21st century Renaissance
Once upon a time, nobody had a problem with astrology. It had always been part of the curriculum at major learning institutions until the Renaissance because people simply felt the harmony between man and cosmos. Looking at the magic movement of the planets over the bright, night sky, whilst the stars stayed still and the moon went from new to full, there was a sense of connection between earthly and heavenly developments. The basic principle of astrology is that the smallest thing in the universe is subject to the same process as the largest. The same rules apply to both, and an action in one sphere will reflect an action in another. Major practitioners of religions like Christianity, Buddhism and Hinduism developed systems for interpreting planetary configurations and astrology evolved into a huge body of knowledge. Read more
Revolutionary times
Normality is soon to be a thing of the past, and over the next half decade we will be witness to social, technological, political and personal transformations which will result in a world quite different to the one we know today. This could have been said in 1988 - just prior to the Saturn, Uranus and Neptune conjunctions opposite Jupiter, which precipitated the New World Order and fall of communism. It could also have been said of the mid sixties - just prior to the Uranus/Pluto conjunction opposite Saturn, which polarized youth and age and evoked a social revolution. It could have been said of the early 1940’s, when Jupiter conjoined Saturn in Taurus and squared Pluto going on to conjoin Uranus, which led to Germany’s seizure of most of Europe’s land. Read more
Haiti - the Earthquake
On a major fault line between the North American and Caribbean tectonic plates, the island of Hispaniola is to be found, which is composed of Haiti on the west and the Dominican Republic on the east. This island has been ravaged by hurricanes and earthquakes for centuries, but no cataclysm has been as disastrous as the earthquake that hit the capital of Haiti in the late afternoon on January 12th 2010. Read more
The Dream of Dubai
If you happen to be on the moon some time, cast a glimpse down to Dubai on the Arabian Peninsular. Here a glittering palm tree shaped island will be visible shining into space - a man-made construction which contains more than 30 five-star hotels as well as residences for the glitterati like Brad Pitt, David Beckham, and other people who choose to be more anonymous. That is just in 2010 - two more paradise islands are planned, as well as a 300 island archipelago representing all the countries of the world. And another one featuring the universe. Read more
2012 and all that
The end of the world is coming… it’s a sure thing. Certainly within 100 years, you will no longer be able to read this, because you will be dead and gone. It is quite a worrisome thing of course, but humans have a wonderful ability to forget their coming demise, on the surface at least.
There are people who like to universalize dying though, so we can all go at once. This idea that the end of the world could come in our lifetime has been considerably facilitated by Christianity, and a whole chapter is devoted to it in Revelations. (Note 1) Read more
Trends for 2010 - part 2
Last month we looked at how the major planetary cycles will affect the first six signs of the zodiac using solar house astrology. These signs will be affected indirectly by the movement of the outer planets, but for the signs from Libra to Pisces, there will be greater personal change. Saturn moving in to Libra and constellating in a square aspect to Pluto will profoundly affect Saturn-ruled Capricorn and Aquarius, whilst Jupiter moving into Pisces, and further into Aries in conjunction with Uranus, is bound to make 2010 an exciting and unpredictable year for Pisces and Sagittarius. Read more
Trends for 2010 - part 1
As we head in to 2010, a series of extremely dynamic planetary constellations start shaping up, setting the scene for five or six years of dramatic change for the world. These patterns are reminiscent of the 1930’s when the world was struggling with economic depression on the one hand and political extremism on the others. The years of ideological battle, religious extremism and uncertainty connected with Uranus, Saturn and Pluto in mutable signs will soon be definitively over, and a new philosophy of decision-making and action will become dominant. Read more
Realizing the Self
When people discuss the question of fate and free will, they tend to forget just how deep in the past the root causes of our existence lie. As we deal with life day by day, and moment by moment, we are actually dealing with the consequences of actions that we took earlier, sometimes many years earlier, and sometimes, if you believe in reincarnation, many lifetimes earlier. Our actions in the current moment are completely conditioned by our view, and this view was in turn conditioned by individual perceptions and conditioning all the way back to birth. So-called free will is extremely limited under these circumstances. You are going to do what you have always done, because of the unstoppable dynamics of your personal psychology. Read more
Belief Systems and their Consequences
Back in the 1980’s I had a formative experience as an astrologer, which arose from the visit of a rather difficult client. She had Pisces rising and her grasp of reality and especially relationships was very tenuous - or so it seemed to me. She was convinced that she was being constantly followed by men. I was convinced that this was a product of her imagination and tried to explain the projection mechanisms of her chart ruler Neptune, which was exactly in conjunction with her Descendant. Read more
Stories as Therapy
You have probably heard the story about the rabbi and the poor farmer who came to him for advice. With a wife and four children to feed, and just a small overcrowded hut to live in, his main problem was the lack of space. On his first visit the rabbi advised him to move his goats into the house and come back after a week. Puzzled but obedient, the poor farmer faithfully followed the advice. A week later the rabbi asked him how things were going. “Terrible” said the farmer, “the house is even more crowded”. So the rabbi suggested he move his chickens into the house, and to come back if things did not get better after a week. The following week the farmer stated that it was almost impossible for the whole family to exist in the house together with the goats and the chickens. “Don’t worry”, said the rabbi, “Next week take your cow into the house, and let me know if things have improved after a week.” After the week had elapsed, the farmer was beside himself with desperation. “Hmm…” said the rabbi, “Let’s try something new. Put the cow, chickens and goats outside the hut and come back to me after a week. The next week the rabbi asked him how things were going. “Life is wonderful”, said the poor farmer, “you won’t believe how much space we have”. Read more