The Ascendant (rising) sign is our first introduction to the world at birth. Modern astrology has tended to view it as a mask or persona we wear on first meetings and dictating appearance – the real person being hidden behind it. Whereas traditional astrology regarded the Ascendant as a fundamental key to the individual … Read more
Peter Higgs, the theoretical physicist, who won the Nobel Prize for his discovery of the “God particle” as it became known much to his irritation as an atheist, has died. His work on the mass of subatomic particles had a profound effect on our understanding of matter and how the universe was formed. From The … Read more
South Africa is heading for a general election on 29 May, with polls suggesting the governing African National Congress (ANC) could get less than 50% of the vote for the first time in 30 years. There has been increasing criticism of the party that led the fight against apartheid under the late Nelson Mandela with … Read more
Gardens are a healing space in a chaotic and stressful world with Dutchman Piet Oudolf called the “Rembrandt of gardens” leading the way in designing and planting urban parks in New York, Chicago and London. He is now redesigning the Glasshouse borders at the RHS’s flagship Wisley garden in England. He is one of the … Read more
A fat teenager with alcohol and gambling problems was on the skids and descending into depression when he had a flash of enlightenment in a realization he had to do something with his life and make a difference. He started running, entering his first half marathon when he was 21. Now at 27 he … Read more
Eurovision is “not the arena to solve a Middle East conflict” say the organizers, valiantly trying to stave off criticism about Israel’s inclusion after its invasion of Gaza, when Russia was banned after the Ukraine incursion. Their banner “United by music” is unlikely to make an impact against a backdrop of heightened terror alerts across … Read more
The slight 4.8 earthquake that rattled New York on Friday did little physical damage but following the Baltimore Bridge disaster ten days ago and the approaching Great American Total Eclipse on Monday, tit brought a sense of unease. The accident-prone Mars Saturn conjunction in Pisces has been drawing closer since late March and … Read more
Damian Hurley, model, actor and now film producer, son of Liz, celebrated his 22nd birthday amid a hullabaloo over him directing his mother in lesbian sex scenes in a film he wrote himself. Both say it is a fuss about nothing. He commented ‘For most people it would be inconceivable for their perfectly normal moms … Read more
Lionel Shriver has written a bitingly satirical novel about the ‘social contagion’ she says has been raging since 2011, which allows ‘psychic epidemics’ to run riot and wreck society. It focuses on the Mental Parity movement – “the last great civil rights fight” – which maintains that “stupidity is a fiction” and that it’s “discriminatory” … Read more
In Israel, demonstrators are out on the streets demonstrating their anger against Netanyahu and the lack of a deal to free the remaining Hamas hostages. This against a backdrop of Israel’s strike against Iran’s consulate in Damascus on Monday, killing Tehran’s top generals in the country, which threatens to escalate into a regional war. … Read more