Saturday 27 December 2014



SOME THOUGHTS ON THE FORTHCOMING UK GENERAL ELECTION (7 MAY 2015) 

by Richard Burch. 


Though the effects of the current 3-year long Uranus-Pluto square may be starting to wane, the last of seven occurrences of this aspect is on 17 Mar 2015, just seven weeks before the election is due. So it will colour the background, particularly since it falls at 15°17', exactly opposite and square David Cameron's Sun, presenting extra challenges for him and his party, but maybe keeping him in power. On 1 Nov 2013 (on the exact 20th anniversary of the European Union coming into force) the fourth and central Uranus-Pluto aspect fell at 9°25', square and conjunct the UK 1066 and 1801 Suns, suggesting long-term, deep-seated change. This may take several years of transition and upheaval. Nevertheless the immediate result following election day should be discernible from the two charts for the start and close of the polls.


Start of polls

The expectations and probable trends in the run-up to the election are indicated in this chart:



Conservatives/Cameron: As the existing main governing party they are shown by the first house. Mercury is strong, rising here in its own sign, though some way into the 12th house, and separating nicely from an opposition to Saturn. It is the strongest planet in the chart. In addition it is applying to trine the north node. Notably, George Osborne (perhaps the most crucial figure in any Tory victory based on perceived economic strength) is Sun Gemini. Venus in the first house also has a role, reflecting the presence of Sun Librans Cameron and Theresa May. But Venus, unaspected, weak in Gemini and at the end of the sign on a critical degree, gives some indication that Cameron's reign as leader may be coming to an end, and that May might not be able to succeed him. The Moon's final opposition to Venus further suggests rejection by the electorate.

There is undoubtedly an expectation among the Conservatives that they ought to win enough seats to form the largest party. However, Mercury makes no applying aspect to the Sun, lord of the 5th (the house of victory in a competition) nor Saturn, Lord of the 10th (house of government). There is nothing here to show success.


Labour/Miliband: As the official opposition they are shown by the 7th house and Jupiter. The setting Moon (the electorate) in their house shows that the voters are with the party, if not the leader, to some extent. But the Moon may also signify the SNP taking ground from under Labour's feet. (The next SNP leader, Nicola Sturgeon, is Sun Cancer.) Jupiter is on the IC (outcome) in royal Leo, which becomes the 10th house (of government) for Labour when the chart is turned 180ยบ to read directly. It strongly suggests a Labour win, or an expectation of one at the start of the day. Perhaps it is false optimism, though. As with the Tories, their significator (Jupiter) makes no good aspect to the Sun or Saturn (whether ruling the natural 5th and 10th, or the turned 11th and 4th). Again, there is no clear victory shown here.


LibDems/Clegg: In the past, as an opposition party, Jupiter (or sometimes Uranus, even Neptune) appeared to work as their significator. Jupiter is taken this time by Miliband, and Uranus now seems highly unlikely. As part of the previously-existing government they could be shown by Venus in the first house, in which case all the remarks about the Conservative leadership based on the planet's weak position seem applicable to them too. If, however, by competing in this election independently they are allocated another planet, then their fate could alter. If allowed Jupiter, being now a part of the opposition (though that's a moot assumption) they could still be the kingmaker and partner, as Jupiter sits on the IC (final outcome) in Leo. No doubt this is what Clegg and others secretly hope or believe. If allocated Neptune, its square to Mercury (Cameron) makes a resolution tough but not impossible. However, if given the Sun (and Clegg's natal Sun at 16 CAP is exactly trine), it does not suggest another Lib-Con coalition because there's no aspect to Mercury. In fact the Sun is void-of-course in the 12th, signifying that nothing will come of it, the LibDem's record in office being their self-undoing.


UKIP/Farage: They seem to be shown by Saturn, as the most reactionary party, that nevertheless points out some unpalatable realities. Their appeal is strongest amongst older voters. Saturn in Sagittarius points to their colour being purple. Retrograde and cadent in the 6th house (concerning employment issues, the NHS and the armed forces), and easing away from an earlier opposition to Mercury (the Conservatives), they may now be experiencing a drop in support. The Moon's last conjunction was with Saturn, and her separation suggests the electorate's focus on Europe and immigration has moved on somewhat, though not yet totally.



The Greens: They seem to be shown by Venus, (and maybe Uranus too) as the party advocating a better balance within and between societies and between exploiting and preserving the Earth's resources, but also as simply the most feminist, with two female leaders. The Moon's only applying aspect (very late on) is an opposition to Venus. But Venus is weak. So although there might be an opportunity in this election to set out their stall more prominently for the voters (who in the end may be more prepared to listen), it seems the latter still won't vote for the Greens in any number.


Others: It now seems the SNP could take twenty or more seats from Labour (who currently have 41 out of the total of 59 Westminster seats). This would obviously do considerable damage to Labour's chancing of forming a government. Nationalism, with its patriotic, emotional content, seems likely to be represented by the Moon, angular here in the house of Opposition and with an opposition aspect to Venus (the Greens). If a rainbow coalition (led by Labour) were to be contemplated, it suggests that these two parties would have very different demands to be met. But the Moon in any case is well past its helpful trine to Jupiter (Miliband), so such arrangement seems fairly unlikely.


Summary
At this point, the most likely outcome seems to be an inconclusive result. It looks fairly certain that no party will form a majority. If a coalition does develop it will likely be between Labour and the LibDems, though just possibly involving the Greens and nationalist parties too.



Close of polls

The result is shown by this chart in conjunction with the first. The Moon (the electorate) has changed sign (allegiance). A decision of sorts has been made and a corner turned.



Conservatives/Cameron: They are now shown by Jupiter as first house ruler. He is situated deep in the 8th house (tax-and-spend issues, bank regulation, death duties – or even a spying or sex scandal!). Most strikingly, Saturn has arrived on the ascendant, suggesting that a limitation and capping of the Tory vote has occurred, and is due to UKIP parking its tanks on their lawn. Saturn in part signifies the Conservatives as well as UKIP, but the symbolism of the rising planet left behind by the Moon is stark for both parties. However, as Saturn now disposes Luna, it appears UKIP has had a more lasting influence on (and more notable support from) the voters than was predicted. Jupiter's applying trine to Uranus may bring an unexpected piece of good fortune for the Tories, but again their significator, Jupiter, neither receives an aspect from the Moon nor makes any aspect to the ruler of the 5th (Mars) or the 10th (Venus); and neither does Saturn.



Labour/Miliband: They are now shown by Mercury as 7th house ruler. He is strong, dignified and angular but, like the Tories, Labour has a significator that makes no aspect to either Mars or Venus (ruling both natural 5th and 10th, and turned 11th and 4th). Nor does it receive an aspect from the Moon. There's nothing here to show a convincing win for Labour, but they may just scrape home.


LibDems/Clegg: If now allocated the Sun as significator, they are in a new situation. The moon is again in play and will aspect the Sun in due course. If allocated Uranus, they may in time benefit from the trine (an offer) from Jupiter (Cameron). If they're not given Sol or Uranus, it's hard to see anything at all resulting from the election, because two other key planets, Venus and Jupiter, are still void-of-course (Mercury turns retrograde before it can sextile Jupiter). And Mars is largely spent.


The Moon makes first a sextile to Neptune, then a conjunction with Pluto, a trine to the Sun, a square to Uranus and finally a trine to Mars. For the electorate (and indeed the Queen and her advisors), they are presented with, or go through, a series of options. Neptune signifies dissolution and confusion at the outset (just possibly it stands here for Clegg and the LibDems). It could also could stand as a secondary significator for Labour (whose 1900 foundation chart has the Sun adjacent at 8 PIS) while Pluto indicates complications and power struggles. So Labour might get public support to try and form a coalition with the LibDems, but leadership complications get in the way. Then Labour could try to form a government alone - a highly challenging task – and may fail. Next, Pluto in Capricorn could stand as a secondary significator for the Tories (their 1867 foundation chart has the Sun at 19 SCO), who would be disposed by – i.e. under the thumb of – UKIP (Saturn) in any coalition talks with them. But with the recent exit of Saturn from Scorpio, its former mutual reception with Pluto no longer holds sway. So this potential Con-UKIP coalition is very unlikely to happen, given all other factors. But in desperation, with Pluto yet again squaring his natal Sun, it is just possible Cameron will capitulate to try and save his – and the Tories' – skin.


The Moon moves on to further aspects. Uranus in Aries stands for a radical new departure. But it is hard to see what this is, other than a second election. The trine to Mars, finally, prompts a question: could Mars here be seen as a secondary significator for the LibDems? In Taurus he is in detriment, weakly opposed to Saturn (UKIP) but otherwise unaspected (friendless) and depleted late in the sign (losing seats). Nevertheless, a LibDem role in any government arising – even temporarily perhaps – cannot be ruled out.


UKIP/Farage: see above under Conservatives and LibDems


The Greens: Just possibly involved in a rainbow coalition with Labour (if they have any MPs!).


Others: If symbolised by the Moon, the SNP are now in a new position (new sign) to consolidate gains made following the 2014 Scottish referendum. After a sextile to Neptune, thus helping to re-energise their dream of independence, the Moon comes, however, to a conjunction with Pluto before trining the Sun. This seems to imply complications arising in their pursuit of power or influence – but what exactly remains unclear.


Summary
At the close of play, in my judgement, the most likely outcome (though by a narrow margin) seems to be a minority Labour government. The second, somewhat less likely, outcome is a coalition of Labour and the surviving LibDems, possibly including any or all of these: the SNP, the DUP, Plaid Cymru, the Greens. Though firmly based on astrology, this prediction accords with that of most political commentators at present.


Therefore it remains probable there will be a second election a few months down the line (as happened with Labour in 1974).


Written 15 October 2014

Saturday 20 December 2014

Charles Carter's Forgotten House System - Poli Equatorial Houses


Charles Carter was one of the great English astrologers of the twentieth century. With Alan Leo, John Addey and Charles Harvey, Carter transformed astrology in England. He introduced technical and philosophical innovations and participated in a number of key institutional developments.

Charles Carter was born on 31 January 1887 at 10:55PM in Parkstone, Dorset. He had an Aquarian Sun in the 4th house, and Uranus rising in Leo just into the 12th. At his birth, Saturn had just culminated in Cancer. With this combination of rising Uranus and an elevated Saturn, Carter was well-figured to lead the astrological world. He died in October 1968. 1

His astrological service included a number of key appointments. In 1922 Carter followed Leo as the President of the Astrological Lodge of London and revived the institution. In 1948 he became the first Principal of the Faculty of Astrological Studies. In 1958 he became a founding Patron of the Astrological Association of Great Britain. Carter's legacy is remembered at the annual Astrological Association conference. A leading astrologer is invited to deliver the Carter Memorial Lecture as the central plenary session of the event. This invitation is one of the highest accolades an astrologer can receive.

Carter wrote a number of significant books including The Principles of Astrology (1925), Zodiac and the Soul (1928) and Essays on the Foundations of Astrology (1947). He reflected on key philosophical issues in The Seven Great Problems of Astrology (1927). He advocated the use of some innovative directional methods in his slim volume Symbolic Directions in Modern Astrology (1929).

Charles Carter introduced a technical innovation that is almost forgotten today - his poli equatorial house system. He described his system of domification in Essays on the Foundations of Astrology. The method is found in Chapter 8, Problems of the Houses. In the chapter, Carter reviews many of the principle systems of domification including the Regiomontean, the Campanean, the Equal and the Placidean. He then introduces his own method so nonchalantly that the reader may miss the significance of the text.

Carter writes that in his poli equatorial method “...the houses are demarcated by circles passing through the celestial poles and dividing the equator into twelve equal arcs, the cusp of the 1st house passing through the ascendant. This system, therefore, agrees with the natural rotation of the heavens and also produces, as the Ptolemaic (equal) does not, distinctive cusps for each house....” 2

Calculation of the cusps is a relatively simple affair. The ascendant degree is converted to right ascension in degrees. Thirty degrees (or two hours) of right ascension is then added for each subsequent cusp. The right ascension so found is, for each cusp, then converted back to celestial longitude and expressed in zodiacal degrees. The tenth house cusp will not generally coincide with the MC degree. The second cusp is opposite the eighth cusp, the third opposite the ninth and so on.


Figure 1: Charles Carter's Poli Equatorial House System - Diagram








Carter notes that the Regiomontanean system of domification also uses equal division of the equator as its foundation. In fact, Carter's poli equatorial system is one of a family of house systems derived from equal division of the celestial equator. The others are the Morinean and the Meridian (or Axial Rotation) house systems.

The following table sets out the basic elements of the four equatorially-based systems of domification.


System Pole Notes
Poli equatorial Equatorial (Celestial) The 1st house cusp will coincide with ascendant but the 10th house cusp will not generally coincide with the meridian
Regiomontanus Horizontal The 10th and 1st house cusps coincide with the meridian and the ascendant respectively
Morinus Ecliptic Neither the 10th house cusp nor the 1st house cusp will coincide with the meridian or the ascendant
Meridian (or Axial Rotation) Equatorial (Celestial) The 10th house cusp will coincide with the meridian, but the first house cusp is the equatorial ascendant

Table 1: Comparison of Equatorially-Based House Systems


Holden describes Regiomontanus, Morinus and Meridian as house systems as space-based methods of domification. Although the Earth's rotation determines the length of our day (a time factor), Holden's view is that the equal division of the equator in each system is primarily a division of the celestial sphere as a spatial unit. 3

 
Figure 2: The Equatorial Frame of Reference


In Carter's poli equatorial house system, we find a method of domification that draws on ideas from Platonic cosmogony and cosmology, being derived from equal divisions of the circle of the Same (celestial equator) projected onto the circle of the Different (ecliptic). The ascendant is used as the cusp of the first house. In developing a method of house division that uses the circles of the Same and Different, Carter gives us a system of domification that is integrated with Platonic philosophy. This philosophy is so often the unspoken foundation of much astrological lore.

A good example of the poli equatorial house system in action is the Exeter Astrology Group's own natal chart. (See below) In this chart the important Venus-Uranus opposition is moved to within a few minutes of arc of the 4th-10th axis. This symbol describes the purpose of the group of the group very clearly - a public gathering of friends (Venus-10th cusp) built around the foundations of a shared interest in astrology (Uranus-4th cusp). 

The solar identity of the group is in the collectively focused 11th house, and Mercury, being the classical symbol for astrology is close to the cusp of the 12th, the spiritual house. Jupiter, often in the 2nd house using mainstream systems, moves to the cusp of the 3rd house, a symbol for a group dedicated to learning and sharing information of a spiritual and philosophical nature. The poli equatorial system is clearly effective in this delineation.


Figure 3: Exeter Astrology Group (using Poli Equatorial Houses)

The cusps are listed below:

Cusp 1: 6 SC 19
Cusp 2: 5 SG 53
Cusp 3: 3 CP 40
Cusp 4: 1 AQ 44
Cusp 5: 2 PI 0
Cusp 6: 4 AR 21
Cusp 7: 6 TA 19
Cusp 8: 5 GE 53
Cusp 9: 3 CN 40
Cusp 10: 1 LE 44
Cusp 11: 2 VI 0
Cusp 12: 4 LI 21

(Note to programmers - if you would like a simple BASIC program to calculate poli equatorial house cusps, please contact the author via the EAG website. This program is provided on an open source basis to promote the inclusion of poli equatorial houses in commercial and non-commercial astrological software. You may adapt it to your own needs/programming language.)

It is disappointing that Carter's method of domification is so little used. It is not mentioned in key texts that describe the principles of house systems. It is not offered in any of the main programmes available in the astrological software market. Furthermore, there is very little information about the system available on the internet. I have never seen a published chart delineated according to the poli equatorial system apart from Carter's own examples. 4

In Carter's day, his method had one undeniable advantage – it needed a single table of houses. This meant that calculation of houses cusps was simplified. Once the ascendant had been calculated, the other cusps could be read directly from a page of data. This is because poli-equatorial cusps are not latitude-dependent (once the ascendant has been identified). Carter's system has other benefits. It creates houses that are more or less equal, in terms of the twelve divisions of the ecliptic that they demarcate. This minimises the issue of intercepted signs.

The system will occasionally fall down in charts where the calculation of the ascendant is problematic. This only occurs in extreme polar latitudes. However, Rob Hand notes that this difficulty is more theoretical than practical. The identification of an ascendant in these latitudes is only impossible when the horizon and ecliptic coincide. According to Hand “...this occurs for only an instant and only on the infinitesimal band of the Arctic and Antarctic circles, so it is not a serious drawback in practice.” 5

Carter's system has a clear advantage over quadrant based methods of domification in polar latitudes because it does not rely on the need for an identified midheaven and ascendant. This issue can be a difficulty because the ascendant and meridian can coincide at times. More commonly, the midheaven and ascendant can fall close together on the ecliptic in high northern latitudes. This leads to gross discrepancies in the size of quadrant houses when measured on the ecliptic.

In Essays on the Foundations of Astrology, Carter provides a number of interesting case examples to illustrate his poli equatorial system. He looks at charts for Tennyson, the great Victorian poet, King Edward VII, and Emily Popejoy.

In the King's chart, Carter points out that with the poli equatorial system, “The presence of the Moon, in close square to Saturn, on cusp 10 seems peculiarly appropriate to the native's strict upbringing and suppression by his royal Mother, who refused for many years to allow him to take part in public affairs. Venus in the 10th agrees with his popularity and that of his consort.” 6 In other systems, the moon would fall variously in the eighth or ninth houses; in most systems Venus would fall solidly in the cadent ninth.

Carter notes Tennyson's tight Mars-Uranus conjunction falls in the sixth house in many house systems. He concludes that this symbolism “...seems inappropriate to the native's robust health....” 7 Carter suggests this pair “...would be much better placed in the 5th, indicating the emotional tragedy which led to In Memoriam and the death of the poet's son of fever.” 8 Using the poli equatorial method, Uranus and Mars fall in the fifth house, suggesting the unexpected death of a child. He also notes that in the poli equatorial system, Jupiter moves from the cusp of the twelfth house onto the cusp of the eleventh house which “...seems to agree much better with the poet's phenomenal success....He won fame, rank and money.” 9

Carter's method of domification also has some practical benefits, including house cusps that fall more or less equally on the ecliptic and have unique degrees. The astrologer has to accept that the midheaven is unlikely to form the cusp of the tenth, but, as Carter has demonstrated, this may, in practice, yield important interpretative insights.

We should do Carter the honour of looking at his own nativity using the poli equatorial method he devised. In many systems, including all quadrant based methods of house division, his highly elevated Saturn falls in the cadent ninth house, being just beyond the culminating degree in the diurnal circle.

Despite Saturn's lack of traditional dignity, this placement is an adequate symbol for his fine philosophical mind. His astrological vision moved subtly between the realms of the Platonic world of Ideas and the mundane world which we inhabit. However, this image does not carry the authority of a man who served the astrological community at the highest levels for many years.

In the equal house system, we note that his Saturn is on the nonagesimal degree. This degree, falling exactly square to the ascendant, marks the 10th house cusp in the simple equal house method of domification. 10 The nonagesimal degree is the highest point of the ecliptic above the horizon; any planet placed in this degree is given prominence within the horoscope.

However, when we use his own poli equatorial method of domification, Carter's Saturn falls a few degrees inside the tenth, the cusp being at 14 Cancer. This is testament to Carter's own observation that his poli equatorial method, having many of the advantages of the straightforward modus equalis or Ptolemaic system, has the further benefit of yielding cusps that carry a unique mundane signature. 

 
Figure 3: Charles Carter's Horoscope (using Poli Equatorial Houses)

This symbol – Saturn in the tenth house - clearly identifies Charles Carter's authority and acumen. He worked to establish and maintain the institutions that still embody the mainstream traditions in English and British astrology. He took a large share of responsibility for the good governance of some of the key political and educational institutions that represent our cosmic art. There can be no higher recommendation for Carter's poli equatorial house system than this signature from his own nativity.

Notes and References

1.      Further details of Carter's life and astrological legacy can be found at www.charlescarter.co.uk, a memorial site established and maintained by the Wessex Astrology Group. Charles Carter's birth details are published on this site.

2.      Charles Carter (1947, 2nd ed. 1978) Essays on the Foundations of Astrology. Theosophical Publishing House, London. p. 158-159.

3.       For detail discussions of these systems see R W Holden (1977) The Elements of House Division. Urania Trust/Faculty of Astrological Studies, London.

4.       A pdf copy of Carter's original Poli-equatorial Table of Houses can be downloaded from http://www.charlescarter.co.uk/marriage-house-system.html#housesystem for readers who may wish to try the system. Carter produced this table in January 1946. In a charming aside, at the foot of p. 159 of Essays on the Foundations of Astrology, Carter invites readers to contact him for “A set of tables may be obtained from the author, price 6d, post paid, for those who wish to experiment.” The cloud-based software, astroapp (www.astroapp.com), has the poli-equatorial method programmed as one of their range of house systems.

5.      Rob Hand (1982) Essays on Astrology. p. 136. Hand says that what is critical when working with charts at extreme latitudes is to have a clear definition of what is to count as the ascendant. See Hand (1982) p. 132 for more details on definitions of the ascendant.

6.      Carter (1947, 2nd ed. 1978) p. 160.

7.      Carter (1947, 2nd ed. 1978) p. 162.

8.      Carter (1947, 2nd ed. 1978) p. 162.

9.      Carter (1947, 2nd ed. 1978) p. 162.

10.    Jeff Mayo (1995) Midheaven, Zenith and Nonagesimal. In Z Matthews (ed.) An Astrological Anthology: Essays and Excerpts from the Journal of the Astrological Association (Vol. 1 – 1959-1970). The Astrological Association, London. p. 397-399. Originally published in the AA Journal, Vol. 6, No. 3, p. 24.



Sunday 26 October 2014

Solar Fire 8 on Linux Mint 13

Linux and Astrology

One of the major barriers that astrologers face in adopting the Linux operating system is the limited choice of astrological software available on the platform. If you wish to explore the options, you may like to visit https://help.ubuntu.com/community/Astrology. Unfortunately most of the commercially available packages, such as Solar Fire and Janus, are written using Microsoft programming packages like Visual Basic and are not designed to run on alternative systems. Solar Fire claims that the program can be run on a Mac system using virtualisation software. But the options seem to be limited for using SF, or alternative commercial astrology programs such as Janus, on Linux.

Happily, however, this is not the case. I have been experimenting with Solar Fire, Janus, Solar Maps, Nova Chart Wheels and Delphic Oracle on Linux. I have them all running on Linux using the Wine facility. In virtually all cases, I have got the Windows-based software to run extremely well on Linux using Wine. In the case of Solar Fire, following a breakthrough with a font problem, I have been able to get the program running perfectly on Linux. In this case, the functionality and performance of the program is identical to running Solar Fire on Windows. This is a significant development as it now means that Solar Fire users can move to Linux without any concern about losing access to their astrological software and data.

In this blog I will describe my experiences running Solar Fire on Linux, including all the tips that you will need to get a perfect installation of the software. I have been experimenting with Solar Fire on Linux using Wine for some years now so I have built up a good working knowledge of how to achieve a trouble-free, stable installation. The steps I will describe below should not be beyond a capable desktop user. However, I would recommend that you familiarise yourself thoroughly with the process described before attempting any of the steps. If you are confident with the workings of the Solar Fire program, with Linux and Wine, and with basic computing tasks such as managing fonts, you shouldn't have any difficulties with the process.

Disclaimer

Before you try any of the following steps, please ensure that you are satisfied that you have a robust backup of any files that are personally valuable or critical to the functioning of your computer. If you have any critical program installations that you don't want to lose, you may want to make an image of your hard drive. None of the steps below should lead to catastrophic data loss. However, it is essential that you have taken steps to protect your files before proceeding. If you have existing SF user data files, please ensure you have at least one copy, and preferably two copies, of these files on a physical medium such as a CD-ROM or backed up on a flash drive or external hard drive.

First, a little about Linux and Wine.

Linux is a desktop OS that has been developed by enthusiasts and volunteers, with some commercial input, since the early 1990s. It is now a very mature, stable, secure and attractive OS that is a rival for Mac and Windows. The original impetus for Linux came from Linus Torvalds. He pioneered the development of the original kernel and is still actively involved in the development of the OS. The desktop that is the front end of Linux is developed by various teams of individuals around the world. There are variety of desktops, which gives the end user a range of choices about how to interact with their PC - some of the desktops include Cinnamon, KDE, Unity, LXDE and xfce. Linux is one of the central parts of the free software movement.




Wine is a program that can be downloaded through your Linux software repository. This piece of software is designed to allow Windows based programs to be installed and run on a Linux system without using virtualisation software or a virtual machine. This means that you do not need to install a copy of Windows on your linux system to run Windows software. You can find out details about Wine at www.winehq.com. This is how the Wine team describe the program: "Wine (originally an acronym for "Wine Is Not an Emulator") is a compatibility layer capable of running Windows applications on several POSIX-compliant operating systems, such as Linux, Mac OSX, & BSD. Instead of simulating internal Windows logic like a virtual machine or emulator, Wine translates Windows API calls into POSIX calls on-the-fly, eliminating the performance and memory penalties of other methods and allowing you to cleanly integrate Windows applications into your desktop." (from www.winehq.com/about)

Wine is a very neat solution to the problem of running Windows-based software such as Solar Fire or Janus on a Linux system. I believe it is preferable to installing a virtual copy of Windows because it maintains the integrity of the Linux OS. After all, I can't see the logic in running Linux on a desktop machine if, at the first problem, one installs a virtual copy of Windows to run software. The downside of Wine under Linux is that not all Windows software will run perfectly on Linux. However, as far as I can see, Solar Fire installs and runs perfectly within Wine. In fact, most of the astrological software I have tried runs very well, or perfectly, using the Wine/Linux system.

Solar Fire 8 on Linux

The following instructions relate to the installation of SF on Linux Mint 13 with Mate desktop. The system specifications are listed below:

Kernel Linux 3.5.0-23-generic
Linux Mint 13 32-bit
Mate Desktop
Wine 1.4.1
Pentium 4 Machine
2.5 GB RAM

Solar Fire runs very smoothly on this set-up. In principle there is no reason why these instructions should not apply to other Debian derivatives of Linux such as Ubuntu. In fact I have plenty of evidence that it runs as well on these OSs - Ubuntu 12.04 LTS, Lubuntu 12.04 LTS and Linux Mint 14.

Installation Instructions

If you have not already installed Wine, download and install the program through your software manager. This will ensure your software comes from your software repository which gives added security and peace of mind. At the moment, most distributions such as Linux Mint are offering Wine 1.4.1 from their repositories. All my comments relate to an installation based on Wine 1.4.1. This version of Wine provides the most complete solution to the installation of SF on Linux. Later versions of Wine introduced a bug that impacts on the Animate Chart function which causes the program to crash.

If Wine is already installed and you have Windows programs already running in Linux, make a copy of .wine folder as a fall-back if installation of the SF program does not work. This will be renamed .wine (copy) by default. You can find .wine by opening your file manager and displaying your Home folder. You will need to be able to see hidden files, so go to View->Show Hidden Files or hit Ctrl-H once you have your Home folder window open. You will find .wine towards the bottom of the list of files in your Home folder. If this is your first Windows-based installation in Wine you can ignore this instruction.

To install SF

The first thing to do is to install a vital file called mfc40.dll. This is done through Winetricks. SF won't run on Linux without installing this dll. If you can't boot SF, it is probably because this file is not present. You can install this dll file by opening Winetricks from your main program menu. Look for Wine->Winetricks. Go to Select the default Wine prefix->OK->Install a Windows DLL or component->OK. Scroll down the list, click the check-box next to mfc40, click OK. Winetricks will then ensure mfc40.dll is available to SF8.

Next load your SF installation CD and double click or right-click->Open the desktop icon when it appears. This will open the folder containing the files on the CD. Find the install.exe icon and right click. When the menu appears, choose Open->Wine Windows Program Loader. This will open the main SF installation screen. Choose SF from the list of options and click the Install button. To install the program from a downloaded file, just right click on the .exe file you have received and choose Open->Wine Windows Program Loader. In both cases the installation routine will begin. When prompted, enter your registration details - username, password etc. This should perform a basic installation of your chosen version of SF.

You may be asked if you want to run the program at the end of the installation routine. I would not recommend this as there are some further steps to take to get the program running. Firstly you will need to copy your existing SF user files to the Solar Fire User Files folder that has now been set up in your Home folder. If you are an existing SF user, you should have a copy of this folder on your old computer, or, better still, backed up somewhere on a CD-ROM or flash drive.

Open your existing user files folder, copy all of the folders, and paste them into the SFUF folder in your Linux Home folder. If this is the first time you have installed a copy of SF, you will need to copy the User Files from your .wine folder. To do this, display the hidden folder .wine and open it. Find the drive_c folder and open. Open the Program Files folder and go to SolarFire8 - double-click to open. Open the User Files folder and copy all the folders. Return to the Home folder, find the Solar Files User Files and double-click to open. Paste all the folders and files into this new location. You may be prompted to over-write files. Go ahead and do this as long as your are absolutely sure there is nothing that you may want to save from the SFUF.

Font solutions

One of the difficulties with running SF on Linux has been a long-standing problem with one of the fonts. You can see the history of attempts to deal with this difficulty on the Solar Fire page at http://appdb.winehq.org/objectManager.php?sClass=application&iId=2392. Unfortunately these solutions have only been partial. The complete solution is to use a program called Font Forge (downloadable from your repository) to change the Windows font, Etsans3.fon in the case of SF8, to a font compatible with Linux. This is easily done by opening the .fon font in Font Forge and using the Generate Font command to convert the font to a Win Fon type.

To open the .fon font go to File->Open and from the file browser follow these steps: .wine->drive_c->windows->Fonts. Choose Etsans3.fon. When the .fon font is open in Font Forge go to File->Generate Fonts... and choose this option from the right-hand box below the font name - "Win Fon". Click Save back to the Fonts folder.

You can find the relevant font in your .wine folder. Again you will have to follow the instructions above to make the .wine folder visible. Open the folder and find drive_c. Open this folder and go to the windows folder. Open the windows folder and find the Fonts folder. In this folder you will find three fonts relevant to the SF8 installation: EtAst1.ttf, Etsym3.tff and Etsans3.fon. The .ttf fonts work fine with Wine and Linux. However, you have to convert the Windows format .fon font as per the instructions above.

To get a perfect installation of SF within Wine, you will need to install a fourth font. I am not sure why this makes a difference. However, without installing the fourth font – ETSYM2.TTF – you will experience residual display problems. The program will be perfectly usable however. The 'fourth font solution' is the final piece of the fonts problem in Linux. Within Windows, SF8 runs on three fonts: EtAst1.ttf, Etsym3.tff and Etsans3.fon. However, for some bizarre reason you need to install ETSYM2.TTF from SF7 to get the font display working perfectly in Linux. This font should be placed in the .wine->drive_c->windows->Fonts folder with the other three fonts. You will need to have a previous version of SF7 to achieve this. There is no complication introducing this .ttf font into Wine, unlike with the tweak required for the Windows-based .fon font Etsans3.

Running SF

You should now be able to run SF8 in Linux using Wine. Double click the desktop icon and the program should run. In all respects you should now be able to use SF8 just as if you were working in Windows.

Upgrading SF

You may wish to upgrade your version 8 of SF to the most current version. This is 8.1.5 and the .exe file is downloadable from the Astrolabe website. This should be a straightforward installation. However, I have discovered that it is important to back up your user files before doing so. This is because the installation routine attempts to overwrite the contents of the Solar Fire User Files folder and does not like doing so, at least in Linux/Wine.

If you don't empty this folder, the upgrade process will be stalled and lead to an unstable installation. It is essential, once you have made some copies of your user files for security, to empty the contents of the SFUF folder in Linux Home folder. However, leave the empty SFUF folder in situ. Following these steps ensures that the upgrade is not interrupted leading to a partial, and unstable, installation of the software. Once you are ready to upgrade, right-click on your .exe upgrade file and choose Open->Wine Windows Program Loader. The installation process will start. You may be prompted to confirm that you have a legitimate copy of SF8 installed on your machine. If you have a personally licensed copy, click OK.

Once the installation has been completed, copy your user files back to the SFUF in your Home folder. Check that you have the correct Etsans3.fon font still installed in the fonts folder. This completes the process and you should have a perfectly installed upgrade of SF8 to the latest version 8.1.5.

If you use a lot of asteroids as part of your astrology, you may wish to copy the updated EtAst1.ttf font file from the program folder SolarFire8 to your fonts folder in Wine. This is a straightforward Copy->Paste from the program folder to the fonts folder. You can rename the original EtAst1.tff (orig_EtAst1.ttf) before doing this. This is a precaution that ensures the original asteroid font file is still available to you and is not overwritten.

Conclusions

The comments above relate specifically to Debian-based Linux desktop systems such as Ubuntu, Lubuntu, and Mint. You will have to experiment if you wish to try SF on other systems such as Arch, SUSE or Redhat based operating systems. The most complete solution seems to be with systems based around Ubuntu 12.04 LTS which is supported until April 2017. The Wine version to use is 1.4 or 1.4.1. I will highlight the regression identified above which crashes the Animate Chart function in more recent Wine versions to the developers through the bug report system. If you can live without the Animate function, you can happily proceed to use Ubuntu derivatives such as the more up-to-date 14.04 LTS, Mint 17 and the latest Lubuntu OS (based on Ubuntu 14.04) with the latest Wine release.

Tuesday 21 October 2014

Venus and the Eclipse

As many of you will know, there's a solar eclipse on 23rd October at the very beginning of Scorpio – 00o 24'. However, there are a couple of other events around the same time involving Venus. The first takes place about an hour before the eclipse, when the Moon meets Venus while hurrying towards the Sun. Moon and Venus make an exact conjunction on 00o Scorpio 01' – just creeping into Scorpio. The only two feminine planets in the intensely dark and magical sign of Scorpio suggest a tapping into the life force that lies hidden in the depths. Indeed, the three brightest objects in the sky are so close that effectively they're all conjunct at the solar eclipse.

(Click to enlarge)
Two days later, on 25th October, there'll be a Sun-Venus superior conjunction at 01o Scorpio 48' (on the Ascendant in Exeter). When this conjunction takes place Venus is far away from us, on the other side of the Sun. The last time this pair was conjunct was in January. On that occasion Venus was at her closest to Earth, between us and the Sun, and she was retrograde. It was a particularly powerful conjunction, most noted for the fact that little more than an hour beforehand, Israeli politician Ariel Sharon died. He had been in a coma for almost exactly eight years, which was the last time that Sun-Venus had met in Capricorn at inferior conjunction, with Venus retrograde. On that occasion she re-emerged from the Sun's rays a few days later as the Morning Star. This time it'll be several weeks before she reappears and it will be as Evening Star.

I don't think many astrologers differentiate between the two types of Venus but they really are very different. A Morning Star Venus is young, brash, impatient, more of a warrior than a lover – and when she does appear as a lover, well let's say she has an edge to her. The Irish Morrigan or Battle Crow is a more apt description of a Morning Star Venus than the Roman Venus. Goddess of Love, War and Death, the Morrigan finished off at least one Irish hero who spurned her advances after a hard day on the battle field. An Evening Star Venus is closer to the modern astrological Venus – sensuous, sultry, enticing and generally more mature.

The transition from warrior Venus to sultry Venus occurs during her long period of invisibility – roughly 14 weeks – when she is furthest from the Earth, as if she needs to be free of our influence in order to change, or grow up. I am reminded of the numerous folk songs about two sisters – one dark, one fair or one sweet-natured and one cruel. In many ways, Venus is our sister, or even our twin – the two planets are the same size, are close neighbours in the solar system and they engage in a beautiful cosmic dance to a 5:8 rhythm (5 synodic cycles of Venus = 8 Earth years). When she's on the other side of the Sun she can merge with the cosmos rather than with us, and in doing so she transforms herself into the magnificent Goddess of Love. She is then reborn as an Evening Star, the one you're most likely to see with any regularity unless you're an early riser, as you have to get up pretty early to catch Venus as Morning Star.

When Venus disappears from our skies and undergoes her long period of invisibility, it's a chance for us to go deep within ourselves and receive inspiration from a hidden source. And while Venus is undergoing an alchemical process of transmutation on the other side of the Sun, we too may undergo a similar process. I feel that Evening Star Venus is particularly well placed for this in the sign Scorpio, where her magnetic nature can draw individuals into the depths to explore the mysteries of life and death (although there is always the danger of it manifesting in a darker form through the murky world of pornography and the 'dark net'). At the conjunction on the 25th, the trine from Sun-Venus to Neptune in Pisces can only enhance the lure of these mysteries, and the sextile to Mars adds a bit of spice to the mix.

(Click to enlarge)
There's one other thing that makes this conjunction of Sun-Venus special, namely that it's the last time the Evening Star conjunction will occur in Scorpio for 250 years. The next conjunction, in 2022, will take place on the final degree of Libra, because Sun-Venus conjunctions move backwards through the zodiac. There will, however, be two more Scorpio Morning Star conjunctions, with Venus retrograde, in 2018 and 2026 before they too move into Libra in 2034.

Sunday 12 October 2014

The October Lunar Eclipse and Ebola

The recent lunar eclipse, although not visible in West Africa, has Mars rising through Monrovia, the capital of Liberia. This country is currently struggling to contain the disease and has experienced the most deaths. 


8 October 2014 - Lunar Eclipse - Monrovia, Liberia

Mars is at the midpoint of Pluto and Saturn, and a range of other midpoints in the chart. Ebertin gives the meaning 'necessity to fight for one's life or existence' to MA=SA/PL. AS=SA/PL is described as 'mourning, seperation and bereavement' in Ebertin's Combination of Stellar Influences.

The eclipse, set for Monrovia, constellates the grand fire trine referred to with a high degree of accuracy for this place. To me, the grand trine in fire seems to symbolise the very high risk of rapid spread of a viral haemorrhagic fever, Mars being associated with illnesses of this nature.

Jupiter, Moon and Uranus give associations with swiftness, acutness and speed and rapid spread or expansion of the reach of the disease. Moon is associated with body fluids, the vehicle through which the disease is spread. Mars is also closely semisquare Mercury.

A positive indication that this outbreak of Ebola may be contained is that the MC=SO/JU=MO/JU. So there is the grave difficulty of MA=SA/PL combined with the more hopeful indications MC=SO/JU=MO/JU all on the same midpoint. Ebertin gives SO/JU to 'health, joy, recognition'. Ebertin also gives this midpoint to indications of wealth.

Of course this is little comfort to the people in West Africa at the moment who are suffering. However, we must hope that an urgent response by the wider world will contain the disease, perhaps with lessons learnt for the future management of outbreaks. It seems to me that nations more fortunate (SO/JU) than those in West Africa must help.

The full midpoint range associated with these degrees in mid-mutables and early fixed is as follows:

Jup/Ura 30 49' 15 Gem 49'
Ven/Sat 30 59' 00 Sco 59'
Sun/Jup 31 07' 16 Vir 07'
Mon/Jup 31 07' 16 Gem 07'
Sat/Plu 31 09' 16 Sag 09'
=Mer= 31 26' 01 Sco 26'
=Mar= 31 56' 16 Sag 56'
Mar/Asc 32 07' 17 Sag 07'
=Asc= 32 17' 17 Sag 17'
Mar/MC 32 24' 02 Sco 24'
Asc/MC 32 35' 02 Sco 35'
Sat/Ura 32 52' 02 Aqu 52'
=MC = 32 52' 17 Vir 52'
Sun/Sat 33 10' 03 Sco 10'
Mon/Sat 33 10' 03 Aqu 10'
Jup/NNo 33 12' 18 Vir 12'

The range is about 2 1/2 degrees.



 The dial shows the axis that is referred to above. 

The following map shows the Mars rising line (Mars on the ascendant) running across the western edge of Liberia. The rising Saturn and Pluto lines can also be identifed, representing the MA=SA/PL midpoint in the first chart shown above.


One way of examining the impact of this eclipse is to relocate the chart to other destinations around the world. If we accept that Mars is a key indicator of the presence of the virus in an environment, looking to the places where Mars is on other angles of the chart - MC, IC and Descendant - may give us an insight into to high risk areas of the world.

An astrocartography map shows that the Mars-MC line runs right through India. The map below shows the Mars culminating line running down the centre of the Indian subcontinent. The capital city, New Delhi, is marked. The proximity of the Mars culminating line (Mars on the MC) to New Delhi can clearly be seen.





The following chart shows the eclipse relocated to New Delhi, the capital city. Again, the eclipse is not visible in India. However, it is immediately obvious that India may be extremely vulnerable to a rampant outbreak of the disease. Moreover, the density of population in Indian urban areas means that an outbreak may be extremely difficult to contain.


In the chart you will notice that the Mars position, on the ascendant in Monrovia, has moved within one degree of the meridian for New Delhi. The dangerous SA-PL midpoint is therefore closely configured with the MC. Neptune, a symbol of insidious, hard to diagnose illness, rises near the city. This line can be identified to the west of New Delhi. The grand trine is perfectly aligned with the meridian. 

Moreover, using meridian houses, the Sun-Moon eclipse axis is on the 2nd-8th house cusp, often associated with death. The nodal axis just lies inside the cusp. Mercury retrograde is in the 8th. Saturn is on the 9th cusp, perhaps representing danger from distant countries. Pluto, a symbol of events with collective impact, is near the cusp of the 11th, a house associated with social issues.

There are a number of factors that mean an outbreak of Ebola in India would be gravely concerning. Firstly, it is highly and densely populated, promoting easy transmission of the illness. Secondly, the health infrastructure is under-developed, at least in comparison with some western countries. The number of health professionals per head of population is minimal. Thirdly, many poor Indians live in extreme poverty, with unsatisfactory housing, sanitation and services. These living conditions are likely to encourage the disease to establish itself. Fourthly, the complexities of managing an outbreak in a large, multi-faceted society such as India may be simply too difficult to achieve.

It is for the Indian authorities to maintain the highest degree of vigilance in the coming months to prevent an outbreak of the disease on the subcontinent. There is a high risk to this populous and complex country. The simplest approach to preventing an outbreak of the disease may simply to shut its doors to the outside world, at least to the most badly affected regions, for the duration of the global situation.  

The full astrogeographical map for the eclipse is shown below. Of particular note is the Mars-IC (Mars anti-culminating) line running through western Texas. Although this is some way from Dallas, where Thomas Duncan died, it does highlight a risk to the USA. Again it is notable that the MA=SA/PL midpoint brackets the north American continent.

Based on this map, key regions that face risks are west and northwestern Africa (MA rising line), central and western Europe (MA rising line), India (MA on the MC) and the USA (MA on the IC).

 


Saturday 11 October 2014

Life goes on

Do the dead remain active after they've left us? They live on in our memories, of course, but what if one of those major forks in the road – like the return of one of the slow-moving planets – presents itself some time after death? For a public figure, could this mean the person once more steps onto the public stage? I haven't done a lot of work on this, but the idea does interest me. And I had an example of it recently, again related to the Titanic.

Edward Smith, the Captain of the Titanic, was born on 27th January 1850. When I saw his chart about a year ago I was immediately drawn to his Neptune on 3 Pisces 29. I knew Neptune was in that general area because it was squaring my own Sun-Jupiter-Mercury conjunction in Gemini. So that meant Captain Smith was more or less having his Neptune return when the centenary of the Titanic sinking was being commemorated.

(Click to enlarge)


The first of three exact returns occurred on 10th March 2013. It's by far the most interesting of the trio because of the number of planets concentrated in – of all signs – Pisces: six plus Chiron! There's also a Yod with Saturn and Pluto at its base and Jupiter – the traditional ruler of Pisces – at its apex. Is this a reminder of his violent death, leading to a watery grave? Incidentally, this Jupiter in the Neptune return chart is almost exactly conjunct the Sun at the moment of the Titanic's birth – its launch on 31st May 1911 (Sun was at 8 Gemini 56). I imagined the ghost of Captain Smith pointing to the Titanic as it slid down the slipway at Harland and Wolff shipyard and into Belfast Lough, as if to say 'this is the architect of my undoing.'

I also noticed that Captain Smith will be having a Uranus return fairly soon – again, the first of three will be exact on 20th May 2016. Funnily enough, this was around the time that Titanic II (a replica ship proposed by Australian billionaire Clive Palmer) was due to come into service but it seems this might not be happening now … or with Uranus involved, maybe it will after all ...

(Note that I have no time of birth for Captain Smith, but when I saw that his nodal axis was almost exactly conjunct the Ascendant in the Queenstown departure chart, I constructed a chart for him with the nodes on his MC/IC).



Returning to Margaret Rice, I decided to check her progressions for 6th October 2014, the date I started this piece of work. Her Sun had by now progressed to 7 Pisces 14. This was a jaw-dropping moment, because that's almost exactly where Neptune is in my Solar Return this year. And indeed, her nearby Mercury is conjunct my Solar Return Ascendant. Neptune to me is – amongst other things – about dissolving the veil between worlds and it seemed to be saying that the time is right for me to work with the Rice family.

(Click to enlarge)

As if to confirm that, when I checked Eugene Rice's progressions for the same date, his progressed Sun and Mercury were both conjunct my natal North Node (all on 5 Aquarius) and his North Node was on my natal Mercury (5 Gemini).

Because their birthdays are so close, Margaret and Eugene have similar Solar Returns. Of the two, Eugene's is the stronger. With his Sun in close conjunction to the North Node and the IC (so right at the bottom of the chart) I'm reminded of a soul trapped in the Underworld – or in Eugene's case in the depths of the ocean. In The Amber Spyglass by Philip Pullman, an opening to the upper world is cut for souls trapped in the land of the dead. They quiver with excitement, and when they step out into the night air they see the stars for the first time in years – centuries even. And as soon are they're free they merge with the sky, leaving a vivid burst of happiness, reminiscent of the bubbles in a glass of champagne.

(Click to enlarge)

While I've been writing this, Venus has been moving further away from Earth and into the Sun's beams, on her way to conjunction with the Sun. This is one of the deepest parts of the Venus cycle, when we're taken away from our familiar selves to be immersed in our inner lives more than usual. It's a time when we could find ourselves surrounded by the dead, and/or feel moved to journey to the Underworld. We might discover abilities we didn't know we had and the courage to use them.

So it sounds like this is the ideal time for me to work with these long-dead relatives, to listen to their story, to soothe their troubled souls and release them from their unquiet graves. And perhaps one cold, dark night I might even catch sight of one or more of those bubbles bursting with happiness as their spirit is freed at last.

Thursday 9 October 2014

Into Neptune's Realm





When the Titanic left Queenstown, County Cork, at 13:30 on 11th April 1912, it left behind the safe haven of land and entered the realm of Neptune, Lord of the Sea. If the chart is turned to put Neptune on the cusp of the first house, a very powerful picture emerges. The Sun and North Node are closely conjunct the Midheaven, suggesting a fateful voyage, with Mercury the Psychopomp and Saturn the Grim Reaper also nearby. Saturn is widely squaring the Moon. Pluto and Mars are in a wide, out-of-sign conjunction in the twelfth house of hidden  matters. As we know, the ship never made landfall.


 
(Click to enlarge)


Looking back at Margaret Rice's charts for the period leading up to the Titanic sinking, I can see many things that suggest a rocky road ahead for her. This is not just with the benefit of hindsight, it has a lot to do with Pluto – which of course was unknown in 1911-12. So in the unlikely event that she had consulted an astrologer in late 1911, perhaps wanting to know whether she should stay in Ireland, the land of her birth, or return to America, where she could most likely give her sons a much better future, the astrologer would probably have seen a year of mixed fortunes, but nothing out of the ordinary. After all, who in the autumn of 1911 would have foreseen the tragedy of epic proportions that was soon to unfold?

(Click to enlarge)
I looked at three charts for the period. In Margaret's 1911 Solar Return, Pluto and Mars are riding high at the top of her chart. Mars in the ninth might signify accidents on a journey, perhaps caused by recklessness. But Pluto in the tenth suggests something much deeper and more ruthless that is played out in public; something perhaps that sears itself into the collective consciousness. With Gemini on the Midheaven, communication is emphasised … and indeed the story of the Titanic has been replayed over and over again ever since in a constant stream of books, films and articles. I'm sure Margaret would never have imagined that she would be caught up in such an event, nor that a century later her story would be available for all to see via the internet.

(Click to enlarge)
I haven't got a birth time for Margaret Rice so I'm reluctant to put too much emphasis on her Moon as it might not be correct, but I found that, in the progressed chart for the date of her death, her progressed South Node had reached her natal Moon. As if to emphasis this, in the Solar Arc chart for the same moment, her South Node and Moon are conjunct in Capricorn, both applying to her natal Saturn. And her Solar Arc Sun-Mercury conjunction is opposite her natal Pluto.


(Click to enlarge)
 

I can't help feeling that Margaret Rice was destined to be on the Titanic when it left Queenstown. Whether you use the Neptune chart or the standard one, there are three powerful contacts:

- the Queenstown Sun conjunct Margaret's Neptune;  
- the Queenstown Saturn conjunct her Pluto;                                  
- and the Queenstown Ascendant conjunct her Jupiter

(Click to enlarge)



I said earlier that Eugene Rice was the only child for whom I had a reliable birth date. I also found one for George Rice, but I'm not sure it's accurate because his age is given as eight elsewhere. The next one up and oldest boy, Albert, is described as being ten years old. This date is inbetween. But if it does belong to one of these boys, it shows two interesting areas of contact between mother and sons. One of these is in the early degrees of Sagittarius (Margaret's Moon-South Node, George's Sun-Venus and Mercury and Eugene's North Node and Venus) and the other in Aries (Margaret's Neptune, George's South Node and – a bit wide – Eugene's Saturn). George's Saturn is also on one of the Titanic degrees.

(Click to enlarge)



Eugene himself has an interesting chart, dominated by the oppositions between Sun-Saturn and Uranus-Neptune which form a Grand Cross close to the Titanic degrees of 21-25 of cardinal signs. (Bear in mind that the Uranus-Neptune opposition was around for some time so wasn't personal to him. In fact, it's almost a signature for the Titanic disaster: the last word in technological design being overcome by the forces of nature and ending up at the bottom of the ocean). Because his life was so short, there's not much movement in any of the charts I drew for him. The only point of interest I could see in his 1911 Solar Return was Solar Return Mars hovering around his natal North Node.

(Click to enlarge)
By progressions, the only bodies that have moved are the Sun and Moon, and we can't be sure of the accuracy of his natal Moon. The most striking chart is the Solar Arc, because at his date of death Sun, Saturn and Neptune had all moved into the Titanic degree zone (Uranus remaining just outside). His progressed Sun had, of course, also moved into the same area. 

(Click to enlarge)
 


Margaret Rice's body was recovered from the icy waters of the Atlantic by the ship Mackay Bennett. Her body was taken to Halifax, Nova Scotia, where she was buried in the Mount Olivet Catholic Cemetery – as were many victims of the Titanic. Sadly, none of her sons' bodies were ever found. 

 

One more piece to follow, bringing things up to the present.