Venus opposite to Jupiter - Let the good times roll...

We have an lovely opposition in the skies today and tomorrow between Venus the planet of love, money and relating with people and Jupiter the planet of optimism and expansion. This is a good time combination in the skies and it brings jovial moods and a desire to let go and to enjoy oneself, but there will be just a hint of a temptation to take things just a little bit too far. This could be through eating and drinking a bit too much or being overly generous or spending more than you can afford. This is a lovely time for going out, socializing and meeting new people and generally letting your hair down a little. One slight downside might be that everyone will be in a more forgiving mood now and you might let someone off the hook who quite frankly does not deserve it.

All in all, these times don't come along so often in the skies above us, so do take advantage of the planets in a good party mood. This aspect comes along just in time for all of you in the United States who are celebrating Thanksgiving. From London best wishes to all my American readers at this time of year. Enjoy...

Depression – Looking into the causes and the reasons for this illness through Astrology.

I have been away from blogging about Astrological topics regularly for a little while now, and one of the reasons (amongst a few) that I haven’t been writing so often is that I have been meeting up regularly with a close friend who has been suffering with depression. Now I am not a doctor, nor a psychiatrist or professionally trained counsellor and I myself have never suffered with depression although in the early 90’s I went through a horrible time in my life while living abroad on my own. At that time I lost both my parents, a relationship fell to bits, my career in radio, something I loved doing, disintegrated. I also lost my flat, I had to find a new place to live at very short notice and I ran out of money. My dear friend who I have been helping recently went through a similar if far more severe set of circumstances which lead her entering a very emotional and depressive state. The amazing thing is, despite never having had the condition, I understood her and where she was coming from. Through the Astrology that I had learnt, through the personal experiences I had I knew the signals, I could see the aspects in her chart, I could see a timeline that was going to bring her hope and eventually get her back to work, and this October just as I had suggested she returned to her job again after being off sick for a long time. In this article I am going to look at depression, if there are any trigger signs on a natal chart, if you can spot any one who is vulnerable and the deeper reasons why human beings sometimes suffer from this horrible illness.

Mars conjunct the fixed star Alkes helps Iran strike a deal with the US.

Iran today signed a deal in Geneva with the US to halt the enrichment of Uranium for 6 months in exchange for financial help against the sanctions that it has been under for quite a while. This deal coincided with a link up in the sky between Mars the planet of aggression and positive action and one of the more fortunate stars in the night’s sky, Alkes.

Mars conjunct Zosma – Doing your bit to help those in need

This connection is starting to form and will be active until 5th November 2013. It occurs at 11:31 degrees Virgo.

Mars is now well into the sign of Virgo and the next star it makes contact with is Zosma, a star placed on the back of the great lion in the sky as part of the constellation of Leo.

Zosma is one of those stars which when contacted by the planets brings an element of suffering to bare or creates an atmosphere where victimisation can take place. This is a star of the common man, the one who tends to be on the wrong end of things, he who gets a raw deal or just has to live with regular disappointments in one manner or another. It can also indicate the carer or the one who helps those in need. Robson is pretty damning in his assessment of Zosma. He said it causes “benefit by disgrace, selfishness, egotism, immorality, meanness, melancholy, unhappiness of mind and fear of poison, and gives an unreasonable, shameless and egotistical nature”. This is not one the easiest stars in the heavens to deal with.

Mars is an aggressive influence as well as one that promotes action and so in connecting with Zosma it can indicate action taken to create victims through violence and harshness as well as taking the time to help people in trouble and those who have suffered at the hands of others. I seem to think of charities and those who do work quietly behind the scenes to relieve suffering. This combination is very tied to working in difficult circumstances, in harsh conditions for little thanks or recompense, so look for action by people who work in these kinds of circumstances. Charity givers and volunteers, the military forces, the police and public services, nurses, industrial workers – all these people and others who graft away for the betterment of others come under the auspices of Mars conjunct Zosma and are the type of people who will be motivated by this conjunction. For example, in Britain right now the fire fighters are going on strike, and this exactly fits the brief for Mars conjunct Zosma. They feel victimised, as they believe that their pension rights are going to be eroded by the British government.

In your life, you may be have to serve someone else now who is in trouble or needs help or you may be the one who is suffering at the hands of someone else. Don’t expect rewards for your actions now, as probably you won’t receive any at this time. Then again doing a good deed for someone else will help your self-esteem and maybe through your unselfish work and deeds you will build up some goodwill for when you need some help from someone in the future.