Marjorie

Thousands turned out to line the streets for former boxer Ricky Hatton’’s funeral in Manchester Cathedral after his surprise death aged 47. During his glittering 15-year career, he won four world titles at both light-welterweight and welterweight. But after his retirement was open about his struggles with alcohol, drugs and depression including suicidal thoughts. He had always been a heavy drinker and his crash diets to get down to weight before fights, sometimes losing three stone in a matter of weeks, would not help his health. He had tempestuous relationships with his family and his girlfriend with whom he had two children, though they emphasised that he seemed “in a good place” in the period before his death.

 He was born 6 October 1978, Stockport, England, no birth time, and had an intense Sun, Pluto, Mercury in Libra – Sun Pluto suggests a controlling father and subsequently a need to stay in control himself. Mercury Pluto would give him a tendency to look on the dark side. His volatile, turbulent Mars Uranus Venus stellium in Scorpio would need constant excitement and thrills so retiring from the ring would not be easy. His Saturn in hard-working Virgo was in an imaginative, though can-be-neurotic square to Neptune.

 He may have had a Sagittarius Moon trine Jupiter in Leo – or a late Scorpio Moon.

 When he died his Progressed Mars was moving to conjunct his Neptune which would have been debilitating.

 When there is no verified birth time, midpoints can be helpful to pin down character traits.  His Saturn sat on the midpoint of his Sun/Jupiter midpoint which would incline him to negative states of mind.  His Uranus conjunct his Sun/Neptune midpoint would contribute to inner chaos and a highly strung temperament.  His North Node conjunct his Sun/Saturn midpoint would contribute also to a tendency to seclusion and gloomy thoughts.

 His North Node in late Virto was triggered by the recent Solar Eclipse prompting him to pull away from his dreamer Pisces South Node.

 There is no clear explanation as to why he died though a combination of years of heavy drinking, cocaine usage and crash dieting would have taken their toll.

Living with never-ending suffering is the myth behind Chariklo, wife of Chiron, who was unable to heal himself from a poisoned arrow. Her task as caregiver was to create a sacred inner space more powerful than the endless challenge she faced – to transform the tragedy of her situation into a spiritual connection.

Ben Belinsky in the latest ebook in his Centaur series writes: “The centaurs can be described as strangers or visitors that, from an astrological point of view, bring with them other dimensions of experience and understanding.”

  Chiron was the first centaur asteroid to be discovered in 1977, followed Pholus, Nessus, Asbolus and in 1997 Chariklo.

Chiron – wounding and healing.

Nessus – violation and betrayal.

Pholus – mass movements, cults.

Asbolus – augury and divination (from birds).

Chariklo  through unbearable situations to eventual transcendence.

[See previous post: Pholus – mobs, madness or inspiration 20th July 2025].

  Since these are recent discoveries, astrological thoughts are a work in progress. Ben Belinsky gives examples of anonymous caregivers, as well as insights about T.S. Eliot, Doris Lessing, William Butler Yeats, Jean Genet and Amy Winehouse.

  While adding more and more points to a chart can seem overwhelming, keeping an open mind and exploring possible new insights is worthwhile. Searching around in my personal archive, two family members who sprang to mind, both self-sacrificing types, did have a prominent Chariko – one conjunct Venus exactly and the other conjunct Neptune opposition Sun exactly.

 The Tory politician Norman Tebbit, 29 March 1931, who cared for his injured wife after the Brighton bombing in 1984 had his Jupiter in Cancer exactly conjunct Chariko.  He left the government prematurely in 1987 to spend more time with her, and up to her death in 2020 he woke twice every night to turn her. [See previous post: Norman Tebbit – respected even by leftwingers 8th July 2025]

Rosalynn Carter, 18 August 1927, wife of former president Jimmy Carter, founded an Institute for Caregivers and she serendipitously had Chariko conjunct her North Node. [See previous post: Rosalynn Carter – a caring Sun Neptune in Leo. 20th November 2023}.

  This is a valuable short book for anyone keen to expand their knowledge of the centaur asteroids at this early stage as understanding of the part they play astrologically continues to develop and evolve.

“I said to my soul, be still, and wait without hope

For hope would be hope for the wrong thing; wait without love

For love would be love of the wrong thing; there is yet faith

But the faith and the love and the hope are all in the waiting.”

T.S. Eliot, The Four Quartets.

Available from E-Books – Moonletter and Amazon.

Add On: More thoughts on Chariklo:

https://www.astro.com/astrology/tl_article230307_e.htm

https://www.astro.com/astrowiki/en/Chariklo

Add On: ADD ON:  Caroline Kennedy, daughter of JFK and Jackie, lost her father and uncle Robert Kennedy to assassinations, her brother John Jnr to a plane crash and now one of her daughters to cancer in her thirties. 

 She was born 27 November 1957 8.15 am New York. She has a 12^th house Sagittarius Sun square Pluto which can suggest a father outwith her control , a frequent occurrence with for those with an absent father.

  She also has her Aquarius Moon conjunct Chiron opposition an 8^th house Uranus square Mars North Node in Scorpio which is fairly heavy duty – and the Moon Chiron does suggest wounding in relation to mother and family. Plus a violent/vengeful Mars in Scorpio next to the North Node could tie her into fateful events in the culture.

  What maybe the most significant of all – her Venus is conjunct Chariklo.  Living with never-ending suffering is the myth of Chariklo, wife of Chiron, who was unable to heal himself from a poisoned arrow. Her task as caregiver was to create a sacred inner space more powerful than the endless challenge she faced – to transform the tragedy of her situation into a spiritual connection

Joan Kennedy, the shy, vulnerable first wife of Ted Kennedy, who had three children with him, and shared his problem with  alcohol, has died. Two of their children were cancer victims. Ted Jr. developed bone cancer aged 12, and Kara contracted  lung cancer and died of a heart attack in 2011 aged 51.

 Joan was born 5 September 1935 6.10am in Manhattan and married Ted when she was 23 under pressure from Joe Kennedy, his father, when she developed cold feet after an over-hasty engagement.

 She was a vague,  creative Sun Neptune in Virgo in a high-anxiety opposition to Saturn in Pisces on her Descendant square a super-sensitive focal point Sagittarius Moon. Her Saturn in her house of one-to-one relationships hinted that her marriage would be hard work. Her Sun, Neptune, Venus inclined her towards a love of classical music – she was an accomplished pianist and taught  classical music to children.

  A yod of Mercury in Libra sextile Moon inconjunct Uranus would give her a quirky, maverick streak which may well have been suppressed by an over-controlled Mars in Scorpio trine Pluto.

  Another yod of Uranus sextile Saturn inconjunct Mercury would initially make her a scattered thinker although handled well it could have been channelled into effective communication.

  She seemed a sweet natured soul, not robust enough in terms of self-esteem to cope with the rumbustious Kennedys. She had a marked victim/sacrifice/healer 12^th harmonic and 13^th harmonic as well which has been associated with a lack of a strong identity though well handled it can produce talent.   

 Ted Kennedy, 22 February 1932 3.58 am Brookline, MA, had a see-saw chart with three major oppositions giving him a tendency to constantly slide from one extreme to the other trying to find balance in relationships and elsewhere. His 2^nd house Pisces Sun opposition an 8^th house Neptune Moon in Virgo would give him commitment problems and it  fell across Joan’s 7^th house Saturn opposition Sun. His financially ambitious 2^nd house Mars Mercury in Aquarius across from an 8^th house Jupiter in Leo hinted at family wealth  but squared Joan’s Mars Jupiter. And his tough, hardened Saturn in Capricorn opposition a 7^th house Pluto in Cancer fell close to her 5^th house North Node in Capricorn pointing to a lack of spontaneity and also highlighted concerns about children.

 Their relationship chart had a vague, can-be-disappointing composite Neptune square Sun Mercury; with an intense 8^th house Venus trine a hidden 12^th house Moon trine North Node Saturn in Aquarius in the 4^th house of family, formed into a Kite with Moon opposition Uranus. A complicated, fairly subterranean bond, not warm but a Jupiter in the composite 11^th would help keep them on friendly terms even after their divorce.

  The death of Mary Jo Kopechne at Chappaquiddick when Ted Kennedy was driving occurred 18 July 1968 when tr Saturn was exactly conjunct the composite Descendant on their relationship chart – perhaps widening the crack which led to their ultimate separation. Although pregnant, and having been confined to bed in the wake of two previous miscarriages, she attended Kopechne’s funeral, and suffered a third miscarriage shortly thereafter. Tr Saturn was crossing his IC at this point putting a strain on his family. Ten years later they separated and at the time she gave interviews discussing her struggles with alcoholism, which was a result she said of unhappiness and social pressure. The divorce was finalized in 1982. Her later  years were blighted by chronic alcoholism, repeated drunk-driving arrests, court-ordered rehabilitation and ultimately to kidney damage and dialysis. Apart from a brief relationship shortly after her divorce, she never remarried or pursued another relationship.

 Just as an aside on the positive side of see saw charts. When Ted Kennedy died a friend who knew the political scene said that despite his damaged scandal-prone reputation, he did have a talent in Senate for cross-aisle negotiations – bringing the opposites together.

Pam Bondi, the US Attorney General, faced intense questioning before the Senate Judiciary Committee, for the first time since her confirmation about the Jeffrey Epstein files, the deployment of the National Guard to American cities, and the prosecution of ex-FBI director James Comey. She clashed with Democrats over Trump and the ‘weaponization’ of the justice department. She was accused of “fundamentally transforming” the department, and leaving “an enormous stain on American history” that it will take “decades to recover”.

Born 17 November 1965, she was the first two-term Republican attorney general in Florida history. In 2020, she was one of Trump’s defence lawyers during his first impeachment trial. By 2024, she led the legal arm of the Trump-aligned America First Policy Institute.

 An intense and evasive Sun Neptune in Scorpio, with her Mercury in outspoken Sagittarius square Uranus Pluto (Moon) in Virgo opposition Saturn she is not backward about speaking her mind vehemently or defending her actions. She also has Mars and Venus in ambitious Capricorn with her Mars in an opportunistic opposition to Jupiter.

  There is no birth time as yet so exact timing is tricky to pin down within a month or two but her chart is labouring under exceedingly panicky stars at the moment with her Solar Arc Uranus Pluto conjunct her Neptune and her Progressed Mars square all three. Plus tr Neptune which was square her Mars recently in July/August when she was tripped up lying about the Epstein files, returns  April, October 2026 and early 2027 – which usually indicates failure and a sinking feeling – not career friendly for sure. Even earlier in March 2026 and November 2026 to January 2027 tr Neptune conjunct her Mars/Jupiter midpoint will see her confidence take a similar dent. Tr Saturn Neptune is also square her Jupiter across this winter which will do nothing to boost her morale with arguments galore and career setbacks through 2026 from Mercury midpoints etc.

 Her relationship with Trump is not as easy as it looks with her Sun square his Mars and her Uranus Pluto square his Uranus and Sun, Moon. Though her Jupiter in late Gemini will help to give his Sun a lift from time to time. There will be a few ripples of disturbance between them across the winter and more across 2026 which will change the nature of their association fairly significantly. Late April 2026 onwards for several months into 2027 looks like a downward slide.

  Her Term chart, 5 February 2025, has tr Saturn crossing over the Neptune Scheat through this September and again early in 2026 for high uncertainty; and tr Saturn Neptune conjunct the Venus from March 2026 onwards for a few months for emotional disappointment and unpopularity.

 Her relationship with Epstein’s chart hints at muddle, mayhem and uncertainty picking up from May 2026 onwards as tr Neptune squares the composite Saturn Mercury into 2027; plus a major tussle from mid 2026 onwards. With Comey, the stresses appear 2027/2028. Her chemistry with the USA is hostile and aggravated with a composite Mars trine Pluto trine Uranus with her Mars opposition the composite Sun square Saturn. It does not mean she will dissolve into a puddle but she will leave a bad taste behind when she finally exits the political stage.

The convoluted responses from die-hard traditionalists within the Anglican Church at the first woman Archbishop of Canterbury are of little interest to outsiders. Evidently seven serving bishops say they welcome the new archbishop but wouldn’t receive communion from her.  Why are religious zealots so hung up about women/gender/sexuality? The ancient spirit versus flesh war still rages.

  That apart, what is intriguing is the astrology which suggests across the board that the transition will face momentous challenges.

 The Anglican Church, 3 November 1534 JC, already undergoing a seismic transformation with a 2^nd Pluto Return continuing through this year and next, as well as a Neptune Return at the same time, is running into a deeply uncertain Solar Arc Neptune conjunct its Saturn as well as a panicky-failure SA Mars conjunct Neptune in 2027 and a lacklustre, disappointing, indecisive SA Sun conjunct Neptune in 2028. It will flounder and flail.

 Sarah Mullally, 26 March 1962, at present the Bishop of London, is a former nurse, married with two children. She is a Sun Aries with a Scorpio/Sagittarius Moon. But what is eye-catching is her influential, can-be-controlling Pluto on the focal point of a yod inconjunct her Sun sextile Saturn in Aquarius; with her Pluto in a do-or-die determined opposition to Mars in Pisces, making her Mars a reactive (highly sensitive) point. That is a tough set of aspects, giving her the courage to face formidable difficulties but also in a curious way attracting catastrophes as well.

 She’s moving through an-all-systems-change tr Uranus square her Uranus over her enthronement in late January 2026 and although she will be buoyed up by a lucky tr Uranus square her Jupiter until May 2026 nothing thereafter looks easy. 2027 has a blocked Solar Arc Sun square her dominant Pluto with tr Uranus also square her Pluto from mid 2027 which will bring considerable turbulence and knock her sideways. In 2027 as well she has an undermining tr Neptune conjunct her Sun, followed in 2028/29 by a bleak, tough-struggle tr Pluto conjunct her Saturn.

 Her Archbishop Term chart, 28 January 2026, has the Saturn Neptune conjunction which does favour women but that is also conjunct the shipwrecking Scheat. It is sextile a truly difficult, hostile Mars Pluto in Aquarius conjunct Sun which is running into almost unsurmountable difficulties as tr Pluto crosses the Mars, then the midpoints and then the Sun in 2028/29. The reforming Uranus is conjunct Algol which does not feel progressive.   The Jupiter is unaspected suggesting an idealistic though disconnected approach to spiritual matters.

  An oddity is the similarities between her chart and that of Paula Vennells, infamous former head of the Post Office, 21 February 1959, a minister with the Church of England, who was short listed for the Bishopric of London. She is a Pisces Sun opposition Pluto in Virgo square Mars – so the same obsessive determination and tendency to attract antagonism.

[My only interest in the CoE apart from historical Henry V111 associations come from Royal funerals, coronations etc – and my hair-tearing irritation at the pomp and ceremony being ruined by weedy voice prelates – who NEED to take voice production lessons. When it is being televised to 2 billion people it is a performance and a job requirement. ]

Two years since the Hamas attack on Israel there is a slender hope of a negotiated peace deal with Donald Trump pushing hard for a settlement. The attacks were the first large-scale invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli War, with 1,195 people killed by the attacks, 736 of them Israeli civilians. About 250 Israeli civilians and soldiers were taken as hostages. Hamas said its attack was in response to the continued Israeli occupation, the blockade of the Gaza Strip, the expansion of illegal Israeli settlements, rising Israeli settler violence, and recent escalations.

 At the end of last year Israel’s leading human rights organisation says conditions inside Israeli prisons holding nearly 10,000 Palestinian detainees amounted to torture. 3500 are being held without charge; 400 are children.

   The 2023 Attack chart had Uranus in the 10^th (conjunct the Israel Taurus Sun) trine Pluto, square Venus and inconjunct Mars – so an explosive event. Mars square Pluto hinted at brutality and ruthlessness. A yod of Pluto sextile Neptune inconjunct Venus pointed to at the anti-social nature of the attack.

 At the moment the Progressed Moon is about to move across the Ascendant though that only gives the slimmest glimmerings of hope. Tr Venus will oppose the Neptune by late this week which looks disappointing. Tr Mars is also this coming weekend aiming to oppose the Jupiter highlighting self-seeking, opportunistic acts (probably on both sides).  And by December tr Uranus will square the yod apex Venus for an upset – which point in time is also highlighted elsewhere in relevant charts.

Hamas has detailed its main conditions as: A permanent and comprehensive ceasefire. The complete withdrawal of Israeli forces from all of Gaza. Unrestricted entry of humanitarian and relief aid. The return of displaced people to their homes. The immediate start of a full reconstruction process, supervised by a Palestinian national body of technocrats. A fair prisoner exchange deal.

 The chances of Netanyahu and his right wing cabinet agreeing to that is remote. And the Palestinians see little hope ahead of self-determination and freedom. One Palestinian commentator remarked of global involvement:  

“Rhetoric without consequence has been the west’s modus operandi for decades. The “peace process” became a magic pill rendering the occupation invisible to the west – with the 1948 ethnic cleansing of Palestine swept under the rug to be forgotten. Israel used the cover of the “peace process” to build and expand Israeli settlements, correctly believing that these facts on the ground would strengthen their position at the negotiating table. And with the settlements came settlers and checkpoints and an expanding Kafkaesque system of military control.”

    Everything has been said before but points to watch are Uranus at 28 degrees squaring the Israel Mars in December and again next March which looks like an incendiary point with an angry over-reaction from Israel.

 Hamas looks to be heading for annihilation in the short term at least as its Mars Pluto moves by Solar Arc over its Sun Saturn now and over the next two years. Palestine Action, the UK protest group now labelled terrorist, is also running into the buffers next year.

  But there is equally nothing that looks settled or progressive about Israel’s future ahead with tr Pluto moving to oppose the Moon and then Saturn Pluto right through from 2026 to the mid 2030s – and then worsening towards 2040 with tr Pluto square the Sun and opposition the Mars.

 Relations between Israel and most of the other key Middle Easter countries look significantly stressed and at odds in 2026 and getting increasingly aggravated through 2027 to 2030/31.

 Netanyahu’s popularity will sag further internally with his relationship chart with Israel jangled from this October and worsening January to March 2026.

 Of all the not-solvable problems in the globe this one is amongst the most depressing.

“Many and sharp the num’rous ills

Inwoven with our frame!

More pointed still we make ourselves

Regret, remorse, and shame!

And man, whose heav’n-erected face

The smiles of love adorn,—

Man’s inhumanity to man

Makes countless thousands mourn!”

Robert Burns

Margaret Thatcher, the longest-serving British prime minister of the 20th century and the first woman to hold the position, was born 100 years ago. A polarising and divisive figure in UK politics, she is still viewed favourably in historical rankings and her realignment towards neoliberal policies had a significant effect. A Soviet journalist dubbed her the “Iron Lady”, a nickname that became associated with her uncompromising politics and leadership style.

  Her economic policies emphasised greater individual liberty, the privatisation of state-owned companies, and reducing the power and influence of trade unions. Her popularity in her first years in office from 1979 waned, although victory in the 1982 Falklands War and the recovering economy brought a resurgence of support. She survived an assassination attempt by the IRA in the 1984 Brighton hotel bombing and achieved a political victory against the National Union of Mineworkers in the 1984–85 miners’ strike. In 1986, she oversaw the deregulation of UK financial markets, leading to an economic boom, in what came to be known as the Big Bang. Her third term fell apart after the “poll tax” debacle and her Eurosceptic views were not shared by her cabinet colleagues.

 She was born 13 October 1925 at 9am (from memory) Grantham, England with a grocer father who was a strict Methodist, and took a chemistry degree at Oxford before becoming a barrister and entering politics. She married at 26 to businessman Dennis Thatcher which lasted over fifty years till his death in 2003 and had two children. She famously filled in her entrance papers for the bar in her hospital bed having just delivered twins.

  She had a Libra Sun and Mars both square a super-confident and opinionated 9^th house Pluto opposition a communicative 3^rd house Jupiter. Although Libra is reputed to be balanced and diplomatic it can veer from extreme to extreme; and in the female of the species tends to get stronger and more assertive with age. In her case Mars would add an argumentative edge to an already dogmatic Pluto and self-righteous Jupiter.

  Her Pluto was trine an overly conscientious Saturn in Scorpio on her Ascendant giving her a stubborn streak and the ability to withstand tough conditions. Her 4^th house Uranus was on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Neptune sextile Mercury giving her a defiant urge to upend the old order and institute changes.

  Her career moved to the bidding of Saturn. She had her children as tr Saturn moved through her 12th pulling her away from old ambitions as it headed for her lower profile 1^st quadrant. She entered parliament as tr Saturn moved out of the lowest ebb of her 1^st quadrant setting her on a path which would see her enter the Cabinet as tr Saturn crossed her Descendant moving upwards. When tr Saturn reached her Midheaven she became prime minister. And when she finally admitted defeat and resigned in 1990 it was after tr Saturn had a humbling four years after her Second Saturn Return as it moved back down through her less successful First Quadrant.

 Tr Saturn was also conjunct her Sun when the Falklands War started; and was conjunct her Ascendant on her Second Return at the Brighton Hotel bombing.  

 When she was voted in as PM on 4 May 1979, tr Uranus was just across her Ascendant for a radical change of image and tr Pluto was hovering across the conjunction to her Sun. Tr Jupiter was also conjunct her ‘leadership’ North Node in Leo which in turn was exactly conjunct the UK Jupiter in Leo. Tr Uranus at that point was conjunct the UK 2^nd house Neptune as she set about bringing significant different economic policies into play.

  Her emphasised natal Pluto fell in the UK 10^th house so she had a definite urge to control the country’s direction.  Her relationship chart with the UK had an intense composite Moon square Pluto; a suspicious Saturn Neptune opposition Venus; and an argumentative composite Mars trine Sun Mercury, inconjunct Uranus. When she was elected tr Jupiter was heading for the composite Midheaven hinting at a favourable start though tr Uranus in Scorpio heading for the composite Mercury and then Sun pointed to a bumpy ride ahead.

Oddly enough when she finally resigned tr Jupiter was back moving through the composite MT/UK 10^th with tr Mars exactly conjunct the composite North Node for a decisive moment. And tr Pluto was in Scorpio almost exactly where tr Uranus was when she first took up office putting pressure on the UK’s financial planets.

 By the end of her tenure she was increasingly unpopular and with Solar Arc Uranus moving across the UK Descendant the country was ready for a new partnership. Tr Uranus crossing the UK IC into the 4^th behind tr Neptune and Saturn already in the 4^th – also pointed to the UK in a state of internal upheaval and uncertainty, with change inevitable.

 However much hostility she provoked, she was still an influential figure on the international stage and her friendship with Ronald Reagan not only brought the USA and UK together but also facilitated Reagan’s peacekeeping efforts with Mikhail Gorbachev after she convinced Reagan that he could be trusted.  Reagan’s Jupiter in Scorpio fell on her Saturn Ascendant so he would be an uplifting and confidence-inducing connection.  Their relationship chart echoed this with a composite Sun Jupiter conjunction.

  Two personal asides on Thatcher. One is she fitted the female Libra’s inclination towards her father whom she idolised; and spoke rarely and rather dismissively of her mother.   The second is that despite her rather brisk schoolmarmy temperament she surrounded herself with quite a few colleagues with less than squeaky-clean CVs when it came to sexual scandals. Which may have harked back to her father who had quite a reputation locally according to those who grew up in Grantham.  Her father comes across as a Mars Sun Pluto Jupiter type – pushily confident and domineering.  Her mother is reflected in her Moon Neptune in Leo – vague, dreamy, difficult to pin down. And, of course, with her twins, her son Mark always seemed to be the favourite.

A further thought was a comment made by a cabinet colleague at the outbreak of the Falklands War – was that she had been spoiling for a fight and didn’t much care who she had it with. An interesting women who came out of nowhere really to be a considerable force.

ADD ON: The Conservative Party chart, 9 May 1912, is in turmoil with the Solar Arc Uranus conjunct Saturn now and for several months ahead – suggesting the old certainties are being upended. Tr Pluto will continue to square square the Venus and conjunct the Uranus throughout 2026 as it has done this year pointing to upheavals, turbulence and insecurity. By 2028 the Solar Arc Pluto will square the Mars for a dead halt with the two years thereafter no better.   

 The Tory Party, 18 December 1834 chart (which I don’t think works as well) is panicked and uncertain now, disappointed and discouraged in 2026 – with some faintly more cheerful influences thereafter. But the 1912 one has in the past reflected events more accurately.

Writer Jilly Cooper, ‘Queen of the bonkbuster’ who brought sex and sharp-eyed social observation to Middle England’s bookshelves with rollicking tales of raunch and rivalry amongst the Cotswolds polo-playing classes, has died after a fall.

Queen Camilla, whose first husband Andrew Parker-Bowles was said to have been the inspiration for the invented lothario Rupert Cambell-Black, hailed the author as a ‘wonderfully witty and compassionate friend’ and added “may her hereafter be filled with impossibly handsome men and devoted dogs.”

She was born 21 February 1937 12pm (from memory), Brentwood, England, the daughter of a brigadier, started as a local paper reporter, was reportedly fired from 22 PR jobs and eventually became a newspaper columnist for the Sunday Times writing about marriage, sex and housework. Her first novel came out the 1970s, but it wasn’t until Riders when she was 48 that she had her breakthrough.  She was married to publisher Leo whom she had known since she was 9 for over fifty years and had two adopted children.

 Her agent said ‘You wouldn’t expect books categorised as bonkbusters to have stood the test of time but Jilly wrote with acuity and insight about all things – class, sex, marriage, rivalry, grief and fertility.’

 She a survivor of the 1999 Ladbroke Grove rail crash, in which 31 people died and more than 400 were injured when two trains collided in London and had to crawl through a window to escape.

 For all the warm and ‘joyous’ descriptions of her from friends and her reputation for frivolity, she had a not-altogether light hearted chart. Her career-oriented Pisces Sun on her Midheaven was sparsely aspected with only a sextile to Uranus giving her an independent streak. A well-organised, hard-working Saturn in Pisces in her 10^th was in a creative Water Grand Trine to Pluto in her financial 2^nd trine an intensely emotional/sexual Mars in Scorpio in her romantic 5^th, with Saturn opposition Neptune. Certainly creative, but she would have a toughness and a degree of inner torment from Mars Saturn Pluto.

  Oddly enough P.D.James, the crime writer, born in 1920, had a similar chart with a Water Grand Trine of Mars in Scorpio trine Pluto trine Uranus with Uranus opposition Saturn – and she had a markedly darker life than Jilly Cooper’s appeared on the surface with a mentally ill mother and a husband institutionalised after WW11.

  What would help attract positive responses in and towards her was Jilly Cooper’s 7^th house Jupiter in Capricorn opposition Pluto and her 1^st house Cancer Moon which would channel an uplifting spirit, boosting her desire to write ‘happy’ books. Her Venus in upfront Aries was on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Mars sextile Neptune which initially would put her out of step with her social environment and probably honed her observational skills.

 Her husband Leo Cooper, 25 March 1934, was a Sun Mars in Aries; with a cool Venus Saturn in Aquarius square her Mars in Scorpio which would a few aggravations; but was balanced by his Jupiter opposing her Venus and square her Jupiter and Pluto. Their relationship chart had an affectionate and intense composite Sun Venus trine Pluto (Moon) opposition a forgiving Neptune; though with a scratchy Mars square Uranus.

  He  had a six year affair which emerged in 1990 causing them to split temporarily – when the triple conjunction in Capricorn, especially Saturn would be opposing her Cancer Moon and in hard aspect to her Pluto and Venus.

  In October 1999 the Ladbroke  rail crash, which she survived, was one of the worst in 20th-century British history with 31 people killed and 417 injured. On her chart then her Solar Arc Saturn opposition Solar Arc Neptune was hovering in hard aspect to her Mars in Scorpio for a panic-making event. But five other damaging Solar Arcs did not become exact for another two years which was when her husband started to show signs of Parkinsons.

   She undoubtedly had a profound effect with her novels and before that her popular Sunday Times columns, which kind of success would demand a strength of character (and chart) but there is still a lurking sense of angst-ridden turbulence beneath her happy-go-lucky persona.   

James I of England, the first Stuart king of England, and James VI of Scotland, has had a less than glowing reputation, deemed as odd and effeminate and has been underplayed in comparison to Elizabeth 1 and Charles I. A new biography paints a different picture of an assured intellectual who promoted peace in Europe and colonial expansion in America.

 He was born in 1566 to Mary, Queen of Scots, great-grandson of Henry VIII’s elder sister, Margaret Tudor, and crowned in 1567, a “cradle king” at only 13 months old, after the murder of his father, Lord Darnley, and the forced abdication of his mother, whom he never saw again. Three of his four regents died in office and a 1582 coup, saw the powerful Earl of Gowrie kidnap the 16-year-old king during a hunting trip and hold him captive for 10 months.

  Despite his homosexual inclinations, he dutifully married Anne of Denmark and had seven children, three of whom reached adulthood, with his second son, Charles I, as heir. James succeeded to the English throne as King James I of England on the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603.

  He had a 10th house Cancer Sun square a 1^st house Jupiter – creative, caring and confident. He also had an inventive, though nervy 10^th house Neptune opposition Uranus in the 4^th which latter points to a turbulent childhood. His Neptune Uranus opposition squared onto a 7^th house Pluto in Pisces which would mark him out potentially as a radical thinker, though one whose ideas would often be before their time. And that Pluto may well be the reason for the hostility he raised in critics after his death who tarred his image.  It would also have made him highly-strung and mentally stressed.

  He also had a hard-edged Mars Saturn conjunction in Leo in his 12^th square Venus South Node in Taurus, a pointer to his damaging and fearful childhood.

  In his later years, he suffered from arthritis, gout and kidney stones, lost his teeth and drank heavily.  He died during a bout of malaria which brought on a stroke and a violent attack of dysentery.

He was widely mourned, having retained the affection of his people, who had enjoyed uninterrupted peace and comparatively low taxation during his era. He was succeeded by his son Charles 1 who was beheaded 24 years later aged 49 after losing the English Civil War.

Tough times then for a monarch – and on the medical front.

Actress Patricia Routledge,  a British treasure of screen and stage, with an extraordinary range, has died. Best known for  playing the social-climbing battleaxe Hyacinth Bucket in classic TV sitcom Keeping Up Appearances (“an absolute monster and I enjoyed playing her enormously.”) she also starred in Alan Bennett’s TV monologues, and in BBC One’s amateur sleuth Hetty Wainthropp. A Tony Award for best lead actress in a musical on Broadway in New York for Darling of the Day in 1968 was followed by Richard III and Henry V at the Royal Shakespeare Company.

 Her “defining quality’ wrote on critic was ‘her ability to see the humanity in a variety of eccentrics and outsiders.”

  Her intimidating reputation went before her, with one critic noting that with her brusque, often rude, manner with others, she was “doing her very best to qualify as a grande dame”. She explained that she hated timewasters.

 She was born 17 February 1929 12.30 am in Birkenhead, England, with a gentlemen’s outfitter father and a northern puritan upbringing. After university and an English degree she trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School. She never married but admitted to several relationships.

   She had a maverick Aquarius Sun opposition a creative 10^th house Neptune squaring onto a 7^th house Taurus Moon conjunct Algol. Her 7^th house Moon would crave a partner though a focal point Moon often finds it more reassuring to have broader attention from the public than a one-to-one dependency. Sun square Moon is also initially problematic when it comes to making a firm decision about relationships. Ditto a commitment resistant Neptune. In addition she had a freedom-loving Uranus widely conjunct Venus in her performing and romantic 5^th house.

  Her Venus was square Pluto giving her a passionate intensity. As did an 8^th house Mars opposition Saturn in a different way, giving her an understanding of deep seated anger which she used to great effect in the grotesque characters she often played.

 Her 6^th house Jupiter in Taurus flagged up her enthusiasm for work though unaspected apart from a tine to Neptune it would make her less gregarious, self-contained and more aware of the seriousness of life.

  Her creative 5^th and 7^th harmonics were notable – as was her break-through genius 13H; her leaving-a-legacy 17H and her superstar 22H.