Leo, Aquarius, a climate bill, a monarch’s death, Pluto – and a changing world order

What a week!

As UK Prime Minister Harold Wilson famously quipped during the UK’s sterling crisis in 1964: “A week is a long time in politics.”

It feels like a very long time already since much of the UK – with, supposedly, around half the world’s population – watched Queen Elizabeth ii’s state funeral, signifying the end of an Era as the longest reign in British history came to an end. But, as I write, it is less than a week.

 And what a week – indeed, what a month it has been since Tuesday 16 August 2022 when US President Joe Biden signed into law the Democrat’s hard-fought healthcare, climate and tax package the Inflation Reduction Act. The law directs a colossal $369bn toward investing in renewable energy and reducing America’s planet-heating emissions.

“With this law, the American people won and the special interests lost,” Biden said.(i) 

To me, this powerful Aquarian statement by the US President aptly signifies the turbulent, changing world era we are going through at present which the larger planetary cycles have been symbolically revealing to us so powerfully as we tiny humans struggle to cope – and try to make some sense of it all. His words are so apt. 

Pluto’s Aquarian long march begins

We will see some major developments at all levels as Pluto completes his 2008-2023/4 traverse of Capricorn and power (Pluto) shifts towards The People, away from crumbling traditional Capricornian institutions, plutocrats, oligarchs, and from politics rooted in gaining material power and control through exploitation of planet Earth’s diminishing resources.

Next spring, Pluto’s long 2023-2044 journey through Aquarius begins. The sign of the human collective, Aquarius symbolises an energy driven to pursuing and promoting ideals regarding how we should be moving forward in order to create a fairer, more equal world. It is a highly rational, technology and future-oriented, “Let’s get together to make the world a better place”, kind of energy. 

The Jupiter/Saturn conjunction at 0 Aquarius on the Winter Solstice of 2020 (WHO chose that date?!) symbolised the end of that defining conjunction’s long trek from 1803 through the Earth Element, heralding the beginning of a new 200-year Air era,  heavily weighted towards Aquarius in its opening stages by Pluto’s imminent entry.

Along with many other astrologers whose primary interest is in the outworking on planet Earth of the larger planetary patterns, I have been fascinated – and at times awestruck – to see how that oft-quoted ancient maxim “As above, so below…” has been playing out especially vividly in recent weeks. As Pluto transits the final degrees of Capricorn, and Saturn-ruled Capricorn/Cancer loses ground to the rising power of Uranus-ruled Aquarius/Leo in this very turbulent time world-wide between changing eras, we have seen those symbolic energies play out ‘on the ground’ so clearly.

Leo/Aquarius as the Air Era rises – dramatic world events

Here are a few highlights, in which the interplay between the Ruler(s) (Leo) and the People (Aquarius) can be seen with the dominant energy of the rising Air era coming to the fore and the ‘old order’ crumbling and collapsing.

 In the spring of 2022 Vladimir Putin’s Russian army invaded Ukraine, confidently expecting victory within days. Six months later, the enormity of his misjudgement is becoming increasingly evident as the tide of war turns in Ukraine’s favour owing to the people’s courageous resistance – and solid Western support. 

In early July, UK’s prime minister Boris Johnson finally resigned after a growing crescendo of scandal and popular dissatisfaction leading to mass resignations from his government forced him out. Then we had the historic USA climate bill in mid-August, already mentioned. Currently, too, the net of the USA’s legal system appears to be tightening around Trump and his family. 

Also, this week in Iran, women have been at the forefront of escalating protests across the country – especially by young people – against the punitive mediaeval rule of male clerics, sparked by the death in custody of a woman detained for breaking hijab laws.

And, most dramatically in the UK on 6 September, Boris Johnson formally demitted office to Queen Elizabeth ii, who welcomed Liz Truss as the new UK prime minister –then died aged 96 two days later, doing her Capricornian duty to the end. The ancient archetype of the death of a monarch has caused powerful ripples through our collective and personal lives, regardless of what politics we espouse.

The Queue – Aquarian herald of the Air era

For me personally, the most moving manifestation of the incoming Leo/Aquarius polarity as the old Cancer/Capricorn era fades out, was observing the UK public’s reaction to our Queen’s death and short lying in state in Edinburgh, followed by the longer lying in state in London. What an enormous flow of The People filed past the Queen’s coffin both in Scotland and in England, accompanied by thousands of citizens from all areas of the UK as well as much further afield. 

It was astounding that hundreds of thousands of people were prepared to wait all night in a queue which ultimately wove its way through the streets of London for 4-5 miles in the days before Elizabeth’s state funeral on Monday 20th September: Aquarius – the People – came to pay their last respects to Leo – the Monarch. 

Striking, too, was the Aquarian ‘feel’ to the famous Queue. Many people expressed the view that being in The Queue was an event in itself. New friendships were made, people shared food and drink, generally supporting and entertaining one another during the very long wait. Wouldn’t it be great to think of that community spirit growing stronger as Pluto enters Aquarius and hopefully turbo-powers our interconnectedness?

Now, we have to wait and see what next Spring brings – but strong clues re the possible shape of the new era are already evident, as discussed in this article. People power is on the rise. Let’s hope that the enormous changes ahead, eventually, bring more light than shadow…

Endnote

(i) UK Guardian 16.8.22: “ ‘Biggest step forward on climate ever’: Biden signs Democrats’ landmark bill…”.

1000 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2022
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

Can astrology account for twin differences? Yes it can…

In this six minute reading from my latest book “Postcards to the Future” – a collection of 60 essays, articles and columns published between 1995 and 2021 – I tackle one of the most frequent questions astrologers are ever asked: how does astrology account for twin differences when especially with identical twins, they both have almost identical birth charts or horoscopes? I formulated a theory based on my own observations over years, then tested it out with my students. I think you’ll find the results fascinating. We certainly did!

 ‘Postcards to the Future: Mercurial Musings 1995-2021…’ is available everywhere on Amazon, here for Amazon UK , locally in Glasgow G20 at the lovely Opal Moon, in London at The Astrology Shop and Watkins Books – and from The Wessex Astrologer.

Photo: Alex Trenoweth

150 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2022

Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page of Writing from the Twelfth House

For love of wild landscapes – returning to the North…

Rolling stones do eventually run out of restlessness, if they are lucky. I came to rest in Glasgow, Scotland, UK, by an accident of fate – by putting a wrong number on a university application form. ( long story – some other time…) it was a fortuitous twist of fate, since I have been happy here, and have no desire to move again, ever.

Standing Stones in Winter
Standing Stones in Winter

But every so often, I need a ‘fix’ of the land where I was born and raised. The land, sea and skyscapes of the North-West of Scotland inspired me from my earliest days. I can still recall lying tucked up in bed listening to wild January gales tearing the world apart outside, wondering what Power drove all that mighty energy. The Northern Lights transfixed me with their beauty. The unpolluted  night skies revealed magical star patterns to my youthful imagination, inspiring my writing from a very young age. I still need scenic wildness, scenic beauty regardless of weather or season.

So – here we are, for a few days’ vacation. I thought I’d share a few of my photos. The bottom one is me, spaced out on horizons and fresh air…What is the landscape which calls you Readers to return? I’d love to hear!

IMG_2007IMG_2048IMG_2061 IMG_2073

200 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2015
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

The Scottish Independence Referendum: a Scottish astrologer’s view

Just posted on Astrology: Questions and Answers: To read my thoughts on the Scottish Independence Referendum, viewed through the lens of the larger, and extremely turbulent, contemporary world picture, click HERE 

Scotland's Horoscope
Scotland’s Horoscope

Tragedy, shock….and heartwarming courage. Glasgow today.

As I write, thirty two people are in emergency hospital beds across our city. We do not know how many people have died as sniffer dogs, fire and police service personnel carefully comb the rubble of the Clutha Vaults pub, searching for signs of life – or death. Shocked families wait to hear news of their loved ones.

Clutha Vaults helicopter crash
Clutha Vaults helicopter crash

This is a devastating incident which has touched many lives and will continue to do so as the days and weeks unfold.  With profound irony, this is St Andrews Day: a day when we celebrate the richness of what it means to be Scottish.

And yet….

We lay in bed this morning, shocked, having woken up on a lazy Saturday to awful news. And yet….through the jagged tempo of tragedy, we began to hear the strong heartbeat of Glasgow. A heartbeat we have heard before through other tragedies. The strong pulse of ordinary citizens caring for one another, some risking their lives to do so, not knowing whether the pub shattered by a helicopter’s plummet from the night sky was going to explode into fire and flames.

People called the emergency services immediately. Others formed a human chain to escort their fellows blinded by dust, blood and shock to safety. Passers by did not run away: they ran to see what could be done to help. Other folk sat on the street with the injured, tucked their emergency blankets round them, waited till the ambulances came. The rescue operation, well planned, swung fast into action. Gordon Matheson, the City Council leader, was eloquent in his praise of rescue services – and of ordinary citizens.

There is another Glasgow, a generous spirited Glasgow, the one that films sensationalising Glasgow’s at times violent history do not show. I am a Glaswegian by adoption, having lived here for over thirty years, my husband even longer. I too have been on the receiving end of the small and large kindnesses, laughs and warmth which are characteristic of living here. I hope I have returned these too.

Today, in the midst of disruption, pain and tragedy, I feel proud to call myself a citizen.

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400 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2013

Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

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Even sceptics see ghosts !

Samhain Blessings!
Samhain Blessings!

Have you ever seen a ghost? Even when you did not believe in them? I would be interested to hear your stories as we enter the time when the ‘veil between the worlds’ is supposedly thin….here is my story….do leave yours as a comment on this post. 

An imaginative child, I found going upstairs to bed scary most nights, having probably heard too many ghost stories as I grew up in the storm-tossed Outer Hebrides – home to many a Celtic tale of the otherworld of the supernatural. 

There was the woman wrapped in plaid who jostled my maternal grandfather in the winter dark as he traversed the remote, eerie Uig Glen. There was my maternal great-grandmother’s hearing the wheels of lorries rumbling through her remote village toward a deserted headland – many years before they actually came, bearing the materials to build an RAF station there. There was at least one ghost car. There were the shades of the dead appearing to those few in possession of the Sight – sure harbingers of imminent family death. There were ghostly lights luring sailors to their deaths in stormy seas. More has been forgotten than I could ever now recall.

Fortunately for me, vivid imagination has always sat in tandem with a strongly empirical streak. So I was a true sceptic –– until the day I  saw a ghost for myself….

Perthshire, Scotland, Autumn 1977

It was the autumn of 1977. My twenties had been turbulent. Restless wandering – from one career to another, one city to another, one set of friendships to another, and one dwelling place to another – characterised the whole decade. Now, I was in a mood to settle. Time to face my dissatisfactions, rather than running away when novelty wore off and disillusion set in.

Resolution thus colouring my mood, I left Dundee in September 1977 to do my social work training at Glasgow University. Having been such a hippie in my twenties, all I owned could be fitted into several boxes and stowed in the back of my old blue Morris Traveller.

I set off to spend a night or two, en route to my new abode in Glasgow, with my boyfriend at the time who lived in the scenic market town of Perth, half way between Dundee and Glasgow. The Dundee to Perth road was mostly dual carriageway, and a distance of about twenty five miles. I drove happily through the area known as the Carse of Gowrie, which grew the best raspberries in Britain. “Pity I’m in a hurry”, I thought. “A few raspberries for supper would be nice.” It was a clear evening, around seven pm, growing dusk. There was very little traffic on the road. A few miles outside Perth, my headlights picked out a male cyclist on a racing bike, a little way ahead of me. I pulled into the overtaking lane to pass him – and he vanished.

I arrived at Peter’s flat very shaken by this experience. “I can’t believe I imagined it. What I saw was definitely a cyclist. He was as substantial on that road as you are, standing right now in your kitchen !”

Peter was quiet for a few moments. He looked thoughtful, as if trying to decide whether to say something or not. At last he told me that a young male cyclist had been killed on that stretch of road a year or so previously. This was something of which I had no knowledge. Why should his ghost appear to me?

“Firstly, because you’re so sensitive anyway. Cast your mind back to some other odd happenings which have occurred  since we’ve been together. Secondly, your life is in transition. I think at those times, normal consciousness is more porous, as it were. Impressions from other layers of ‘reality’ find it easier to seep through….”

I remember feeling quite relieved that I wouldn’t be travelling on that stretch of road for the foreseeable future….

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NOTE: this story is an extract from “Wisps from the Dazzling Darkness – a sceptic’s take on paranormal experience “ which will be available as a downloadable pdf from this site shortly. If you’d like to be informed of the publication date, do send your email address to me at: info@anne-whitaker.com, titling the email “Dazzling Darkness book”.

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700 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2013

Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

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Season of autumn, autumn of life….

I’m feeling philosophical as the autumn leaves start to fall….I feel wealthy in experience, in loving connections, in my talents, in such wisdom as I’ve managed to distil from life’s inevitable pains. My taste is to savour and treasure life’s small gifts: kicking through the first dry drifts of rich autumnal auburn, savouring my little granddaughter’s occasional impulsive loving hugs and kisses. My taste is also for taking time: to be quiet, be alone, to read, to walk in Nature, to reflect on what my life thus far has meant – and what may be to come.

You won’t find me in the gym, sweating it out with my peers whose main motivation is to keep age at bay. I’m not saving up for my first facelift. I don’t look enviously at fresh faces and taut bodies. Whilst celebrating their youth, I am glad to be no longer young.

Anne Whitaker
Anne Whitaker

In ancient times, when a woman reached menopause and began to feel the pull of death and rebirth into a new life phase, her tribe let her go free of duties for a year or so. She could wander, go deep into the forest, across the far hills, seeking solitude, time for reflection. She might gather roots and herbs only found in hidden places, to be used later. She had time to forge a deeper connection with Spirit than her busy life had previously allowed.

She would look at her lined face and grey hair in still river pools, sleep under the stars, slowly facing the fact that she was in the last phase of her life. By the time she returned she had deeply accepted the Great Round of birth, growth, maturation, decline, death and renewal. Having completed the mid life rite of passage, she was refreshed and ready to serve her tribe again.

Her experience, knowledge and wisdom was valued and recognised : healer, midwife, mentor to the young, spiritual counsellor, she had her place in her community till the day she died.

“ But this is the twenty-first century!” I hear you say. “Things are very different now.”

I wonder. Are they? It is certainly true that humans have never lived such comfortable, materially sophisticated lives as they do now, if they live in the affluent societies of the West. Within this current cultural phase, there is a powerful preoccupation with one stage of life. Youth.

It is possible because of huge advances in science, medicine and technology to delay the process of ageing. Death has come to be seen as a defeat, rather than a normal part of the whole life cycle.

From gnats to galaxies, everything is woven into the Great Round. Why should humans think themselves exempt ?

Everything passes, and we pass with it. Denial of this robs us of the opportunity to face and accept the flow of life as it is. Acceptance, which takes experience, courage, reflection, and time, can lead to happiness and spiritual peace. Denial of any kind usually trails misery in its wake.The  mid life rite of passage is presented to us all, the choice being denial or acceptance.

The latter road is slower and harder, but infinitely more rewarding in the end.

autumn
autumn

600 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2013

Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

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The sacred Isle of Iona: magical by full moon light

Last week we had a wonderfully restorative trip to the magical, mystical Isle of Iona, off the West Coast of Scotland, a place of pilgrimage for seekers from all over the world.

On the night of the full moon, I went out for a twilight stroll by the sea, from which rose an evening haar, creating a hazy filter through which the full moon glowed. I took some very atmospheric photos.Here is a moonlit image one of the spectacular High Crosses to be found on the island:

Iona Cross, Full Moon, August 21 2013
Iona Cross, Full Moon, August 21 2013

photo: Anne Whitaker

Today this ‘thin place’ offers the rare chance of escaping from nearly all of the unwelcome trappings of the twenty first century. To a great many people it is the desert island of dreams come true. Whether or not one is religious there is a spiritual peace to be found here, perhaps best reflected in the words of the composer Mendelssohn, after his visit to Iona in 1829:

“…when in some future time I shall sit in a madly crowded assembly with music and dancing round me, and the wish arises to retire into the loneliest loneliness, I shall think of Iona…”

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200 words copyright Anne Whitaker 2013
Licensed under Creative Commons – for conditions see Home Page

Excitement in Glasgow’s Children’s Wood at the end of June….

“Wild spaces are invaluable to children, especially those growing up in
towns. They stimulate the imagination and nurture the spirit. Places
like the Children’s Wood within North Kelvin Meadow (Glasgow) are hard to come
by in urban settings and so should be preserved at all costs.”

Julia Donaldson, author of The Gruffalo and recent U.K Children’s Laureate

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This is not just a local issue. This issue is one of the major challenges of our time right across the world.

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Our local campaign has gained great momentum and attracted world-wide attention in the last year: come down to the The Children’ Wood and support the latest event!

Scotland’s greatest living artist and writer Alasdair Gray will read, for the first time ever, to an audience of children on the 30th June, 2013. He has chosen to read from the well loved Just So Stories and some Hans Christian Anderson fairy tales.

There will be many activities for all ages to enjoy during the afternoon: food, crafts, lucky dips, second hand children’s items, window boxes, home baking, face painting, plus lots more….

Alasdair Gray at The Children's Wood
Alasdair Gray at The Children’s Wood

Do come along and support the campaign. If you can’t do that, then how about Liking the Children’s Wood Facebook page?

 

The Children’s Wood West-End Festival Gala programme

Our local Glasgow, Scotland UK campaign continues with some summer fun for young and old. Do come along and support us!