Welcome to Joanna’s Astrology Blog
Exciting News!
I’ve been been nominated in the BEST LOVED ASTROLOGER category of the Soul & Spirit Awards 2015. This is an amazing honour as this means that I’m now in the final five, along with Yasmin Boland, Russell Grant, Michele Knight and Jonathan Cainer. THANK YOU to everyone who took the time to nominate me. The next step is to vote for me if you wish to do so – and when you vote for your winners, you’ll be entered into the prize draw to win one of 8 amazing giveaways worth more than £2,600, including a 7 night trip to Bali, Bach Original Flower Essences kits, a place on a Cosmic Ordering Workshop and an AromaWorks Beauty Bundle! HOW CAN YOU WIN? Fill in THIS VOTING FORM before 20th September 2015 and you will automatically be entered into the prize draw. The award winners will be announced in the November 2015 issue of Soul & Spirit, on sale 21st October 2015. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT!
The Astrology Blog – 7 July 2015
All times posted in BST
Firstly a big thank you to everyone who has voted for me so far for the Soul & Spirit magazine awards. Without wishing to be self deprecating the reality is that the other four astrologers in this category of Best Loved Astrologer are big names and much better known than I am, including Russell Grant who is the actual astrologer for S & S magazine itself! That’s not to say that I can’t win but it’s all the more reason why I need your votes.
Just to be clear – when you voted last time it was to nominate me. This time it’s to vote for me to win the category in which I’ve been nominated, and you can vote any time between now and mid September.
It’s very easy to do –
• Just click on the link and it will take you to the Awards page of Soul and Spirit magazine
• You’ll see a bright pink bar saying CLICK HERE TO VOTE. This will take you to a page that lists all the categories
• If you don’t want to vote for any of the other categories then there is the option to click on “Other” and write n/a
• The second page is for your personal details so that they can contact you if you win a prize!
What can you win?
When you vote you’ll be entered automatically into the prize draw to win one of 8 giveaways, worth more than £2,600, which are all prizes well worth winning –
• a 7 night trip to Bali
• Bach Original Flower Essences kits
• a place on a Cosmic Ordering Workshop
• an AromaWorks Beauty Bundle
I’d be thrilled if one of my voters were to win one of these prizes, so good luck!
What’s happening this week?
On the subject of voting the big news is, of course, the referendum in Greece. I’m not a political expert by any stretch of the imagination but as I live here I feel compelled to comment and to attempt to place the crisis in some astrological content. If politics bore you then you can skip this next section or if you’re confused about the situation then, trust me, you’re not alone!
The simplest parallel is credit card debt – it’s like asking Barclaycard to raise your credit limit over and over again so that you can carry on making repayments to them. This works if you know that you’ve got a well paid job lined up or money coming in from somewhere else that will sort things out at a later date, but if you haven’t of course the situation just spirals on downwards. Eventually the lender is forced to address the fact that the debt is actually getting bigger, not smaller, and the only thing that’s coming back to them is their own money… and then even that dries up too.
Millions of Greeks voted on Sunday in a crucial referendum on whether or not to accept the terms of an international bailout – terms which included further austerity measures, such as pension cuts and rises in VAT. The European Commission – one of the “troika” of creditors along with the IMF and the ECB (European Central Bank) – wanted Athens to raise taxes and slash welfare spending to meet its debt obligations.
The feeling on the street is that the austerity measures imposed so far have been bad enough – but, most importantly, are not working. How much more tax can the average worker be expected to pay when they are already being taxed on every single Euro? And in a country with a population of about 11 million (cf Germany – population of nearly 83 million) how many workers can the country actually hit for a debt of 323 billion Euros? Looking at the maths alone is enough, for me, to see why the No vote was the only one that made any sense.
Also the Greek people are EXTREMELY family conscious and treat their elderly with enormous respect. The threat of reduction in pensions alone was enough to bring out the warrior even in those who hadn’t considered themselves to be political animals. The media talks about wages disappearing as if this is something new. It isn’t. I know people in the medical profession for example who haven’t been paid for months. Our local pharmacist struggles on to procure drugs from certain companies who won’t send to Greece and haven’t been doing for months. The reality is that the banks have already been closed for over a week – the cash machines here in Nidri where I live are empty and have been since last Tuesday. Just yesterday I was told that there was now cash in the ATM at the one and only bank, so I went along, only to see the guy in front of me get his card eaten…. So I decided not to risk it!
People already have a big taste of what it’s like to live in a collapsing economy and the wage labourers are, as in any capitalist system, the ones who get thumped the hardest. (Wage labour refers to the class-structure of capitalism, whereby workers receive either a wage or a salary, and owners receive the profits – Wikipedia)
The Astrology
On Sunday the “applying” aspect – the main astrological picture in the making – reflected the political situation and the win for the NO voters –
Monday Sun opposite Pluto at 14 degrees Cancer/Capricorn (16.37)
Sun in Cancer (planet of identity and the life force in the sign of home, family, roots, preservation) versus Pluto in Capricorn (the “all or nothing” power/control planet in the sign of ambition, hierarchy and tradition) symbolises perfectly the “back against the wall” scenario, and calling the bluff of one’s creditors/captors/dictators etc.
The Prime Minister Tsipras is a clever guy, and a proud Leo – he was voted in on a wave of anti austerity pledges, so there is no way that he could have agreed to the terms of the bailout on behalf of the Greek people, even if he’d wanted to, without losing all credibility. At one point there was even talk of his resignation, rather than suffer that ultimate humiliation, but instead he threw the ball back into the court of the people with a referendum – knowing that either they’d back him on his NO policy, and stand up to the creditors or, in the event of a YES majority, it would be the decision of the collective and not the result of giving in to political “terrorism” – as declared by the finance minister Yanis Varoufakis – who has now resigned, and so far I haven’t read anything that explains that in a way that makes sense other than he was too much of a loose cannon.
What next? As with any individual and credit cards, either debt gets written off or a new debt plan has to be agreed. At the moment it’s the possibility of the latter that is crucial, but the issue is that it has to be realistic and sustainable. Again there’s a division –
“With pressure growing on the Greek banking system, the eurozone summit will have to give a pretty clear signal that it thinks progress can be made. But the two most important leaders in the eurozone, Angela Merkel and Francois Hollande, appear to be struggling to find a common position on Greece in the wake of Sunday’s “No” vote.
Broadly speaking, some countries – led by France – are pushing for a deal that will give Greece some breathing space to stay in the eurozone. Others – led by Germany – are under greater political pressure at home, and wonder whether such a deal is possible.”
It all leaves Greece in the most precarious position it has experienced in five years of wrenching economic crisis. The best that can be said is that it could go either way.” http://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-33405704
In other words, there’s a more sympathetic response from France, and growing skepticism from Germany, and it all depends on who wins whom over.
As with all leading figures their personal horoscopes reflect their public role, and transits to their personal planets reflect the unfolding of the bigger picture and story in which they are key players. The sign of Cancer is paramount.
http://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Alexis_Tsipras
The Greek Prime Minister has Venus, Saturn and Mercury all in a row – 8, 11 and 15 degrees of Cancer – in the 2nd House of financial affairs. This is perfect symbolism for the challenge of dealing with austerity issues (Venus rules money, Saturn rules restrictions) and settling terms (Mercury, also his chart ruler – it’s his job to call referendums and do the deal)
http://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Angela_Merkel
The Part of Fortune, Mercury, Jupiter, South Node, Uranus and the Sun at 7, 9, 12, 15, 23, 24 degrees of Cancer. Her horoscope is notably Uranian – the Sun tightly conjunct Uranus, and her Moon (in the 2nd House) in Aquarius, the sign co-ruled by Uranus.
http://www.astrotheme.com/astrology/Fran%C3%A7ois_Hollande
Jupiter at 17 and Uranus at 25 (in the 2nd House)
Synastry
This is a fascinating branch of astrology that compares horoscopes in order to reveal and illuminate the dynamics between individuals –
• Tsipras’ Mercury at 15 Cancer exactly conjunct Merkel’s South Node at 15 Cancer
• Tsipras’ Saturn (no) at 11 Cancer being conjunct Merkel’s Jupiter (yes) at 12 Cancer
• Tsipras’ Mercury at 15 Cancer closer to fellow Leo Hollande’s Jupiter at 17 Cancer
This paints a picture of all being caught up in the Eurozone crisis point, and the unfolding astrology signals that there’s a great deal more to come.
This week’s Astrology and you
It’s easy to see how this week’s astrology speaks of the Greek crisis. As ever, work on the as above, so below principle and think in terms of macrocosm and microcosm. In what ways does this astrology reflect the issues or battles unfolding in your own life? Is there someone you need to stand up to? Is there a situation that has to be stripped back to basics and rebuilt?
Firstly the Sun opposite Pluto is playing into the separating Uranus – Pluto square that has been the backdrop for the last three years. The Sun will make the square to Uranus in the early hours of next Monday.
In terms of the finer details the activity in the sign of Cancer is building up. Mars is already there – which in and of itself is not the easiest of pictures as action lover Mars is the god of war and is said to be in his sign of “fall” in this sign. In other words Mars cannot express his positive qualities in this cautious and introspective sign. The words of Joni Mitchell’s song, “round and round and round in the circle game” come to mind! In psychological astrology Mars in Cancer tends to signal the avoidant or passive-aggressive nature.
Mars will transit all of these degrees in Cancer throughout the rest of the month, reaching 25 degrees of Cancer on 1 August. There’s a lot on the agenda!
Mercury is now poised to enter Cancer too –
Wednesday Mercury ingress Cancer (19.53)
Mercury, planet of communication and all dis/agreements, is now at full speed and will whizz through all 30 degrees of Cancer between this date and 23 July – and will then move into Leo along with the Sun on this date. Real breakthroughs may not happen until then, or announcements at this time may sound like heralding trumpets.
For now the picture looks good for some kind of immediate rapprochement as the Mercury ingress is swiftly followed by Mars in harmonious aspect to Neptune, strong in his own sign of Pisces –
Wednesday Mars trine Neptune (23.44)
Neptune always flags up the reality issues but, on the other hand, he also addresses the humanness of it all, the compassion factor and “the urge to merge”. Will this extend to the negotiations with Greece – although as the BBC correspondent wrote it could all go either way, the resounding bottom line is that the consequences and repercussions of a Grexit would be momentous and the Eurozone leaders will want to prevent this, not at all costs, but inevitably at some cost. With next week’s New Moon at 23 Cancer exactly conjunct Merkel’s powerful Uranus some breakthrough is surely close at hand.
With love from this beautiful country of Greece,
Until next week, Joanna