Can we avoid our fate if we don’t want to invite something difficult in the door? Yes.
That is what astrology is for. Destiny is negotiable, as wise astrologers say.
Astrologers Who Predict Headlines
Some astrologers can predict the future, and some can’t. Some choose to and some don’t!
Maggie Hyde is a skilled predictive astrologer who readers of the Observer will remember, saw big corporate events, like those at British Telecom, many months before they occurred.
As she explains in an article called The Judder Effect for the Astrological Association Journal, she was originally given her column because of a stunning 1999 prediction about Bill Gates and Microsoft, which impressed the paper.
Using an astrological technique known as progression, Maggie Hyde saw Gates leaving Microsoft in January 2000 – or losing his power there. Reader, he quit. It was a date with destiny.
These kinds of bang-on, far-sighted predictions can sometimes create what my friend Maggie calls a judder effect. You’ve taken astrology out of vague generalisation which could mean anything (which is too often the sad state of Sun Sign columns) and into serious territory.
100 True Predictions in 100 Days
I have a series on my website called 100 True Predictions in 100 Days which deconstructs the horoscopes behind accurate news forecasts. If you are curious about the way dates with destiny work in astrology, have a look.
Sting is a fan of the astrologer and author Steven Forrest, among many others. Forrest believes “Destiny is something for which we must strive; Fate is what happens to us if we don’t.” For him, destiny is a divine plan. It’s what we should aim for. Fate is what happens to us when we stop trying. So true.
Dennis Elwell, writing in The Astrological Association Journal in 2004, noted:
Elwell quotes Llewellyn George. “We are ‘free’ according to our wisdom and we are ‘fated’ in proportion to our lack of understanding.”
Former British PM David Cameron chose June 23, 2016 as the date for his referendum on the EU. I am sure he had no idea that on that day, Uranus at 23 Aries lined up with Ceres at 23 Aries and Mars at 23 Scorpio. Uranus has been a symbol of independence, revolution, freedom and liberty since his discovery and naming in 1781.
Astrologers and Their Charts
Astrologers often leave their charts alone for months. Some of us even drop out of the profession, only to come back a few years later. It is common to find pro astrologers having a crisis of faith about their technique, or even about the whole strange business of peering into the future.
Sometimes I have ignored my chart. When I was a baby astrologer, I applied for a mortgage on Mercury Retrograde to buy a house I wanted in the country. It was wildly inconvenient for me to avoid the application and I boldly decided I was going to ignore Mercury Retrograde and pretend it wasn’t happening. I went through two months of nonsense and lost my $600 deposit, which was a lot of money at the time. Lesson learned.
I mention these stories because they show a great truth about astrology. Once you’re ‘in’ that world you have to stay
there. I often wonder what would have happened, had I lost my belief in horoscopes altogether and changed my world view. And you?
The Death of Diana, Princess of Wales
Dennis Elwell: “Princess Diana met a tragic death in Paris. She often sought advice from astrologers and psychics, so the obvious question is why the advice was not of more use to her.”
I once spoke to Diana’s medium, Rita Rogers on the telephone about this. Rita confirmed to me that the princess had more than basic astrological knowledge.
So why, why, why did that dreadful day come to pass? It’s pretty simple really. The advice, coming from Rita at least – and probably many others helping the Princess – was ignored.
As she told The Daily Mail, Rita warned Dodi about the accident, down to details about the colour of the car and the tunnel. She warned him to use his own driver. I believe her. Rita Rogers is a brilliant medium.
Astrology does not, and cannot, predict death. After someone crosses over, it can show you what their transition achieves (because everybody who leaves the planet, changes it a little, through their exit). That’s it. I sometimes have readers writing to me, worried that Pluto by transit means they are about to fall under an elephant. Oh dear. No.
I realise this is not a topic you are going to find in every astrology book, but it is my belief (which I cannot prove here) that every transition has a huge purpose and that the astrological chart for the moment a soul departs, describes that purpose.
The Passing of a Princess
This exact line-up of aspects for August 31. 1997 at 00.00am in Paris tells a big story. I am using modern astrology, which seems right for the passing of a very modern princess. The key to Diana’s passing is also Dodi Fayed’s chart (born on April 15, 1955), which tallies exactly with Diana’s as we would expect.
These are Diana’s transits – Born with Psyche at 21 Cancer Passes with Aesculapia at 21 Cancer.
Dodi Fayed born with Moon at 21 Capricorn, Jupiter at 21 Cancer Born with Neptune at 8 Scorpio. Passes with Bacchus at 8 Scorpio Born with Saturn at 27 Capricorn Passes with Neptune at 27 Capricorn. Dodi Fayed born with Neptune at 26 Libra Born with Jupiter at 5 Aquarius, Passes with Uranus at 5 Aquarius. Dodi Fayed born with Chiron at 5 Aquarius Born with Chiron at 6 Pisces. Passes with Ceres at 6 Pisces.
France has a ‘birth’ chart too set for October 5, 1958. You can see it on my website if you are curious. There are many ways the French chart chimes with the transits for the day of the crash and the horoscopes of this ill-starred couple.
What is really striking is Fortuna at 4 Sagittarius, the sign of the foreigner. Fortuna is the blindfolded goddess who spins the wheel of fate and fortune without realizing what she does. This is the role France played in the tragedy, according to modern astrology.
I once spent the afternoon with the lovely Debbie Frank, Diana’s astrologer for the last eight years of her life, at the National Portrait Gallery. We had afternoon tea, gazed at paintings of the royal family and talked horoscopes. Debbie is one of the most intuitive and intriguing astrologers in the business. Her colleagues and contemporaries in our industry all know she expertly navigated the Princess through the most difficult years of her life with amazing results – particularly for the charities and causes Diana supported.
Diana’s birth time was originally given as 2pm, then corrected to 7.45pm on July 1. 1961 in Sandringham, which the Princess confirmed with Debbie. This gives her a Sagittarius Ascendant, also confirmed by Diana’s psychic and healer, Simone Simmons.
One of the reasons we know this Sagittarius Ascendant is correct, is the T-Square formed in the heavens when Diana died. She was born with the AC at Sagittarius 18 and passed away with the True South Node at 19 Pisces and True North Node at 19 Virgo.
Sagittarius rules foreigners and foreign countries. Diana was in Paris as a guest of Mohamed Al Fayed with, Dodi, when her car crashed. She had also been working on an international campaign against landmines. That is most certainly Diana’s Ascendant or Rising Sign.
I once had an unforgettable telephone conversation with Simone Simmons. Diana confided in Simone, that she had been given a dossier about the landmine industry, which she had compiled during her crusade against them.
After the BBC made this public, Simone told me she had received contact from intelligence insiders, all around the world, wanting to support her and confirm her views.
The Express reported that a retired soldier, Rory Allen (who had worked with Diana on her campaign) claimed she had been killed because of her humanitarian efforts.
So many people have come forward about the death of the Princess but in terms of Diana’s horoscope, Allen’s timing was remarkable.
According to Simone Simmons, the Princess had been preparing a report called ‘Profiting Out of Misery’ in which she was going to name names in the arms industry.
Today, the French investigation stands, unchallenged. Officially, Diana’s car crash was an accident and not the fault of photographers or foreign intelligence agents. It was the fault of Henri Paul, the driver of Diana’s car, who was affected by alcohol and prescription drugs, driving at nearly twice the speed limit.
Nobody I ever speak to, at astrology events, accepts that. The hands shoot up in unison. The crash was not an accident.
Diana loved astrology. Astrologers loved her, too. What does the astrology tell you, about how and why she passed away? We have new software, new discoveries since the devastating days of August 1997. What can you find in the handwriting of that chart?
Look at the zodiac signs being triggered, and the horoscope factors concerned. They have a story to tell which goes behind the headlines. You will see it as plain as day if you look.
Why Statistics Don’t Work in Astrology
The unique blend of the person, the times he or she lives in, the place – and the other people involved – creates a combination of factors which can never be repeated.
Dates with destiny cannot be fed into a computer and tested for their ‘truth’ because this is not how horoscopes function.
Statistical tests of astrology generally fail. Even when strong patterns are detected, like The Tenacious Mars Effect, it is possible that what we are seeing is a striking piece of synchronicity.
This was one of the ways that I came to astrology, aged 19, at the University of Tasmania. I stumbled across the famous Gauquelin data on the shelves. The remarkable research done by Professor Hans Eysenck, Sybil B.G. Eysenck, Michel and Francois Gauquelin made astrology credible in academia.
I prefer to believe The Tenacious Mars Effect is a staggering example of synchronicity, implicating Michel Gauquelin himself (like Mars the God of War, his research saw him battle both astrologers and scientists) rather than any great statistical truth about humanity. If it is not, the implications are Orwellian.
Isn’t this what every evil genius longs for? Statistical proof that if you force the birth of a baby at an appointed time, you can engineer a generation of outstanding military men, blessed with The Tenacious Mars Effect?
I am sure that astrology was never meant for statistics. For me, it is actually astrology’s great gift to the world. The horoscope releases you from the tyranny of numbers.
In astrology you are not, and never will be, just another number. We use numbers, but in unique patterns that are unrepeatable, just like you. Never be doomed by statistics!
It is liberating to know that you have a unique horoscope, as singular as a fingerprint. When read in combination with the times you live in, the people around you and even the organisations or countries which affect your life (they all have horoscopes too) you have a glorious one-off. Yes, astrology reads dates with destiny, but it also allows you to modify your fate. There is a substantial difference.
The horoscope, like the person, is unique. This is the case, even for twins, as you can see in another section of this book. Twins have largely similar horoscopes, but they grow up to have different friends, then different husbands or wives, different children, different employers and different homes. All these aspects of twins’ lives also carry horoscopes. They create a one-off combination of patterns, which each twin responds to, using free will. You can read more about twins later.
Twins and Destiny
It is quite true that twins who have their umbilical cords cut moments apart, can have the same general horoscope. Dates with destiny will also trigger these horoscopes on the same day, at the same time. What researchers seldom take into account, though, is that each twin will have her own circle of people, who also have horoscopes, which are also triggered (or not).
That’s what makes the event. People, together, make things happen. I am amazed that astrology’s critics ever thought otherwise. Astrology is about the interplay between people.
Astrologers make this mistake too. They read their chart in isolation. They put in the transits, but they leave out the people around them and even the place. To do this stuff properly, you need all the alchemy of every factor to figure out a useful formula.
Imagine an old-fashioned overhead projector with one sheet of film, laid over another, laid over another…and so on. Visualise different horoscopes being printed on all sheets.
This is actually the way we used to give lectures at The Astrological Lodge of London, near Baker Street, in the good old days before laptop computers. It illustrates perfectly why moments in time are a combination of horoscopes, not just one.
The real clincher, for an astrologer, is looking at her own chart before a private reading. You will also be woven into the story.
If you are interested in this approach, then it is time to pursue the work of astrologers Maggie Hyde and Geoffrey Cornelius in particular, and also my all-time favourite science book, The Shape of Things to Come, by Jane Teresa Anderson.
When to Launch?
When to launch your business, election campaign, perfume, book or ship? The difference between a bestselling book and a fizzer is often the cost of hiring a good, experienced astrologer to gaze at the charts.
Avoid Mercury Retrograde. If you can launch any time, why then? You might also want to avoid Full Moons. They spell D-Day, and they are common at the launch of military campaigns, but do you really want battle stations for your boutique opening?
Put the chart in context. A New Moon suits a new beginning, but not if it pings your horoscope in all the wrong places and it also uncomfortably hits the charts of your colleagues.
If you are thinking about your career, look at what is happening to your Tenth House (Capricorn) and/or Sixth House (Virgo) before you launch. Otherwise, you may have a fizzer.
Avoid oppositions, in general. Not just in your chart, but in the world’s chart. If Pluto in Capricorn is opposing the Sun in Cancer, in July, the planet is stressed. Nobody is in the mood for ‘new’ when they are dealing with pressure. People have enough to cope with, without trundling along to see your new shampoo.
You can check these oppositions by tracking the heavenly bodies at my website.
If you really want to have a great launch, mix sociology and astrology. Former Vanity Fair astrologer Michael Lutin first taught me about this basic principle in an unforgettable lecture at an Australian astrology conference.
Think about the demographic you are trying to reach with your launch. Are these people in their fifties? Forties? Thirties? Twenties?
Millions of people in your market have the slow-moving outer planets in particular zodiac signs. Sixties babies have Uranus or Pluto in Virgo. They are the mineral water, gym, health food, vitamin and cosmetic surgery generation. Sell to them.
Seventies babies have Uranus or Pluto in Libra. Their parents had the first no-fault divorce in history. They are preoccupied with love, sex, marriage and commitment. They are deeply concerned with equality, which Libra rules. Speak to them! They want peace. They don’t want guns and they don’t want Trident.
Why did Harry Potter rule the world, with a particular generation, for so many years? They were born with Uranus or Neptune in Capricorn. Hogwarts taught them about hierarchy. When this generation is old enough to rule the world, they will change the world. Sell to them!
Useful New Moons
Not every New Moon is useful. Don’t get caught. Some of them are precious gifts, though, designed to help you on your way.
What you want is a nice, bright, shiny New Moon in the house of your chart which is relevant to your launch. Make sure this house is in good shape and check that there is nothing else going on that gets in the way. Check your transits. Know your Dates With Destiny.
If you want to launch an adoption application, or you want to launch an online course for young people – choose a New Moon in Leo in your Fifth House, which rules the ‘heirs’ to your throne.
Make sure your Fifth House is in okay shape in your birth chart – and that there is nothing major in Aquarius, Taurus or Scorpio creating squares and oppositions to obstruct you. Go!
If it’s about launching yourself as a brand, you’re looking at Aries/First House. If it’s about launching a business based on trade, then it’s Taurus/Second House. If it’s about launching a new club, then it’s Aquarius/Eleventh House.
One of the reasons I created our quarterly Horoscope Journals (with brilliant designer Janine Brown) was to ensure that every member of my website could track her New Moon cycles and use the pages of the journal to set goals, make sketches, clip pictures from magazines and generally work her astrology.
Time is not what it appears. I like to think of astrology as time-wrangling and it’s the greatest gift your horoscope can give you.
Edited extract from 2020 Astrology: Your Five-Year Horoscope Guide by Jessica Adams.
Images Courtesy of Unplash.com