Tales to Tell...

Astrology

Was it a Bird? Was it a Plane?

It is often interesting to look back on events and forecasts, and we have come across this article from early 1997, written for BAPS’ Mercury magazine just before the UK general election of that year, when Tony Blair’s New Labour Party ousted John Major and the Conservatives from power.

On the 19th of March 1997, (the comet) Hale-Bopp became visible to the naked eye and on the same day, the conservatives announced the general election. At the time of writing this, we are still almost a month away from the election, so at the moment, I can only speculate on its outcome. However, comets are known for bringing long running dynasties and empires to an end, so maybe the arrival of this particular comet announces the end of the current generation-long run of the conservative ‘empire’.

In order to discover the comet’s position in the sky, I treated myself to the April issue of Sky and Telescope, an astronomy magazine that I read from time to time. The illustrations showed the path of the comet through the ASTRONOMICAL zodiac signs of Pisces and Aries, heading off towards Taurus by the beginning of May. The problem here is that there is a difference of almost a whole zodiac sign between the actual constellations that are in the sky now and the ancient figures that astrologers use. So, from our astrological point of view, Hale-Bopp does its thing in the northern hemisphere through the signs of Aries, Taurus and Gemini, crossing the ecliptic in Gemini, slowing down its journey along the line of zodiac signs and just clipping Cancer before it becomes invisible to the naked eye once again. Watching Hale-Bopp travelling through Andromeda and heading towards the Pleiades has been an odd experience. It looked like a large star throwing out a veil of light around and behind it in a strange shape reminiscent of a peacock’s eye.

So, what does all this mean to astrologers? Comets have long had an evil reputation, being associated with the death of emperors and the collapse of institutions. However, before we become too pessimistic, we ought to consider that there are literally thousands of comets wandering close to and sometimes through the Solar system every year. Very few of them are clearly visible to the naked eye, and, in ancient times, such celestial objects could only be seen with the naked eye, so it was those that inspired awe and fear in the hearts of ancient astronomer/astrologers.

Arians, Taureans and Geminians in particular are experiencing major changes in their lives while this comet passes by. The chances are that, by the time you read this, the comet will affect those who have sensitive features on their natal charts in the later degrees of Gemini and the early ones of Cancer. If we go back to our political theme, it is interesting to note that Mr Major’s Sun is in Aries and Mr Blair’s Sun is in Taurus, also Tony Blair has Gemini on his ascendant. While crossing Aries, Hale-Bopp made a transit to Saturn, which is at the moment sitting in the sign of Aries. Saturn rules Capricorn, which is the sign on John Major’s ascendant. If that were not enough, Paddy Ashdown is a Piscean and the passage of this comet, along with other features on Mr Ashdown’s chart suggest that he may be considering winding down his own personal political career. So, whichever way this election goes - and by the time you read this, it will be all over - massive changes are on the way for John Major and Tony Blair, and, according to the ancients, more than one dynasty will come to an end. It will be interesting to see what happens in other countries too. The last comet brought death to the Korean ‘emperor’, Kim Il Sung.

I am writing this article on the 3rd of April. I am writing about what is, at this moment in time, yet to come, but of course, by the time you read this article, the matters I am speculating about will already be in the past! I suspect that by the time this article reaches you, those of you who have planets in these signs will be able to look back on some pretty big changes that have happened in your own lives.

Judging by people who are around me at the time of writing, there will have been plenty going on. I am already noticing among my friends who have the Sun, Moon or ascendant in Gemini that they are facing family illness and even losses by death. Many have health problems of their own, most of them involving losses of some body parts, mainly in the dentist’s chair! There are also losses of homes, the ending of jobs and businesses and changes of life that are extremely dramatic. Arians and Taureans seem to have been aware of changes in their own lives since the beginning of the year, but it is the Gemini crew who are really on the move now. Also, the effect will be stronger for the Geminis than for any other sign. The reason for this is that the comet is close to the Earth while in Gemini and it also crosses the ecliptic (the apparent path of the Sun) through the sign of Gemini.

The outcome of all this, whether on a political or a personal basis, is that the changes will feel like a fresh breeze blowing through a great number of lives, changing them in important ways, but also offering terrific opportunities for fresh starts, for learning from the past and for facing change instead of living with stagnation.

So, to all those who have planets or ascendants in Aries, Taurus, Gemini or Cancer and to a lesser extent, the signs that oppose those (Libra, Scorpio, Sagittarius and Capricorn), if you find yourselves being faced with mega-changes, it is all the fault of that nasty old comet, Hale-Bopp. Actually, I thought it looked lovely, even though my own Taurus and Gemini planets and my Gemini ascendant are finding its effects quite amazing. My fiancé has four planets in Gemini and he is feeling the effects of this planet even more strongly than me. Our wedding day will be marked by the Sun, Moon mid-heaven and Hale-Bopp all in Gemini. Could be interesting, no?

[Tales to Tell...]