Yuri Gagarin – The first human to experience spaceflight

Fifty years ago today on the 12th April 1961, history was made. Yuri Gagarin was blasted off in his Vostok rocket from the Tyuratam test range, now in Kazakhstan. The 108 minute flight or one orbit of the earth nearly ended disastrously on re-entry to the earth’s atmosphere however Yuri bailed out before his capsule crashed to the ground near the River Volga.

Gagarin was born on 9th March 1934 at 06.30 am in Smolensk, Russia. He had a Pisces Sun, that of a dreamer with an expansive Sagittarian Moon and a technical science orientated Aquarius ascendant. Just in those three main indicators, this was a man who had a dream (Sun in Pisces) to go on a long journey (Moon in Sagittarius) in the name of science (Aquarius ascendant). He had a particularly “connected chart” with all the planets in multiple aspects to each other except for Venus which is quite unusual. Venus in Aquarius was peregrine (unconnected to any other planet by major aspect), sitting in the unconscious 12 house conjunct the ascendant. Any peregrine plane tends to run away with the chart, it dominates and I think that Venus here was the key to Gagarin’s personality. Peregrine Venus indicates to me that Yuri would be unusually independent and concentrated on his own actions. He had little or no need for people to help him, Venus is a social planet but here in individualistic Aquarius he would be kind but very cool and distant. Had Venus been in sociable Libra he would have been quite the opposite and very gregarious; a totally different personality. This Venus would have given him a burning love of technology and anything Aquarian including the planets and space.

Sitting in a large first house we find Saturn, and a triple conjunction of Mercury Sun and Mars. Saturn in the first house would have given him a serious, cautious realistic attitude. The triple conjunction was opposite Neptune in detail orientated Virgo so he would have been a dreamer (Sun/Neptune), had a very quick mind (Mercury/Mars), able to grasp unusual and technical concepts with ease (Neptune in Virgo/Mercury/Mars) and he would have had a love of exercise and keeping himself in shape (Mars in 1st). He would have been self-confident (Sun/Mars) with huge resources of control and he would have been very focused on his aims in life. Sun/Mars were both in trine to Pluto in the 6th house. This intensified his need to always improve himself physically and mentally, he would work tirelessly and he would tend to dominate all his colleagues around him.

Looking at Gagarin’s moon, one can immediately see that Gagarin was destined to travel to distant places. The moon was in the 10th house in Sagittarius. The Moon shows need and Yuri had the need to do his own thing, he would take control, he needed to expand his horizons. The Moon was conjunct the Sagittarian Midheaven, the indicator of his profession. Again, both the moon and the Midheaven show the desire to travel to far away places through his work, which he did even after his spaceflight, travelling around the world as a celebrity and ambassador for the USSR. Jupiter which rules Sagittarius sits as part of a t-square formation. The t-square shows desire and tension. Jupiter is opposite Uranus in forge ahead pioneering Aries, the desire (Aries) to explore and travel (Jupiter) in space (Uranus). Square the Jupiter/Uranus opposition was Pluto, Yuri had a single minded approach to this. On the other side of the Jupiter/Uranus opposition was a wedge formation with sensible Saturn at the point – the single minded approach was balanced by his concentrated, careful, serious persona.

On the day that he blasted off into space, the transiting planets were definitely in his favour. The transiting Sun made a trine to his Moon (balanced emotions), an opposition to Jupiter (an opportunity to push back boundaries), a constructive sextile to Saturn (enhancing reputation), conjunct Uranus (highlighting the technical space challenge) and square Pluto (great self control and putting one’s self and personal safety on the line). Transiting Mars was trine natal Sun so he had good energy and transiting Uranus made a sextile to Jupiter (lucky) and an opposition to Saturn (able to assess all the risks). Finally transiting Neptune was almost exactly square Yuri’s powerful Venus – the dream of visiting the stars was coming true and it would make him a star himself, broadcasting his name and reputation around the world (social Venus conjunct Ascendant) by TV and media (ruled by Neptune). Neptune through Pisces intercepted in the 1st house represented the self & Venus through Taurus and Libra ruled the 3rd houses of communication and the 8th house of personal transformation illustrated how the Yuri was affected. The feat of orbiting the earth that day changed his life forever.

I suppose in picking the first man ever to attempt to travel into space, they would have looked was a careful cool individual with all the ambition, technical ability and control to make it happen. Yuri had all these attributes and more. He was a humble man who lit up wherever he went with charisma and an infectious smile. The charisma was shown by a Mars/Neptune quindecile and then we come back to that cool Aquarian Venus. Venus in Aquarius conjunct his ascendant (the physical appearance) shows an electric beauty and the quiet independent Gagarin’s smile was the thing that everyone who knew him remembered him by. He had plenty to smile about.

Elizabeth Taylor – An astrological profile of Hollywood’s leading lady.

At the age of 79 and having suffered ill health for many years, Dame Elizabeth Taylor passed away today with her four children at her bedside. Elizabeth was one of the great actresses of any generation and was a star in the golden age of film-making in the 50’s and 60’s, notably in Cleopatra and Who’s afraid of Virginia Woolf. She married 7 times, including twice to Richard Burton.

Elizabeth was born in London, England at 2.15am on 27th February 1932. She was a Sun sign Pisces with the Moon in deep hidden Scorpio and the Ascendant in expansive Sagittarius. Across the 2nd and 3rd houses we find a Sun, Mercury, Mars conjunction in Pisces. Elizabeth had a lot of energy (Mars) and creative desire (Pisces) but also had a sharp cutting temper (Mercury conjunct Mars). All that ambition from this conjunction found an outlet in filmic Neptune opposite in the international 9th house in critical yet perfectionist Virgo. This Neptune in the 9th house made sure that her acting talent was seen worldwide, she was one of the first real superstar international actresses. Elizabeth would cut down those who crossed her with withering, critical anger, she was the ultimate perfectionist in her acting roles Mars driving her forward to get things right, however there was a downside to this opposition. Neptune opposite the Sun weakens the personality in some way and this being a Pisces/Virgo opposition which is the health axis in a chart, it weakened her health too. After having an accident at the age of just 12 during the filming of National Velvet when she fell off a horse, Elizabeth was always subject to health problems, especially with her back. She also had her hips replaced, survived a benign brain tumour, had skin cancer, pneumonia and later in her life a progressive heart condition. Mars conjunct the Sun certainly gave her the strength to carry on though her ill health, she surely would not been able to carry on to become the legend she became with out it.

Elizabeth’s Moon was in secretive, hidden Scorpio in the humanitarian 11th house. With the Sun in Pisces opposed by Neptune combined with this emotional Moon placing, Elizabeth was extremely sensitive, yet distant and mysterious. Her need for a satisfying physical relationship would have been extremely strong and in her work all these emotions would have come to the surface, maybe the key to why she was such an admired actress. The Moon identifies with groups and humanitarian causes and being square to generous Jupiter in extravagant Leo, she would have had no qualms in being charitable; Elizabeth’s philanthropy was well known. Jupiter in Leo square Moon says everything about her, a larger than life character who just loved to be the spotlight, especially with regard to her emotional life.

Much has been made of Elizabeth’s seven marriages. Why did she get through so many husbands? Well the temper would be one reason. A second reason would have stemmed from the tight Venus/Uranus conjunction in the 4th house of the home in go ahead Aries. Her home life, her love and emotional life would have been unpredictable from an early age, always moving about from place to place. At age 7, her parents (who were American) moved back home to California from London to avoid the war. Soon after, the young Elizabeth was discovered by a Hollywood Universal film mogul and her transitory life continued. She would have been attracted to interesting, rebellious men, yet she herself would have needed space and independence within the union. This is never a helpful aspect for a stable emotional life, as she would have had the tendency to fall in love in an instant, and being in Aries, if things went wrong, Elizabeth would forge ahead to find someone new without thinking of the consequences.

Saturn always shows fear, and with Elizabeth that fear extended to the 2nd house of her personal finances. Here is the fear that you never had enough money, however with Mars also in the 2nd there was a reckless edge to her own spending, and her generosity to charity would have also drained her finances. It is said that Elizabeth married seven times due to the men in her life bleeding her money dry, however the astrology shows that Elizabeth was as much to blame in spending too much. Her paranoia about her personal wealth would have led her to believe this, no matter what the truth actually was. In fact both Saturn and Mars were quindecile Jupiter in the 8th house of other people’s finance. She would have been obsessed about other people’s finance as much as herself.

Finally I look at Pluto. Pluto is in Cancer and trine to that Scorpio Moon. Both these planets are square each other and also in mutual reception, in each other’s home sign so they are very much increased in intensity. This is where I believe Elizabeth got her dark smouldering looks from, Pluto and Scorpio always seem to bestow a strong, mysterious aura. Pluto in it’s home house the 8th says one thing, change. Elizabeth would have to get used to changes often in her life. Changes in her intense emotions, changes in her home-life and changes in her love-life. It was always meant to be that way.

Elizabeth Taylor was a remarkable lady and it is interesting that she passed away just before Neptune changed signs into Pisces, it switches next month. If you look back at Neptune on the cusp of the last degree of a sign, often a famous lady who made her mark on the world passed away.

Thanks to Astrologer Marjorie Orr who produced this incredible list to prove this point.

1901: Neptune leaving Gemini - Queen Victoria dies.
1915: Neptune leaving Cancer - Mary Baker Eddy and Emily Davidson (suffragette who suicided by horse at the Derby). Florence Nightingale also died with Neptune in late Cancer (1911)
1929: Neptune leaving Leo - Emmeline Pankhurst (the great suffragette), Ellen Terry, Isadora Duncan.
1943 - Neptune leaving Virgo - aviator Amy Johnson, writer Beatrix Potter.
1957 - Neptune leaving Libra - Laura Wilder (Little House on the Prairie), scientist Irene Curie
1968 - Neptune leaving Scorpio - Helen Keller, Enid Blyton, Dorothy Parker, Vivien Leigh, Judy Garland, Little Mo, Sonja Henie, Gypsy Rose Lee, Sharon Tate.
1983 - Neptune leaving Sagittarius - Nathalie Wood, Anita Loos (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), Anna Freud, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Gloria Swanson, Ethel Merman, Lillian Hellman, Indira Gandhi.
1998 - Neptune leaving Capricorn - Princess Diana, Mother Theresa, Ella Fitzgerald, Ginger Rogers, Lana Turner, Evelyn Laye, Dorothy Lamour, Claudette Colbert, Margueurite Duras, Patricia Highsmith, Mary Leakey.
2011 - Neptune leaving Aquarius - Jane Russell, Elizabeth Taylor.

Please visit Marjorie’s excellent site analysing the news stories of the day at the following link :- 

Marjorie Orr Website

Prince Andrew – Making the wrong choices again

Prince Andrew is back in the news again. Every so often, the Prince’s questionable decision making comes back into the spotlight, often for the wrong reasons. True, the royal family do live under an unusual spotlight, however his judgement in the character of people with whom he associates himself has always been a flaw in his character, from flirting with “erotic” actress Koo Stark to his marriage and divorce with Sarah Ferguson (I will look at her chart in the future), to the latest batch of “unusual” associations in the roles as British Trade ambassador, ones which include Jeffrey Epstein, the US financier jailed for sex offences, being friends with Saif Gaddafi (the outspoken son of Libyan leader Colonel Gaddafi) as well as convicted Libyan gun smuggler Tarek Kaituni and Sakher al-Materi, a leading member of the former Tunisian regime.

Prince Andrew is a Sun sign Pisces (just by 9 mins) with his Moon in deep hidden Scorpio. This very watery combination is in square aspect, Prince Andrew will always feel in a state of flux and his emotions will feel at odds with with his overall person and his desires. What will always hold him back in my view is that Moon in Scorpio in the 4th house, a very strong attachment to his family, his royal duties and to his mother. The Sun in the murky 8th house hints that he does have a very big interest in dealing with the business of economics of other people’s money, especially as this Sun receives an opposition from Pluto in the 2nd house. This is a “magnetic” interest in big finance, but it  hints at a more secret seedier side to the Prince’s personality that has stayed out of the spotlight, until quite recently through the press reports. Also in the 8th house we find Mercury. Mercury is trine Saturn in Capricorn which supports his interest in administration and trade and he will work hard for sure in this role but every so often, that wandering mind will go off on a tangent and his resulting actions will get him in trouble. This is compounded by a complete lack of air in his chart. As such he will over-compensate for the lack of Air by being too eager to please, networking and making contacts without clearly thinking of the potential consequences. 

Looking at the rest of the chart, Andrew likes to be seen as an individual and a bit of a risk taker. Uranus in the first house in Leo shows that he likes to make a dramatic statement, not easy living to achieve in the goldfish bowl that is the royal family. Jupiter in the fifth house is generous and fun loving, he likes to take risks including emotional ones. He will be attracted to unusual, talented people with a strong personality, (Uranus in Leo square Moon in Scorpio) and will want as much as possible to keep these relationships under the radarscope. There is a big generosity to Andrew’s character, he will be very giving to his two daughters, Beatrice and Eugenie. Venus and Mars sit together in Capricorn in the sixth house. This is never an easy position, this conjunction makes the subject rather forward in coming forward, especially in romantic situations; the Prince will always be the one making the first move. This prince has a “can do” attitude, will be assertive Mars in the 6th house and will not suffer slackness in anyone, he likes to be the one in command and has a positive attitude to physical fitness and working out. I imagine he would have thoroughly enjoyed his time in military service.

Having a Sun at 0 degrees Pisces, transiting Neptune is just one degree now from directly hitting Andrew’s Sun/Pluto opposition. It is no surprise that his trade dealing and all that go with them is in the spotlight right now. In Neptunian terms, there is a cloud of suspicion hanging over him. Saturn transiting through his 3rd house is square his natal Saturn, so lessons being learned through press reports (3rd) and through government criticism (Saturn) of his everyday work (6th house). Transiting Uranus is square natal Jupiter, these are reports about unusual (Uranus) international (Jupiter) relationships (7th), some of a sleazy nature (8th) - note that Uranus rules the 7th & 8th house through Aquarius on the cusp of both. These transits are mirrored in the Solar Arc aspects, SA Jupiter opposite Uranus, SA Neptune sextile Sun, SA Pluto has been opposite his Midheaven hurting his public profile and SA Saturn is square Prince Andrew’s Pluto so difficult times for him this year, as Scorpio ruled by Pluto is intercepted in the 4th house of home, his mother the Queen will not be amused.

Steve Jobs – Face of Apple and ailing genius

Today, 24th February is the birthday of Steve Jobs, one of the electronic and creative pioneers of our age. Having worked with Atari, Lucas film, Pixar, Disney & Apple, Steve is blessed with creative ideas and a no-nonsense business sense, but in recent years has been cursed with ill health.
Steve is a Sun sign Pisces in the first house square his Midheaven (denoting his profession), all that creative energy is up-front, out there for all to see, from the Apple Mac, to the I-pad, from designing computer chips to overseeing Toy Story. All that creativity is technology based, with an Aquarius ascendant represented in Uranus which is conjunct Jupiter in the 6th house of everyday work. There is a Thor’s Hammer configuration (see also my post on Enid Blyton) from the Sun/Midheaven square which concentrated to a point at Jupiter. All those creative ideas MUST come out, pushing forward the use of technology in a BIG way for everyday use. Also feeding into that Uranus/Jupiter conjunction is a T-Square configuration, Mars in the financial money orientated 2nd  opposes Neptune in imaginative 8th house (also concerned with big business), square this 6th house combination. There is business like energy and creative dreams driven into this technological fulcrum. All this energy is perfected into beautiful form, with an opposition to Venus in work based Capricorn (there is business stamped all over this chart) in the 12th house. Venus in the 12th always craves for an ideal form – notice how the I-pod and I-phone were not only way ahead technologically, but also fantastic to look at.

Steve’s intellect is huge, Mercury conjunct the Ascendant always shows great intelligence and it is put to good use in a administrative sense and internationally square Saturn in the 9th house. That Saturn in turn trines back to the Uranus/Jupiter conjunction, his energy is focused on the business of creative technology and squares Pluto in the 7th – here is a powerful, controlling man and a fierce enemy if you were to cross him. Going back to Mercury, interestingly it is conjunct the Ascendant from the 12th house, so the ideas stay behind the scenes until the last minute. Saturn is in secretive Scorpio echoing this, and Apple has always been run in a very controlled manner, it likes to guard it’s creative ideas and patents with zeal. Steve does have a softer side to his personality, with Moon in the first house in dreamy Pisces – he will be sentimental and compassionate.

From Summer 2004, Steve was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. Whenever I have looked at charts where people have had health problems maybe earlier than they should,  quite often the 6th house is emphasised and regularly you can see a 6th to 12th house opposition. You can see a lot of pressure on that Uranus/Jupiter conjunction, almost an arrowhead pointing to it. Uranus and Jupiter are both retrograde, so the energy does not work as it should & Uranus always causes disruption wherever it is found. Jupiter (through it’s association with Sagittarius) traditionally rules the Pancreas. In July/Aug/Sept 2004, transiting Saturn hit that Jupiter/Uranus conjunction weakening that part of the chart. Since then,  Steve’s health has been a concern. It is very difficult to pinpoint health problems on charts due to the slow nature of some conditions to manifest themselves. However, every hit by an outer planet to a personal planet (Sun/Moon are in the first house  & are weaker than normal being in Pisces and thus  reduces the strength of the physical body) or that Jupiter/Uranus conjunction will affect his constitution. In 2009 Steve had a liver transplant. Mercury rules the liver, is retrograde conjunct the ascendant (affecting the physical body) and is square Saturn; there was inherent weakness in this area too from birth. Late in 2011, Saturn squares Jupiter and Uranus again. That is bound to be a difficult time for him. I wish him well…

Albert Einstein – A true genius and visionary

Having a quick look back at some people who made the most of their talents and a mark on the world, here is a chart for the scientist Albert Einstein. A dreamy inspirational Pisces, he pushed forward the human understanding of the universe we live in revolutionising the study of Physics in the process. He took his work his pioneering work seriously, shown by Saturn in Aries in the 10th house of work and public status as well as his writing ( that Saturn conjunct Mercury) publishing over 300 scientific papers and over 150 non scientific ones.

The nature of his work can be seen by technically, scientifically minded Uranus in analytical Virgo positioned in the 3rd house of communication opposite philosophical Jupiter in scientific Aquarius in it’s home 9th house of beliefs and travel (he travelled extensively lecturing his discoveries across the globe). This opposition was square Pluto (the planet of the unknown and undiscovered) in Taurus (the planet of construction and the “physical” form). This T-Square configuration just screams out the explanation of the previously unknown secrets of the universe being finally made common knowledge to the world. With his Neptune in also in constructive Taurus sextile his Midheaven and trine his Uranus, he was able to dream the dreams that no man had dreamed before, and convert them into his life’s work.

With his Moon in the 6th house and his Sun at the focus of a mini trine with insatiable Pluto trine Mars in work based Capricorn,  Albert must have been a virtual workaholic, very disciplined in what he did, and not in anyway a gambler. With Mars in the 7th house his relationships would have been full of fireworks and conflict plus with Venus in Aries trine Moon in mutable Sagittarius he would have had an eye for women too. Not surprisingly, he had more than one lady in his life and he was married twice.