Aquarius and social justice

Aquarius the water carrier and social justice
Firstly, apologies for the late arrival to your inbox of this edition of the newsletter, your astrologer, along with thousands of others it seems, recently succumbed to the dreaded January blues in the form of a dose of flu. I am undergoing a Saturn transit to my Neptune at the moment, so it’s understandable I’ve been below par as the combination of these two outer planets often indicates a lowered immune response. Bring on the vitamin C!

Meanwhile, back to the mysterious workings of the Universe. As so often happens when you know something about the symbolism of the heavens, I’ve been observing how life imitates art yet again … in the unlikely form of the ubiquitous reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother. (Of course, I’m using the word “art” pretty loosely here!)

An initial word about the nature of Aquarius. Each Sun sign in the zodiac carries a message based on an ancient myth, a story which describes what we are meant to be learning from our experience in life dependent on the sign of the zodiac we were born under. The myth for Aquarius is that of Prometheus, a titan who stole fire from the gods to bring light and advancement to mankind. Despite the fact that the poor titan was subsequently punished by being chained to a rock and had his liver pecked out each day by an eagle, only for it to grow back again overnight and, we can appreciate the altruism of Prometheus’ actions. He was trying to redress a social injustice, to give the underdog (in this case mankind) a fair chance in life. This is very much a motivation of the energy of Aquarius, and many Aquarians you know will have a strongly ingrained sense of social justice and helping the underdog. The group energy is important to this sign, so people with Aquarius strongly placed in their birth chart will make a stand against issues such as racism, sexism, and discrimination against any minority group. On a more collective level, the energy of a sign is more in focus when a major body such as the Sun is transiting through it.

How interesting, then, that a worldwide scandal about the alleged racist treatment and bullying of Bollywood actress Shilpa Shetty in the Big Brother house should explode and climax just as the Sun was moving into Aquarius on January 20th 2007. The row prompted 27,000 complaints about the treatment of the actress to Ofcom, with the show’s sponsors Carphone Warehouse withdrawing their association with Big Brother in order to distance themselves from the row.

Jade and Shilpa – a match made in heaven?
I don’t think many people would need an astrologer to give them the answer to that one! However, it is interesting to take a closer look at both of these ladies’ charts, and to look at the energy that’s created when they are put into a relationship. The following analysis is based on the noon charts of each individual, times of birth not being available.

Jade Goody was born on June 5th 1981, making her a Gemini. With her Sun making a flowing contact to Pluto, she’s a talkative, inquisitive, bubbly and potentially strong and intense personality. The negative side of this combination can be a tendency towards controlling or manipulative behaviour, and Jade’s behaviour does indeed seem to reflect this through recent events. Mars opposite Uranus shows the potential for a quick temper, especially if excess energy is not given a positive outlet. Frustration onset via a restricted environment along with conflicting personalities hand picked to clash whilst cooped together for up for days on end, anyone?! In addition, her more sensitive Venus and Mercury in the sign of Cancer (emotional response in social situations and in her mode of thinking and communicating) are opposite Neptune, meaning that her judgement can very easily be clouded and that she can be easily led – or indeed lead others - down the wrong path. Not difficult, then, to see the inherent difficulties which could so easily surface in that goldfish bowl environment.

Interestingly Shilpa Shetty, born in Tamil Nadu, India on 8th June 1975, is also a fellow Gemini. At least these two should be able to find something to chat about! Her Mercury is also in Gemini, the sign of its rulership where it is strongest, and with Mercury’s flowing contact to Uranus her quick intellectual nature is quite evident (she speaks several languages). This combination, like Jade, also makes Shilpa a dynamic and bubbly personality. There are some interesting patterns in Shilpa’s chart around her Mars, the expression of drive, assertion and anger. Firstly, her Mars is strong in the sign of its rulership, Aries, with Jupiter the planet of expansion sitting on top of it to exaggerate its strength within her personality. However, Saturn, the great restrainer of the Universe, is making a challenging aspect to this combination, meaning that there is potentially a problem for Shilpa in her expression of anger or her self-assertion. However anything that gets repressed can only stay down so long, and will find a way to come out somehow. Via someone else whose buttons she’s pushing, perhaps? Could well be! To further complicate the picture, Shilpa’s Jupiter/Mars combo is opposite Pluto, which can only serve to up the ante in terms of the hidden rage that’s an issue she has to deal with in her life. If this lady doesn’t allow herself to acknowledge something that’s going on deep inside her, the Universe will carry on coming knocking with outer influences to make her face them until she works her own stuff out for herself.

An explosive combination
The study of relationships in astrology is done by several methods, one of which is know as Synastry. This is putting two people’s charts together and examining the contacts their respective planets make to each other. Guess what? Jade + Shilpa = big potential to clash! Firstly, Shilpa’s Pluto (part of the “hidden rage” configuration in her own chart and the expression of her personal power) is sitting on top of Jades Jupiter/Saturn combination (her drive to expand and grow and her attitude towards authority figures) and is squaring Jade’s Mercury/Venus combo (relationships and communication). This is making Jade feel extremely vulnerable and potentially even “under attack” from Shilpa, especially given the unique environment the drama of Big Brother is played out in. Both of their Suns sit together in the zodiac, creating lot of chatty and potentially gossipy Gemini energy – presumable fuelling the rather bitchy treatment by Jade, along with Danielle and Jo, of the Bollywood star. Shilpa’s nodal axis, her karmic lessons for this lifetime, straddles Jade’s fiery and volatile Mars/Uranus opposition, setting the whole situation aflame. And finally, to top things off, Shilpa’s Venus in Leo (her need to be special, valued, recognised and treated to some extent as the centre of attention, especially in social situations) is sat on Jade’s North Node in Leo, the same sign: perhaps at some level Jade did feel that such a glamorous and exotic creature as Ms Shetty was stealing her limelight, preventing her from achieving the central position she is ultimately striving for herself?

Personalities collide as the Universe makes its move …
All it takes is the right sort of timing, and momentous events, positive or negative, can come to pass. As the last New Moon appeared in Capricorn on January 19th, signifying a brush with reality, and urging us to take responsibility for ourselves and our actions, Jade Goody came down to earth with a bump when she was evicted from the Big Brother House. This energy of the new lunar month came about in the area of the zodiac which approaches her South Node of past lessons learnt – maybe she still has some work to do in that area. In addition, Uranus is in the last stages of its confrontation with her Sun, giving her a nasty shock, turning her position upside down and leaving her to figure out how and why the tables have turned on her so dramatically. For Shilpa the story is quite different: with Jupiter, the great benefic of the Universe, opposing her Sun, she should come out of the experience bigger and brighter than before. She may even win the competition. As for Jade, she faces the consequences of the escalating events of her recent stay with Big Brother, and found out in more ways than one that he really is watching you!

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