Basic astrology today, folks.  Every planet symbolically represents a type of energy inherent in each and every one of us.  That energy might be that of communication, or assertiveness, or structure - and so on.  The sign of the zodiac that the planet is in when you're born shows the way that that planetary energy comes through in your personal life - it's the way that you behave.  The house that the planet is in at the time of your birth shows the way that that planetary energy manifest itself in the eyes of the outside world - i.e., it's the way that you're seen to behave.  Aspects between planets show the angular relationships (behavioural patterns) between planets, both for positive and for challenging.  So - planets are energies, the signs show how that energy comes through in you, the house shows how that planetary energy comes across in the eyes of the ...

UPDATE 16.50 UK time - Tomorrow at 10.45 UK time you can hear me live on the radio here, or on 106.8 FM if you're in Exeter.  The interview will be on their website for a time afterwards... UPDATE ENDS.  Just a little localised astrology today...it's worth noting that for the last two and coming four days, the Sun in the sky is square to Mars, which in English means that there's a greater capacity for accident, clumsiness, bumps, bangs and broken bones, impusliveness and rash behaviour, and because this is happening in the signs of Taurus and Leo, it's accompanied by a dogmatic, persistent, determined and sometimes downright stubborn element of expression.  Nose to the grindstone and persist in a righteous course by all means, but at the same time realise when you're flogging a dead horse.  The astrological background is increasingly turbulent - tremors and shakings everywhere, and when I look at the large scale influenced by the short term localised effects, I see the unstoppable force against the immovable object.  And it's still Mercury retrograde, in Taurus, for another two weeks.  So plans, decisions, actions or events from now till May 12 will not reflect any ...

Last night I watched the 'revelations' that even the most honest of the three main political parties standing in the UK are only telling us 25% of the truth when discussing the cuts that need to be made to bring us back to what the banks and investors call financial stability.  Then I watched the ongoing story of how Greece, closely followed by Portugal and Italy, are collapsing under the weight of their debts.  Then I watched the Goldmann Sachs brokers defending their behaviour.  Then I thought to myself 'they still don't get it, do they?'  Obsessed with short term power, the meglomaniacs of the political and corporate world just aren't seeing the big picture.  You simply cannot tell 95% of western civilisation they they must have massive tax rises and social cuts to pay for the extravagance and arrogance of the select few.  There is real revolution in the air, and I'm both captivated and scared.  'Demos kratos' - from the Greek, people power.  It's inevitable that PR of some type must come, one person one vote is the only equal way.  Representative democracy means electing people to represent us.  Why do we need parties?  Why not just elected ...

Beyond 2010....  In fact, from my astrological perspective it's beyond the end of August 2010.  I think that from September onwards we are somewhere new.  From then on the hard core metaphorical surgery that we're going in for over the coming months will be over, and we will be able to start the process of making calculated guesstimates for the remainder of this year and much of next.  Eighteen weeks.  But before then there are three or four different swells, big waves of change, of which the first is now and the coming two weeks.  In the UK election, Brown's chart is looking like he's going to implode with the effort of smiling so much, the ongoing Mercury retrograde will ensure that Cameron says or does something calamitous just before the election, and Clegg - I don't have a birth time for him - anyone?  Apart from 'captains of industry', everyone I've spoken to thinks a hung parliament is a good idea.  And from last weeks Observer - of the 16 AAA rated countries in the world, 12 have coalitions and 10 have PR.  So PR will not bring economic disaster, it will bring consensus.

Flashback to February 2005....  'When I was a kid in the early sixties my ambition was to see in the year 2000.  By the early eighties I'd looked forward astrologically and seen the Grand Cross in August 1999 and started adjusting my thinking and actions accordingly.  There truly was a part of me that thought it would be the end of the world.  And under the shadow of a total eclipse, sure enough, a little part of me and my world did die.  Around 1997 I got the intimations that 1999 would be the ending of the old and that 2010 would be the start of the new.  Now that the new millennium is under way, I look to four and a half years time and I see not only death, doom and disaster - I also see a fresh start and a new beginning.  Basically, it's all down to which side of the fence you're on.  Which world do you want to live in?  Me, I'll plump for ...

These days are turning points for us as a species from an astrological perspective.  Saturn's approaching the start of Libra, Pluto is at the start of Capricorn, and Uranus and Jupiter are approaching the start of Aries. These aspects really start crunching in about five weeks, and exacerbate at the end of July and start of August, when Venus and Mars also get involved, from when on it's a different ball game.  Just for the record, I don't believe in terrorists, same as I don't believe in normal perceptions of God.  Terrorism is just the latest religion by which to manipulate and control the masses, whether it's the odd fundamentalist nutter who'll let himself be hypnotized into carrying bombs or whether it's the fundamentalist old men using fear of terrorism as a method of control.  Believing and propagating this idea makes me a target for almost any scientific, religious or political group, so ...

All the stories I'm hearing of computers breaking down, journeys missed, agreements and house sales cancelled at the last minute - you're not alone.  I found out yesterday morning that all the readings I'd done in the previous three days hadn't come out right, it's going to take me another three days just to get where I was.  And yet what is the point of railing against Mercury retrograde?  It would be easy with its ongoing square to Mars to growl and get angry, but why bother.  But neither just grin and bear it, because then you won't get the message.  But what is the message of Mercury Rx in Taurus?  It seems to be that we are attaching too much influence to time and communication - everything has its right time and place, and as mere humans we can't direct that situation, only seek to influence it.  I recorded May's videos yesterday, I think the current M Rx is keeping us occluded from the awareness of what is just around the corner.  By the end of May things are going to be absolutely ripe, and we will collectively be going so fast that the last few months will seem ...

At heart I'm an ordinary guy who's lucky enough to find something I enjoy that I can make a living out of.  I don't write for the "meeja" with patronising articles or tacky sun sign forecasts.  I make less money than I would working in a factory or supermarket, and it's only by the grace of a few very special people in the past that I'm still in business.  I've learnt that in order for astrology to have got to where it has so far, the majority of practitioners have either gone down the populist or the academic/scientific road.  One trivialises the art, the other takes it apart and wonders why it doesn't work any more.  Neither acknowledge the true magick and the link with spirit.  I've always felt that I'm on some type of evolving path, that there is something ahead of me in the future, calling me and waiting for me ...

Mercury bxxxxy retrograde.... don't you love it?  Seven times every two years Mercury goes behind the Sun from our perspective, and if we could see it (which we can't because the Sun is in the way), we'd notice Mercury apparently going backwards against the backdrop of the stars.  M Rx brings communication breakdowns, delays, frustrations, strange computer problems, misunderstandings and is generally NOT a good time to agree or confirm new long term arrangements, whether contractual, travel or personal.  It's easy to associate this with the volcano, with M Rx in solid, immovable Taurus, but squared to feisty and fiery Mars in explosive Leo.  It's rank stupidity on the part of the government to call an election at this time.  I can prove that with the exceptions of the Hannoverians, the UK royal family have always listened at least to astrological advice, as have most if not all American presidents.  I don't work for the governement, but if I did I'd be sacking their astrologer, if such a person exists.  I am appalled and even aghast at the horoscope of UK general election (see yesterday's blog).  To my mind the current situation is unique, the only even remotely similar time ...

20.00 UK time.  Really busy, not been able to do the article I wanted on the three political leaders standing for election in the UK.  instead I've just thrown up the election chart for when the polls close - 6th May, 22.00, London - and it confirms my expectations.  The Saturn/Uranus opposition exactly on the Midheaven/Nadir, and at the same time Uranus exactly on top of the UK's Moon at 29 Pisces (there are three charts for the UK - I prefer the 1066 one).  It's crystal clear what this means to any astrologer worth their salt - that this election will throw the UK political and constitutional process into chaos and breakdown, and that the few months until the end of July will be changeable and unpredictable, with major (probably orchestrated) 'over the top' developments at the very end of May, start of June.  This is the most important UK election since the early 1960's at the least, possibly ever.  And although this won't mean anything to non UK readers, I have to say it because it's the catch phrase of the election so far - 'I agree with Nick'.  And one last minute thing - on Bloomberg TV ...

The volcano.  There are three astrological indicators, as I've hinted before.  The overriding aspect is that of Saturn opposite Uranus, order v. chaos, structure v. surprise.  The inadaptable structure of the Earth's plates grinding against each other doesn't encourage flexibility, and when there is no elasticity then holes open, giving chaos free reign.  And the coming few weeks, whilst Saturn and Uranus are exactly opposing each other with Jupiter also getting involved, shows even greater capacity for fracture, particularly around the Scorpio full Moon in a few days time.  I've also mentioned earlier about how a combination of Pluto (underworld) and Ceres (nurturing) is brewing in the background, and I've hinted a number of times about how I have ‘seen' this time as bringing hardship in food and pharmaceutical distribution, and that again, short term astrological indications are that the situation will get worse.  Sorry.  The second indicator is the approaching and strengthening ...

Flashback....  Six years ago I wrote the following:- 'Fascinating how astrology is currently sweeping Russia....  Many large hospitals have not only psychic surgeons but also astrological software in their delivery rooms.  In these delivery rooms, mortality rates are down to 0.3%.  But then the Russians are fifty years ahead than the west in psychic studies and related phenomena.  They prefer astrology to psychology or psychotherapy, which is seen as drab, grey and linked to the past, whilst astrology is rich, alive and vibrant.  They've sought to incorporate holistic attitudes and practises alongside basic materialism.  Next - here's three versions of astrology.  An illicit religion - the church.  A pseudo science - the scientists.  A vulgar and ignorant belief - the media.  That's the kettle calling the pot black, in my opinion.  To finish, here's a quote from Ann Geneva, pertaining to the 17^th century, but I think also to the 21st.  "Astrology in the 17^th century was not a science.  It was not a religion.  It was not magic.  ...

Immediate spot check, right here right now (10.00 am UK time).  Three hours away from new Moon in Aries, normally a great time for initiation and new beginnings.  And the new Moon's sextile to both Neptune and Chiron in late Aquarius does point to the instigation of a communitty wide holistic approach to opening up to more empathy and intuition.  And still, in the background, there's Saturn opposite Uranus.  Over a year now, with another three months to go yet.  Some see it as order versus chaos, but I prefer to think of it as a melding of invulnerable but adaptable structures with a flexible approach to surprise and innovation.  And really in the background, in the deep, deep Capricornian depths, there's the ongoing combination of Pluto and Ceres, a ticking time bomb in terms of food management if ever I've seen one.  Today is all about Aries, and that means starting afresh.  Bring things into the open, get everything on the table.  Then, even if you don't like it, at least you know where you stand and you can clearly see who and what is with you or not.  So - forehead off of the ground, head up, whistle ...

In four and a half days time, Mercury goes retrograde (M Rx) until the 11/12th of May.  This is happening in the first half of Taurus, so have a look at your chart and see what house this falls in and then expect ongoing challenges for the short term.  I often find that the influence of a M Rx begins about two weeks before it actually stands still, so we are already well inside the time frame of influence.  Classically, M Rx brings with it misunderstandings, miscommunications and a general sense of unease when you realise that you're not getting your message across.  Especially in Taurus, one of the body signs, I might suggest that for the coming month your body language and facial characteristics are more likely to communicate your intentions than your words are.  With M Rx in Taurus it's not about explaining yourself, it's about getting your feelings across, and sometimes actions do indeed speak louder than words.  The imagery I get here is of us as a species having reached the limit of our training, and we're now putting on our space suit and getting ready for insertion into the capsule.  Launch time is suggested as ...

Nine a.m, Monday morning.....  Actually, today is likely to be memorable.  The Moon's at the end of Pisces, conjunct Uranus, opposite Saturn and square Pluto over the next sixteen hours, I expect pre-shocks.  Later today we'll have the Sun and Moon in Aries, with Mercury, Venus and Mars in the fixed signs of Taurus and Leo.  Dynamic/fixed, action/resistance, it's likely to be a boisterous day.  So much to mention, so little time.  Look at what the USA is doing regarding health care, standing up to Israel and particularly regarding the nuclear issue.  America once again is turning into the world leader its chart shows that it can be, by humanity and compassion rather than guns and burgers.  And with Neptune on the USA Moon all year and Saturn sitting on its Midheaven until August, this is a great chance for America to re-invent itself in the world's eye.  Israel's chart, with its Mars opposite the USA Moon and being opposed all year by Neptune, is in limbo, stepping into the cloud for a time.  As for the UK general election...  the wet duck in a thunderstorm versus the dour, granite faced sourpuss.  I want to see Green policies in the ...

I didn't post yesterday because I was in a foul mood, and I'd rather post nothing than whinging drivel.  In mitigation, I am a Cancerian.  Spent a lot of time on futurology websitesinstead, there are so many different perspectives on how the future is going to be at the moment.  The advent of nanotech with exponentially advancing information and data systems is the next big thing.  It's almost impossible to believe that twenty years ago the few mobile phones there were had the shape of bricks.  Ten years ago, how many people had the internet?  And it seems to me that we're right on the cusp of a jump from an increasingly diverse material world into a new empathic/spiritual - techno-pagan attitude towards life of and on earth.  The more I get into eschatology (the study of those parts of theology and philosophy that deals with cross cultural notions of the end of history and time) the more I see astrology as the timetable for planetary and individual consciousness ...

Getting towards the business end of the month, Saturn's just retrograded into Virgo for the final time in 27 years, there's a different hum to the underlying engine noise just in the last 24 hours that says that clear lines are being drawn in the sand.  The outer planet face off occuring in the last week of this month is acting as an attractor, we're heading into some type of tunnel.  In a weird way I'm not unhappy about Mercury going retrograde from mid April to mid May, it will give us all an out of kilter way of seeing the events of the world that should keep the majority of us sane.  Of course, individual things worry me, like the 'general election' in the UK (like that's going to happen the way it's supposed to!) or Israel's nuclear weapons.  The horoscope of Israel (14.5.48, 16.00, Tel Aviv) shows that this year is absolutely critical for that country, and the coming few weeks especially are volatile.  Saturn opposite Uranus, Saturn inconjunct Neptune.  The old order breaking down, being replaced by an as yet nebulous new culture of individuality combined with globalism that will become steadily more obvious after mid August ...

And if yesterday was basic astrology, today is pure...  Patterns comes in cycles and waves, but every so often I find recurring patterns in client's charts that is just uncanny.  I've done about twenty readings in the last ten days, and over half of them have had Mars opposite Saturn as a pattern in their chart.  Yet Mars is only opposite Saturn for about twelve days every two years, so from this I guess that the universe wants me to concentrate on this angle.  Mars is about physical energy, it's bravery and heroism, violence and warfare, bedroom antics and gym behaviour, how you project and assert yourself.  Saturn sets boundaries, brings limitations and restrictions but also encourages you to work hard for long term structured reward.  Mars opposite Saturn I find talks of suppressed and repressed rage at male role model, whether god, taxman, father, employer, state or teacher.  I encourage these people to find a constructive and precise way of physically expressing themselves (martial arts, disciplined duration exercise, active physical lifestyle) as opposed to blowing up every so often and taking half the planet with them.  And the key to this is that of self discipline, on the grounds ...

Basic astrology today.  A number of people have asked me to differentiate between the signs and the houses, so here goes.  The signs show the ways in which the planetary energies manifest themselves in and through the individual.  The houses show the ways in which the planetary energies, modified by the quality of the sign that they are in, come across in the eyes of the outside world.  Example - a person might have four planets in Leo, giving the impression of fiery and creative energy.  But they might have Taurus rising, putting all of their Leo planets in the 4^th house.  The fourth house relates to the fourth sign - Cancer.  So although their close friends and family will recognise the Leonine attributes, by the time these attributes get out to the outside world, they will be seen in a watery, emotional and moody way (4^th house).  In my chart, I have ...

What did the total solar eclipse on 11August 1999 do on the world stage?  Looking back, I can't see significant developments around that time that stand out, it did nothing in terms of world events.  But I have never seen or heard of any bigger or more significant trigger in people's individual charts or lives.  It forcibly transformed people, not the world, the light of the sun was cut off, people stood alone, unsupported.  Personal evolution either accelerated or downsized from that point on.  The repercussions of that time are still reverberating.  And the accompanying Grand Cross to that eclipse occurred in the middle of the fixed signs, whilst the Grand Cross yet to come in August 2010 is at the start of the cardinal signs.   What crazy days we live in.  It is as if all of time and history has been compressed into such a short spell.  Contrary to contemporary thought, ...

As I write, the Moon is with Pluto, Mercury is with Venus and all four of them are facing off with Mars, and it's going to be like this all day, so expect both volatile stubborness as well as highly charged sensual and sexual undercurrents.  And when Venus, Mars and Pluto get involved be sure that sex is never far away.  Sometimes it's difficult to be clear about the difference betwen sex and love, and when these three start mixing it, subtlety goes out the window.  So for today either be very clear with yourself and other(s) about what you want, or else just sit on it.  And - apparently some obscure ancient cult holds today as special because someone martyred themselves for us.  I read a great book once where a guy found a time machine which could take him on a one way trip anywhen into the past, so he chose to go to Palestine 2,000 years ago to see for himself the truth.  When he got there all the characters in the play were there except the main man himself.  He found the carpenter and wife, but they'd only had daughters.  He found the twelve disciples, but ...

Firstly, a comment on you.  Since December, the blog has become more interactive and the feedback quality truly exceptional.  There are twenty or so regular contributors plus other occasional writers to whom I ascribe the highest of accolades - that of intelligence, integrity and passion (and probably the secret desire to regularly cut loose on the dance floor).  Once finance permits, I will try and get it upgraded into a forum.  Secondly, in response to the comments of recent days, let me hypothesize a little further.  The acceleration of evolutionary intensity as symbolised by the strengthening planetary patterns suggests much faster event potentials in the short term, which may shock and bring permanent change into our worlds.  But it will also push and initiate, and we will jump forward, either willingly or kicking and screaming.  And the physical/non physical template is already in place, as in the internet, an invisible web of information covering the surface of the planet.  What will it take to turn that web up a notch or three and make it a web of intuitive, emotive and empathic resonance?  All my life I've waited for these times, and although I really look forward to mid August ...

Firstly, a comment on you.  Since December, the blog has become more interactive and the feedback quality truly exceptional.  There are twenty or so regular contributors plus other occasional writers to whom I ascribe the highest of accolades - that of intelligence, integrity and passion (and probably the secret desire to regularly cut loose on the dance floor).  Once finance permits, I will try and get it upgraded into a forum.  Secondly, in response to the comments of recent days, let me hypothesize a little further.  The acceleration of evolutionary intensity as symbolised by the strengthening planetary patterns suggests much faster event potentials in the short term, which may shock and bring permanent change into our worlds.  But it will also push and initiate, and we will jump forward, either willingly or kicking and screaming.  And the physical/non physical template is already in place, as in the internet, an invisible web of information covering the surface of the planet.  What will it take to turn that web up a notch or three and make it a web of intuitive, emotive and empathic resonance?  All my life I've waited for these times, and although I really look forward to mid August ...

And here's something positive for the weekend....  The intensity of the astrological configurations of the last two decades has not only brought about all the doom and gloom that has beset the world, it has also forced individuals to evolve at a vastly accelerated rate.  Intuition and psychic sensitivity are rapidly  becoming the order of the day.  Imagine a world without secrets, where all plots become instantaneously obvious, where there cannot be hidden agendas.  Warfare, or bad intentions, can't develop without becoming immediately obvious to all.  The crookedness of the business world would become completely transparent.  There would be an end to lies and deceit in all forms of relationships, personal and otherwise.  And if this intuition and sensitivity were to be moved along another notch into a world of telepathy, we would all realise that there is no-one to plot against, that there are no enemies and we could all live together ...

Sun signs for April are now up, sorry about the delay but remember I'm a one man band, and that's no April fool....  This month - in the background but getting noisier, the ‘big boys' of the astrological world, Pluto, Saturn and Uranus are slogging it out in a way that is going to steadily impact upon all of our lives as the end of the month approaches, in a way that is going to bring a more flexible approach to life.  After all, necessity is the mother of invention, and the coming few months are going to change the ways in which we live with each other for the long term future.  But in the foreground there are two very different energies coming through into the day by day world.  Firstly, Jupiter is still picking up speed through Pisces, and the coming ...