The Rise And Fall of Public Figures

In astrology Pluto shakes things up. It brings death and rebirth and transformation that is deep-rooted and spectacular but rarely comfortable for anyone involved because Pluto cares nothing for comfort; it spits in its eye, it insults its mother, it bullies it for lunch money.

On the other hand the sign of Capricorn is associated with the law, money, property and the institutions of the world (particularly banks). It is concerned with reality. And so when Pluto and Capricorn met in the sky it was no surprise that the reality which greeted us was of the grim and party-ruining kind whose consequences have been challenging people's feelings of security.

And nowadays, it's not just banks and companies that are in trouble. Public figures that were themselves a kind of institution public are also falling into death or desrepute like flies.

Jade Goody, having made a career out of reality TV when she was 20 is now 7 years later dying of cancer in the public eye.

Trinny and Susannah of the What Not To Wear fame have been axed by ITV and are off to try to restart their career in America.

And recently in politics, a few Labour MPs in the House Of Lords were emrboiled in a corruption scandal, when it was discovered they have been offering to change laws in exchange for cash.

On the other hand, all is not doom and gloom. All these things have happened before, but now they are simply happening in a more public way (in the same way that Pluto in Scorpio brought awareness of incest and sexual abuse into the public consciousness).

Furtheremore, I hope that the stars of some of the people who have been providing me with edification and entertainment over the years will continue to shine. To that end, if you aren't already reading Elsa and WebOfEvil then take my advice and remedy that immediately.

Alternatively, do you have a Pluto in Capricorn story? Something you noticed in your life or part of the world?

Retrograde Mercury in Scorpio - words bite

Another scan of the British newspapers, reveals some quite explosive Retrograde Scorpio Mercury action as the likes of Dr. Watson and Martin Amis have spoken out about taboo topics (racism and Islamophobia respectively) and have then seen their words come back and bite them in the ass via the vehicle of the public's indignation. Interestingly, both have since disowned their statements and said they weren't sure what has come over them.

More Scorpio Mercury through the Media

I saw this news story on the BBC yesterday, about Interpol reconstucting the digitally blurred face of a pedophile from child porn footage and posting an appeal to try and identify and stop the man.

I can also tell that Mercury is going retrograde soon because when not dropping things and stamping down the urge to bicker with my partner (never is the urge to tell someone that their hair and shoes are STUPID and they've bought the WRONG KIND OF BREAD and other tragedies, more powerful for me than when Mercury goes stationary prior to the retrograde) I feel endlessly frustrated and near to tears.*

This too shall pass.


*edit to add another Retrograde Merc special: this post refusing to publish itself due to unkown errors, and it taking me three attempts to type in the tags.

Let's talk about sex, baby!

More Mercury in Scorpio action via the medium of the TV listings.

ITV is broadcasting The Secret Diary of A Call Girl based on the books and blog of the funny and straight-talking Belle de Jour.

A perusal of the rest of tonight's channel listings revealed two programs about sex changes as well as Lucy: Teen Transsexual in Thailand

Planetary Transits through the media

Posts on Elsa Elsa about the way that planetary movements preceed and reflect various real world trends have caused me to notice the recent patterns in the British media.

For instance Mercury's current transit through Scorpio (the uber-sleuth and dirt-bringer-upper of the Zodiac) has coincided with headlines relating to the inquest into the long-ago death of Princess Diana. Due to my policy of ignoring as much as possible the antics of the British Royal Family (past and present) I haven't been reading the articles too closely - however all feature and debate various theories about her death (conspiracies, secret pregnancies, abduction, murder and other such nefarious plots). All these were rampant around the time of her actual death and its initial investigation, and it's interesting how they've resurfaced now in an inquiry that pledges not to leave any stone unturned in its search for the truth.

Similarly as Saturn has left the flamboyant Leo for conscientious Virgo and Pluto inches ever closer to good old belt-tightener Capricorn, we are seeing the emergence of new (more subdued and conservative trends) all over the place (including renewed rehab efforts from Britney Spears and Lindsay Lohan, no doubt related to the public's fed-up-ness with their antics).

An article by Fiona McIntosh in last week's Grazia sums it up rather well.

Here are some quotes (with added asides in brackets and emphasis in bold):

"Turn on the lights, call a tazi, the party's over. It was wild while it lasted, but it took a banking crisis for us to realise the Naughty Noughties are over. All the delicious blind greed of the decade (which coincided with Saturn's transit through Leo and the giddy joy of the world not ending in 2000) has evaporated faster than it took Northern Rock investors to empty their accounts. (...) Conversations at dinner have swung from how should I spend my money, to blimey, how safe is my money? (...) Ladies who lunch have begun growing their own lunch in greenhouses at the end of gardens. The fashion phrase of the moment is 'Future Heirlooms' - an investment piece built to last over several seasons is worth so much more than a dirty Primark binge. Belts, the hot new 'now' piece are being tightened both physically and metaphorically. This new Frugality has been bubbling under for some time, fuelled of course by the green movement. But it took the panic of a credit crisis for us to completely re-evaluate our lifestyles. (...) What were we thinking? This rampant consumerism is not only mad, it's vulgar. "