This part of my web-site gives you an in-look at the current astrological events. I have tried to make it as readable and useful to astrologers and non-astrologers alike but this may not always be achievable. If you do come across some terms that you do not understand, you should be able to find a definition in the SCIENCE BIT. And, of course, you can always e-mail me directly with your queries and comments.

MARCH 11TH 2001

Almost the last sentence I wrote in the previous 4th March COSMIC UPDATE carried a warning about Saturday's (10th's) Mercury-Uranus conjunction - 'watch your computers and your electrical appliances. Uranus loves to cause problems.'

Did those words echo in my head as I sat down at my computer on Saturday morning? Oh boy, did they just!

In the middle of writing my weekly forecast I edged back the screen of my lap top and I heard a crick-crick sound from the hinge. Suddenly the screen went blank and I went ballistic. My whole life is on my lap-top. Aside from the children and the dog, it is the one thing I'd battle through flames to preserve. To cut a long, tragic story short I took my laptop over to my friend, Mel, who has a computer business, and after surveying the damage - cracked hinge and split top - the verdict was grim: no-can-do-nothing. Somehow out of the fog of my panic and despair I remembered clutching the side of the screen immediately the 'crick-crick' happened - and at the point where the brightness control is situated. Tentatively I adjusted the brightness and miracle of miracles Windows and my weekly text appeared.

Needless to say, I came home and backed up all my files on a zip disc.

THE PHOENIX RISES.

Do you remember my comments on the Peter Mandelson affair in January 29th's COSMIC UPDATE?

'He won't be down and out for long - who says you can't make more than one political come-back?'

So, a mere six weeks later Mandelson has been cleared by the Hammond Report. Indeed, it appears, according to the seventy-three pages of enquiry, that no one did anything untoward. Not Peter Mandelson, not Keith Vaz and certainly not Tony Blair.

I wonder why no one has thought to make the connection between Cherie Blair's glittering sari and those expensive Indian accessories that she wore so beautifully twelve months or so ago? Is it possible that Peter Mandelson fell on his sword for Tony Blair? Certainly the Hinduja affair is not going to go away quietly. And it may well prove to be the scandal that reduces Tony Blair's majority in the forthcoming election.

Watch this space as they say.

JAPAN BANCRUPT?

Friday the 9th's spectacular announcement that the Japanese economy was in a state of 'near collapse' sent the US market plummeting. (And, of course, on a full moon that picked up the long-standing Jupiter-Pluto opposition.) A ten-year spate of misguided public spending (bullet-proof train lines that led to deserted wastelands and unnecessary dams and sundry waterways projects et al) has brought the Japanese economy to its knees.

The Prime Minister, Yoshiro Mori, is expected to resign in a matter of days after an eleven-month scandal-ridden, gaff-laden administration.

ECONOMIC CONSEQUENCES

This Jupiter/Pluto boom-bust influence is taking its toll. And it seems the once rumoured Recession in the USA is now a depressing reality. Since the week ahead contains a Mercury-Saturn square (13th) and a Mars-Pluto conjunction I think we can safely expect more dramas in the money markets world-wide. A financial protect-and-survive policy should be adopted by all investors, I believe.

THE REAL IRA - BOMB AT THE BBC

Fortunately no one was hurt when the bomb placed in a taxi outside the BBC headquarters in West London last Sunday (4th) went off. But, with more Plutonic aspects to come it seems this is the beginning of a robust campaign on the mainland. Already, London comes grinding to a halt each time there is a bomb alert. I suspect Thursday 15th March (the Ides of March, indeed) will prove very frustrating - but hopefully not fatally so.

In last week's 4th March COSMIC UPDATE I covered most of the key planetary configurations in Bill Clinton's chart, with the exception of the Moon.

MOON IN TAURUS

A man's moon sign not only describes his emotions and his relationship with his mother but the type of woman he feels 'at home' with, the sort of woman he is instinctively drawn to. Moon in Taurus is one of the happiest of moon placements. It reveals Bill to be sensuous and loyal to his family (!). He is drawn to 'earth-mothers' and women who 'take him to their breast'.

Strange then, when you look at Hillary's chart, that you find no such reflection of his needs or desires. (We will look at Hillary's chart in the next update, but suffice to say with her moon in Pisces and Venus in Scorpio she is not the answer to his dreams or his passions.)

MOON IN THE 8TH HOUSE

The 8th house of sexual exchange is where the moon is placed in the chart circle so we have a double-whammy, so to speak. On two counts Bill is shown to be a highly sexual and emotionally complex man. And with Mars rising, a sexual predator too.

Perhaps if he had indeed found his sexual counterpart in Hillary he would have been less inclined to seek conquest and satisfaction with other women.

To be continued...

THE WEEK AHEAD

Tuesday, 13th: Mercury 'square' Saturn.

A rather downbeat aspect this one, so don't expect the news globally to be full of brightness and mirth. Situations tend to look bleak viewed through a Mercury-Saturn lens so we can expect the concerns to go on in regard to the outbreak of Foot and Mouth disease and any court rulings or governmental decisions are likely to be harsh and unrelenting.

Friday, 16th : Sun 'sextile' Saturn.

A more constructive influence this one so this may turn out to be the best day in a difficult week.

Sunday, 18th March: Mars conjunct Pluto.

This is a highly confrontational and disruptive influence. However, I expect we will learn more about what this means in financial and global terms on Thursday when the moon will transit these two planets later in the day.

The plus factor about Mars-Pluto conjunctions is that they bring issues to the surface and expose corruption.

Nevertheless, this is another week to go carefully and to remember that no one is irreplaceable or infallible.