Astro News Journal
spring equinox 2008
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The Spring Equinox edition
of the Astrology News Journal is
out now!
This edition is packed with interesting and
inspiring articles, including:
• The Spring Equinox
Chart
• Planetary Movements
• The Night Sky
• Your Sun sign forecast
• Working with Saturn
• The Mars in a Woman
• The Flame & the Fury
• Astro Agony Aunt
• Uranus & Saturn |
Saturn
Aspect Calculator - find out
when your Saturn transits happen
- this free tool accompanies the
'Working with Saturn' article |
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26 pages of astrology articles and
info - to read one article from a previous
edition then click here -
The Journal will soon be available on CD at a
small extra charge - please check back.
We wanted to produce a magazine that
has a higher level of writing than astrological
articles found in popular magazines but not as
technical as the astrological journals written
specifically for astrologers. Interesting and informative
astrology written for all to understand.
We believe our team of astrologers
have achieved this and that the articles written
are of an exceptionally high quality and are interesting
for all levels of understanding.
The Astro News Journal marks the
Pagan fire festivals of the year and comes out
quarterly on every solstice and equinox. The next
issue will be out for the summer solstice.
It costs £2.99 per issue or £10.00
for a years subscription. Subscribe now or ask
us to remind you when the next issue is out by
giving us your email.
See below for profiles of the contributing
astrologers.
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About
the Astrologers |
Hans Baker
The astrology bug bit Hans in 1971, when
an Aquarian asked him his sign. There
followed years of haphazardly trying
to fathom astrology out, until 1982,
when he finally realised this was his
vocation and he'd better get on with
it.
The Faculty of Astrological
Studies was, and is, the main astrological
teaching body in the UK, so he enrolled on
their correspondence course, with the purpose
of honing his knowledge and interpretation
skills and getting an objective assessment
of his astrological ability by a recognised
body. After a couple of years, he took the
Faculty's Intermediate Certificate exam and
passed, with distinction for best interpretation
paper.
Using this accreditation as a springboard,
he launched himself as a practitioner and
teacher of astrology at various adult education
centres around Bristol and Avon.
A seven-year itch around practicing
astrology developed in 1992, leading to enrolment
on the three-year professional training course
run by the Centre for Psychological Astrology,
directed by Dr Liz Greene, an accomplished
astrologer and Jungian psychoanalyst. The
aim of this course is to deepen the astrologer's
insight into a birthchart, by marrying up
the cosmic perspective of astrology with
the penetrating depth of psychology and mythology.
On graduating with its Certificate
in 1995, he was then asked to run their Introduction
to Psychological Astrology course, which
he did until 2000, when he finally presented
his case-study work to gain the CPA's coveted
Diploma.
Since then, in addition to
practicing as a mainstream astrologer, he
has been involved with the Rainbow Astrology
group and the Wheel of Astrologers, which
put on summer camps for people wanting to
learn about astrology in a natural, open-air
setting, sometimes using astrodrama -
a dynamic way of bringing the birthchart
to life by using people to represent planets.
Hans continues to practice astrology from his
home in Bristol, UK.
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Linda Day
Linda has always had a fascination of the stars
and as a child she could identify the Plough.
In the early 80’s, she visited India and
learnt about the planet of the day and
the Indian’s fascination with astrology.
On her return, she met a group of astrologers
who read her chart and recommended a few
books to read and from that point onwards
there was no looking back.
Linda began her study of astrology with
an ILEA adult course and then went on to
study with the Faculty of Astrology. She
holds a qualification in chart calculations,
with distinctions. For five years, she
worked as a volunteer for the astrology
study centre, Urania Trust, answering queries
about astrology and helping to organise
out the library.
In 1990, Linda went to her first Rainbow
Circle Astrology Camp and gave workshops
the following year. This eventually led to
her being a coordinator of the Astrology
Camp. She was also part of a group who had
astrological supervision and under went two
years of personal counseling with an astrological
councilor.
Over the past 17 years, she has run numerous
astrology groups and experimental workshops,
including astrodrama. She works with the
planet of the day and helps people to connect
to their charts by making astrological shrines.
By building a shrine to a particular planet,
Linda helps ground the energy and encourages
a personal contact with that planet, especially
helpful when experiencing a difficult transit.
Linda has visited many scared sites in England,
Europe and worldwide, which has enhanced
her knowledge and understanding of astrology
and astronomy and helped her connect to the
cycle of the seasons. Astrology is very much
part of her every day life.
Recently, Linda has trained as a bereavement
volunteer and uses these skills in her astrological
work. She works with the Wheel of Astrologers
doing personal readings at festivals such
as Glastonbury and the Big Green Gathering
and also works as an astrologer at various
different camps.
Linda gives professional chart readings
from her home and over the phone and helps
run an astrology group in Hereford. She also
writes the Moonthly Forecast every full and
new Moon for Astrocal and for their Astro
News Journal. |
Lyn Lovell
Lyn is a practising astrologer of many years
experience. She currently lives and
works in Glastonbury, Somerset.
Lyn’s interest in astrology began in the
mid 60s. She continued to study and
practice throughout the 60s & 70s whilst
raising a family of three children. In
1982, she started the formal qualifications
of the Faculty of Astrological Studies,
completing her Diploma in 1985. During
this time she joined the Astrological Association
and also the Astrological Lodge of London,
of which she later became Secretary. She
taught evening classes in Astrology for
the GLC for three years.
Since then Lyn has been instumental in bringing
astrology to a wide audience through her
pioneering work with astrological camps. She
was a founder member of Rainbow Circle whose
Astrology Camps offered people the opportunity
to experience astrology round the communal
fire and under the starry skies.
Lyn is currently an active member of the
Wheel of Astrologers and spends her summers
teaching and doing personal readings at a
varitey of Festivals including Glastonbury
Festival and the Big Green Gathering. Lyn’s
speciality is synastry, the analysis of inter-chart
dynamics.
Lyn also has in interest in ceremony, Green
politics and the Global Justice protest movements. |
Jaki Miles-Windmill
Jaki gained her Diploma from the Faculty of
Astrological Studies in 1998, receiving
an award for the best interpretation paper
that year. Since then, she has interwoven
writing about Astrology, teaching it, running workshops
and giving consultations. She also
works for ‘Astro-Live Link’ and has spoken
about astrology on BBC Radio, including
doing ‘on the spot’ consultations live
on air.
She has trained as a Shamanic Practitioner
and sometimes uses this knowledge in connection
with astrology practice. She teaches Drama,
writes for children, performs and writes
music and has acted professionally. |
Janetta Morton
Janetta has 20 years of experience in Astrology
and holds a certificate from the Centre
for Psychological Astrology. She has written
Regular columns for Marie Claire magazine,
Freeserve and various newspaper groups.
She also spent a year working for Jonathan
Cainers Astrology telephone line, Astrolivelink.
Janetta has many years of experience running
teaching courses in England and Australia.
She currently runs a thriving astrological
consultation practice in Glastonbury, a
beginners course at the Isle
of Avalon Foundation and is part of
an astrological collective ‘The
Wheel of Astrologers’ who are dedicated
to bringing astrological knowledge to a
wider audience in the camp, fayre and festival
scene. |
Tchenka
Tchenka has been practicing astrology for over
25 years. She started her professional
consultation business in 1984 and since
then she has taught astrology classes and
workshops, done a lot of broadcasting,
written articles and star sign columns,
been the on-board astrologer during Mediterranean
cruises and lectured throughout the country
- including at two Astrological Association
Conferences. During this time, she was
drawn into alchemical studies and an abiding
fascination with the design and use of
the labyrinth as a sacred space.
“ I see the horoscope as the underlying
script of your individual life drama, as
the coded instructions for your Soul's
purpose during this incarnation. The plot
unfolds over time and I see my job not
only as one of alerting you to, or confirming,
the pattern of your potential but also
as one of guiding you during your interaction
with life's challenges and adventures so
that you use them to perfect that innate
potential and so become aligned with your
destiny and walk your true path”.
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Nascita Montuschi
Until she discovered astrology, Nascita thought
poetry was the biggest kick you could get while
looking at a piece of paper. 25 years on, chart-reading
and literary appreciation are still favourite
activities and she is convinced they have much
in common.
She studied with the English Huber School of
Astrological Psychology from 1988 to 1991,
gained their Diploma in Astrological Consultancy
in 1991 and tutored on their Diploma course
until 1996. During this period she also taught
astrology evening classes at her local adult
education institute, before withdrawing from
both to take time to develop her own approach.
From 1994 to the present day she has done chart-readings
and workshops at summer camps, first with Rainbow
Circle and later with the Wheel of Astrologers.
She has also joined the chart-reading team
for ten glorious Glastonbury festivals, including
two mud years, and can’t wait to get back there
this year.
She is currently based in France, developing
her website, teaching English, learning to
give consultations in French and continuing
to think about Shakespeare and astrology. She
also works with clients in England by phone,
online or face-to-face when she’s in the country.
A life-long English teacher alongside work
with astrology, Nascita explores possible meanings
with clients and encourages their own insights
and connections. For her the key question in
life, in literature and in astrology is, ‘What
can we make of this?’ |
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Here
is an example of one of the articles from the
Journal:
THREE CHEERS FOR SATURN
I love it, I love
it, I love it!
by Tchenka
Out with all these wimps who bemoan their awful fate
at its hands; who tremble in trepidation at the thought
of another Saturn transit. Time has taught me that
if you want autonomy, respect, authority, mastery,
wisdom, a good figure, dignity, style, judgment,
a long life, cheekbones to die for, security, a pension
and to leave a mark on the world, then you’ve got
to worship at the temple of Saturn, grovel at its
feet and learn to play by his rules. If you can manage
to acquire all this without, in the process, also
turning into an uptight and fearful control freak
then you are indeed a true adept!
Marsillio Ficcino said Saturn is
the highest….. And the lowest. The alchemists
took Saturn/Lead as their base material. The
lowest manifestation of spirit in matter. Hold
a lump of lead in your little hand and you can
feel its inner fire – it’s never cold like most
other metals. Working with Saturn/lead’s inner
fire over time, they raised its level of vibration
to that of pure and incorruptible gold whilst
concurrently transforming the grit of their own
personal Saturn into the pure gold of adepthood
and mastery. We all know that it takes a piece
of grit to make a pearl – well we all need Saturn’s
grinding power to reach the gold of which we
are all individually capable.
Saturn is heavy,
the heaviest
We live in Saturn’s world. Space/Time and gravity
are Saturn at its most fundamental manifestation.
If you’re alive, in a body, on the earth, then
you’ve got Saturn. There’s no escape –except through
Death – not for nothing is it also known as the
grim reaper. But that’s why we’re here –spirit
incarnated, embodied soul. We’ve chosen to come
here into the valley of the shadow of death, to
become embodied in form, so that we can manifest,
make real, those wonderful visions that emerge
within our creative imaginations. Picture us all
queuing up in heaven, absolutely gagging for the
chance to experience a bit of Saturn. Anyone can
have brilliant Neptunian visions in their mind’s
eye, but that’s just where they’ll stay unless
we have the discipline, the patience, and the practical
application to actualize them, manifest them.
And it takes time to learn skills,
ages, ages and ages of time. Until it gets boring
even. Remember learning to play a musical instrument
or type or knit? Remember the apprentices who were
contracted to a master for seven years [a quarter
of a Saturn cycle] and then if they’d been good
boys and passed the tests, they achieved the rank
of journeyman. At this stage, they took to the
road with their box of tools, developing their
skills through hands on experience and practice
and then and only then, after another seven years
[the opposition point] were they deemed fit to
be called a master craftsman. It took a long time
and a hard struggle and an expensive cobbler’s
bill but if they stuck to it, then Saturn’s reward
was theirs. A life time of respect and security
was guaranteed – barring a Uranian transit of course!
Saturn is heavy
Of course it is, but what doesn’t kill you makes
you strong, eh? What’s the use of trying to develop
stunning biceps by lifting a few balls of fluff?
Strength and definition of muscle are developed
by pushing against resistance are they not? And
by continually increasing the weight too. Saturn
isn’t usually so hard –the pressure tends to
ease off in later life. So if you can find the
inner resources to keep on trucking through those
early agonizing and aching stages, the rewards
will come. Bit like being in a cosmic gym. The
heavier the weight you’re trying to lift, the
stronger your muscles are going to grow – even
if you do occasionally get a hernia!
Saturn is limiting
Even the physical nature of the planet Saturn gives
us the clear message that encirclement is what
it’s about. Aren’t those rings one of the most
beautiful sights in the whole solar system? Saturn’s
job is to separate, make one thing distinct from
another, to create definition. Boundaries, rims,
and edges are all Saturn’s domain. They may keep
you in, but they’re also keeping a lot of nasties
out and saving a lot of unnecessary mess. Saturn’s
rules the skeleton, which provides the internal
structure of our body and also the skin, which
separates it from the outer world. Imagine how
slippery the pavements would be if none of us
had skins to keep all our messy bits in place.
Imagine how many microorganisms would invade
us if we didn’t have such a brilliant protective
shield as the skin. I was once very taken with
a story about a man obsessed by the disturbing
fact that he had a skeleton inside him. Every
time he looked in the mirror he saw this skull
grinning back at him. And so he paid a witchdoctor
for a potion to dissolve the skeleton – and ended
up a very happy dollop of glub on the pavement.
Yet more messy bits to trip over!
Saturn is necessity
You have no choices with Saturn. If you’re lucky
enough to have Saturn aspecting any of your natal
personal planets by square, then fate will ensure
that one way or another, the person, structure
or, system that’ll carry out Saturn’s task of
limiting that innate potential will manifest
and do its best to crush the living daylights
out of you, the victim. Squirm and struggle as
much as you like, in your first 14 years at least,
there’ll be absolutely no escape.
But the weird thing is that all this struggling
and squirming is developing certain psychological
or even physical muscles that, a later stage in
Saturn’s cycle to that natal planet, will be strong
enough to fit you perfectly for some task or occupation.
To be under pressure is no bad thing. Certain chemical
reactions can only happen under pressure. Certain
changes can take place only under pressure. And
changes do take place under Saturn’s pressure.
Anyone who’s had to look after a baby, who must
be fed or changed or comforted whenever they demand
it, no matter that you are exhausted and out on
your feet and would rather be watching East Enders
– there’s no choice at all, at all. Not a whisper
of a choice. You just have to do it. Necessity
calls. But in time, this develops a certain kind
of inner muscle, one that gives women an inner
strength and resilience when it comes to getting
on with life and coping and keeping going that
most blokes know nothing about. And that, believe
it or not, is where wisdom lies.
Because life is not all about choices and the freedom
to do as we please, when we please. Whatever our
western culture’s conception of freedom may imply
to the contrary, life itself keeps calling on us
to do our duty, to fulfill our responsibility,
to protect, and to defend - in order to ensure
the safety and continuity of life itself. Life
demands it. If we don’t do it, we die. Simple.
If we do make a habit of watching East Enders instead
of feeding the baby, the baby will suffer and it’s
all too likely that another Saturnine figure in
the form of the friendly social worker will have
to intervene.
The Romans were devotees of Saturn
and look how well they did! They managed to rule
the world! They kept his statue up in the Capitol,
guarding the state treasury. They bound the statue
with linen strips, not to symbolize Saturn’s restrictive
nature, but to stop him getting away! Slaves made
offerings to him of little handcuffs when they
achieved freedom, not to symbolize his chains but
to thank him for escaping bondage. Seems like the
Romans knew something we’ve forgotten. The Romans
loved and honoured Saturn because he had taught
them how to gain mastery through the arts of agriculture,
engineering, and architecture. He had given them
the knowledge which enabled them to feed their
people; make life more comfortable and efficient
and to build great and lasting monuments. He had
given them the arts of civilization. Their fantastic
life style comforts, as well as their political
and military domination, they owed to Saturn. Agriculture
is fundamentally an art of timing, knowing when
to sow and when to reap. Engineering uses the knowledge
of natural laws and powers to make things work
efficiently. And an understanding of gravity helps
hugely in getting your coliseums to stand up for
any length of time! Anyone who has veer done any
building knows the value of the plumb [lead] line.
It gives you a true vertical to build to. If your
wall is ff true, then Saturn’s force of gravity
will have it in the end – and over it will topple.
Only by following the lead weight of Saturn, by
building to a true vertical line, can the influence
of Saturn be overcome. Think about it. There’s
an important lesson in there. Anyway, the roman
understanding of these laws enabled them to build
structures that are still hugely impressive today,
after 2000 years. I wonder if canary wharf will
still be there in another 200?
But we’re all aware that too much
Saturn can be repressive to the point of the complete
death of any creative vision. The Romans were canny
– or they tried to be – in that every saturnalia,
the linen bonds were untied from Saturn’s statue
and everyone went stir crazy! The social order
was turned upside down, the fool ruled in place
of the king and everyone got totally plastered
– very Neptune! But history bears witness to the
fact that this annual rite was not in itself sufficient
to stop them turning into out and out control freaks.
And like every planetary influence, when it becomes
overly dominant, their greatest strength became
their greatest weakness and their empire collapsed.
So Saturn is not simply the symbol
of that which binds you, much more magically and
importantly, it actually holds the secret key to
escaping those self same chains. Behold! Obey Saturn’s
rules, learn the tricks of his trade and ye shall
be free from the domination of the other. Ye shall
be your own master or mistress. Ye will be an authority.
Ye will be distinguished. It’s not going to be
easy. And it’s a lifetime’s work – two Saturn cycles
at least. But the rewards will surely come. Just
you wait and see …… more next issue!
Next issue: What
Saturn wants you to do. How to decipher the secret
of your life’s purpose from your Saturn transits
Here's some other interesting Astrology
Articles
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