Lady Gaga’s birthday is coming up on March 28th. But nobody seems able to get her birth time – at least, not until a 9:30am time showed up recently for her on Astrotheme.fr. Where did this time come from? Astrotheme didn’t publish a data source or even a Rodden rating. So I emailed them on [...]

Quick one: John Frawley has been publishing extracts from his new book on his Facebook fan page. Fixed stars, and very compelling stuff it is. Have a look.

Snippets and paraphrases, parked here mostly for my own reference as I study Ben Dykes’ translation of Bonatti’s Book of Astronomy. #16 – Bonatti refers to Sahl: “after the malefic planet were to transit the planet whom it was impeding, by one full degree, the planet is said to be freed from the malefic. But [...]

I’m studying natal astrology the traditional way. Part of my current homework involves comparing the birth chart of a celebrity of my choice with the most recent eclipse preceding his or her birth. So, with the members of U2 playing DJ on the radio in Chicago tonight, I thought I’d peek at Bono’s chart and [...]

There are at least two charts I’d love to peek at, if I only had their birth times. One is Gordon Ramsay (8 November 1966, birth place cited by different sources as Johnstone or Elderslie or Glasgow, Scotland), the choleric chef/owner/personality behind some of the world’s top restaurants – and some of my favorite television [...]

After giving up studying birth charts many, many moons ago, I’m back in the saddle. Only this time, I’m starting from absolute ground level. And it is a challenge. Ground level in my case meant starting with the assessment of temperament, that silk or burlap or boiled wool that is at the foundation of the [...]

So you’re a Libran, let’s say. (Hey, me too. Go equinox babies!) How come you’re not like all the other Librans on the planet? Sure, you’ve got all those other planets and the Moon and the ascendant coloring the picture, that’s true. But there’s an even deeper layer we need to study first, before we [...]

Walking through Harvard Square with a frozen yogurt last night, I discovered a copy of Robert Burton’s 1621 classic The Anatomy of Melancholy on display in an antiquarian bookshop. Neat, as I’m currently learning about temperament. Melancholy is the cold and dry temperament: the contemplative. Here’s the best my camera phone could do. The images [...]

In astrologer Isabel Hickey’s unusual birth chart, every one of the seven traditional planets is in its traditional rulership. Which one of these monarchs deserves to be Pilot of her Soul, and why?

Click to enlarge it. What makes it special? More commentary coming soon.