The Very Last Time The Beatles Performed Live

The Beatles’ Rooftop Concert (January 30, 1969)

If you want to see the leadup to this ‘live’ show, watch “The Beatles Get Back”.

The show itself is not shown in this preview clip, but it’s famous enough to be understood for what it was: two fingers to a stuck-up financial world.

Hmm. I didn’t expect to see such a clear indication of what their motivations were: the Moon is inconjunct to Mercury, and Mars is inconjunct to Saturn.

Moon Inconjunct Mercury

As you grow older, you will have to learn to make your feelings and your reason work together. The problem is not so much that they come into conflict with each other but that your reason and feelings represent two very different sides of your personality. When you are calm and collected and able to reflect carefully, you make decisions in one way. But when you are emotionally involved in a situation, you are likely to make up your mind very differently, which could cause you to seem inconsistent to others and make it difficult for them to understand you.

Planets in Youth by Robert Hand (1977) page 116

Mars Inconjunct Saturn

This can be a difficult aspect because it signifies a conflict between your sense of responsibility and your desire to fulfill your own needs and do what you want. This leads to a struggle within you that may keep you from acting decisively. Instead of deciding what you will do, you feel caught between these two forces, wondering whether you have the right to do what you want. You may feel that others are trying to frustrate you, but it is only your own indecisiveness that is causing the trouble. Sometimes this conflict makes you very irritable and resentful about nothing in particular. Then, when someone happens to act in a way that is obviously annoying, you focus all your built-up anger on that person.

Ibid pages 230-1

It’s not hard to see why The Beatles broke-up after this. But it took another year to do so.

Bless.

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1967: What a Long, Strange Trip It’s Been

Across The Universe (2007)

Having lived through the Summer of Love (as it was called that year), I watched as the world changed completely. The Beatles were at the forefront of the Revolution with their music and Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. This film is part historical record and part psychedelic dream trip.

The characters’ names are reflections of individuals in their songs. Jude and Lucy are forever imprinted on our hearts. But Molly and Jo-Jo look like echoes of Janis Joplin and Jimi Hendrix, part of the 27 Club. What is interesting is that this film is 40 years after the events of that year, but seen through the eyes of another (almost) 20 years span of time, everything seems totally up-to-date. No Kings, anyone?

Even The Beatles’ rooftop concert is recreated, although it happened in London on January 30th, 1969. A lot of The Beatles’ music is anachronistic in this film, too. But that doesn’t take away the power of the songs. 1967 was the year of the worldwide telecast via Telstar of The Beatles’ “All You Need Is Love”.

The Medium IS the Message.

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So, Who Exactly was William Shakespeare’s Only Son?

Hamnet Shakespeare (baptised Feb. 2, 1585 – buried Aug. 11, 1596)

Awkward, isn’t it? We don’t know exactly when Hamnet was born or when exactly Hamnet died, as the only parish records show his baptism and burial. But, I wondered if it was possible to see what the energies were surrounding his life and death by using these old style dates and comparing the charts.

Since neither timing is exact, these charts are totally speculative. But, surprisingly, they do demonstrate what may have happened, nevertheless. Accidentally, his natal North Node is at the position of his 11th birthday. His natal and ‘fatal’ Moons are within 2° in Cancer, with natal Neptune along for the ride. His ‘fatal’ North Node is conjunct his natal Pluto in Aries. His natal Jupiter and ‘fatal’ Jupiter are within 10°. His natal Sun is inconjunct his ‘fatal’ Moon, and his natal Mercury is inconjunct to his ‘fatal’ Venus. His natal Saturn/Pluto conjunction is inconjunct ‘fatal’ Mercury in Virgo.

The story was written in the stars, and now his story will be celebrated forever.

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I Now Have a New Appreciation of Shakespeare

Hamnet (2025)

It’s been a long while since a film has cut me to the quick. In my teens, I watched “Romeo and Juliet” from the point-of-view of young love. Even “All Is True” a few years back helped me understand Will and Anne as an elderly couple at the end of their lives. “Hamnet” took me to a place that squarely shows what losing a child might mean for a parent. I cried.

Up until now, I have never understood why Shakespeare lived in London, while his wife and family lived in Stratford. Health of your children can be a great motivator. I did much the same with my second marriage, living in and around Ascot, while my family lived in Torquay. But three years of commuting on weekends was enough. I’m not sure I could have lived apart from them for years and years.

“Hamlet” is a powerful tragedy. On its own, it evokes what happens when a father is murdered, and then replaced by, a new stepfather. But Hamlet’s madness was not totally understandable, until you place its creation and production in the context of the aftermath of Hamnet’s death. Shakespeare was attempting to seek forgiveness for not being there when his son died. Hamlet, in this production, was the image of what Hamnet would have looked like had he survived. Agnes saw that right away when she and her brother, Bartholomew, attended the first showing of the play. Her grief was resolved by the end.

“The rest is silence.”

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“The Shawshank Redemption” had a Precursor

Escape From Alcatraz (1979)

Again, in the back of my mind, I knew about this daring escape. One man and two brothers broke out from The Rock (as it was known) under cover of night and swam away to freedom. The true story is just as fascinating, as evidenced by this documentary:

I thought it might be instructive to look at an event chart for the imagined breakout moment on June 11, 1962, as rectified by me.

Yes, the elements are all here: Saturn/South Node conjunction straddling the event Ascendant @ 11° Aquarius. The Moon is the apex of a Yod made up of inconjuncts to Mars and Jupiter. And Mercury is inconjunct to Neptune. The men were never found, no bodies washed up on shore, and it appears that they got clean away. The Rock was closed within the decade after this event. The earliest version of a moment like this was depicted in “Birdman of Alcatraz” starring Burt Lancaster as Robert Stroud.

The ‘coincidence’ is that the 1962 real life breakout from Alcatraz happened about three weeks before the release of the Birdman movie. You have to wonder about things like that.

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They Tried to Break Her Down; She Fought Back

Frances Farmer (September 19, 1913 – August 1, 1970)

John Edward interviewed Sharon Stone, and in the middle of it, Sharon spoke about Jessica Lange playing Frances Farmer in the film “Frances”. Unconsciously, I knew about her story, but I’d never actually paid too much attention to it. Frances Farmer was a certain kind of actress that directors and producers wanted to feature in their films, like Tuesday Weld or Carroll Baker. But she didn’t want to be pigeon-holed. In the 1940’s she got into trouble with her rebellious behaviour, especially with the law, and she got locked up in a psychiatric hospital. The following exposé sensationalizes the story, but also asks the question: “How much was fabricated by Frances herself and by those who hoped to gain from her notoriety?”

That got me to thinking, is there something in her birth chart that could explain why she was the way she was?

The timing is considered good. What caught my eye was the close conjunction between Mars and Pluto in Cancer, both inconjunct to Uranus. Because Mars and Pluto are in the 10th House (of Career) it will be understood that she would have objected to how Hollywood wanted her to appear.

Mars Conjunct Pluto

You have a very strong will, although you may express it in subtle ways. If you don’t get your way, you may lose your temper, but when you see that that will get you nowhere, you change your tactics. The greatest problem with this aspect is that you may decide that getting your own way is the most important thing in life and that the only way to get it is by controlling others. Unless you are taught to have a high regard for other people’s rights, you may trample upon them. But in that case people are likely to gang up on you and try to stop you at every turn, which will make you feel very frustrated and even farther from attaining your objectives. Instead of manipulating people, you must learn how to handle others creatively, so that they benefit from whatever happens as much as you do.

Regardless of your sex, with this aspect you may have considerable difficulty with men, It is particularly important that your relationship with your father be close and warm, with as little conflict and no physical punishment.

Planets in Youth by Robert Hand (1977) Pages 237-8

Mars Inconjunct Uranus

You have a tendency to be rash and impulsive, which may get in your way. If matters proceed too slowly, you are likely to make a sudden move that upsets the whole situation and forces you to start over again. You must learn to be patient if you want to achieve your objectives.

This energy may also be expressed as a hot temper, especially when you have to endure restriction or limitation. You have a rebellious streak that needs to be disciplined, because everyone has to endure some restrictions, and it takes so little to trigger your temper.

Ibid Pages 233-4

Uranus Inconjunct Pluto (1892-1894 and 1911-1912)

This aspect indicates changes in the world of the people who were born in these times, changes that were difficult to understand because they were very revolutionary but subtle in many ways. The people born during the first perios experienced the consequences of these changes through having to fight in the First World War. The second group reached maturity at the time of the Great Depression. Both the First World War and the Depression were expressions of the breakdown of the nineteenth-century world order that was dominated by Western Europe.

Ibid Pages 319-20

It isn’t hard to understand how a young woman like Frances Farmer was rebelling from the life of a little woman (Cancer) who ‘should’ be at home, in the kitchen, raising a brood of children. The patriarchy wanted to break her down, so that she would conform. But, it seems, she got the last laugh.

Hmm.

Britney Spears (December 2, 1981)

I hadn’t thought of her situation being similar to Frances’ in the past. The timing works for me.

Has anything really changed? I don’t think so.

Hmm, again.

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The Man Who Joined the Dots between Putin and Trump

Robert Mueller (August 7, 1944 – March 20, 2026)

You could call him the last honest man in government. But his report on Russian interference in the 2016 American presidential election was whitewashed by AG Bill Barr and nothing came of it.

I researched Mueller’s birth details, and as is usual for so many born in the WWII years, it is not known. Most astrology sites chose a time of day that puts Mueller’s Pisces Moon conjunct his Aries Ascendant (which means he was born on or about midnight). Looking at those sites, they claim that the timing was set for 12 Noon WT, but the Sun is below the horizon line, so that makes a nonsense of their thinking.

Instead, I have rectified his birth time to 8:40 pm, so that Venus would be at the position of his marrying his wife at age 22.

The Ascendant is now 0° Pisces, but the Moon has moved to 4° Aries. Jupiter (Justice) is now conjunct the Descendant in the 7th House (of Open Enemies). There are two inconjuncts, either of whom could be wrong if the birth time is different: the Moon is connected to Jupiter and Neptune is connected to the Ascendant. Mercury and Mars are 4° apart, while the Sun and Pluto are 7° apart, making for a very dynamic chart.

A similar planetary lineup existed on the evening of his death, so I set the time for 8:40 pm EDT, too.

The Pisces North Node is transiting his natal Ascendant. Saturn and Neptune are conjunct his natal Moon. Parkinson’s are indicated there. The man may have been a war hero, in real terms, but President Trump has attempted to besmirch his memory by saying that he’s glad Mueller is dead. That’s awful.

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The Fifth and Final Instalment of the Story

Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny (2023)

We found this COVID-19 era hidden gem on one of Bell’s preview channels, last night. I think I remember seeing the previews, but we never got around to seeing it on the theatre screen.

This film was intended to be Indiana Jones’ swan song, but it seems to have bombed at the Box Office, due to it being one of the most expensive films ever made. And an ageing Indy wasn’t appealing to the original fans of the series. As luck would have it, Raiders of the Lost Ark followed this broadcast and it was shocking to see Indy and Mariam in their earlier incarnation, before the intervening years.

Their final reunion in the last minutes of this film, brought their love story to a gentle close. Ahh.

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It’s What They Call the Television Set in the UK

Gogglebox (2014 to present)

At the moment Bell TV is offering free previews of some of its channels. Last night, we watched an episode of this show from some time earlier in its latest season on a channel called “Cottage TV”. Because “Gogglebox” follows “The Graham Norton Show” we just kept on watching. Here’s the episode that aired on UK television, according to the title. As it features some St. Patrick’s Day clothing, it seems topically up-to-date.

What I like about the show is the candid, but diverse, British humour. Their reactions are similar to how my wife and I respond to what we’re watching. For instance, while reviewing a clip of a program called “Educating Greater Manchester” (or I think it was), a boy acting up in class was diagnosed with ADHD, after hearing that he came to school loaded up on sugary cereal, with added sugar. After his diet was changed, he seemed much calmer. Susan said, “He reminds me of a young Macaulay Culkin.” Almost immediately, one of the Gogglebox watchers said the same thing.

While thinking about the name Gogglebox, I thought of Honeysuckle Weeks from “Goggle Eyes”.

The year was 1993, and the main character, Kitty, always reminds me of my daughter, Rosanna. I believe she watched this show, too. A grownup Honeysuckle Weeks played Doyle’s driver on “Doyle’s War”.

Isn’t it funny how the mind works?

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This Incident Already had “…Gate” in its Name

Oceangate Titan Implodes (June 18, 2023)

This event was documented on the CBC’s “Nature of Things” last night. What a way to go!

My unconscious made the link before I did, consciously. The Titanic striking an iceberg and the Titan imploding are karmically connected, I’ll show you what I mean by that. First the Titan event:

Mars transiting the Leo Ascendant probably tells the tale. But the important aspects involve the Sun and the Moon being conjunct to each other and both inconjunct to Pluto. This was an accident waiting to happen. Jupiter is separating from the Midheaven in Taurus, with Uranus on the other side, waiting to be involved. Venus conjunct Mars isn’t good either. Now let’s compare this event with the Titanic hitting the iceberg.

Titanic’s Jupiter is on the Titanic event horizon! And the Titan Sun is (almost exactly) conjunct Titanic’s Pluto. Even Titanic’s Uranus is about 4° of Titan’s Pluto. And the Titanic’s Moon is conjunct Titan’s Neptune. “The arrogance…” This is pure and simple hubris: God is not mocked.

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