In a few hours there is a very weak minutely partial eclipse of the Moon.  If you are very lucky you may see a very slight shadow on one side for a few minutes.  This is really no big deal as eclipses go, but the solar eclipse on the 15th January is in a different league altogether.   It's full Moon in Cancer, it's a  good one so I don't anticipate major changes immediately.  Wait till mid month for that... And - I've joined, kicking and screaming, the twitterati.  I'll publish my name(s) tomorrow or the next day. UPDATE ONE - you're not getting any monthly sun sign forecasts for January.  Instead, you're all getting a yearly forecast that will only be up for a month.  Loading soon. UPDATE TWO  Despite my skeptism, I can physically see the full Moon as I write and indeed, the SE section is minorly obscured.   Full Moon in Cancer, I'm Cancerian, nearly time to scuttle under my shell and hide away till tomorrow.  Loading now. UPDATE THREE  2010 sunsign forecast loaded, along with global forecast.  But check in shortly, there are two possible big surprises i'm trying to pull together.  That Moon is big!  It's ...

Mercury retrograde, Mars retrograde - all of a sudden the notion of words, explanations and understandings seems to have gone out of the window.  There is no logic or rationality to everything for the time being.  With this Mercury retrograde, it's not about getting other people to understand as much as it is about getting others to know what you mean.  Suggested communication delivery methods are metaphor, analogy, facial characteristic, body language etc etc as opposed to just factual words.  And check me out later - there may well be a number of different postings over the coming 48 hours.....

OK, ok.....  In brief - just one of the reasons why the time of birth is so important is to dictate the shape of the chart.  Without digging it out I can't verify this, but I know from personal experience over three decades of doing horoscopes that if the majority of planets in a chart are on the left, then the person is dedicated more to free will, choice and self determination, and if they are on the right then the principle is primarily fate, destiny and pre determination.  Similarly, if the planets are predominantly above the horizon, then the person experiences directly and becomes more outgoing, whilst if they are in the bottom of the chart then the person assimilates and ponders and becomes more internalised.  And if the planets in your chart are all over the place, try looking at life as though you have many lessons instead of just a few.  The sign and house position of the planets is the window dressing, it is the angles they make to each other that determine characteristics, whether individual or generational.  Remember though, that every single person/chart is unique and different and can never be replicated, so individual experiences ...

I've been looking at the chart for Iran (1 Feb 79, 0920-0930 Tehran, the time that Khomeini stepped off of the plane) and with Pluto currently on its Midheaven and Saturn opposite its Ascendant, I suspect that within a few days something dramatic will have happened. This could be the seperation of state and religion, the end of Islam as a political force in Iran and the emergence of the youth parties.  The coming minor lunar eclipse on the 31st is square Iran's Moon, ruling its fourth house of homeland and security.  Far more significantly, the almost total solar eclipse of the 15th sees rapid underground action in a subversive way that particularly impacts upon Iran's chart.  Cynical I know, but somehow I would not be surprised to see a hardly reported high level meeting of the great, the good and the rich of the Arab world in th very near future - a kind of Al-Bilderburg - to decide on Iran's future.  Remember, it does have lots and lots of oil.  The new Iranian republic will not be formed properly until early August, but the old wil be gone within a few weeks, perhaps days, quite possibly this year.

I find it highly sychronistic that as the Sun in the sky hits the Saturn/Pluto square, challenging all forms of structured authority, so there is another attempt at the Pope.  It was a woman, so of course she was mentally disturbed.  If it had been a man, he would have been labelled a terrorist.  And as the current Mercury retrograde is flirting with Pluto on and off for another three weeks, expect further developments involving subversive(Pluto) news(Mercury), i.e. more travel problems, less clear information and vested agendas in that information that is presented to us.  For a couple of months now I've been advising clients that January would be a time of mixed news and communications and that reality will not prevail until the end of January, by which time I anticipate resolution in Iran and a convenient media frenzy around the ongoing UK Iraq inquiry.

Stonehenge at solstice was OK, no big deal.  Cold, white, no sunrise due to freezing fog, fortunately no tourists because of the weather, lots of pagans and druids.  The magic was there but it was in disguise, only showing itself for fleeting instants to those with both the willingness and the eyes to see it.  Very seductive, but I saw people there who have dabbled with power to their cost, been entranced and enchanted by the glamour and the mystique and I saw what they are now, hollow shells compared to what they were twenty years ago.  Magic and power corrupt as much as money and fame.  Don't look for it, certainly don't try and control it.  Allow it to draw close to you and occasionally dance and surf with it, but never, never never think you own it.  Now - those few of you who were following my blog in 2003 know full well the vitriol I spat at the Total Bxxxxxxd (TB) and his warmongering puppetmasters, vitriol I now usually reserve for bankers and polluters.  But i am going to give it my best shot in the new year before he takes the stand...  I'll publish that Obama ...

So it's the runup to the Christian festival, it's the time of joy, hope, and goodwill to all men, yes?  Well, that would be nice.  But over the next twenty four hours, the Sun conjuncts Pluto, and in just over forty eight hours the Sun squares Saturn.  The symbology of this suggests density, gravity, depth, underhand or underground explosions, undermining, structural collapse leading to major transformation and regeneration.  Those countries and people that go down in the next week or two will resurge brilliantly in about fourteen months time, are you listening in Iran and Zimbabwe?  And in a few days I shall do my best to have an objective and detached and impersonal look at the chart of that total bxxxxxxxd liar con merchant hypocrite lovely man Tony Blair, seeing as he's going to be in the news big time in the New Year.  I wonder if we can call Dick Cheney to give evidence?  Wouldn't that be fun?

Back in the good old days, before the weather patterns changed and before the Christians got hold of the calendar, here in the northern hemisphere winter solstice ended the old year and began the new, and it still does to of a few of us.  In Arizona, the Indians dance every day to ensure the sun rises.  Asked what would happen if they didn't dance, one said ‘the sun won't rise - only a ball of flaming gas will come up on the horizon'.  It's the same as solstice observation - the imbuing of celestial events with significance and hope, peculiar to humanity amongst all of evolution, and the bringing of enchantment into the landscape.  So yah boo sucks to the rationalists, I've been going to Stonehenge for over a decade at winter solstice, it's freezing cold and heavily policed/secured but I meet ...

Mars the planet of action is so close to opposing Chiron, Jupiter and Neptune in Aquarius, standing for the humanitarian and the environmentalist.  But Mars is standing still just before opposition, the action isn't quite going to happen.  Copenhagen was basically the issue of profit versus environmental need, and the action didn't quite happen, did it?  Easy to blame the Chinese, but harder to look at the base ethos here - the end of the capitalist system no less, and the need for a more communal system based on commonality rather than isolationism.  Mars will oppose these points in due course, but not until mid May, by which time the world will be a very different place indeed.  I've spent much of the last week preparing next year's forecasts, and through looking at so many charts it's clear to me that there will be two or three particular times next year that really are once in a lifetime or less, with the period of mid May to early August particularly evolutionary.  It's going to be revelatory.

Regarding the Winter Solstice:  the actual timing of it is on the 21st, at 17.47.  But seeing as this is after sunset, I'll be heading for my solstice celebrations on the Tuesday 22nd, on the grounds that if I'm going to be up at 5 am in minus five degrees dealing with suspicious security men and police officers who'd rather be home than watching hippies in the snow, then I'm going to want to see the first sunrise of the new year, not the last sunrise of the old.  Solstice = latin = sun still.  Freinds of mine will be in Queensland, on the tropic of Cancer, and will be with the sun directly overhead. Hmmm.  Minus 5 or plus 30.  Tough call

Just seeing the first results creeping in from Copenhagen... here's the best concensus I've found so far, complete with methodology and statistical analysis.  Fascinating to see how countries like the UK, Kenya and Canada compare to Germany, Australia and the USA in terms of public opinion.  And - prewarning - Mercury retrograde starts soon, about eight-nine days, and already we're in the preglow of it.  The imagery I get is of drifting into steadily thickening seaweed, and we're unlikely to get through the other side until mid January earliest, so look at early-mid capricorn in your chart and see what house and aspects it makes and get ready for a degree of temporary uncertainty.  But I think this one will hit later rather than earlier, so I expect the first two weeks of the new year to be at their most irritating in this context.  And - I've just recorded 25 video clips for broadcast in the new year - watch this space.  And - Venus and Mars are in perfect angle with each other today in fire signs, so if you secretly admiring from afar, today is a great day for making your move.

The most common comment I'm hearing is flippantly based on 'get your pitchforks ready', the mood of 'the public' is quite angry.  Typical Mars station I suppose, but here's a little ditty from a band called McDermott's Two Hours from the early 80's protest movement.  Of course, I don't agree with any of it - of course I don't.  Set to 'English Country Garden'.

How many bxxxxxxs make their mark in an English country garden?

I'll tell you some of those that I know, those I miss you'll surely pardon,

Politicians and industrialists, bankers and bent scientists, chief constables, the lawyers, all the gentry and their brats,

And we'll dance on the wall when their fat heads fall, in an English Country Garden.

I condemn unconditionally any type of violence.  But when will these stupid old men with their little dxxxs and their condescending and patriarchal attitude to all things spiritual, feminine, environmental and communal finally accept that they don't know what's best for us, and accept the need for universal proportional representation?  Excuse me, I'm ranting again.....

So far much of December has had a kind of electrical haze about it, rendering many people's creative energetic potential down in size and bringing a degree of inertia.  Over the coming week, there's a Mercury station in readiness for it going retrograde, Mars going retrograde on the 20th, Jupiter conjuncts Neptune for the final time till 2022 on the 21st and it's new Moon tomorrow strongly square Uranus.  I suggest that today/tomorrow onwards is the start of a concentrated period of compressed change that summates between solstice and christmas and then goes into hiatus until the early new year.  And that this week long period summarises much of both the unpredictable change and the sticky confusion of 2009, and that before the end of December there will be clarity.  Whether you/we like it or not is a moot point, but by new year the psychic air waves will be a lot less polluted and decisions will be easier, one way or another.  Get your dancing shoes on, the tides are changing and the surfers are coming out to play...

So far much of December has had a kind of electrical haze about it, rendering many people's creative energetic potential down in size and bringing a degree of inertia.  Over the coming week, there's a Mercury station in readiness for it going retrograde, Mars going retrograde on the 20th, Jupiter conjuncts Neptune for the final time till 2022 on the 21st and it's new Moon tomorrow strongly square Uranus.  I suggest that today/tomorrow onwards is the start of a concentrated period of compressed change that summates between solstice and christmas and then goes into hiatus until the early new year.  And that this week long period summarises much of both the unpredictable change and the sticky confusion of 2009, and that before the end of December there will be clarity.  Whether you/we like it or not is a moot point, but by new year the psychic air waves will be a lot less polluted and decisions will be easier, one way or another.  Get your dancing shoes on, the tides are changing and the surfers are coming out to play...

Dawn this morning, walking to work, saw a bright green flash across the sky and thought 'what'?  Then i found out about the Geminids meteor shower that we're in the middle of and all thoughts of Armeggedon or UFO's disappeared...  In reply to certain comments - I do astrology 24/7, and my blog isn't only about astrology, it's also about my meanderings on the unusual aspects of the world, and I know that 'normal' people don't read this, those that do have a more idiosyncratic way of seeing the world and, like me, celebrate their difference by expressing it in some way.  So if it's only pure astrology you want and nor occasional ramblings and mutterings, go elsewhere.  Everyone's good at something, and the horoscope does show what it is, and when to maximise and minimise that talent.  I'm good with pattern recognition, geometry and intuition, so astrology and other 'out of this world' phenomena are right up my tree.  And - the coming lunar eclipse of the 31st December - its no big deal, honest.  Far more important is the solar eclipse two weeks after on the 15th January, of which more later.  And - this is the final ...

 Saturn/Pluto drives inexoricably onwards, particularly hitting those Aries, Capricorns, Cancerians and Librans born from the 21^st to the 25^th big time, forcing fundamental change into their lives which can be fought and resisted or else accommodated and worked with.  Life time restructuring and transforming, the permanent change of form and order in one's life.  And Jupiter/Neptune is coming to a conclusion also, peaking in the third week of December.  Now is silly season, but watch the feathers really start flying from 20^th December onwards.  I've given so many warnings about this time and its connection with the excesses of April/May that I'm not going to repeat myself.  However, I am going to metaphorically sit on the side walk sipping my mead and watching the headless chickens disappear into the sunset at that time...

Hearing about the new driverless taxis at Heathrow pushed a few buttons...  When I said that private car ownership was likely to be almost non existent in ten years, a number of you took me to task.  Not only do I maintain that idea, I've worked on it.  Cars (pods) run on electricity and driven by a computer satellite link up, coming from a central depot to your home when you dial for one.  Get in the pod and enter the post code of where you want to go and it takes you the quickest route at a regular speed whilst you watch TV, work on your laptop, whatever.  Eliminates accidents, makes planning easy.  It's going to happen, watch this space.        And Iran.  As I said a few months ago, once you start shooting your own people, you're finished as a power.  And ...

THE STORY OF THE ROSE

Sun.  A seed, vibrant in its completeness, solid in its identity and purpose, all knowing and all being, yet restless.  So the seed takers on nutrients and water, and seeks to go beyond its shell.  Moon.  The seed sends out tendrils, both up and down.  Down to consolidate roots, up to explore possible futures.  A little green shoot breaks the surface. Mercury.  The shoot accelerates into rapid skyward growth, the adolescence of the plant.  Venus.  The bud forms at the top of the plant, with the protective leaves revealing just the first sign of the luscious leaves inside.  Mars.  The rose explodes into a fiery, vibrant and pungent ball of sensation.  Jupiter.  The flower expands, and becomes overly showy.  Saturn.  The rose loses its petals and leaves, naturally or through pruning.  Chiron. The plant knows that in one way it is dying, so prepares for metamorphosis.  Uranus.  The rose bush crumbles in the winter.  Neptune.  The body of the plant dissolves into dust.  Pluto.  Somewhere, the seed lives on, burying itself in the dark until the light of next year's sun and the whole cycle starting again.  Wonderful thing, nature.

EXTRA.   Tiger Woods.  Capricorn, Sag Moon, Virgo rising.  With that Sagittarius Moon at the very bottom of his chart, this is a private and personal man who's not going to show his emotion in public come what may.  At the same time, I would bet my last dollar on this guy's integrity and loyalty to his family.  I very much doubt that what's going on is as a result of him lying.  Uranus is hitting his chart big time at the moment, watch him return in style come next May.  So why are the press sniffing round him like rampant dogs?  And - go here for some interesting ways of looking at swine flu.

We are halfway through a nineteen day period where for the only time this year there are no planets going retrograde (backwards against the backdrop of the stars from our earth based perspective) in the heavens.  To my mind if you've a lot of retrograde planets in your chart then you internalise experience, whereas those without many retrogrades in their chart live much more spontaneously.  To me this period feels like we're going round a corner on two wheels instead of four and we're not slowing down - a bit scary, but a nice buzz all the same if you're not too scared to live a little on the edge.  And - I went to see the movie 2012 yesterday.  Right up there alongside Independence Day on the list of the best ever ‘B' movies, it's great entertainment, a real blockbuster, good for ...

Business end first.....  all orders for outside Europe need to be in my inbox by Tuesday morning in order to be received pre-festivities.  European last posting dates are still a week away, need I remind you what a wonderful present a horoscope reading makes.  And - i will address the issue of unaspected planets soon, kick me if I don't.  And - go here.  Found this by mistake.  I don't know whether to feel flattered or insulted, but it sure made me laugh.  The thinking mans astrologer I can live with.  But flatulence?

If it's your love life that's at the root of your current issues, have a look at the synastry between your partner and you.  Synastry is the subtle and slightly seductive art of matching one person's horoscope against that of their partner, and seeing how the resultant combination either sizzles with passion and fire or else squelches with intimacy and privacy.  If your Uranus hits their Sun then the interaction will be dynamic, feisty and unpredictable, whereas if your Saturn lands on their Moon then one of you will end up being the parent and the other the child.  And if your Venus lands on their Mars, or vice versa, then watch the bedroom fireworks fly!  If your Moon is in the same sign as your partners, then you will both feel the same about things and go through the same moods at the same time.   You can also merge yours and your partner's horoscopes into one, called the composite chart.  From the composite horoscope you should be able to give some focus and direction to the relationship, as well as commenting on current developments and suggesting ways that situations can be improved and timings taken advantage of. 

OK, I've mentioned Juno and Ceres, so let's bring this little tryptich to an end by looking at Vesta.  The symbol for Vesta is the flame in the centre of the hearth.  Take off the first 'h' and you have earth, take off the second 'h' and you have heart.  The heart of the earth, that suits Vesta very well.  She is one of the Roman goddesses of the temple, she is the fire in the centre, her main principle according to astronomical and astrological lore is that of focus, health, nutrition and devotion, plus a number of sexual complexes.  Whilst I concur with astrological thought on this, I would also, as a result of personal experience and evaluation over decades of looking at charts, suggest that Vesta is the major specific when delineating nerve and digestive disorders when older and issues of imperfection and rejection when younger.  Never going to be good enough, always getting better.  98% is good enough, if you or they had 100% you'd have wings on your back.  If you've a difficult Vesta in your chart, the single best medicine is to lighten up and take the pxxs out of yourself.

Seeing as I'm a trifle bored with no inspiration at this moment, I'm going to fall back onto the asteroids.  I covered Juno yesterday, so maybe it's time to look at Ceres.  Food, yes.  Cuddles and affection?  Well, sort of.  Mummy?  Definitely.  But more than any of these, Ceres is about your capacity to give and receive nurturing.  Someone with a strong Ceres could be a chef, a hotelier, a nurse or dietician, a clothing manufacturer - anything that deals with providing the basics for existence.  Food, clothes, shelter and warmth.  If Ceres is too strong it can denote a smothering as opposed to a mothering in childhood.  Ceres is the only asteroid that is big enough to be round.  It's how you physically care for and tend those who benefit from your help.  A strong Ceres person enjoys feeding others.  Ceres is the origin of the word cereals; she's the goddess of ...

Until the late 1700's, astrologers only used the planets that they could see, i.e. as far out as Saturn.  Since then, we've discovered the outer planets, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto and Chiron.  As these planets have become accepted into astrological lore, so their effects have become more specifiable.  Since the early 1990's, astrologers have had the option of including some of the major and minor asteroids in their charts.  To me, three of the largest asteroids do have an effect, these being Ceres, Juno and Vesta.  Today I'm looking at Juno.  For centuries Venus has been the planet of love, but now that Juno has come along, with its attachment to one to one relationships, and this frees Venus up.  I feel that Venus can now be seen in a fuller light as the planet of value and worth, regardless of whether those values are physical, sexual, financial, emotional or mental.  Stuck on relationship ...

Full Moon in 24 hours, relatively tame on the surface, but very close to the Jupiter/Saturn midpoint, and with the ongoing conjunction in Aquarius (see recent blogs), I suggest further short term ups and downs are the order of the day, and that until mid month all bets are off and things are both variable and optimal.  The wise person closes their eyes, trusts their lower abdomen, and moves forward slowly but confidently, feeling every step of the way.   Hmmmm..... I seem to be getting scarily Buddhist these days, it's not intentional I assure you.