Another
astrologer who has made it his job to 'develop ways
of considering the future interweaving of whole
hierarchies of cycles' is Dennis Elwell, whose classic
and remarkable book Cosmic Loom (1986, now in a
second revised edition recently reprinted by the
UT), contains a disturbing set of observations about
how the cosmos behaves, reflected via astrological
patterns.
These
patterns are neither cosy in their effects, nor
are they individual-friendly. Elwell has termed
their effects multicongruence and his definition
is: the tendency for certain things and conditions
to co-occur because they belong together at a higher,
unmanifest level. The original Loom contained many
valid examples of this phenomenon, but the revised
edition hits its readers with exceptional examples
which prove the effect.
The
Daily Chart and the Newspapers
For
many years, Elwell was a journalist, perhaps the
reason why he recommends that the best examples
of multicongruence may followed by reading the daily
newspapers alongside the astrological chart of the
day in question. I decided to test this out as a
small piece of mundane astrological research.
The
week I chose to undertake this work was a week where
the Sun made its annual opposition to Uranus. In
addition, this year, the aspect coincided with Mars
opposing Neptune, a decidedly unstable combination.
I figured that these two together would, if mundane
astrology 'works', bring some fairly clearly defined
manifestations.
During
this pair of transits, I was undertaking a promotional
visit for a book and coordinating a megalithic tour
in Devon and Cornwall. Built into this period was
over 900 miles of shared driving - plenty of time
to peruse the papers and listen to radio news bulletins.
Two
Tricky Ones
Sun
opposition Uranus and Mars opposition Neptune haven't
got a particularly good reputation. Unfortunately,
this a priori knowledge of mundane astrology can
and probably does prejudice any attempt to research
effects. However, the keywords below need to be
seen as unbiased commentary on the likely sorts
of manifestation, and before the research began
I jotted these paragraphs down in my diary. Here
they are:
Sun
opposition Uranus:
Disturbance, disruption, eccentricity, alienation,
invention, dissociation, alienation, discovery as
sudden insight.
In
addition, in mundane astrology, the Sun is seen
as being the King or leader of a country, whilst
Uranus relates to electronics and high-tech industries,
communications, inventions and aviation.
Mars
opposition Neptune:
Failure, weakness, infection, sabotage, scandal.
In
mundane astrology Mars is equated or linked with
the military forces, the police fires, firearms,
weapons, men and machinery. Neptune is linked with
the sea, the media, particularly film, illusion,
spiritual matters, deception, secrecy, decay and
drugs.
This
is therefore the palette from which the week's news
might be expected to be coloured. No astrologer
would, I think, argue violently with these keywords.
But my methodology must be explained, as it may
be rather different to that used by other astrologers
and it isn't mundane astrology in the sense of using
a nation's chart, merely the geocentric chart de
jour for the planet Earth.
My
first quirk, based on solid experience over 25 years,
is that the 'footprint' left by an outer planet
during the year actually determines the aspect.
Orbs of applying and separating aspects are less
meaningful than the fact, say, that Neptune is occupying
in this current year 3 to 7 degrees of Aquarius,
whilst Uranus occupies 14 to 21 degrees of the same
sign.
Secondly,
for mundane work I have come to regard orbs of 4
or 5 degrees as valid, (perhaps mainly because news
items often come about several days before the story
breaks and the paper itself is printed after the
stories are prepared), yet the 'footprint of the
outer planet seems to carry the aspect's meaning.
The peak period (1 degree orbs) is, of course, particularly
interesting as is the Full and new Moon nearest
to the aspect.
Thirdly,
I have noticed that the Moon passing over any of
the other planets involved in the 'cluster' may
trigger an event.
Finally,
I find it amusing and so often astonishingly apt
to take the essential story from its headline. Whatever
else we might think about our press and journalists,
they can't half trim down a headline to its essential
minimalist bones. We shall shortly discover just
how apt some of these turn out to be astrologically!
So,
what were the stories?
1.
"Concorde crash fire ends a 30 year Dream"
ran a headline in the Western Mail. The
announcement that the recent (25th July) crash of
an Air France Concorde was caused by a 45 cm long
shard of metal (Mars) puncturing (Neptune) the tyres
of its undercarriage, with subsequent rupturing
of the fuel tanks (Mars-Neptune) and huge fire prior
to total catastrophe. The actual crash occurred
with the Sun opposing Neptune.
2.
"The moment when the Sun sneezed"
The largest solar flare to date in the current 11
year solar cycle. Exact on the opposition of Sun
to Uranus, the flare took three days to reach the
earth, whence, according to the Times, 12th August,
headline it “may disrupt radio communications,
blind satellites and cause surges in power grids”.
Radio and TV services were also expected to be affected.
Could you think of a better headline for Sun opposing
Uranus?
3.
"Duchess's 'headless man' was satyr Fairbanks
Jnr". (Daily Telegraph, 10th
August, p5)
The showing of a TV documentary about the sex-scandal
of the decade (50's). The Duchess of Argyll's divorce
involved a protracted and very nasty legal wrangle
where the establishment, under Lord Denning, sneakily
discovered that Douglas Fairbanks junior was indeed
the 'headless man' on a polaroid film taken whilst
he was in fellatio from the Duchess. This film had
been discovered by the Duke in a deliberate sneak
burglary on his wife's London home in order to provide
proof of her adultery prior to obtaining a divorce.
The scandal threatened the then conservative government
of Macmillan, who had embarrassingly invited Fairbanks
Jr to his annual Grouse shooting orgy amidst huge
press publicity. The whole affair became linked
eventually with the Profumo scandal of the early
60's. As the documentary was screened, transiting
Venus squared Pluto and Chiron, and as Elwell reminds
us, the programme schedulers plan their output months
in advance and don't, as far as anyone knows, employ
astrologers.
4.
The alienation of paedophiles by the 'Naming and
Shaming' campaign of the News of the World
led to vigilante groups (false law-makers and enforcers?)
in Paulgrove, Portsmouth persecuting alleged paedophiles.
Regular disturbances leading to mass violence were
contained by the police. At least one paedophile
committed suicide.
5.
NASA announces its new intention to visit the planet
Mars. This remarkable announcement, made at the
peak of the opposition between Mars and Neptune,
was accompanied on TV news broadcasts by a 3 minute
simulation film of the spacecraft and landers and
was the first media mention of Mars in any real
sense since the confused and outlandish ''Life
on Mars Discovered-Shock" of about two
years ago when viruses were produced from a meteorite
alleged to have come from the red planet. From the
astrology of the moment of the announcement, we
might guess the mission, due in 2002, may be ill-fated
or that some deception is being woven around NASA's
intentions. Anyone seen the film Capricorn One!
But one must now believe that they don't employ
an astrologer to advise them - this could hardly
be a worse time to make such a public statement!
6.
"Millions of car repairs 'unsafe'"
(Daily Telegraph, 10th August, front page).
A high proportion of all car repairs (Mars) were
deemed unsafe (Mars-Neptune) by a motoring organisation
linked with the Office of Fair Trading..
7.
"Lost nuclear bomb left to rot on the sea-bed"
(Independent, 14th August, front page headline)
The announcement that a nuclear warhead sits rotting
at the bottom of the sea off Greenland following
a B52 crash many years ago prompted an international
outrage. So dreadfully a Mars-Neptune cocktail this
one, and with a dash of added plutonium, hopefully
neither shaken nor stirred.
8.
"Crippled nuclear submarine traps 171 on
sea-bed" (Western Mail, August
15th, headline). Although right on the limit of
orb for Mars-Neptune, this story encapsulates all
the basics of the story above. In effect, it's the
same story! At the time of writing the outcome is
unknown.
9.
"Army peace role 'sapping our strength'"
(Daily Telegraph, 10th August, headline)
The UK armed services weakened by too much involvement
in peacekeeping roles. Another Mars-Neptune delight!
The Telegraph also ran a story on the 12th of August
about the same theme, headed, "Red line
at thinnest since days of Wellington".
The word red (Mars' colour) was here used in connection
with the military.
10.
"Police 'lawfully' killed man armed with
air rifle”' (Daily Telegraph,
10th August, p 3.) This story has all the trappings
of Mars-Neptune, more so because the unfortunate
victim was shot with a 'soft-tipped bullet', and
you don't get a more Mars-Neptune item than that!
11.
"It's rescue No 10 for all-at-sea sailor"
(Daily Telegraph, 10th August, p7).
A lovely Mars-Neptune story about 'an eccentric
sailor', an unemployed painter (ha!), who has been
rescued no less than ten times for his total ineptness
at seamanship and marine navigation.
12.
"Probes blast into orbit to monitor space
storms." (Daily Telegraph, 10th
August, page 7).
Very Sun-Uranus this one! Two satellites launched
to “investigate the relationship between
the Earth's magnetic field and the stream of charged
particles that flows from the Sun”. Curiously
this story broke two days before the main story
on the 12th that the biggest storm on the sun's
surface was hitting the earth's ionosphere and disrupting
power and communications networks (see item 2).
13.
"Moscow bombers kill 8 in blast"
(Western Mail, 7th August, headline).
A bomb left in a Moscow shopping arcade was described
as "a deadly blast designed to kill and
maim as many people as possible." It contains
all the combined essence of Sun-Uranus (sudden blast)
and Mars-Neptune (the attack was sneaky, the bombers
"ran off, leaving the bomb in a plastic
bag by a shopping kiosk").
In
addition to these items, some lesser stories coagulated
to form further evidence of multicongruence.
Ten
people were killed when two light aircraft collided
over New Jersey, shedding metal fragments over a
wide area. Two Army officers in Spain were shot
dead in a spate of 'shootings and car bombings'.
An Ulster Police chief was killed in a car bombing
attack.
A
500lb (why do bombs still always come in non-metric
weights these days?) van bomb was intercepted before
it could kill or maim anyone, but it made the pretence
of 'peace in Ireland' look totally farcical.
An
unfortunate glider pilot baled out of the two-man
glider whilst it broke up only to watch his ill-fated
son, the co-pilot - crash to his death.
The
police questioned the target of 9,000 extra recruits
promised by Tony Blair. “We remain a public
service in crisis" said the Police Federation
in an article which hinted at betrayal by government.
"Saboteurs
target Glorious Twelfth", ran a story
in the Telegraph, August 12th, as hunt
saboteurs tried to prevent shooting on Britain's
moors. I'll bet the spirit of Fairbanks Jnr was
involved (see item 3).
Two
British policemen, arrested for allegedly spying
in Yugoslavia, caused diplomatic havoc. Their car
was alleged to have contained fuses, detonators
and other decidedly non-touristy items. The story
carried all the Mars-Neptune themes and confusions
as each side appeared to waffle and lie about the
motives and reasons for the visit and the arrest
(8th-10th August).
A
coach crash in France killed one Boy's Brigade member.
The driver was accused of manslaughter, allegedly
falling asleep at the wheel (8th August).
In the same paper, the story "America ablaze
from West Coast to the Rockies" announced
the biggest fire crisis in the States' history,
and the strangest weather. Promethean stuff anyway.
A
"Cloud of wasps attacks family".
A Mars-Neptune experience happened to a family who
were nursed following over 150 stings. Cloud of
Wasps is pure Mars-Neptune.
My
favourite multicongruistic story in this set concerned
the Cuban photographer Alberto Korda, the man responsible
for the ubiquitous and world famous picture of the
young revolutionary soldier Che Guevara, was said
to be suing a vodka manufacturer for 'sullying'
his icon (Daily Telegraph, August 8th,
p7). This story is perfect and has everything one
could wish for in a Mars-Neptune transit!
And…
in Conclusion
So,
that's a little research indicating that, yes, it
is actually the case that as above, so below.
It's no proof in the scientific sense of the word,
and perhaps that reflects more badly on the limited
axioms of the scientific method than on my limited
grasp of astrological truths. The editor of Correlation
would probably attract adverse comments if she were
to publish it, but nonetheless one really would
have to be blind not to see the resonance of the
two acting major transits within this collection
of stories.
This
dabble into the correlation between the heavens
and events on Earth suggests anything but a tenuous
link. From this, one might suggest the inauguration
of an astrological Reuter service - because
it is almost true that perhaps 70% of these stories
could have been pre-written using astrological symbolism
leaving the final details to be added after the
events. In a real sense, that would be astrological
prediction - the Holy Grail of the mundane astrologer.
There
is a next obvious challenge which would be more
scientific - a repeat experiment. Pick a time when
there are some corking aspects occurring more or
less together and arrange a game of 'Guess the
Headlines'. Anyone for prediction?
As
the backdrop of all of our lives, the geometrical
patterns of the solar system, as experienced from
the 'third stone from the Sun' appear to manifest
as a social and cultural tableau unfolding before
our very eyes. Multicongruence invites us to explore
an awesome property of nature little known and even
less understood. Preparing this little article has
shown me that here is an embarrassment of riches
for any astrologer looking to forge a new understanding
of cosmic correlations and their effects.
©
Robin Heath, 2000
Biography
Robin
Heath is struggling to understand better the link
between the skies and the Earth, almost a full time
preoccupation. He is a professional astrologer living
in West Wales. Once the editor of the Astrological
Journal, he is also a director of Megalithic Tours,
undertaking group visits to sacred sites throughout
Britain, Brittany and Ireland. A qualified teacher
and lecturer, he teaches astrology for various organisations,
and has tutored CPA students. Robin writes for many
publications including Culture and Cosmos,
Kindred Spirit, Chalice, The
NCGR Journal, Apollon, The Mountain
Astrologer and the Ley Hunter Journal,
and currently has four books in print. Contact via
skyhenge@zetnet.co.uk, please be brief
and do not send attachments.
