Retrogression
was followed in 1623 by a conjunction at 6° Leo, but then in of the Conjunction”.1
1643, there was a conjunction at 25° Pisces. The fire sequence
then re-established itself in 1663 at 12° Sagittarius. Every mutation, great or otherwise, shares this aura of change.
Beginnings, to use Abū Ma’šar’s word, also entail endings. And
Notice that the conjunction as a social and political process, change is always accompanied
at 25° Pisces fell just short by a drag, as people who adhere to or benefit from the old
of Aries. This conversion regime resist the new one. And so, we can observe this process
from water to fire took place with the next mutation, when the Jupiter-Saturn moved from
during the time of William fire into earth.
Lilly and the other great
17th-century astrologers. The era of the fire mutation included the Industrial Revolution,
And this period featured which resulted in a massive increase in the utilisation of
a new dynasty for sure. power. This period was also called the Age of Enlightenment,
Dominating the end of the a time when reason was extolled, like the earlier fire mutation
water element in England in 769 which is featured in the Arabic translations of Greek
was the long reign of science at the House of Wisdom. But even during a period
Elizabeth I (the reign: 1558- when secularisation spread, on a political front, the absolutism
1603), when the English of kings was celebrated. However, the waning days of the
navy achieved a level of fire period included the American and French Revolutions
world domination on the Elizabeth I. The ‘Darnley Portrait’ (c. 1575) – reactions to this concentration of power. This struggle
seas. The last of the Tudor between people and monarch reached its apex with Napoleon,
monarchs, she was succeeded by James I (reigned 1603-1625), who began as a revolutionary (1793) and ended as an emperor
the first of the Stuart kings of England. Elizabeth’s death (1804). His death in 1821 marked the year of the Jupiter-
perfectly marked the end of an era, and the reign of the new Saturn retrogression back into fire. Then, as the earth element

reasserted itself, massive public works – dams, canals, water • The cross-sectioning of data which allowed sophisticated
systems, transportation infrastructure, utilities – transformed classification of people into subcategories.
the landscape. These years are shown in Table 1-2.
• The simultaneous erosion of personal worth and the
celebration of consumer diversity.
• The shift toward the value of robotics in manufacture,

coupled with the realisation that humans are needed to
consume, not to produce.
However, consider the primary rulership of the air element,

Table 1-2. Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions in the late Fire period.
Mercury and Saturn, who not only rule two of the three signs,
but also the day and night triplicities. Mercury is the planet of
The first air conjunction occurred in 1980. Contemporary
youth while Saturn is the planet of age. Many of these changes
American astrologers were most struck by the fact that
result in individuals being seen less as individuals and more as
President Reagan, while attacked, was the first president not
data points or commodities – a viewpoint which would seem
to die in office when associated with the years of the Jupiter-
extremely compatible with these two planets.
Saturn conjunction: a subject which I have covered in another
article. The breaking of the so-called Tecumseh’s Curse was Why did I not include Venus since she rules Libra? First,
the first indication that circumstances had changed. Having only Libra has a strong Venus rulership: she has no strength
examined the series of Jupiter-Saturn conjunctions for in either Gemini or Aquarius. Secondly, the air element is
Washington DC, I am less convinced of a curse than a really diurnal whereas Venus is nocturnal. She isn’t comfortable
hideous series of charts from the standpoint of the 10th house, here, except for her domicile rulership sign.
which represents the president.
The financial tendencies of the earth period of Jupiter-Saturn
Other facets of Reagan’s tenure, as well as the parallel included the development of a number to represent work: work
Thatcher government, were far more important for defining could still be seen through the equation of time and wages, or
the change into air – and many of these were barely noticed time and productivity. Assets were still physical, tangible, and
at the time. These trends accelerated as computer power definable. In the post-Reagan era, the development of such
increased because much of this air revolution has been instruments as derivatives and the spreading of risk produced
driven by expanded computer processing which allows the far more wealth than tangible productivity ever could – and
management of ever larger populations of people, products this new wealth rapidly flowed upward.
and logistics. Among those issues were:
This is a good example of the kind of beginning and end process
• The conversion of the USA to a ‘service economy’. so characteristic of a mutation. Work shifted from making
(earth) to manipulating (air). The very word ‘manipulate’
• The transformation of business practices by ‘objective’
refers to the hands, ruled by Gemini. New ideas transform
forms of computer-aided analysis of business trends,
old concepts – with respect to money, this is faster movement
consumer purchasing and statistical modelling.
(air!) through networks (air). Those who can create within the
• The breaking of trade unionism in the USA and the erosion air world are rewarded, as the old industrial jobs have either
in the power of unions elsewhere. disappeared or been downgraded in pay scale.
• The shift to standardised testing and unified professional Earth views the purpose of life through work. Work may
credentials that are based on testing and other objective produce the food we need or the everyday things that we use.
measures, rather than personal distinction. When we consume, we consume things, whether clothes,
shoes, food, or cell phones. Work itself is an honoured state.
• The shift to depersonalised customer service.
By contrast, air is almost non-material. It’s hard to envision
• The massive increase of computer power, along with the attraction of money as cryptocurrency in an earth era, but
massive data collection which included specialised easy to see the concept in an air era. Air moves things around
customer information. through the wind. Air circulates. It can be calm or stormy, but
it suggests motion.
• The erosion of privacy, both through direct surveillance
and through computerised tracking, strikingly combined Air includes speech and language, which is how we
with the development of anonymous trolling. communicate. Earth is cold and thus not so eager to talk about
nonfunctional things; air is hot, and so ready to talk about

nearly everything. Earth is dry, and thus wanting clear criteria being potentially puts much more strain on other people, as
and definitions; air is wet and thus open to sliding scales and we jostle each other for space, resources and carbon footprint.
evolving goals. The fact that both of the Aristotelian qualities
of cold and dry going to hot and wet change in this mutation
means that this is one of the two mutational shifts which are
“Technology is a handmaiden
truly major in scope: the other is the transition from water of earth. Earth is always
(cold and wet) to fire (hot and dry).
happy to have a better
Oh, and yes – air also rules that which circulates through air. way to do something. But air?”
That means flight, at-a-distance communication, weather –
but also airborne disease. The latter becomes a much more The second half of the earth period marked a great
critical concern in an era when antibiotics have almost ceased technological leap forward, beginning around 1890. After this
to function medically. gigantic increase, followed closely by a population explosion,
both technological innovation and population growth rates
To test my thinking, I asked several successful businesspeople
had begun to slow, by fits and starts, in the 1970s. While
who happen to have high air counts in their charts to predict
the total population probably won’t peak until mid-century,
the next 30 to 40 years, indicating what they see as the
the old ‘industrialised’ zone has already shifted to negative
greatest challenges of the period. These are non-astrologers,
population growth – and this will impact programs such
which was precisely my design: I did not want them thinking
as retirement and insurance. These were government or
in our language. The lists were actually highly overlapping:
corporate programs designed as ‘pay as you go’, a lazy way
the effects of climate change; migration; the impact of a
to be able to offer instant benefits without any real pay-in by
reduced population on economic factors that assume growth,
the future recipients. Those in charge thought they could get
like pensions and insurance; and the impact of robotics on
away with this because of population growth; as population
the workforce, especially as this will result in a breakdown
growth slowed, this instantaneous gratification of the first
of family structure if/when ‘working’ becomes reduced
beneficiaries began to strangle subsequent payers, with the
or obsolete. Yet another idea that was mentioned was the
result that many economists decried the inevitable population
probability of the collapse of real estate prices – and that
declines, and pretended that rapid growth was normal.
would certainly indicate the lesser value placed upon earth.
Now, let’s examine these ideas individually, because each of But make no mistake: air will ‘solve’ the problem. As a rational
them contains a substantial air component. solution, and not an emotional one, the simplest equation is
this: right now, the Baby Boomers have just passed the baton to
Climate change the Millennials as the largest generation – but Boomers are still
more likely to vote. When the Millennials become the largest
Climate change did not mysteriously appear in 1980. Actually,
voting bloc, then the only argument countering cancelling or
at that time, much of the ecological community expected that
severely curtailing programs such as Social Security will be
the effect of burning so much fossil fuel would reduce the
that it would cost more to pay for the impoverishment of a
global temperature, because burning also produces soot and
significant number of Boomers. At the turning point in that
air pollution which would reduce the amount of the Sun’s
equation, the laws may change significantly, unless Gen X
energy reaching Earth. Notice that we are actually talking here
chooses to ally itself with their immediate elders.
about an earth-to-air shift: a colder Earth is more earth-like,
i.e., cold. A hotter Earth is more air-like, i.e., warm. But also, But there is a second side to this population equation, for the
changes to weather involve a substantial air component and of rather simple reason that seniors are not reproducing and so
course the larger storms mean more air circulation! are not adding to the population. We already have seen that
population growth rates dropped substantially in the late earth
Population growth and decline period. With the increased awareness on infectious disease
It remains astounding to me that in all the discussion of thanks to covid-19, one of the so far unconsidered possibilities
climate change, the net increase in global population has is a still greater decline in fertility because it has been known
been virtually ignored. But it’s obvious: the more people, the for a long time that fever can affect sperm. Generally, these
more resource utilisation. Earth is tactile. And even if the changes only affect sperm production for several months, but
spiritual in us manages to think of the body as a piece of meat, this can last for longer periods as well.2
the physicality of earth is the vehicle of the soul. Part of that
physicality is reproduction. We are already seeing these kinds of generational fissures
which appear to be greater than usual. Boomers are creatures
In an era of high resource utilisation, each human being puts of the earth cycle. Millennials are creatures of air. Gen X-ers
much more strain on the environment. And each human are transitional, being born of earth, but growing up in air.

Immigration and its consequences The economist Robert J.

Gordon outlined a very
Wind spreads seeds. From prehistoric times, individuals
pertinent phenomenon:
have left their family homes, whether for food, mates or
that the economic
better conditions. Local tragedies, whether weather, plagues,
growth rate has changed
resource problems or war can result in mass migrations. Thus,
considerably since 1890.
immigration is entwined with the other messes left for the air
But as Gordon notes, there
period: climate change and overpopulation.
was virtually no consistent
economic growth until 1770;
However, immigration leaves its own twists. When groups
then there was slow growth
of people from the same geographical area migrate together,
until 1870; then in about
most studies indicate that full integration into the new society
1970 the economic growth
takes multiple generations. That said, when there is no
rate slowed down markedly
religious or racial change from the old place to the new, the
where it has remained. His
process is much speedier. But most of the immigration over
book documents how these
the past 20 years has been with significant differences and this
changes in growth are largely a result of technological change.3
has produced tensions on both sides.
But Gordon’s numbers don’t correspond to what we
So, which is going to be better at integration – earth or
contemporaries may think happened. This he explains –
air? In the USA, at least, the drag on immigration appears
because the growth since has basically been in a very small
to be coming from the Boomers, more than the younger
number of industrial sectors: computing and personal
generations. How did earth view immigration? Through
entertainment. I might add that there now appears to be at
resources. If you think about reasons for immigration into
least a boomlet relating to the conversion to sustainable
the USA, the drive during the fire period was for religious and
consumption and adaptations to climate change. Technology
philosophical as well as for economic reasons; the long span
is a handmaiden of earth. Earth is always happy to have a
in earth marked many nationalities looking for a better life.
better way to do something. But air? There is no need for a
Air migrations are occurring for many of the same old reasons
material foundation. Matter is merely a starting point, not the
of famine and war – and really, climate change is not entirely
skeleton for everything that happens.
new. However, we can expect climate-driven immigration to
increase significantly.
Robotics and family structure

Cast back to 1980. Mainframes were the most significant
components of computing, followed by minicomputers. The
internet existed, but in a much more primitive form in this era
before graphics. Even so, in science fiction and universities,
people began to realise that computing power was scarcely
harnessed. And at the same time, robots were recognised as
a source of future workers. The value of robotics is repetitive
motion perfectly executed each time 365/24/7.
Table 1-3. The transition from earth to air, 1940-2060
However, consider the possibilities of an air period instead
Switzerland has begun to debate a minimum guaranteed
of an earth one. With earth, there is a focus on work as an
income: and this could become a major theme for the air
end in itself. But not so in air. The transition into air marked
mutation. If robots work quicker, more efficiently and more
the appearance of financial systems based completely on air:
cheaply than humans, then why not let humans just consume?
derivatives, margins and all sorts of instruments which began
As Gordon notes, it is the entertainment industry that still
with ‘real’ wealth and then multiplied the value by selling
innovates in the air period: and music or video is just another
shares in the profit. Wealth became even more separated from
data stream – another air concept.
bullion than ever before.
As the earth period was coming to an end, there should be no
So, if wealth is no longer based on real property, what then
surprise that there was a mad dash to maximise earth-based
is work? The air mutation allowed a re-thinking of this
profits. In the recession of 2008, massive transfers of wealth
fundamental concept of work where labour could be re-
and real estate occurred because the recession itself was
envisioned as more productive by robots. If robots worked,
associated in the early phase with a real estate crash which
then what would humans do? Enter the ‘service economy’.
was much more severe than the effect on equities which were

mostly owned by the upper class. So a real wealth transfer the presence of a retrogression guaranteed almost a complete
of about 30% occurred. This was earth-based wealth. In one discontinuity of people in the retrogression being able to
sense, this was the point where the two types really diverged: ‘operate’ the old element in the way that people had been
but other economists noted that the loss to the middle class accustomed to it when it was normative.
actually started in the 1970s – before the earth period ended.
Thus, we see that the end of the earth period showed a run-up This may explain a huge piece of the interpretation of the
of wealth at the top in both the wealth of the old period and retrogression. If we presume that each mutation provides a
the wealth of the new. ‘new’ challenge of the nature of the incoming element, then
its initial appearance results in the sensation that ‘things
One quite valid interpretation of a mutation is that its have changed’. And then the old element comes back, and the
elemental shift is like a generational transition on steroids. It people confronted with it mostly have no experience with it
has become quite trite to talk about the different generations anymore. The retrogression lacks that newness feel that the
and their priorities, but part of how elemental transitions mutation had. However, the people who have been fighting
occur is through the collective loss of memory of the older era. the changes of circumstance get the sense that they were
right after all – and that things are actually snapping back to
Everyone born in the 20th century until 1980 came into the ‘normal’.
world of Jupiter-Saturn in earth, and then it changed. Our
past history of examining these transitional periods – the Every attempt that we try at newness also means that some
retrogression – tells us that the period from 1980 to 2020 is a will embrace the change, while others won’t. A 20-year
wild ride. But how we are affected by this depends in part on period will erase many of the dissidents – at least, until now.
our age, which is shown in Table 1-4. Those who really don’t like the change but who survive until
the retrogression may then experience more than the usual
Age in Born in Born in Born in Born in Born in amount of generational nostalgia, believing that things are
this year 1930 1950 1970 1990 2010 returning to ‘normal’. Meanwhile, those who embraced the
1980 50 30 10 - - change will be confused by what seems like a repudiation of
1990 60 40 20 0 - the last 20 years.
2000 70 50 30 10 -
Consider some of these themes as they are playing out in the
2010 80 60 40 20 0 United States since 1980. But what actually changed in 1980?
2020 90 70 50 30 10 The answer cannot be simply the dominant party, because
2030 100 80 60 40 20 actually there were more Republican presidents during the
2040 90 70 50 30 earth period than Democrats, once the Republican Party
was founded. There had been several paradigm shifts during
Table 1-4. Age cohorts and their age in particular calendar years the earth period. To try to extract the air shift, we need to
remember that this is a shift from cold and dry (earth) to hot
How old do you have to be to remember an era clearly? As and wet (air) – a complete change in quality. This is a change
a child, the conditions into which you are born simply are from the material to the theoretical.
‘what is’. To talk of the beginning or end of an era implies a
sense that there are obvious differences to periods of time. A The US economy had already experienced one major shift
Jupiter-Saturn elemental period, by definition, lasts longer in the earth period: from agricultural to manufacturing.
than a human life. But when the transitions can last 40 years Manufacturing employment as a percentage of the population
or more, life at the edge of change assumes an intensity that peaked in 1977-1979 (just in time for the mutation) at about
is worth a study by itself, especially since that is where we are 22%; today it is less than 9%. Meanwhile, health care jobs
right now. are currently the largest sector, and retail jobs have also
grown in the period in which manufacturing has declined.4
By our astrological reckoning, the air mutation began in 1980. Thus, quietly, we have become the ‘service economy’ Reagan
Using our Table 1-4, people born in the 1950s or earlier can promulgated. One notable shift: manufacturing jobs pay
still clearly remember time ‘before’. People born after 1970 better, and for much of that time, manufacturing jobs paid
either were not alive or were young enough to probably not enough better that a single wage earner per family was enough.
have had enough life experience then to compare old and new.
This translates to roughly 65% of the US population being too What got the headline in 2000 with the retrogression was the
young to remember the earth mutation, depending on exactly crash of tech stocks: true enough, but hardly the full story.
what age to choose as the cut-off point. And this is before the What had happened since 1980 was the massive growth of
retrogression is completed! Considering the radically different computing resources, which revolutionised smaller businesses
life expectancy in the past, it would be fairly safe to say that and the use of computers became ubiquitous. Combined with

the growth of the internet and the development of financial And astrologically, we should begin to be able to sort out the
derivatives, air-driven systems challenged earth-based many mysteries of the sign Aquarius. With the next Jupiter-
systems as generators of wealth. The real crash came in 2008 Saturn there, followed a few years later by Pluto in the same
with Pluto’s ingress into Capricorn, not through the Jupiter- sign, we will be in a better position to decide whether we are
Saturn cycle: but the Jupiter-Saturn had never been described seeing the day sign of Saturn – or the Age of Aquarius. Time
as being of the nature of wealth. really does flow as does the sequence of the elements: fire,
earth, air, water.
Meanwhile, a portion of Americans continued to yearn for
what they saw as the real Lost America: that world of high- © 2020 J. Lee Lehman, Ph.D.
paying manufacturing jobs: that land of the earth-based
Endnotes
period. The service economy brought circumstances where
wages were often lower – and in the future, robotics raise the 1. Edlyn, Richard. Prae-Nuncius Sydereus an Astrological
question of whether high paying manufacturing jobs would Treatise of the Effects of the Great Conjunction of the Two
ever materialise again. (And is ‘materialise’ a word for the Superiour Planets, Saturn & Jupiter, October the Xth, 1663,
earth series anyway?) Whatever the politicians say, we are not and Other Configurations Concomitant : Wherein the Fate
going back to the earth period. of Europe for These next Twenty Years Is (from the Most
Rational Grounds of Art) More than Probably Conjectured,
“Everyone born in the 20th and the Success of the Present Design of the Turk against
Christendome Occasionally Hinted At. London: Printed by,
century until 1980 came 1664.
into the world of Jupiter- 2. Wiwanitkit, Viroj. ‘Influenza, Swine Flu, Sperm Quality and
Saturn in earth, and then it Infertility: A Story’. Journal of Human Reproductive Sciences
3, no. 2 (2010): 116-17. https://doi.org/10.4103/0974-
changed” 1208.69339.
3. Gordon, Robert J. The Rise and Fall of American Growth:
Mutation and the nostalgic yearnings The U.S. Standard of Living since the Civil War. Princeton:
Nostalgia is a powerful component of a mutation/retrogression Princeton University Press, 2016.
combination. During the first conjunction of the mutation, 4. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. ‘Percent of Employment
there is an accurate sensation that things have changed – and in Manufacturing in the United States (DISCONTINUED)’.
thus some will yearn for the old ways. At the retrogression, the FRED, Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis. FRED, Federal
yearning can combine with the mirage that the past way truly Reserve Bank of St. Louis, 1 January 1970. https://fred.
can be recaptured, leading to the belief that the new genie stlouisfed.org/series/USAPEFANA..
really can be put back into the bottle. But in reality, time has
moved on. The retrogression thus becomes a shadow-play of
the old values, an uprooted pantomime, an illustration of the Triple Virgo J. Lee Lehman holds M.S. and
adage about how you can’t really go home again. It evaporates Ph.D. degrees from Rutgers University
– but it takes 20 years to do it, which is plenty of time to in Botany. Her astrological interests
shipwreck many people’s dreams as well as to create a bigger have included new asteroids, historical
mess that the newer system has to clean up. methods, heliocentric astrology, horary and
homosexuality. Among her many published
On the positive side, there is the hope that the resurgence of the books are The Ultimate Asteroid Book (1988), Essential
new element after a retrogression will create a new consensus Dignities (1989), The Book of Rulerships (1992), Classical
or unity – at least for a while. By this stage, the advocates of Astrology for Modern Living (1996), Traditional Medical
the old ways are largely retiring. But the kind of clinging that Astrology (2011), Classical Solar Returns (2012), The Magic
is currently obvious in the number of senior citizens running of Electional Astrology (2014) and Learning Classical Horary
for president in the USA also shows both the tenacity and the Astrology: Notes & Workbook (2017). She was the recipient
fear of the pre-mutational mindset. At most, they can stem the of the 1995 Marc Edmund Jones Award, the first horary
tide for a few years – but they may feel bound to try. astrologer so honoured. She has been Research Director of
the National Council for Geocosmic Research and involved
We can perhaps hope for some healing of our current societal with the United Astrology Congress. She won the Regulus
fragmentation – which itself is diagnostic of a mutational time. Award for education in 2008. She is currently a tutor for
Whether this can occur without yet another crisis remains to the School of Traditional Astrology. For information on her
be seen. astrology courses visit her website: leelehman.com/.

Books
Contributions welcome. In the first instance, contact the editor by email: journal@astrologicalassociation.com
Eventually, of course, the crime is solved, and everything gets

Troubled Blood (Cormoran neatly tied up. Except that it’s never explained why the madness
Strike 5) of an apparently ordinary, dull police officer would manifest in
Robert Galbraith horoscopes and esoteric magic. Not all mysteries can or should
Sphere, £16.99 (pb) be solved, Rowling seems to be telling us.
Review by Val Dobson
Chart Shapes: The Code to
Troubled Blood, the fifth in Interpretation
the Cormoran Strike series Wanda Sellar
by Robert Galbraith (Harry The Wessex Astrologer,
Potter author JK Rowling £8.51 (pb)
writing under her pen name), Review by Victor Olliver
features a fair amount of
astrology so it has a place in Pioneered by Marc
this magazine. Edmund Jones and further
developed by Robert Jansky,
‘chart shapes’ is a modern
This latest is centred around the cold case of a woman GP who interpretive technique
vanished nearly 40 years ago. Private detective Cormoran Strike, rendered through traditional
asked to investigate, uncovers a notebook kept by the senior approaches in Wanda Sellar’s
detective who originally investigated the case; the officer had latest book.
had a nervous breakdown and his notebook is full of occult
ramblings, odd symbols, astrological charts and disturbing For many consultant astrologers, first glance at the planetary
drawings (several of which are reproduced in the book). In arrangement in a horoscope provides an immediate impression
his growing madness, the policeman had been trying to find of the client through the emergence of a pattern – this may serve
answers to the mystery of the missing woman in astrology, tarot, as a starting point for development before in-depth analysis of
Kabbalistic mysticism and the invocation of Baphomet and Lilith. planetary condition, placement, aspects, etc.
Strike, the rational detective, thinks the unravelled detective In my own practice, initial chart shape insights into character
might have hidden clues amongst his ravings and starts reading tend to be confirmed in the delineation. But of course, there’s
it. always the awkward chart – the one that frustratingly seems
shapeless or a fusion of two or three patterns. Even Solar
The astrology is entirely accurate. The charts are correctly drawn, Fire and other programs sometimes give up on the maverick
elements are correctly assigned and so forth. That’s no real horoscope and offer no suggested shape. Never fear, Wanda is
surprise – Rowling used to draw up birth charts for her friends. here. Her excellent book has come to our rescue. As she writes
But she’s done her research here. Aleister Crowley, Eliphas Levi at the start, “If a chart looks as if it might belong to two shapes,
and Evangeline Adams are name-checked. The Book of Thoth is there are designated degrees for separating groups of planets”.
quoted; Stephen Schmidt’s 14-sign zodiac is referenced.
She examines the seven designated shapes and their many
Having noted all that, I started seeing certain patterns in variations – such as the Splash, Bowl, See-Saw, Locomotive and
the story. There’s a barbiturate-addicted doctor, a nurse who Splay. She also has a priceless chapter on mixed or irregular
secretly poisons people, mistaken identities, false identities, shapes – you soon get the feeling that this book could be the
drugs, disguises, delusions, dreams, a well, a fishpond, secrets first in a series. Horoscopes are as unique as their natives and
and signs. There’s also violence, murder, abuse, a truly repulsive we treat anything in astrology as a mechanical ‘template’ at
serial killer. It all feels very watery, deceptive and undeniably our peril. An industry of discovered new patterns surely awaits
Neptunian/Piscean – not to mention Plutonic/Scorpionic. exploitation.
Over the course of the book, Strike undergoes a personal The reader is led through the methodical process of chart
transformation. The beloved aunt who bought him up is dying; to shape analysis: the rules of judgement and the significance of
get to her bedside before she passes, he has to journey through boundary planets are explained (should midpoints, for example,
storms, floods, blocked roads and across a raging sea. Yet more play a part in identifying a shape?). And I had not considered
water, more Neptune/Pluto. that each chart shape is associated with a planet – my own natal

Books
chart is a Splay, and this is associated with the Sun. News to me Rodden, Nicholas Campion, Frank C. Clifford, Charles Harvey,
but no longer. Lynn Bell, Bernadette Brady, Brian Clark, Liz Greene, Reinhold
Ebertin, Grant Lewi, Steven Forrest, Chris Brennan…oh stop! This
A 10-point summary of chart shape rules (such as affecting is namedropper heaven. On display in this archival tome are
trailing planets, singletons and empty spaces) is invaluable and many of the best astrology books published in the space of one
easy to follow (if not always easy to practise). progressed Moon cycle.
No book such as this would be complete without celebrity But what of the curator-reviewer O’Reilly? What does he make
chart examples. In ‘The Bucket Shape and its Variations’ chapter, of the books up for his evaluation? Is he all honey or all acid
George Michael’s horoscope is examined: his singleton Neptune drops? Or an unpredictable cocktail of rapture spiced with an
is the ‘handle’ of the bowl-part of the Bucket, marked the ‘High unfortunate Pauline Kael-like tendency to come down hard on
Focus Planet’. Mars and Saturn on the boundary of the bowl-part a masterpiece or two? Before we get to these questions, how
describe the depression and torment the singer endured, as if does one navigate what is really an encyclopaedia? Speaking as
the two malefics are closing in on his Neptune that occupies the a restless Gemini, I never start such a book – any book really – at
empty space of the chart – the planet in itself is an indicator of the beginning.
solo or pioneering creativity. Sellar’s interpretations are subtle
and nuanced, loaded with wisdom and sensitivity. Now, it’s not every day that I applaud a Table of Contents, but
O’Reilly’s I wholly appreciate. It runs to 14 pages and divides
Each of the shapes has its positive and challenging traits (amply books under review by category – theme, genre, technique
described). And an Appendix at the back of the book usefully and so forth. It’s almost an index. One section is dedicated to
defines astrological terms – helping to make the title accessible essays while harmonics has two titles, both by David Hamblin.
to students. Blessed with lucidity and good sense, Chart Shapes ‘Astro-Science’, the last section, has nine titles. Psychological
has much to offer even the most seasoned astrologer. Astrology is represented by 12 books. In his Introduction, O’Reilly
correctly boasts that there is nothing else like this collection
The Ultimate book of in the astrological community. He addresses divisions between
Astrology Books the astrology tribes – a few classical practitioners who have
Michael O’Reilly morphed into traditional/modern fusionists may bridle at being
[Amazon UK link: amazon. characterised as fatalists – and he explains why he has divided
co.uk/dp/B08DSSCLP4/] Contents up into eight parts.
£23.16 (pb)
Review by Victor Olliver Part Three, for instance, is Predictive Astrology. Part Six is Special
Tools and Techniques.
For 27 years, Michael
O’Reilly (as Chris Lorenz) In temperament, O’Reilly is a consistently well-informed and
reviewed astrology books constructively engaged critic – one hears his odd sniff at Sun
for Dell Horoscope before sign books; and cookbooks are treated briskly – which is to be
its publisher shut the welcomed given the universal ignoring of serious astrology
magazine down this summer, books by the world’s mainstream media, despite their claimed
as Covid-19 was shutting commitment to ‘diversity’.
down just about everything
else. In sci-fi space movies, we are used to seeing escape pods It’s quite impossible to do much justice to the gargantuan range
bearing away survivors from an exploding starship – well, this of this title, so the best I can do is alight on a few of the reviews
massive book (running to nearly 800 pages) is an escape pod of of books I have read myself.
sorts comprising O’Reilly’s 334 book reviews published in Dell:
survivors from one of the world’s leading ‘starship’ astrology The Astrological Moon by Darby Costello is applauded as a
publications, no longer boldly going anywhere. glittering treasure “of knowledge for those who seek deeper
understanding of astrological principles”. I am delighted he
(The starship metaphor is appropriate given the book’s subtitle: enjoyed Frank C. Clifford’s The Book of Music Horoscopes, a
“A Galactic Collection of Astrology Book Reviews through the collection of essays by various astrologers including me, and he
Decades”. And the cover has a composite Hubble image of the notes that Neptune figures large in musos’ astro-biographies.
spiral galaxy Messier 101 – a mere 25 million light-years from Chris Brennan’s compendious Hellenistic Astrology (which
Earth. “Fascinating,” as Spock might say.) I am about halfway through after two years – yes, it really is
“fascinating”) is neatly summarised: O’Reilly makes the good
To open this book is to enter a Summerland of the great and the point that “A tremendous amount of research and puzzle-solving
good of 20th- and 21st- century astrology, now eternal in print went into this work, with the author completing an important
whether physically dead or alive. Noel Tyl, J. Lee Lehman, Lois

Books
task that academic scholars have shown little interest in”. an in-depth commentary on Carl Gustav Jung’s The Red Book:
Liber Novus, tracking especially the part which an extensive
“Is astrology a science or a spiritual study?” he starts in his knowledge and use of astrology played in his deeply personal
review of Bernadette Brady’s Astrology, A Place in Chaos. Naturally, ‘soul journey’ during the years 1913-1932. He recorded this in a
the question cannot be answered definitively (or at all), but series of private diaries, The Black Books, which began at the time
O’Reilly instead lightly introduces us to chaos theory (“the pre- of his public break with Freud in 1913. Liber Novus, eventually
eminent model for a number of sciences, including biology, published posthumously in 2009, was known as The Red
psychology, economics, ecology and meteorology” – the second Book because of its red leather binding.
and third are arguably not sciences in my view) before turning
to Brady’s advice to astrologers to become ‘chaoticians’ and “…The years when I was pursuing my inner images were the
add transformative power to client work. Aside from anything most important in my life – in them everything essential
else, O’Reilly’s critique is authoritative for recognising the new was decided. It all began then; the later details are only
ground being broken – he knows that chaos theory has been supplements and clarifications of the material that burst
only touched on by the likes of Tarnas and Townley, so he is in forth from the unconscious, and at first swamped me. It
a credible position to state that Brady is “proposing an entirely was the prima materia for a lifetime’s work….” – Carl Gustav
new branch of astrology”. Jung (pp. 1 & 2)
I also particularly liked his review of J. Lee Lehman’s Classical Liz Greene’s grasp of her material is profound. Equally impressive
Solar Returns in which she takes astrologers to task for using is the clarity with which she has presented it, providing the
multiple approaches to calculating the solar return chart. reader with a golden thread with which to wander reasonably
Lehman seeks consistency based on classical rules! Why relocate safely through the complex, often bewildering maze of Jung’s
the chart when natal location works for her? In briefly outlining deeply private inner experiences and encounters, a period which
her research and case studies, O’Reilly admits his own perplexity Greene describes as:
– “When does the solar return chart take effect?” he asks, and
then goes onto debate aspects of Lehman’s work with critical “Jung’s journey from an inner state of alienation and
vigour. depression to the restoration of his soul, through the long
and painful process of integrating a seemingly irreconcilable
This readiness to engage with the material is a common feature conflict within his own nature…also a prophetic narrative
of O’Reilly’s response to books and so it comes as no surprise to of the collective human psyche…on the eve of the passage
me that editor Ronnie Grishman kept him on the payroll for 27 from one great astrological Aion, that of Pisces, into the
years. next, that of Aquarius….” (p. 2)
I could go on, but I think you get the drift. This is a wonderful As Greene makes clear, this journey was never seen by Jung purely
guide to the books that have made us even better astrologers as a personal affair. He also saw it as a metaphor for humanity’s
and sometimes taught us all we know before we started learning voyage toward a final goal of reconciliation of the dark and
stuff for ourselves. As a literary ‘food taster’, Michael O’Reilly is light forces of the universe, a chip of which challenge all we
a trusted detector of quality, rigour, originality, recycled grub humans carry within us both at an individual and collective level
and missing links – able to hold his own with the best without – whether we recognise it or not:
showing off or one-upmanship.
“…he hoped that his inner work, undertaken in part from the
The Astrological World of desperation of attempting to resolve an intolerable inner
Jung’s Liber Novus: conflict, might also result in an important contribution to
Daimons, Gods, and the the incipient chaos he feared was descending on the world
Planetary Journey around him. Jung insisted that it was on the shoulders of the
Liz Greene individual that the fate of the collective ultimately rests….”
Routledge, £28.99 (pb) (p. 185)
Review by Anne Whitaker
The effect of evocation – opening up the big picture
The Astrological World of Jung’s There already are highly academic, scholarly reviews of this
Liber Novus is a meticulous immaculately researched volume. No doubt there will be
piece of scholarship in which more. However, reading this latest book of Liz Greene’s – or
Dr Liz Greene, a well-known rather, engaging with it – has for this reader been a powerful
and respected Jungian and altogether unexpected participatory experience as well as
psychologist, astrologer, an intellectual challenge. Taking a purely rational, detached
teacher and writer, provides approach is partly to miss the point in my view. After all, Liber

Books
Novus is as much about evocation and invocation as it is about journey of Liber Novus – and for many other artistic works
rational analysis. that followed its completion in 1320 – is Dante’s Divina
Commedia….” (pp. 178/9)
I’ve therefore decided also to bring some personal elements
to The Astrological World of Jung’s Liber Novus in terms of what Dante’s guide on his journey, Virgil the Roman poet, evoked for
Jung’s journey presented through the filter of Liz Greene’s work Jung his own psychopomp and soul guide, Philemon.
has evoked for me.
Jung also drew inspiration from subsequent mediaeval
Of Lions and Men or Renaissance texts describing the archetypal
Greene’s writing calls forth a profound sense of the vast context journey of the soul, most notably the late 15th-century
within which Jung was locating his personal journey; I thus work Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, attributed to Francesco
found myself drawn to reading, in tandem with The Astrological Colonna. He commented that Colonna, whose work Linda
World of Jung’s Liber Novus, the lavishly illustrated, wonderful Fierz-David viewed as having been given its core structure
Living with the Gods by Neil MacGregor, former director of by Dante’s Divina Commedia, was a “perfect example of the
the British Museum. Here he explores, across aeons of time course and the symbolism of the individuation process”
and pluralities of cultures and their gods, how humans have (p. 178).
attempted to create meaningful relationships with the great
forces of the cosmos. I was reading about Jung’s account of his However, Greene’s view is that Jung was more influenced by
transformation into the crucified lion-headed human figure who Colonna than Dante as his material in Liber Novus developed,
reconciles the opposites – an image from the Mithraic Mysteries the reason being that Dante’s adopting of a Christian religious
– when I began MacGregor’s book. agenda, within an Aristotelian view of the cosmos, was rather
too narrow to accommodate the older, pagan idea of planetary
The first image I encountered was that of the famous Lion daimons, nor for “an androgenous Orphic-Mithraic primal
Man, a lion-headed human figure found in Stadel Cave, Baden- divinity, especially one with a lion’s head” (p. 178).
Württemberg, Germany – 40,000 years old, and the oldest known
evidence of religious belief in the world. The synchronicity of Writing about what hurts
this struck me quite forcefully – reinforcing my sense of the I recall many years ago reading – I no longer recall where – a
ancient context within which Jung’s personal struggle was dictum of Jung’s to the effect that if the unconscious doesn’t
located. It also called forth astrological Jung, his Sun placed in come knocking on your door, don’t you go looking for it. As I read
the sign of Leo the Lion – a predictor for Jung’s solar voyage Greene’s account of that which hurt Jung sufficiently to compel
toward individuation which was to follow as Liz Greene’s account and propel him toward his at times exhausting and terrifying
of Liber Novus opened out. encounter with the archetypal forces of the unconscious, it
became very evident that the roots of that driving hurt could
The Lion Man, an object with no known practical use, is estimated clearly be seen in symbolic form in Jung’s horoscope.
to have taken around 400 hours of meticulous craftsmanship
by unknown Ice Age people for whom life would have been a Jung’s fundamental conflict, in essence, was between the rational,
constant struggle against all sorts of hazards from extreme detached scientist symbolised in his horoscope by the planet
weather to savage predators. Saturn, the ruler of his horoscope, rising powerfully placed in
Aquarius in the 1st house; and on the opposite side, setting in the
Its power lies in its reminding us that it has been of profound 7th house in Leo, his Sun – square Neptune conjunct Chiron: vivid
importance for humans for many millennia to grapple with and significators for his mystical leanings and the woundedness
attempt to come into some kind of understanding of what the implicit therein. Added to this potent set of conflicts is the Moon
underlying forces might be giving rise to our cosmos – and conjunct Pluto, Lord of the Underworld, signifying his powerful
alignment with what is perceived to be the Divine. attraction to matters occult, uncanny, paranormal.
Inspiring figures Those opposites demanding reconciliation began to torment

It could be said with some justification that Carl Jung’s long and him from a very early age, as is clear from his later life memoir
painful grapple during his version of that alignment, his soul- with Aniela Jaffe, Memories, Dreams, Reflections. It is also clear
journey toward individuation, is one of the great inner voyages from this fascinating memoir that Philemon, his psychopomp
of the 20th century; he certainly had some illustrious forerunners and soul guide, and a major character in Liber Novus, began to
to inspire him and illuminate his particular “Dark Night of the make an appearance in his inner life from early on.
Soul” as St John of the Cross so memorably put it. Dante was
surely one of them, as Liz Greene makes clear: Scientists and mystics
By another apparent coincidence, whilst reflecting on Jung’s
“One of the most obvious literary parallels for the soul- scientist-versus-mystic conflict, essentially the fuel for Liber

Books
Novus, I remembered a fascinating book I’d read some years but from reductionist perspectives we haven’t a clue what it is
ago, Deciphering the Cosmic Number by Arthur I. Miller, – consists of 23% so-called dark matter and 73% so-called dark
also published in 2009. This is the tale of the extraordinary energy. It struck me some years ago, digesting this profoundly
friendship, begun in 1932 when the eminent physicist Wolfgang exciting and illuminating set of percentages, that Jung was
Pauli became Jung’s patient, between two equally brilliant yet really on to something: perhaps we can map consciousness
very different men. It was, as Jung wrote, to lead both of them onto the 4%, the unconscious onto the 23%, and the collective
into “the no-man’s land between physics and the psychology of unconscious onto the 73%.
the unconscious…the most fascinating yet the darkest hunting
ground of our times”. Both were obsessed with the far-reaching A complex weave of influences
significance of the number ‘137’ – a primal number that seemed The breadth and depth of Jung’s studies throughout his long
to hint at the origins of the universe itself. life was extraordinary. The formulation of his concept of the
collective unconscious substantially arose from his realisation
I was struck by the fact that this important relationship had that there were common archetypal patterns (energy fields)
begun in 1932, the year Jung completed The Red Book, and by relating to the unfolding of human life from birth to death and
the coincidence of Miller’s book having been published in the beyond, belonging to the myths of all cultures across the globe.
same year as The Red Book. He was open to exploring any approach to the human psyche
that opened up new fields of knowledge for him, and which
Liz Greene’s observation, in the Conclusion of her book, regarding assisted him in his work with both his own and his patients’
the meaning of Jung’s Pleroma, evoked one of my own long- inner worlds, including, “the apparently disreputable worlds of
term preoccupations, namely that of the “no-man’s land between astrology, magic, spiritualism, Theosophy and ancient mystery
physics and the psychology of the unconscious”. Greene quotes cults….” (p. 4)
Jung:
During the period in which Jung was creating the “extraordinary
“It is nothingness that is whole and continuous throughout. visionary work” (p. 2) of Liber Novus, he was inspired by religious
Only figuratively, therefore, do I speak of creation as part influences from, as Liz Greene points out, “Gnostic, Hermetic,
of the Pleroma. Because, actually, the Pleroma is nowhere Platonic and Neoplatonic, Jewish, Orphic, Stoic, Mithraic –
divided, since it is nothingness. We are also the whole [which] hint at or directly describe a cosmos symbolised by, and
Pleroma, because, figuratively, the Pleroma is the smallest infused with, celestial patterns.” (p. 2)
point in us, merely assumed, not existing, and the boundless
firmament about us. But why then do we speak of the Invaded during 1913-16 by ancestral voices and images from
Pleroma at all, if it is everything and nothing!”. (pp. 178/9) our deep past, the collective unconscious, he recorded those
as they burst through. Jung also used what are essentially
This quotation strongly reminded me of contemporary physicist magical practices (which he later couched in the language of
– and some would say, mystic! – Brian Swimme’s recent psychology as “active imagination”) to invoke these characters
description of the vast energy field in which everything exists: and grapple with setting them down on paper: both in words
and in wonderfully detailed symbolic paintings, so that they
“The ground of the universe then is an empty fullness, a
could speak to generations both present and to come. Greene
fecund nothingness...The base of the universe seethes with
makes it clear that:
creativity, so much so that physicists refer to the universe’s
ground state as ‘space-time foam’.” – Brian Swimme, The “The initial outpouring was genuinely spontaneous,
Secret Heart of the Cosmos, Orbis Books, 2003, p. 93 although it was clearly impregnated, albeit unintentionally,
with themes and images from the many mythological,
It appears to me from Liz Greene’s account of Jung’s “night sea
philosophical and astrological texts Jung had been reading…
journey” – and from that highly revealing Pleroma quotation –
the more self-conscious aspects of the work, forming a kind
that Jung, long before he met and had his long dialogues with
of second ‘layer’, developed from 1916 onward, and it is
Pauli, already understood that contemporary science, myth,
here that specific astrological themes …began to appear in
astrology, alchemy, the tarot, the Kabbalah, the paranormal,
a more constructed fashion, along with reflections on the
magical practices and the psychology of the unconscious all
psychological dimension of the visions.” (p 6)
occupied the same vast energetic ‘territory’. Within this vastness,
Jung’s conflict between the scientist and the mystic had the The dominant characters which emerged were Philemon his
potential to be resolved. Ultimately, both are gazing through soul guide, and Phanes. With his eventual arrival at Phanes, the
their respective lenses at the same ground. bringer of the Sun, Jung concluded that his journey was done.
In recent years, the theories of contemporary science have Roads to reconciliation: the structure of The Astrological World of
informed us that only 4% of the universe appears to describe Jung’s Liber Novus
our ‘normal’ existence. The remaining 96% we know is there –

Books
I found Liz Greene’s method of setting out the appearances of into the ways in which Jung understood his ‘task’ in the context
all 22 major characters e.g. Siegfried the Hero, Salome, Izdubar/ of the new Aion he believed to be dawning.” (p. 168)
the Sun, the Fool, within broad groupings linked to astrological
planetary symbols, to be a comprehensible way of following the Her writing on Jung’s horoscope with his Aquarian Saturn and
essential lines of the unfolding pattern of Liber Novus. his Leo Sun – his self-described ‘solar nature’ – indicates that
Jung apparently thought both his character and destiny to be
She broadly links the first five chapters under the planetary linked with the new collective religious currents he identified
archetypes of Mars, the Sun, the Moon, and two chapters under as motifs of the World Age shifting from the Virgo/Pisces Age
Saturn, the latter of those two being devoted to different facets of the Fishes, to the “…incoming Aion …symbolised not only by
of Philemon, Jung’s soul guide: through those chapters one can Aquarius, but by the Aquarius/Leo polarity….” (p 168)
track the gradual unfolding of the voyage towards Phanes, “…the
great primal androgynous deity of Orphic cosmogonic myth….” Jung believed that he had a vital role to play in working with
(p 129) individuals and thereby influencing future generations to
“facilitate the collective transition into an astrological Aion in
Liz Greene describes this numinous encounter thus: “In 1919, which humans would be faced with the terrifying challenge of
Jung painted a childlike figure whose body is composed of interiorising and integrating good and evil….” (p 169)
spherical shapes, wearing a harlequin costume patterned in
black and white against a gold ground….” (p 129) In her conclusion to this challenging, remarkable book Liz
Greene observes that “…As the 21st century progresses, whether
And – movingly – in Jung’s own words: or not it is indeed the time of entry into the Aquarian Aion,
as Jung believed it to be, his perceptions seem to be proving
“This is the image of the divine child. It means the entirely prophetic….” (p185)
completion of a long path. Just as the image was finished in
April 1919, and work on the next image had already begun, In conclusion
the one who brought the Sun came, as [Philemon] had I’ve written many book reviews in my time, but never before had
predicted to me. I called him [Phanes] because he is the the kind of response I’ve had to this one. Entering and engaging
newly appearing God….” (p. 129) with The Astrological World of Jung’s Liber Novus made me realise
quite quickly that, to get to grips with its essence, I had to let
Following this structure, in the final chapter ‘The Systema go of trying too hard to understand the material presented by
Munditotius and Jung’s natal horoscope’ one can see a movement Liz Greene from a purely rational perspective, and allow myself
towards containment of everything that has gone before within at least partly to be drawn into the territory of the imaginal, or
a bigger, cosmic pattern – that set out in the cosmological map the 96% we simply cannot explain or engage with from a purely
known as the Systema. In Liz Greene’s words: rational perspective. Perhaps being a Leo with several planets
including the Sun in the 12th house made that partial letting-go
“There is a long tradition of such pictorial representations
possible.
of the cosmos in both Eastern and Western traditions…All
of them portray, through a particular cultural lens and a Throughout the weeks during which I was reading, note-making,
particular religious or philosophical worldview, the place of reflecting, and immersing myself in this book, I had a powerful
the human microcosm within the greater macrocosm. Jung sense of Jung standing on that liminal border between the 4%
was thoroughly familiar with these maps, which provided and the 96%, driven there by the intensity and pain of his own
him with ample precedents for his Systema…” (p. 144) internal contradictions, being buffeted by, and courageously
invoking, the shape-shifting archetypal forms with which he
Here also can be seen the roots of Jung’s key contributions to
worked for the rest of his life – thereby enriching the inner and
modern psychology, and the undoubted influence of his deep
outer lives of so many of us.
knowledge of astrology, although…
Liz Greene has given us a rich gift in this volume, by providing
“The way in which Jung concealed, but did not remove, the
quality access to Liber Novus, Jung’s deeply personal record of an
astrological dimensions of the Systema’s cosmology is a
astrological Leo’s unique, heroic journey to the heart of his own
remarkable reflection of his understanding of the nature of
darkness which eventually led to the light of the Sun. I found
symbols.…the astrological material is there to be explored,
it inspiring – and personally very helpful in gaining a deeper
it does not club the viewer over the head with one specific
understanding of my own contradictions and how to work with
language….” (p. 145)
them. Jung’s teaching, here via Liz Greene’s writing, lives on.
Aion and the changing World Age
Liz Greene’s view is that the Systema “…may also provide insights

Letters
Comments are very welcome, and brevity is appreciated. Letters may have to be edited for
space reasons. Email only: journal@astrologicalassociation.com
Memories of the Dowdings and Beauty I have a folder of letters that went back and forth between
myself and Lady Dowding which I still treasure, and I know
Without Cruelty our fellow astrologer and vegetarian/vegan cookery writer,
After reading ‘A Most Unusual Warrior’ by Wanda Sellar in Rose Elliot, has even more memories of Lady Dowding when
the September/October Journal, about Air Chief Marshal she visited the White Eagle Lodge all those years ago, run by
Hugh Dowding, I would like to add my memories of the Rose’s family.
pioneering research and work both he and Lady Dowding
undertook to protect animals. Lady Dowding founded the Valerie Jeffery, DMS.Astrol, FAPAI
non-profit-making charitable trust, Beauty Without Cruelty,
in 1959 after a discussion with two of her friends. It grew into Astrological mechanics
an international movement supported by men and women all I read with interest the three articles about how astrology works
over the world, many of whom you would recognise by name. in the Journal for September/October 2020. It is fascinating
Lord Dowding was First President and Lady Muriel Dowding to see how astrologers have different answers for this.
was Chairman.
I think it is important not to believe that those people
Although concerned with all cruelty to animals, it was the
knowledgeable in other subjects have consistent views,
purpose and work of BWC to provide the public with knowledge
but that they are also asking questions and may be faced
of the cruelties involved in obtaining animal ingredients for
with misleading answers. Astronomers do not understand
cosmetics and toilet preparations, and to recommend and
black holes. Isaac Newton’s theory on light and colours
provide alternatives to these products.
was disputed by his contemporary Robert Hooke and later
There was also much campaigning against the wild animals by Johann Goethe. But as Newton’s theory was proved
that are trapped, hunted and ‘farmed’ for their fur. Simulated scientifically this has been seen ever since as incontrovertible.
fur coats were displayed at their boutiques, and fashion shows It is going to be difficult for this evidence to be revised because
were arranged accompanied by documentary films of trapping other beliefs such as the expanding universe are built on it.
and seal hunting. The whole world was ‘up in arms’ against Astrology is in a different position. Contemporary science
what was happening to obtain real fur. And just a small is often built on particle physics whereas astrology needs a
example came about in St. Albans where I then lived: in 1972 holistic approach. For scientists, God is a particle called the
a notice was erected at the entrance to the British Wildlife Zoo Higgs Boson.
at Verulamium banning people from wearing certain types of
Alan Leo explained that the signs of the zodiac were formed
fur coat – a decision brought about by St. Albans City Council’s
by Earth’s passage around the Sun in his third lecture of 1900,
open spaces committee. When I wrote to Lady Dowding on
published in Astrology for All. This difference has regularly
her return from Vancouver, she told me how news of this zoo
been explained since by other astrologers. Despite this,
had come through to Canada.
some astronomers insist that astrology is a fallacy because
It was very important to this lovely couple that animals did they believe that the signs of the zodiac are the same as the
not suffer for women’s vanity. Besides this chief reason, if constellations. I was recently watching a TV programme
people knew what animal ingredients were included in many by Professor Jim Al Khalili in which he explained that the
cosmetics and toiletries to be applied to their skin they would elements known by the ancient Greeks, such as gold and
be appalled. The skin is the body’s largest organ and absorbs silver, were derived from the four elements fire, earth, air, and
what we apply to it. I lectured and displayed samples of the water. There is to my knowledge no evidence for this, and in
lovely Beauty Without Cruelty products available, helping at any case the idea does not fit because the planetary elements
the London boutique on certain Saturdays. When you walked are all metals. It seems to me much more likely that the
through the door, the fragrance of flower essences and fruit four elements of the zodiac are a heliocentric and geocentric
oils etc. was indescribably lovely. interface between Sun and Earth. This would then fit in with
the belief that the signs of the zodiac are formed by Earth’s
Unfortunately, over the decades, Beauty Without Cruelty movements around the Sun. Gravity only exists because our
changed hands quite a few times, but still exists although not Sun exists. If we look at the solar system working as one entity
so extensively – however, it did leave a flourishing legacy of this gives us the groundwork for everything else.
the wisdom of nature when utilised by humankind. Animals,
humanity and the planet have greatly benefited from the seeds Thomas E Rookes
sown by Lord and Lady Dowding in those early days, and we
now have so much to choose from.

Sign Language
Rev Pam Crane
Plague and volcanic eruptions:

the astrology of hard times http://revpamcrane.weebly.com
While working on my last column (on zodiacal waves, eras and

the historical zodiac), I came across an online article entitled
‘Why 536 was “the worst year to be alive”’. Super-thin ice
cores showed that there had been a series of massive volcanic
eruptions in 536 and 540 AD. But where? Two of the main
contenders, based on other research, were one of the Icelandic
volcanoes and another in El Salvador – Ilopango.
There was surely a way to find out. And yes, eclipses for
the years in question confirmed that the first was indeed in
Iceland where a total solar eclipse on 8 March, preceding the
spring explosion, fell on the IC; and in 0540 the second major
eruption was that of Ilopango: there was an ill-configured
lunar eclipse on 29 December close to the horizon there which
would have caused strong tides under Earth’s crust. It was
preceded by a total solar eclipse on 20 June carried by the
dwad (dwadasamsa) Descendant, as in the dwad Uranus and
the IC came together.
San Salvador lunar eclipse December 540
Now, going back to my September-October column, we find
this was all going on during a retro dwad Scorpio era...the
‘Late Antique Little Ice Age’, replete with extreme weather
events and, from 0541 AD, the Justinian Plague. A hard time
indeed.
The better-known ‘Little Ice Age’ from the 1430s till the
early 1600s was another Scorpio era, this time dwad direct;
again, this was a period of much increased volcanic activity.
Interestingly it was paralleled by retro dwad Gemini – and
this era saw the real beginning of mass communications with
the invention and escalating use of the printing press.
Between these two ice ages there was a further spike in

vulcanism. And this coincided with another Scorpio era –
direct 12th harmonic (12H). In 1257/58, eclipse activity over
Indonesia probably triggered the catastrophic eruption of
the Samalas volcano (estimated date: September 1257) which
resulted in global cooling from 1258. In fact, the only real
contender is the total lunar eclipse of 19 May 1258 on the
Lombok horizon at sunrise, squared by a culminating Saturn
which may make more sense of the climate changes. This
same eclipse occurred at sunset in Iceland – maybe there was
activity there too.
In 2020 we are currently entering both a massive disease-

driven recession and an inverse climate crisis – global heating.
We have just begun a 15-year dwad retro Scorpio period. We
Minoan eruption eclipse
looked at this briefly last time, and here are others:

Sign Language
Icelandic volcano eclipse 536 Minoan eruption eclipse chart
Dwad direct = Grimsvötn & Laki Eruptions, Iceland

1773-4 (another volcanic winter); American War of
Independence 1775, hardship 1783-85; French Revolution.
Dwad direct = 1600 (19 Feb): Huaynaputina eruption,
Andes; Russian Famine 1601-3.
Dwad retro = Protestant Reformation 1520-1535;
drought in China.
12H retro = Black Death, famine, 1332-1347.
Dwad direct = Roman Empire peaks; many British and
Middle Eastern rebellions: 115-127.
Dwad retro = Ministry of Jesus; beginning of
Christianity, 29-33 (parallel with dwad direct Taurus; Jesus a
Sun Taurean, Scorpio rising).
Dwad retro = Explosion of Thera 1628 BC...Minoan
eruption.
But hard times for humanity come with Saturn’s sign too.
Here are the significant Capricorn periods:
Ilopango explosion San Salvador 12H retro Capricorn: 2007-2009 ‘Great Recession’.
Dwad retro Capricorn: 1990-2005. Capitalism, new industrial
12H direct = World War 1 and Spanish Flu. revolution. Dotcom bubble that burst (parallel with dwad
Dwad retro = American Civil War. In 1861 a plague Direct Pisces!). Unprecedented rise in manmade and natural
pandemic started from China in 1855, spreading to India and disasters. (Followed by dwad retro Sagittarius – “greed is
the USA. good”. See my Sep-Oct 2020 column.)
Dwad direct = World War 2: rationing 1939-45; 1944 12H direct Capricorn: 1920s, 1930s: Dust Bowl and
eruption of Vesuvius. Depression.
Dwad retro = American Civil War. In 1861 a plague 12H direct Capricorn: 1665: plague (dirt, rats, fleas).
pandemic started from China in 1855, spreading to India and
the USA. Dwad retro Capricorn: Black Death, also famine: 1332-1347.

Sign Language
From all this we can confirm at least six things:
1. A ‘sidereal’ zodiac starting at the moment in 5 BC when

God came into the world as Jesus, maps the zeitgeist of the
planet, its ecosystems, and its human population. (It begs
the question: how much of this is divine intervention?).
2. Scorpio is about extremes that test our capacity to endure.

And masks!
3. Capricorn brings self-inflicted misery.

4. Not only the ocean tides but Earth’s mantle rise and fall at
the pull of angular lunations.
5. The dwad can be the primary chart.

6. Astrology rocks!
Pam Crane’s latest books

Transits for November-December 2020
By Sarah Cochrane http://sarahsastrology.com
November 2020
Retrograde Mercury in Libra square Saturn in Capricorn on raises the need to discuss causes of anxiety or apprehension
the 1st leads to over-thinking about incidents that you just about current events that affect what is needed to feel secure.
can’t get out of your head. Mercury turns direct on the 3rd, so Mercury sextile Saturn is useful for constructing schemes and
decisions you have been weighing up should no longer be kept plans for the near future.
on hold. Mercury is again square Saturn on the 6th to confront
mental blocks that are a source of unhappiness. Venus in Libra December 2020
opposition retrograde Mars in Aries on the 9th places a strain
Venus trine Neptune on the 6th favours romantic encounters
on keeping calm when your patience is tested; look out for
and bonding in relationships. Sun in Sagittarius square
passive aggression. Sun in Scorpio trine retrograde Neptune
Neptune on the 9th should ring alarm bells if you confront
in Pisces on the 10th offers a moment to take another look at
those in charge with the truth. Don’t automatically trust them
personal ideals that are passionately held onto.
no matter how persuasive they may be. Venus sextile Pluto on
the 10th has a positive effect on relationships that have helped
Jupiter conjunct Pluto in Capricorn on the 12th is of immense
you through the tough times. Sun trine Mars on the 11th boosts
assistance in the search for a wide range of knowledge for
physical wellbeing and encourages improvement of health
research or investigation where a sense of achievement can be
through physical exercise. Mercury in Sagittarius square
attained. Those who are obsessive about religion seek control
Neptune on the 13th reduces tolerance when communicating
by preaching to gain followers. Sun sextile Pluto on the 14th
with those who avoid giving a straight answer to a simple
enables intense self-analysis to gain strength that can be held
question.
in reserve for future adversities. Sun sextile Jupiter on the 15th
presents the big picture of the good things that have happened
Solar eclipse in Sagittarius on the 14th offers the option to take
and are happening, even if recent events may not give reasons
a new direction or a target to aim for during the next 12 months
to be optimistic. The New Moon/Super Moon in Scorpio on
if you’re willing to accept it. Venus sextile Jupiter is beneficial
the 15th emphasises deeply held emotions about what you
for financial matters where legal requirements are involved.
like to keep secret. Venus square Pluto warns that what is
Mercury trine Mars on the 15th favours fiery debates that are
intended as light-hearted could be taken too seriously. Venus
exciting where no one gets hurt. Venus sextile Saturn supports
square Jupiter on the 16th stimulates the urge to overspend on
facing up to the responsibilities in relationships to make them
luxuries or gambling with the hope that what is spent will be
resilient. Saturn enters Aquarius on the 17th marking rebellion
easily replenished, which is foolish right now.
and liberation from the old order. Jupiter enters Aquarius on
the 19th broadening the belief that humanity should have the
Mercury is now in Scorpio and opposite retrograde Uranus
freedom to live as they please without restrictions caused by
in Taurus on the 17th. Mental discipline is not favoured and
religion.
attention is suddenly drawn in various directions. Sun
sextile Saturn on the 19th offers an opportunity to get the
Mercury conjunct Sun on the 20th carries a sense of urgency
most immediate tasks organised or completed. Venus square
to clearly and honestly express opinions. Jupiter conjunct
Saturn increases rejection of affection or efforts to use charm
Saturn on the 21st clarifies the hindrances in your way and how
if they’re insincere. Mercury trine retrograde Neptune on the
to break free of them by expanding your range of experiences.
24th presents inspired ideas from sources that have previously
Mars square Pluto on the 23rd stirs up fierce disagreements
been missed. Mercury sextile Pluto on the 27th may reveal
where neither side is willing to give way. Mercury trine
information that leads to self-improvement and regeneration.
retrograde Uranus on the 25th promotes inventive ideas to be
Venus is now in Scorpio and opposite retrograde Uranus in
used to set the groundwork for future innovation. Sun trine
Taurus which can put you out of sync with those you usually
retrograde Uranus on the 28th is capable of opening life up
connect with. But don’t be concerned, it’s not as serious as
to thrilling options that passed you by and are now available
first perceived and is short-lived.
again. Venus in Sagittarius square Neptune on the 30th leads
to impatience if relationships are not living up to expectation.
Neptune turns direct on the 28th gradually easing restraints
that affected creativity. Mercury sextile Jupiter on the 29th
supplies an expanse of options to gain information to be used
to your advantage: you could find that you’re in the right
place at the right time. Lunar eclipse in Gemini on the 30th

Astrology crossword 35
by Pam Crane Pam’s crosswords book.
Just £5.75 in pb.
http://revpamcrane.weebly.com
This crossword is for the smartest set in the astrology world. It’s the one to beat.
Across
The winner’s name is published on this page. The winning solution for Crossword
1 Lunar rock can't lose potassium into
35 will be chosen by draw on 25 November 2020 and the answers published in
space below horizon (9,3)
our March-April 2021 issue. Answers to Crossword 33 (July-August 2020 issue)
10 Queen of Beasts undoes Mars' tie (7)
are on this page below the puzzle. Complete Crossword 35 and send us a scanned
copy as a pdf. Or email your answers to: journal@astrologicalassociation.com. 11 12th house Scorpio dies from awful
depravities (7)
Entries which are completely correct will go into a prize draw and one winner only
will be chosen. The prize is one book only (up to the price on Amazon of £30) on 12 Time for rite of passage (but no
pastries!) (2,3)
the subject of astrology chosen by the editor after consulting with the winner.
Editor’s decision is final in all matters. 13 Trouble in underworld lodge (8)
15 Lovely red suit, sexy neckline! (10)
16 Any anger must have active principle (4)
18 Brewery plant I established in NE
Arizona (4)
20 Twenty percent accommodate degrees
of risk-taking (5,5)
22 Astrologer has a network acceptable to
English (4,4)
24 Detects Acapulco gold in ships hold (5)
26 Neptune symbolically in detriment, not
little Mercury (7)
27 G.W.Bush: "I do solemnly swear..."
embracing code of honour (7)
28 Rings exalted over Saturn's pole star
(5,7)
Down
2 Declare old-fashioned public
engagement? (7)
3 Several versions of Bard's No.1
comedy (8)
4 Eros rolled over and got up (4)
5 Doris's daughter unfolds map to box
office (10)
6 Winged insect metamorphosed, my
friend! (5)
7 No time to teach lad about
Nebuchadnezzar's kingdom (7)
8 Author of The Asteroid Name
Encyclopaedia (5,8)
Winner of Crossword 33 (July-August 2020) is Liz Rooke. Congratulations! 9 Stars move back into developing
region's resort (13)
Answers to Crossword 33 (July-August 2020) 14 Indeed late - about to set out (10)
17 Secretly prefers Taunton for war game
Across: 1 Old Style, 5 Abbess, 9 Blue moon, 10 Pomona, 12 Telescope, 13 Elect, 14 (5,3)
Odin, 16 Station, 19 Perigee, 21 Fogs, 24 Cacti, 25 April fool, 27 Brazil, 28 Feng 19 Fiddling coppers doing it in the house
shui, 29 Resist, 30 Arcturus. of fun (7)
21 Wifely Taurus coming up to you audibly
Down: 1 Orbits, 2 Double, 3 Times, 4 Laocoon, 6 Boomerang, 7 Esoteric, 8 Spartans, from the den (7)
11 Zeus, 15 Dignities, 17 Space bar, 18 Fractals, 20 Eras, 21 Forbear, 22 Mother, 23 Teilhard's final point (5)
23 Fluids, 26 Light. 25 Clever little general's exile
Lahiri Eris is overmap
0 Aries (4)

Astro-X-Ray: Michael O’Reilly
Michael wrote Dell Horoscope’s book reviews for 27 years before
its demise in the summer of 2020. These he has collected in his
new book, The Ultimate Book of Astrology Books. As a practising
astrologer he has developed an international clientele and writes a
weekly blog at NeptuneCafe.com
Q: When did you first realise that astrology had completely Astrology, guided me to an initial method of chart interpretation.
taken possession of you – if indeed it has? Liz Greene’s book on Saturn added depth, and then my 27-
year stint at Horoscope magazine brought additional tools and
MO: Yes, it has. Astrology became a sudden obsession with me
techniques.
when I was in Venezuela, taking a leave of absence from grad
school. Studying macro-economics was too stressful but reading Q: Which system of astrology do you use, and do you have
about astrology was magical. For me, there was no need to preferred techniques for personal clients?
memorise the basics because it was as if I was remembering
something I already knew. MO: I have a default system for analysing charts, which
generally includes understanding the natal dynamics, and
Q: Where do you live and work? Which country? using the outer planet transits and secondary progressions for
current perspective and forecasting. Probably 90% of my clients
MO: I live and work in Bend, Oregon, USA. I used to have an office are women, and the new feminine archetypes – including the
in the downtown area, but now work out of my home since my four major asteroids and Black Moon Lilith – provide essential
client base shifted from local to international. information about the modern woman, much more than is
available through just the Moon and Venus.
Q: Name one feature of your birth chart that stands out as a
major trait – and is known to loved ones, less so to acquaintances. Q: You must have reviewed books over the years you did not care
MO: Uranus is often associated with astrology, and it’s in my for – we won’t ask you to name them, but what’s your approach
6th house of work. Before I became a full-time astrologer, I went to a disappointing astrology title?
through a number of short-term jobs. But when I began writing MO: I don’t care for Sun Sign books, especially those that make
astrology columns, seeing clients, hosting an astrology website, unrealistic promises of love, success or health. I gave them low
everything clicked. In my chart, Uranus conjoins Sirius and is priority among the books arriving for review.
trine my North Node, so this life path opened up in wonderful,
often serendipitous ways. Q: Which astrological software program do you use? Ever hand-
draw charts?
Q: You wrote Dell Horoscope’s book reviews for 27 years before
its sad demise this year. Many of these reviews are now collected MO: I use Solar Fire and have been quite happy with it for over
in The Ultimate Book of Astrology Books – which book would you 20 years. Yes, when I first began studying astrology, the computer
say stands above all others and why? Or if you cannot think of revolution hadn’t yet arrived, so I calculated charts by hand with
one title, which books impressed you the most? the help of several references.
MO: We have many brilliant writers in the astrological Q: Tell us about your NewsScope blog at NeptuneCafe.com – do
community, and I have many favourites. All of Liz Greene’s works you find that there’s a growing interest in astrology? Do you
I find fascinating with her ability to blend psychology with myths think traditional astrology is bringing in a wider pool of people
and metaphysics. Her most recent masterpiece – Jung’s Studies into the subject – or not at all?
in Astrology – is an academic paradigm-buster on par with MO: Yes, there’s a growing interest in astrology, and my readers
Richard Tarnas’ Cosmos & Psyche. Don Cerow’s When the Dragon are becoming more knowledgeable about the planets and
Wore the Crown and The 8th Seal are under-appreciated gems as aspects. The growth has been phenomenal since the birth of
is Rafael Nasser’s Under One Sky. I find all of Steven Forrest’s the internet. However, like political parties, those interested in
books engaging and full of wisdom. Joan Quigley’s What Does astrology tend to get involved in self-reinforcing, closed systems
Joan Say? is a great read. of analysis. Traditional astrology is one of those, as is evolutionary
astrology, Chinese astrology, psychological astrology and so on.
Q: How did you learn the astro art/trade? Who inspired your
In my book, I refer to these as schools of thought.
interest?
Michael’s blog: neptunecafe.com/newsscope
MO: I began astro-journaling which convinced me of astrology’s
value and helped me figure out what works and what doesn’t. The Ultimate Book of Astrology Books by Michael O’Reilly is
Noel Tyl’s 12-volume series, The Principles and Practice of reviewed on page 60 of this issue

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.Ti 111 e Passages.. _

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36 Working with the planets by Roy Gillett

41 Report from Planet Fashion with Christina

43 Mars: When the Red Planet turns Green

66 Sign Language with Pam Crane

71 Astro-X-Ray: Michael O’Reilly

2 November/December 2020 The Astrological Journal

Martian invasion and a great mutation

The Astrological Journal November/December 2020 3

Editor Victor Olliver, BA, DMS Astrol, MAPAI

Thanks to Astrolabe Inc – www.alabe.com

The Astrological Association

President Roy Gillett B.ED (Hons Ldn) ACII

Membership Karen Brereton

Registered Charity No: 1152804

The Association’s objectives are the advancement of education of

The Astrological Journal publishes articles of general and specific

Contributors are at liberty to express such opinions or employ or

4 November/December 2020 The Astrological Journal

Advertising in The Astrological Journal

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Flyers and Inserts Single Sheet A4 flyer: £100 + VAT. For

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6 November/December 2020 The Astrological Journal

The predictive power

I was born on 25 April 1949, three days prior to a solar eclipse

The Astrological Journal November/December 2020 7

8 November/December 2020 The Astrological Journal

The Astrological Journal November/December 2020 9

The total eclipse is the strongest. The central path is the

One such transit-to-progressed eclipse case is that of Bill

Further to eclipses conjunct or opposite the Sun (which I have

One of my favourites, Robert E Lee, commanded the

10 November/December 2020 The Astrological Journal

What to look for

Born on the day of a lunar eclipse

There are three types of people to work with:

1. Those born close to an eclipse, like myself, and Karl Marx.

3. Those who are born equally spaced between eclipses in

With case number 1, if I am born 25 April and there is an eclipse

The Astrological Journal November/December 2020 11

I wanted to point out that this person, like President Trump, is

This person was born in Russia on 12 July 1979 in Leninsk,

12 November/December 2020 The Astrological Journal

These are all the eclipses I considered as being hers and

When I went to this eclipse I said: “Your mother must be a big

‘Eclipse 1’ is down in her 5th house 7°-8° of Pisces. It is not

This is the eclipse shadow. And when I went through this

The Astrological Journal November/December 2020 13