At the Lodge - 16th February 2004

Lodge Lecture | Charts Discussion

Lodge Lecture

This week's lecture was given by Judith Levy and Heather Fish. It took a look at the Moon as the housewife and mother - and the two sides of Venus as the romantic seductress. With dialogue and verse they wound their way through pictures and charts of the advertisers' images of women, including that of Snow White, through the 1950s till now.

The charts included those of Marilyn Monroe, Nell Gwynne, Sylvia Plath (with Ted Hughes), Princess Diana and Madonna. After the quote from Carl Jung 'Every woman extends backward into her mother and forward into her daughter', we looked at the charts of Judy Garland and her daughter Liza Minelli. The lecture was preceded and closed by Heather's husband singing a few bars from two songs. Altogether a most entertaining evening.

Judith is a company director and astrologer. She is currently in the second year of the Bath Spa MA in Cultural Astrology. Heather Fish is Learning and Development manager for a major Welsh brewer. She is currently researching in the field of Neurofeedback. We would like to thank them both for a great time.

Carole West

Charts Discussion

Charts Discussion this week followed on in the same theme and looked at the charts of three famous Mistresses. The first one to be presented, in her usual experienced and professional way by Wanda Sellar, was Eva Braun, the shop girl who fell in love with Adolph Hitler (who of course did not have a wife).

She was his mistress for 17 years and married him 2 days before they committed suicide in the Berlin bunker. Hitler's 7th house was connected to love and death. Mars, the ruler, is conjunct Venus and square Saturn. Eva Braun's 7th house also had this combination albeit in a different form: Mars and Saturn besiege the Descendant.

Venus is on the Mars/Saturn midpoint of suffering and death. She also had Algol sitting on her DC (26 deg 12' of Taurus). She could not help being attracted to an older man (Venus in Capricorn). He was 23 years older than her.

Carole West

The second was Nell Gwynne, mistress of Charles II, presented by our Vice President, Gill Dorren. There are Two dates for Nell of Old Drury - one from a biography and one from Christian Astrology. This is based on the date from the bio - however both charts will be done in depth for The Quarterly. Nell Gwynne is the more famous of Charles II mistresses. She was also an actress in her own right - being one of the best comediennes of her time. She, of course, performed at The Theatre Royal (where she met Charlie Boy) however did you know Pepys commented how brilliant she was in his diaries and Dryden, the best playwright of his day, wrote plays especially for her?

In the chart I have she has Mercury trining Pluto in the air signs and squaring up to Jupiter in Scorpio - she had a caustic wit - and this aptly describes this. She has Capricorn rising which may answer the question posed in the biography- that is her youth - it appears she may have been on 14 years of age when working at the theatre and only 19 years when she began her affair with the King.

Capricorn would perhaps give her a demeanour beyond her years and with Venus in the first house - her beauty. She loved the King for the Man he was - and with Moon in Pisces this could aptly describe her gentle caring nature (she also cared for her mother who was a well know alcoholic) and with Mars nearby this could indicate her ability to disconnect emotionally with Charlie Boy's philandering.

Gill Dorren

The final one was Camilla Parker-Bowles whose chart, along with Prince Charles was presented by Carole West. Never tongue tied or shy, she went through beaus with alacrity and had a reputation for being an enthusiastic flirt. (Leo on the Asc) She met Andrew Parker-Bowles (reputedly the best lover in London) shortly after her coming-out party in 1965. She had a brief affair with Prince Charles, supposedly to make Andrew jealous. The story goes that she said to Charles "My great-grandmother and your great-grandfather were lovers. So how about it?"

They had instant rapport as they shared the love of all things country. They always had a comfortable friendship, calling each other Gladys and Fred. Although Charles was Godfather to her son, her husband went back to his rakish habits and drove the two lovers further together.

After the divorce of Charles and Diana, the two became closer in his public life (She has Pluto conjunct Saturn in the first house conjunct Pluto at the same degree in his first house and her Jupiter is conjunct his Sun in Scorpio). After the death of Diana their hopes of marrying were dashed. A highly private person (a stellium of planets in the twelfth house) Camilla meets the press with great reluctance.

The final conclusion on all three of these women was that they made their men happy at home providing relaxation and peace. Fuller versions of these accounts will appear in a later copy of Astrology Quarterly. The data can be found on our data page.

Carole West

Lodge Lecture | Charts Discussion