At the Lodge - 12th December 2005

Lodge Lecture

Bernard Eccles, previous President of the Lodge and our newest Honorary Life member, began his usual Christmas lecture with a heavy heart. Despite his natural optimistic nature could not escape the worrying conclusions shown by the astrological conditions of 2006 and he told us how difficult it had been to keep the appropriate light hearted tone for his more popular astrology columns.

He began by showing us a Graphic Ephemeris of the decade.
Pointing out the stress points we have already experienced – Saturn opposite Pluto in 2001/2 – he put it that we had not yet reached the defining planetary knot and that that we would meet this next summer. This would see three planets in hard aspect to each other, those three being Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune, Jupiter and Saturn square to each other, and Neptune square to Saturn and opposite Jupiter. There are also other planets which tune in with different ends of this T square. Jupiter trines Uranus in early May and late August and Mars conjoins Saturn in June.
This is a very tense configuration.

He then went through the overview of the year:
• Uranus, Neptune and Pluto do not change signs,
• Saturn continues for its second year in Leo,
• Jupiter changes signs in November – but note this gives us 10 ½ months of Jupiter in Scorpio before we get to Jupiter in Sagittarius,
• Mars is direct moving from Taurus through to Sagittarius,
• Venus begins the year retrograde but goes direct in February and will conjoin Mars and the Sun in late October,
• Mercury retrogrades are in water signs.

Going back to the Graphic Ephemeris, Bernard pointed out again the knot of three planets we will see next summer at around 15 degrees of the fixed signs and the knot we will see around 2010 around 0 of the cardinals. What ever comes out of the next year will almost certainly build into the conditions which will accompany this second knot.
Bernard then referred to COSI – The Combination of Stellar Influences – Ebertin’s bible of midpoint combinations. None of the Jupiter, Saturn, Neptune combinations were particularly uplifting. All were speaking of structures undermined, faith overwhelmed; a contest of liquid v solid; gloom.

We were then reminded of the theory of resonance, the idea that if we have two planets joined in our charts then we respond to times when these two planets join in the sky, whether or not they directly transit our charts. Given that Jupiter, Saturn and Neptune form a T-square next year, would you not expect people who also have these three planets configured together to respond?
Bernard then showed us the chart for the Queen, 21 April 1926, 2.40 BST, London, UK. Not only does she have the same T-square but they are in the same degrees and signs. The conditions of next autumn give her:
• Jupiter conjunct Saturn,
• Jupiter conjunct Saturn and MC and
• Neptune conjunct Mars and Jupiter.
Not only this she will have Uranus conjunct Venus, Saturn will transit her Moon in the early part of the year, and by progression a progressed new Moon conjunct the nodes at 16 Cancer – that is a progressed eclipse close to her descendant.
This would logically lead us to look at the Duke of Edinburgh, 10 June 1921, near sunset, Corfu. There are also a few worrying things here:
• Transiting Saturn will conjoin his Moon which is, of course, part of the transiting T-square,
• Progressed Mars will conjoin his Moon which is also the ruler of the eighth in the eighth,
• Transiting Pluto is opposite his natal Mars
• Uranus will return to its natal position
A positive note may come from progressed Sun moving to conjoin natal Jupiter.
One of William Lilly’s guidelines was “Predict not the death of thy prince” and Bernard made it very clear this was not the message he wanted to convey but this would certainly highlight a particularly intense period and you may read what you like into the fact that Jupiter also transits Charles’ Sun.
These resonances are also shown in the UK 1801 chart and in the 1066 chart. The 1801 chart has Saturn, Neptune and Venus in a T-square and Saturn will return to its natal position. 1066 gives Saturn trine Neptune and transiting Neptune will square its natal position.
Having looked at the Head of State, Bernard then turned to Tony Blair, the Prime Minister. He would have transiting Saturn conjunct Pluto next year. This generally boils down to hard work and lots of if and, given the fixed sign, it will come within an enduring situation.
Similar things are being said at many levels here. Through many charts the same message is ringing, through 1066, 1801, the Monarch and the Prime Minister.
In a brief mention of David Cameron, he pointed out that Uranus seems to be counting down to a possible general election in spring 2009 when it will conjoin his natal Saturn and Chiron. Whether this means victory or an exit from politics remains to be seen.

We moved then to look at the solstice chart and, given the semi-hysterical predictions of a frozen winter, we looked at the weather. Libra is on the 4th house cusp and Venus is at early Aquarius conjunct the descendant but very weakly aspected. The dominant aspect is the Mars, Saturn, Neptune T-square in the first, tenth and seventh houses in fixed signs. We reached the consensus that a fixed, continual period of soggy, grey weather was more likely what we would expect.

Bernard finished by looking at the New Year moment. Although not astrologically significant Bernard thinks that this is almost a collective horary for the country; at the stroke of midnight anyone awake will grab a drink and another person and turn their minds to the coming year. “Will I get my wish” could be the question for this moment and Jupiter in the second square Neptune in the fifth would point to the affirmative but things might get carried away.