Sinead O'Connor converts to Islam – an astrological study of a most fascinating individual.

This is an interesting case study in looking why someone would change their mode of belief, and what aspects are at work in her chart to encourage it. Sinead is a Sun Sagittarius, born on 8th December 1966 in Dublin, Ireland indeed she is a double Sagittarian with her Ascendant in that sign too. Her Moon is in the sign of balance and indecision, Libra.

Adele – A new contract and added responsibilities

Back in 2011 I looked at the natal chart of Adele Adkins. Since then in a biography a birth time for her was quoted and on the back of the announcement that she had just signed a new £90 million ($130 million) contract, I have revisited her natal chart and the birth time seems to check out quite well. In the 6+ years since I initially looked at her horoscope she has blossomed into one of the world’s biggest artists.

Beyoncé Knowles – Clarity coming out of confusion

Beyoncé is back in the news in a big way after the release of her critically acclaimed video album “Lemonade”, the 6th album of her glittering solo career. This album was a product of her marriage breakdown with Jay Z and many have commented on the the line “Becky with the good hair” which seems to be a reference to the woman her husband cheated on her with. This has no doubt been a tough time for her and the Astrology against her natal chart proves it.

Bobby Womack - A true soul legend passes away...

Overnight it was announced that singer and songwriter Bobby Womack had passed away. This news touched my heart, as very briefly a couple of years ago I had the honour of meeting the great man himself - yes he was a true gentleman and a lovely man to talk to. Bobby as you may know grew up alongside such prominent artists as Sam Cooke, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin and Jimi Hendrix, and he wrote songs for many great artists including Janis Joplin and for the Rolling Stones.

Frankie Knuckles - Legendary DJ, house music composer and re-mixer passes away aged just 59.

This is a bit of a personal tribute from myself as I used to play house music, I was a DJ many years ago and Frankie Knuckles was without doubt one on the guys I looked up to more than any other. One of the original Chicago house DJs, he was responsible for the classic Robert Owens track "Tears", "One Love", "The Whistle Song" and he remixed many tracks from Michael Jackson to Diana Ross, Chaka Khan to Alison Limerick, Candi Staton, Whitney Houston, Luther Vandross and Toni Braxton. Only this weekend he was spinning his tunes at the legendary Ministry of Sound in London, and now he has left us. I understand he suffered with type 2 diabetes and through complications with this condition, he suddenly passed away yesterday. 

Phil Everly passes away aged 74

One of the great names of the pop music scene in the 50’s and 60's and one half of the duo the Everly Brothers, Phil Everly has died in California due to a lung condition. In their heyday, Don and Phil penned a sting of successful hits including “Bye Bye Love”, “Wake Up Little Suzie” and “All I Have To Do Is Dream” and were notable for their close harmony. Rolling Stone said that they were one of the most important duo’s in popular music history.

Lou Reed – Forever taking a walk on the wild side

You may or may not know that aside from being an Astrologer, music has always been a huge love and passion of mine. One of my abiding memories in my life was meeting one of my heroes Lou Reed at Heathrow Airport, and I didn’t even realise it at the time. I was suppose to collect and assist an unnamed band flying in from Switzerland who were coming in to do a few small gigs in the UK, and one of the party was this aging American guy in a dark scruffy leather jacket. He asked me to help him out to buy some bottles of water before I escorted him to his transportation. After a lovely chat and a warm handshake, he looked me in the eye and thanked me before getting on to his tour bus. When I talked to my colleague afterwards that I had sort of recognised him, he told me “Oh blimey, didn’t you know you were meeting Lou Reed !!”. Actually, I am glad I never knew, and I treasure the 5 mins that I oh so briefly got to chat with the great man. It is therefore with great sadness that I heard today that he passed away, aged 71.

Randy Travis – Country music star critical in hospital with heart complaint.

Randy Travis is one of the most well known country music stars in the US and right now he is in hospital fighting for his life in a Dallas hospital after a virus he picked up caused a serious heart condition. Randy one of the most decorated musicians in the United States has had a chequered past recently crashing his car in August last year with the police finding him lying on the road blind drunk and naked, and a couple of weeks later he was charged with a drunken assault after fighting outside a church in Plano Texas. The illness he is suffering right now is clearly seen through the Astrology of his natal chart.

Ray Manzarek, keyboard player of the Doors passes away aged 74

When people thing of the pop group The Doors they always think of Jim Morrison, the charismatic lead singer but just as integral to the unique sound of the 60’s group was the keyboard playing of group member Ray Manzarek who passed away yesterday.

David Bowie – Musical maestro returns from the wilderness

David Bowie has been absent from the world music scene for around a decade, that is until his birthday a couple of days ago when from out of the blue a new single “Where are we now” appeared out of nowhere. Legions of music fans from around the world hailed this understated comeback song, and it will surely be catapulted to the top of the download charts at the end of this week. It just so happened that on the launch, the Sun had just been conjunct the musical fixed star Vega and Mercury, the planet of news and media was close to approaching it, conjunctions that often herald the arrival of a charismatic person. David Bowie in that sense in the music world has few equals.

Ravi Shankar - A master of Indian music

The world of music and the whole of India will be mourning the passing of one of the foremost sitar players in history, Ravi Shankar. His was a career of 80 years, a master of one of the most difficult instruments anyone would want to play. He came to prominence in the swinging 60’s when his friendship with George Harrison of the Beatles fame catapulted him onto the world stage. He passed away in California, a week after an operation from which he failed to recover. He was 92 years of age.

Andrea Bocelli – Overcoming the odds and with the world at his feet.

Last night I was privileged to go to the London O2 Arena to see a man at the height of his powers. Andrea Bocelli has one of the most soothing and flawless voices in the world of music, and I would say that he is the foremost tenor on planet earth at this present time. His rendition of “Nessun Dorma” at the end of his set was one of those moments in my life that I will never forget. I remember watching Pavarotti sing this song on TV, but I reckon that Bocelli has more warmth to his voice. It was perfection, totally spellbinding stuff and it nearly brought me to tears. Yes, he was that good.

Lady Gaga – Brave, artistic and very switched on.

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta or Lady Gaga as she likes to be known is a fascinating character to be sure. At the moment, never one to be missing a trick, she was seen at the opening of London fashion week wearing a garish bright pink burka!! How’s that for crossing stereotypes, a Roman Catholic girl from New York who openly expresses her sexuality donning in Western eyes the most controversial of Islamic fashion. Since 2008 when she burst onto the pop world with her multi platinum selling album “The Fame”, Gaga has taken over the territory in many people’s eyes where Madonna ruled in the 80’s and 90’s. Brash, brave and highly aware, today I take a look at the astrology of a girl you cannot keep out of the newspapers.

Donna Summer - The last dance. The astrology of the late “Queen of Disco”.

If you think of disco music, there were few more iconic artists than Donna Summer. Hits like “I Feel Love”, “Hot Stuff” “McArthur Park” and “Love To Love You Baby” blared out every Friday & Saturday nights in neon lit discos around the world. She won 5 Grammy awards but a conscious attempt to change her style to a more new wave and rock based style in the 80’s failed, and she drifted out of the mainstream pop charts. Nevertheless, Donna’s impact had been made and she will forever be synonymous with the sounds of  disco, the original dance music pioneered by Donna and her producer Giorgio Moroder at Casablanca Records in the 70’s.

Adam Yauch – A victim of cancer at just 47 years of age

If you are around my age in your middle to late 30-40’s then surely you were at some point in your life influenced by the sheer verve and visceral energy of the Beastie Boys. This was the music of the street and of downtown New York, loud proud and in your face. Adam Yauch known in the group as MCA was one of those lads, the other two Mike Diamond & John Berry (from 1982 Adam Horowitz) who sold 40 million albums, were the first hip hop group to smash through to wow mainstream audiences, whilst continuing to upset nearly everyone around them. Rebels they were, and yet hits such as “Intergalactic” & “Fight for your Right” are still as popular today as they were years ago. Adam today succumbed to cancer at the tender age of just 47.

Chris Martin - A glittering career with Coldplay blighted by hearing problems.

Astrology can show up the most amazing things. In news reports today, the lead singer of Coldplay Chris Martin admitted that he had been suffering for around 10 years with the condition tinnitus, a chronic ringing sound in the ears attributed he says to listening to loud music though headphones when he was young. The tinnitus as caused him severe headaches and he has resorted to using earplugs to protect his hearing and to prolong his music career. Will this condition affect him in the long term? Let look at his horoscope and to the stars to have a look.

Davy Jones – Monkees front man dies of a massive heart attack.

Fresh faced and bright eyed, Davy Jones was the heartthrob lead singer of the manufactured 60’s pop group “The Monkees”. There have been several attempts to market pop group through TV but to this day I don’t believe that any were as successful as the Monkees were. The group were known for such hits as “Daydream Believer”, “Last train to Clarksville” & “I’m a Believer”. After the Monkees disbanded in 1971, he returned to acting, something he had done from an early age. Today Davy who now lived in Florida today died of a sudden heart attack. He was 66 years of age.

Jessica Simpson – Multi talented Texan pop-star announces she is pregnant.

A nice story for once to report on. One of America’s favourite female stars, Jessica Simpson has announced that she is expecting a child, just over year after announcing her engagement to former American football player, Eric Johnson. Jessica it seems has much to look forward to in 2012, and today I look at the all American girl made good from the southern state of Texas.

Paul McCartney – Finding love once again and forever working hard.

Sir Paul McCartney has married for the third time. He tied the knot yesterday with American Nancy Shevell at a registry office in London yesterday. Paul was potentially the most creative of all the Beatles and known as the most difficult to deal with. Today I take a look at the horoscope of the Liverpudlian musical maestro to find out what makes him tick.

Michael Stipe – New challenges ahead for the REM frontman, as the band splits after 31 years together.

I met Michael Stipe many years ago. It was at Heathrow Airport in terminal one and I didn’t realise it at the time. He was a very quiet, unassuming man with thin rounded glasses, dressed in a grey coat, wearing a matching hat and not seemingly attracting any attention. Little did I realise that around 7 years later I would be blogging about him. The reason I am writing about him now is that REM, one of “the bands of the 80’s” who influenced a generation of music lovers, have finally hung up their guitars after a glorious 31 year run. Every successful band that has ever been has always had an iconic frontman, and today I look at the horoscope of that man I bumped into at London Heathrow.

Michael was born in Atlanta Junction, Georgia on 4th January 1960 at 00.26am. He is a Sun sign Capricorn (so typical of a Capricorn to be dressed in grey), with a very dreamy Piscean Moon and a Libran Ascendant. The general orientation of this chart is very much angled to the Eastern hemisphere, which indicates that generally, Michael will tend to focus on himself. This is quite a fiery and mutable chart. Five planets in fire signs bring enthusiasm and energy that burns brightly within him, and 6 planets in mutable signs is an indication of adaptability, a willingness to change styles and to experiment.

The combination of Capricorn Sun and Pisces Moon shows a need to search for an ideal, to create & work with abstract and intangible ideas and he does this through the energy of the Capricorn Sun by administrating, by leading from the front. Dealing with and creating music involves using abstract ideas and sounds and making a coherent pattern from them, and of course Michael with this prominent Saturn would have to feel in charge of this whole process. Just with Sun and Moon, even without knowing who Michael was, you could get a feel for what he would do with his life.

The Capricorn Sun sits in the 4th house very closely in conjunction with Saturn. A Capricorn Sun is very much a contradiction in terms, like Saturn the ruler of the sign. Capricorn shows ambition and willingness to succeed but is also associated with fear, with restriction, with pessimism. Often Capricorns veer between the two, being so confident one minute, then wracked by doubt the next. Capricorns can be very conservative and staid one minute, but the next can have the most crazy sense of outrageous fun and humour. With Michael, the Saturn influence is very strong, as through a stressful t-square it connects with his Midheaven and also his Libran Ascendant. Even the gregarious nature of the normally sociable Libran Ascendant is very much tempered here, making him feel uncomfortable in the company of other people, especially large gatherings. With both planets in the 4th house, this will be a very, shy introspective guy who wishes to remain very private, especially at home and with his family.  However, when on stage, the wild and crazy side of Capricorn comes out fully; all the pent up emotion and energy is released. I remember seeing a mesmerising, manic Michael Stipe performing brilliantly at the Glastonbury festival in 1999, where he and REM were truly fantastic (this a photo above from that very performance), and a few years later thinking when I met him that surely this wasn’t the quiet & ever so polite guy I had encountered. Here are the two extremes of Capricorn visibly at work.

The Sun and Saturn are part of a wider stellium which sits over the 3rd and 4th houses. In the 3rd house we find Mercury, Jupiter and Mars all in Sagittarius. This is the hose of communication & immediately we think of someone who is has a sharp brain as well as a sharp tongue; someone who will be outspoken. However this conjunction is connected to the Sun/Saturn so this urge to speak is severely tempered and is serious is nature. Yet there still is very much a can do feel of this connection of planets, seeing the big picture, reaching out to the masses. Stipe has had a reputation of being quiet in public but letting the lyrics in the songs outline his political views. If one were to ask him about the subject of his songs, I am betting he would tell you that he was trying to send out a message of hope through his music, aiding & influencing people through the lyrics he was writing. Wether it was about politics, “Document” “Green”, death and suffering “Automatic for the People” or the wider world, love and relationships “Monster”. There is also a philosophical side to him too.  Michael will be a perpetual student of theories, relationships & concepts of the understanding of life itself, so long as they have a human element to them. He will be an excellent listener, and will have a talent for getting other people to open up to him. This is the placement of the teacher and had Michael not been a musician, I suspect he may have ended up lecturing  about politics or something similar. A musician he became, and a very hard working one too. The Moon in the 6th house speaks of a man who is constantly grafting. There is an element of service to this Moon. The Pisces Moon is very sympathetic and kind and will want to help in any way it can. Michael will see his music as providing a service to heal broken hearts, to inspire people to act as well as to entertain. If you think that Michael will retire from music and creation after REM, think again. The 6th house Moon will not allow this to happen and  it makes a triple square to Mercury, Mars and Jupiter. Michael will be generous, maybe overly so, and he will be sympathetic to his friends, but there is a very temperamental and awkward side to him which may flare up suddenly if he is irritated or frustrated, making it very difficult for others around him to put up with his moods. He needs to be on the go all the time, keeping his mind active to stop the grumpy and more aggressive side of his personality taking over.

Looking over to the 11th house of groups associations and received love, we find Uranus and Pluto. This is a really interesting combination, mainly because usually those with Pluto in the 11th house normally have an aversion to joining group or associations, yet Michael was part of REM for 31 years!! The only exception to the rule, seems to be if you believe that the group you are joining will encourage you to change in some way, or if the group itself is integral in helping to change society. I think that Michael’s motivations for starting up REM were the latter, and with Pluto’s influence here, he would want to have complete control of the output, from music to lyrics and even the artwork on the sleeves of the albums and singles. Uranus in the 11th promotes social change and encourages progressive ideas and I believe this has been the driving force behind his music. One other side-line of Uranus in the 11th, is that Michael will have a collection of rather unusual or extremely talented friends, more of that later...

There are multiple trines from Pluto and Uranus to the wide stellium in the 3rd and 4th houses. Mars Uranus is impetuous, inventive and has good natural rhythm and fast reflexes. This is an aspect that has to keep moving forward and hates stagnation and delay. Jupiter Uranus is so progressive and full of new ideas. Think of blasting off into space and exploring the stars, the planets and the universe and you have the basis for Jupiter trine Uranus. Pluto Mercury is the investigator, the man who looks for the hidden motives behind everything, seeking the answers, behind the answers to the questions.

Pluto trine Sun/Saturn shows control, being also the basis for his ambition and drive to be someone special and pushes one to personal success. This trine is part of a larger mini grand trine with Neptune in the 2nd house sitting at the focal point. Neptune in the 2nd is often seen with people with creative careers, especially musical ones. This is Taurus’ house which incidentally rules the throat and voice, and is the most rhythmical of all the signs in the zodiac. It is interesting that in the early albums, deciphering what Stipe was singing about was almost impossible due to his incoherent singing style. One can see the restricting influence of Pluto and Saturn on this Neptune. The heavy nature of this mini grand trine reflect the seriousness and deep introspection of the subject matter and style of rock that REM was known for. Even “Pop Song” and “Shiny Happy People” had an ironic feel, and an undercurrent of sadness about them. Notice how Pluto, Neptune, Mars, Saturn and the Sun all feed directly into the Cancerian Midheaven by aspect, highlighting how central Stipe’s music, control and ambitions have been to his career, seen through the Pisces Moon (Cancer’s ruler). This mini grand trine is business orientated and Michael has expanded into other Neptunian ruled areas like film production and acting.

Finally time to look at Venus in the 2nd house which is in Sagittarius and square to Pluto. Venus here loves quality, harmony and beauty in one’s possessions, is very affectionate and giving in Sagittarius and one is more interested in a spiritual and intellectual rapport with the one you love, rather than going on looks alone. The trine to Pluto also indicates that any relationship you find yourself in must be deep & emotional, and that you may be transformed by it. Now the speculation for a long time was that Michael was gay, however due to his private nature, it took a long time before he opened up and “came out”. Any good astrologer would have known this a long time before Michael’s admission. Look to the 7th house of relationships and we find Aries (Mars’ sign on the cusp). Mars as I mentioned before is trine to Uranus, known for unusual, bizarre and eclectic behaviour. Michael’s choice of partner and relationships would almost certainly go against the grain of social norms, especially in relation to conservative Georgia where he grew up.

Looking to the transit charts, we find transiting Saturn now well now into Michael’s first house. This suggests that the decision to break up REM had been in the pipeline for a year or so. Saturn passing the ascendant often winds up old issues and things that you no longer see as relevant to your life and heralds a new 28 year cycle of growth, one where new talents and ambitions can be developed for the next period in your life. Transiting Uranus had also around that time passed over the natal South Node, which always tends to have the effect of bringing important periods in one’s life to an end. Aquarius, Uranus’ associated sign sits on the cusp of the 5th house of creativity, so I suspect creative divisions within the group (Uranus sits in the 11th house of groups) would have caused the eventual split. I would expect him to continue his workaholic ways with his film interests and also do not be surprised if Michael branches out to do more solo projects, or ones in collaboration with other musicians.