Adrian’s Astrology Articles

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. (more…)

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. (more…)

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”. (more…)

THE FUTURE FOR IRAN

At the time of writing - four days after the chaotic Iranian election on June 12th 2009 - there are still wild protests on the streets of Teheran and other major cities, as supporters of candidate Mousavi demand that there be an accounting for their disappeared votes. An estimated ½ to 1½ million people have taken to the streets in defiance of a ban on demonstrations, the current president Ahmadinejad has mobilized the feared Revolutionary Guard militia, and at the last counting seven people have been shot and killed. (more…)

In life there is what we think happens, and what actually happens. What actually happens is difficult, if not impossible, to establish objectively. There is a Russian proverb that says, “Never trust an eye witness”, and this theme has often been explored by artists and film directors. The most recent may be Vantage Point (2008), which is a film directed by Peter Travis in which a presidential assassination is recalled by six different witnesses. Their combined stories finally reveal the true story. In Kurosawa’s film Rashomon (1950), four different people recount different versions of the murder of a man and the rape of his wife, but in this case no objectively truthful version is established. In the last analysis “truth” is  not absolute, but something arrived at by consensus, and this makes the cultural environment we are brought up in a crucial factor in how we all agree about reality. (more…)

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When I arrived in Herat, the most easterly city in Afghanistan, in June 1970, it was, or seemed to be, an idyllic kingdom, ruled by a king called Zahir Shah. Coming from the oppressive desert of Iran, with an equally oppressive regime, it was like entering heaven from hell. Suddenly there was music in the air, colorful horses and carriages ringing with bells, and people selling their wares to young people on the hippy trail… and many people enjoying those wares. Cool, friendly, laid-back, with little trace of extremist religion. Behind the scenes the religious fundamentalists chafed under the reforms the king had instituted under the years, and, as always, in the mountainous areas between Afghanistan and Pakistan, most men bore weapons, which could be bought in the local markets. Afghanistan has a reputation for being able to look after itself, as the British discovered in 1842. At this time they sent out an expeditionary force of 16,000 men from India to pacify Kabul. These men were slaughtered in less than a week, and one man lived to tell the tale.The Soviet Union were also ultimately defeated in the 1980’s by Afghanistan resistance, which had considerable support from the USA in the form of advanced anti-aircraft missiles, conventional arms and dollars. Osama bin Laden was a prominent recipient of this support. A complete withdrawal of Soviet forces took place under Gorbatchev on February 15th 1989, with Mujahideen attacks wreaking havoc on Soviet troops until the last moment. (more…)

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Planets seem to like to mark their territory, and when that territory covers the cusp of a sign, then border issues are always a major theme. With a flurry of outer planets changing sign over the next couple of years, establishing borders is going to be very difficult indeed. Generally borders are fiercely defended, but just as often they are very fluid, defined at different points of history by the geopolitical forces of the time. An example of the porous nature of a border was at the end of January 2008, when a border barrier established by Israel between Gaza and Egypt was blown up and over ½ million Gaza residents flowed into Egypt to buy goods. Venus and Pluto simultaneously moved from Sagittarius to Capricorn at this time - Venus being the reason why people came back loaded with goods. (more…)

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The year ahead promises to be more exciting than most as outer planets line up to bring preliminary fireworks, where we can expect and even bigger show in 2010. The big players in 2009 are the Saturn/Uranus opposition, which as Barack Obama intimated, is to bring “change we can believe in”. The first opposition took place exactly on the US election, and two more follow: on February 5th at 20.37 Virgo/Pisces and September 15th, 2009, at 24.43 Virgo/Pisces. Seen from a sun sign viewpoint, this will be a very major influence for Aquarians in regard to their economy, emotional life and security. Capricorns are also likely to experience this opposition as a period of seismic change, especially in connection with their convictions and beliefs and in relation to travel and education. But of course Virgos and Pisces will profoundly feel the pull of this opposition in relationships, as they strive to bridge a gap that seems intercontinental in expanse. (more…)

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At the recent United Astrology Congress in Denver, Colorado a panel of five astrologers discussed the coming US election in November, and all expressed powerful reservations about doing so because there was no birth time for any of the (at that time) three contenders that was confirmed to be true. This situation has radically changed. In an effort to put to rest rumors that he is not a natural born US citizen, which he of course is being born in Hawaii to an American mother, Obama has had his birth certificate posted online. (Note 1)

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When royal astrologer John Dee consulted with Queen Elizabeth I in the 16th century, he almost certainly gave her good advice about matters of state. He certainly chose an auspicious day for the coronation (note 1) as Elizabeth had a long a successful reign that spanned 44 years. But there are some things her probably did not do. He probably did not dwell on the fact that her father, Henry VIII, had declared her a bastard and disinherited her. He probably did not dwell on the psychological consequences of her father having her mother beheaded for supposed adultery. He probably did not reflect on Elizabeth’s ability to have a rewarding love life after her quasi-incestuous relationship in her mid-teens with Thomas Seymour, the 2nd husband of her stepmother and guardian Catherine Parr. (Note 2)

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