Astrology Articles

Both Jupiter and Uranus share an unrestrained, adventuresome, often stormy, character. As boundary crossers, both disrupt social and collective patterns through expansion, inflation, rebellion or interruption. In a system already in turmoil this could be volatile and fiery. However, it also serves as an image of inventive and ground-breaking solutions to global dilemmas if we can collectively respond to the invitation with integrity and equality.

Two major ingresses occur in March 2023: Saturn enters Pisces March 7th, while Pluto enters Aquarius for the first time on the 23rd. Amidst these celestial thresholds, Jupiter and Chiron conjoin March 12th at 14 Aries 26, inaugurating their cycle that unfolds over the next 13 years. Their new cycle invites us to reconsider their archetypal bond and how, during these uncertain and divisive times, we may be more conscious of weaving their ways of wisdom together.

This article was written for the October 2021 special edition of The Mountain Astrologer on Life Cycles – the text traces the generic cycles and the generations through the life cycle.

In 2021 Saturn squares Uranus three times. This is the waning square that begins to close down the cycle that began in 1988 in the last degree of Sagittarius. Following the fallout of 2020, Saturn enters Aquarius and is challenged by the innovative changemaker and god of rollercoaster rides, Uranus.

Hang on!

This is the lecture I gave January 16, 2020 at the opening of the FAA International Conference – I thought it was interesting to look back and reflect upon how I might have framed this year of major conjunctions..

This article was written in October 2019 before the world was gripped by Corona Virus. 2020 was always going to be a big year of change, but did we know how transforming it really would be? Astrology allows us to imagine all the possibilities…

This article was written for my evening lecture at the 2018 FAS Summer School in Oxford. On the evening, however, I chose to speak more personally of my involvement in the art of astrology.

This article was subsequently published in the Jan/Feb 2019 edition of the Astrological Journal; published by the Astrological Association of Great Britain

The fascinating synodic cycle of Mercury traces out the sacred number of Pi in the sky. This article explores Mercury’s cycle and its penchant for numbers. This article was published in the Dec 2018/Jan 2019 edition of the Mountain Astrologer.

The Sun-Mercury synodic cycle averages 116 days; however, each individual cycle may last 105 – 130 days. We might think of these like academic terms of a year or modules of a course.

In this article we look at the times and terms of the planet Mercury as he travels the ecliptical roadway in the heavens inviting us all to travel through time with him…

Image: Hermes – Attic red-figure cup ca. 480 -470 BCE

In preparation for the VAA (Victorian Astrological Association) lecture on Time: The Moving Image of Eternity this article appeared in the November 2017 edition of Horizons, the monthly newsletter of the VAA.

This image depicts the Horai – the sisterly trinity of the seasons of time – and the article muses on the many dimensions of time beyond the linear trajectory astrologers often use for forecasting.

The June 2018 edition of the FAA Journal – https://www.faainc.org.au/faa-journal/ – changed its look. For the new and impressive looking journal editor Judy Best asked if I would write something on Renewals astrologically. Following is a short piece of the power of the planetary return and its renewal.

This is an edited version of the opening address given at the 22nd Biennial Conference of the Federation of Australian Astrologers on January 18, 2018 in Melbourne, Australia. I shifted the title of this talk from the conference theme of Transforming the Tradition to The Transforming Tradition to place emphasis on the tradition of astrology and its innate tendency to shape-shift, as it has throughout the last two millennia.

It was later reprinted by the Mountain Astrologer – https://mountainastrologer.com/tma/ – in their June/July 2018 edition.

What brings two people to the same crossroads at the same time? These meetings in time and place are reflected in the heavens as nodes because at these points two cosmic planes come together. Our horoscope also contains intersections and when these dovetail with someone else, we often find ourselves at a defining moment on the path of life.

This was the lead article for Dell Horoscope March 2017 edition.

The following article is edited from a transcript of a plenary lecture Brian Clark gave to the 2015 Astrological Association of Great Britain Conference, Appreciating the Past and Creating the Future, by satellite link from Stanley, Tasmania to Wyboston Lakes near Cambridge, England.

This article was subsequently published in the March/April 2014 edition of the Astrological Journal; published by the Astrological Association of Great Britain.

In June 2020 the CG Jung Society– https://www.jungwa.org/ – of Western Australia invited me to do a webinar. In 2020 the society was honouring Rix Weaver, the first Jungian analyst in Australia. My lecture was on Jung and his working relationship with astrology, which he had been involved with for over most of his adult life. This was dedicated to Rix Weaver and her daughter, astrologer Barbara Brackley.

The following article was written for the C.G. Jung Society of Melbourne.

This was included in an anthology Jung in Effect: Jung’s ideas in the wider world, edited by Annette Lowe.

This is a story about Carl Jung, his fascination with astrology, his journey into time which led him from his understanding of qualitative time to synchronicity and his astrological experiment.

Leonard Cohen’s music enriched the passage of time for my generation and those after who were captivated by fascinating lyrics and haunting sounds.

His life was sometimes as complex as his poetry: following is an excerpt from my book Vocation which looks at his Neptune-Venus conjunction, a profound and timeless aspect of a great poet, wordsmith and troubadour.

Dragon symbolism enriches our understanding of the nodes, providing metaphors and images to help unravel nodal complexities.

While the head and tail of the dragon has come to represent the North and South Nodes, the dragon-serpent is visible in other ways: the serpentine movement of the True Node, the ouroboros created by the Saros eclipse patterns and its ‘snakes and ladders’ affect.

This article was published in The Mountain Astrologer

A special edition of the Mountain Astrologer edited by Frank Clifford focused on forecasting techniques.

This article was a part of that issue introducing students to the art of Secondary Progressions.

This 5th C BCE vase painting depicts Tyche, the Greek goddess of Fortune, with her sister Nemesis, the personification of retribution for evil deeds or unearned fortune.

When early astrologers worked with the Part of Fortune they had a wealth of images and myths that instructed them about the tides of fortune.

This article introduces the Part of Fortune, that beguiling amalgam of Sun, Moon and Ascendant, that stirs the imagination about our lot, our luck and our fortune. We will look at its potential placement in the horoscope through the houses and signs.

This was the title of the hit song by Cyndi Lauper, released in December 1984.

Neptune had just entered Capricorn and the song was a bittersweet ode to money changing relationships. When Pluto entered Capricorn the GFC proclaimed that money had changed everything!

This article reminds us of the archetypal nature of money, the reality of money troubles and our second house resources. These resources are valued through focusing on the sign on the 2nd house cusp and planets in the house.

The following article appeared in the June/July 2016 edition (Issue #187) of The Mountain Astrologer focusing on Synastry.

This article focuses on the practicalities of using synastry when working with couples such as taking ethics into consideration, appropriate boundaries, cultivating a reflective style and learning on the job.

For the Mountain Astrologer’s 200th edition – https://mountainastrologer.com/tma/ – a special tribute to our Astrological Inspirations was included. Editor Frank Clifford asked me to contribute a piece on one of my astrological guides and without hesitation I chose Isabel Hickey, an inspirational teacher and mentor.

Frank Clifford, guest editor for the June/July 2013 edition of the Mountain Astrologer, asked me to write an article for a special edition of the magazine that would focus on students and the beginning of delineation. Again a wide range of topics, but somehow it was the angles of the horoscope I chose.

Following is an article on the angles geared for the beginning student who tries to get an angle on the axes of the horoscope.

Astrological intelligence always knew of the link between our other halves, the sibling, the partner and the friend. In the territory of the houses of relationship we experience the patterns of relating that shape our adult quest for the soul mate.

In this article Brian Clark explores the 3rd house of the sibling, the 7th house of the partner and the 11th house of the friend.

This article was published in the FAA Journal.

The third sign of the zodiac is so often misunderstood and trivialised. In this article Brian Clark talks about the potent feelings of loss and disconnection that often underlay the nervous and agile temperament of Gemini.

A longer version of this article appeared in The Mountain Astrologer. Visit their website at: http://www.mountainastrologer.com

Hermes was determined to claim a place amongst the Olympians. As the son of Zeus, the supreme ruler of the Olympian corporation, Hermes saw his older brother, Apollo, as his rival…

Also includes planetary aspects to Mercury in context of the sibling relationship.

One of the most important issues clients bring to the astrological consultation is a question of vocation. However vocation is not just a career or a profession but a path of life.

In this article Brian Clark explores the question of vocation as a calling, part of the individuation process.

This article originally appeared in The Mountain Astrologer: visit their website at www.mountainastrologer.com

As astrologers we observe transits in order to reflect on and give meaning to the major life transitions that we experience. Transits are a snapshot of a point in time, a phase of life and a process of change that characterize moments in the shifting tides of our lives.

Following is an introductory article on transits and how to begin to work with them, originally published by Dell Horoscope magazine: http://www.dellhoroscope.com/

As Chiron completes its cycle in our horoscope we are able to gather the loose threads of our life together. All the aspects of self that feel marginalised and wounded are re-experienced for healing. Chiron represents the process of individuation in an individual life and the key points in its cycle are initiations into its process.

This article originally appeared in The Wholistic Astrologer.

At a predictable point in its orbit around the Sun every planet appears to slow down, turn around and move backwards against the backdrop of the zodiacal belt. What might this portend? Its symbolism suggests that it is a time to reflect over the past cycle and challenge the assumptions you have accepted without question.

In the following article we look at some remedies for retro-periods, especially when the inner planets Mercury, Venus and Mars decide to backtrack it for a while.

This article originally appeared in the 2004 Wellspring AstroLog. While the data will be dated, you can update this each year using the same tables.

Leaving home is often a traumatic experience for everyone involved in this stage of separation. The incomplete feelings left from the ‘leaving home’ resurface at other important transitional points in our lives.

In this article, Glennys Lawton explores the astrological and psychological statements around leaving home.

This article originally appeared in Apollon.

In the Northern Winter of 2007/2008, the National Council for Geocosmic Research, Inc. (NCGR) released a journal dedicated to Psychological Astrology – www.geocosmic.org. Both Glennys Lawton and Brian Clark were invited to submit an article.

Glennys’ article on an astrological view of attachment and separation is contained in this download.

Astrological textbooks delineate the movement of the progressed Moon through the horoscope and throughout the life cycle.

This article commemorates her three phases and muses on their meaning. This article appeared in the Federation of Australian Astrologers Journal. Visit their website at http://www.faainc.org.au

Psyche is not exclusive to psychological astrology. When any astrologer engages with the symbols of the horoscope, another dynamic is created which has the features of a psychological situation. To the writer even the most pragmatic or technical astrologer will find the complexity of astrological symbols defy linear constructs.

In this short article the author is an advocate for astrological supervision to help bring psychological awareness into the astrological consulting room. It is not a matter of being psychologically fluent, but reflecting on the in-depth encounter that occurs between an astrologer and their client.

Consultations with clients always inspire me to revisit the astrological images of the sibling relationship.

This article was originally published by Dell Horoscope magazine summarising some of the astrological material I had previously researched for my book The Sibling Constellation.

After the article was published, Donna Cunningham invited me to blog on this subject with her readers (see her great website www.skywriter.wordpress.com) and specifically the following for the blog on siblings: Readers Ask — Q&A about Sibling Relationships by Brian Clark

Milestones mark our important transitions upon our path of life. While we may not consciously choose to celebrate life’s milestones, they etch their mark upon our life experience. And one important milestone is when we mark a new decade of our life. This is the time to celebrate and take stock.

In this article Brian Clark sketches a very brief synopsis of each decade based on the major planetary cycles. This article was published under the title of Welcoming a New Decade in the Wellspring Astrolog.

This is both a serious and light-hearted look at the 12 signs of the Zodiac from the perspective that the signs symbolise human virtues as well as heroic flaws. There are always two sides of the coin and two different ways to experience the qualities of the signs.

This was originally written for the Australian AstroLog annual but was also published by Dell Horoscope magazine in two parts.

Does Southern Hemisphere astrology project its own psychology onto the zodiac? Down Under we have learnt to adapt to the northern bias and celebrate the zodiac from our perspective.

Roots of Western astrology stem from northern observations and myths, but the essence of the signs remains true to those who experience them south of the Equator.

This article was originally written for the newsletter Partile.

On Easter Sunday 2014, a series of exact planetary aspects at 13 degrees of the cardinal signs hinged four planets together in a grand square. This year the cosmic, religious and man-made calendars were synchronised.

This article was written April 15th just before the exact Full Moon that heralds Easter. This year it was a lunar eclipse and this short article considers the Cross’ synchrony with Easter.

On June 6, 2012 the transit of Venus in its 8-year coupling with the Sun took place for the second and last time in the 21st century. It was a rare event and one that fortunately was visible in Australia.

We celebrated the event at the Abbotsford Convent and saw the exquisite beauty spot across the face of the Sun. Venus is known for beauty and her astronomical cycle around the Sun portrays that with exquisite symmetry.

This article was written as a brief summary for the rare and rich transit of Venus.

What happens after mid-life? After 50? After the Chiron return? Quite a lot really!

This article was originally published in the Astrological Association of Great Britain’s special Millennium Edition of their journal.

Visit the Astrological Association’s website at: http:///www.astrologicalassociation.com

When I wrote this article in 2001, the Pluto in Leo generation (the Baby Boomers) were beginning to turn 60. For a generation who celebrated youth, turning 60 came as a shock! But preparation had already begun as the planetary cycles that come around when we are in our fifties shed light on how we cope with the inevitable aging process.

This article originally appeared in the Mountain Astrologer: http://www.mountainastrologer.com