I’ll bet you’re wondering why I should be writing about this nonexistent group. Well, it’s simple, I was looking for some photos of the Beatles concert at Maple Leaf Gardens on August 17, 1966, and came across this image:
Right away, I could tell it’s not the Beatles, but when I looked at the date the photograph was taken, it was 50 years to the day that the Beatles played there. Then I twigged onto the thought: it’s the Rutles.
Literally, this is a cash grab, but full of nostalgic moments, and brilliant jokes. Long live the Rutles (and the Beatles).
They say that memory is a tricky thing. Yes, I have Mandela effects moments, too. This one was revealed to me by Michele Finney’s first husband, John Brower, in a comment attached to my post about her. He says that he doubts that she ever lived in Alberta. So I went looking through the Maclean’s Magazine archives and found this bit of gossip:
For four years in the early 1960s Michele Finney cavorted with Alan Hamel and Howard the Turtle on the teeny-bopper TV series Razzle Dazzle. Every weekday, the pubescent males across the our country went into an after-school daze as Finney grew up before the cameras creating the same sort of havoc Annette Funicello caused on The Mickey Mouse Club when she visibly began to mature. “We had to start cutting out some of the magic skits because they looked like bondage,” laughs Finney, who, at 29, feels it is time to drop the Razzle image. “I’m very proud of the show, but that was 15 years ago. I can’t live on that.” Now living in Toronto with her 10-year-old daughter, Finney has been busy making commercials for everything from toothpaste to garbage bags. This month she begins work on her first feature film, Never Trust An Honest Thief, in which she shares billing with Michael Murphy and Orson Welles. Needless to say, Finney is excited by the company she will be keeping, and plans to be on the set every day “whether I’m needed or not.” Her first task, however, will be learning to control a 1953 army jeep that her character uses as a delivery van. “It’s not bad to drive, except the brakes don’t work and there isn’t any first gear,” she announced after her first ride around the block.
Maclean’s/People August 20, 1979
OK, all right, I don’t remember reading this paragraph before. So, the article I was referring to must be from a different magazine. (My mother had sent me the clipping, so I know it exists, but my memory is unclear.)
And, yes, John Brower, you do know your own life story better than anyone else.
By now, you may have noticed that I mainly focus on inconjuncts when I delineate an event or birth chart. The reason is I am able to get to the root of the ‘problem’ facing the individual or group.
It’s an ancient theory behind the idea:
Does this explanation help?
So, is the Yod a Superpower?
Maybe an example from my book will help you understand.
This one is close to my heart since the Beatles conquered America (and Canada) on my 14th birthday. However, I didn’t get to see the show, except from a distance, since I had to watch it through the living room window of our next-door neighbour. Even then I knew they would change our lives completely.
If one wants to find something in a chart, it is amusing how easy it is to do so. In this case, I looked for the Beatles’ individual personalities to show themselves as planetary symbols, and I found them: John Lennon is the Sun (the leader of the group); Paul McCartney is Mars (the motivator to get them to work); and Ringo Starr is Saturn (the old man in the back who keeps time for them). All three planets are in Aquarius (group-oriented activities) in the 5th house (wanting to ‘get to the top’). So, where is George Harrison? Well, he is Neptune (the mystical one) in Scorpio (in search of deep meaning), all by himself in the 2nd house (anti-materialism). I could continue with Brian Epstein and George Martin, but I am going to resist it. Maybe you would like to have a try on your own.
As far as configurations go, this chart has a Finger of God (Neptune/ Jupiter/ Pluto) and a T-Square (Moon/ Jupiter/ North Node), with Jupiter in Aries in the 7th house, as the common element. To me, this means that the Beatles used their partnership skills to get ahead in life and expand their horizons. Definitely, Jupiter’s involvement is a good sign for conquering heroes (but it is also the planet symbolising Brian Epstein’s energy, although I was going to resist telling you so).
One more thing: the trine and sextile aspects joining the Moon, Chiron, North Node and Uranus/ Pluto signify a door that the teenagers of America (and the rest of the world) opened for the Beatles. Why? To heal their country. Less than three months before this event, America had lost its hope for the future when President John F. Kennedy was assassinated. Now it was back again.
Miller, Christopher. At This Point in Time: Charting the History of the Human Spirit (Kindle Locations 1351-1366). BookBaby. Kindle Edition.
I also decided to use this example because it has, as the basis of the Yod, a sextile involving Neptune and Pluto. This 60° configuration would continue until we Baby Boomers became grandparents.
Mercury Inconjunct Midheaven
It is very important that you develop your mind and your powers of thought, so that you can use them to attain whatever objectives you set for yourself. However, before you can accomplish this, you may have to solve certain problems. You may feel that there is a tension between your natural spontaneous views and what is taught by your parents and other adults. Even though their teachings seem perfectly reasonable, you want to think matters through for yourself. But while you are young, you may not be able to accept your own ideas as valid if they contradict what you have been taught.
Jupiter Inconjunct Neptune
You are an idealist with very vivid dreams about how you want your life to be, and at certain times in your life you will follow those dreams with all your energy. But sometimes these idealistic dreams will let you down, because you are not concerned enough with what is real and possible. Your parents and other adults may pressure you to be more practical in your thinking, but you think they are just throwing cold water on your aspirations. Yet learning to handle the real world is a very important part of your development, because it is the only way you can avoid becoming bitter and disillusioned when your more impractical ideas have led you into disappointment.
Jupiter Inconjunct Pluto
You have a great deal of creative power, and the major challenge of your life will be learning how to handle it. First of all, you must realize that you will get the most out of life if you direct your energies toward helping the people around you and those you love. You will want to change many conditions in the world, which is fine as long as your reasons are not purely selfish ones.
Aspects of Neptune to Pluto
These aspects are extremely long-lasting and therefore very difficult to understand. In the time period covered by this book, [Planets in Youth by Robert Hand] there have been only three — the conjunction of 1891 and 1892, the semisquare of the Great Depression era (and this test does not cover semisquares) and the sextile, which began in the late forties and will continue for the rest of the century. The sextile will last that long because Neptune and Pluto are now moving at almost exactly the same speed. The conjunctions seem to coincide with great historical climaxes, with peaks and valleys of culture. They do not seem to have much impact on individuals. But this is partly because it is so difficult to get an accurate perspective on long time periods. The sextile has been going on for so long that it is hard to separate its effects from those of other elements and indications. Therefore any discussion of its effects would be totally speculative.
As a bonus, I came across this image, today. (It’s the way birth charts were drawn up in earlier times.)
The New Caste System: the Vaccinated and the Unvaccinated
Talk about ‘untouchables’. Rick Mercer’s rant about COVID-19 brought a thought to my mind, which then got repeated by a protestor on the CTV News last night: by getting the government to abolish pandemic mandates, the protestors want to be treated as first class citizens again. (One even suggested that they are being denied a seat in McDonald’s because they don’t have ‘proof’ of vaccination.) Oops.
The federal and provincial governments decided to bring in QR passports to ‘protect’ the healthy citizens from the great unwashed. Sounds just like India, does it not? It was intended as a dangling carrot to entice reluctant individuals into getting the vaccine shot(s). Instead, it created a two-tier health problem: pinning the protection of 80% of the population on just getting a jab (and wearing a mask in public), and the damnation of the other 20% to long COVID symptoms and/or death in hospitals and nursing homes.
None of this situation is the fault of ANY of Canada’s citizens. Let’s face facts: it has been an unmitigated disaster perpetrated on Canadians by health officials and governments alike. It’s time to stop, children…
We all wonder why someone takes the ‘road less traveled’. I bought this book (for my birthday) to see if it would give me a clue or two about Rick Mercer. Did it? In spades, people, in spades (and with humour).
On this day, as the story unfolded, one after another of the characters mentioned emerged from behind the colourful curtain. Some of them danced a jig, one did a handstand, one shook his fist and bared his teeth. In due time we met our hero Jack, his greedy mother, a brave princess, a benevolent king, a band of pirates, an insane horse and one hell of a devious cat.
I was hypnotized. This was better than anything I had ever seen. I couldn’t believe these actors could make a story like this come to life. It was also the funniest thing I had ever seen. And the scariest thing too. Uncle Val made us fall over laughing and then jump out of our skin with fright. And who were these actors? If this was what it meant to be a hippie in a van, sign me up. The hell with being a firefighter, a nurse, a doctor or an astronaut. I wanted to live in a van with a bunch of people with long hair and travel around the Avalon Peninsula.
I thought my head would explode and my heart would burst. I didn’t know what it was I was experiencing but I knew I wanted more. Is this how Tommy felt about trains? That explained a lot. Transfixed, I heard myself whisper, “That should be me up there.”
Talking to Canadians (page 22)
He was just eight years old.
I was initially suspicious of this birth time that only a couple of astrology sites had for him. It seemed that they were going for sunrise. But the rating was given as “A” – from memory. OK. I’ll go with that and see what pops out at me, especially for the age of 8, when he got turned on to his life’s career.
See that North Node @ 19° Pisces 17′? That’s the marker for age 8. Can you bloody believe it? I can.
There are two inconjuncts.
Mercury Inconjunct Saturn
This aspect can have several different meanings. First of all, you may have hidden fears that are difficult to express, but they cause you to do things that others can’t understand. These may include fear of the dark or of certain places or people. Or this aspect can mean that you often feel depressed and sad for no apparent reason. You tend to see the serious side of life, and it weighs on you more than on most people.
On the plus side, this aspect can make you a very careful thinker. You may not attempt anything beyond your capabilities as you see them, but whatever you do attempt will be done very well. You are a neat and careful thinker.
Saturn Inconjunct Uranus
This aspect indicates a serious tension in your life between freedom and restriction. Many people have this conflict, but in your case the tensions may be so severe that you express them physically as muscle tension and possibly nervousness. You feel that somehow you must keep everything in your life under tight control, that if you let go, the whole structure will fall apart. In a very real and direct sense, even while you are young, you must learn to relax.
On the positive side, if you can learn to live with this tension a bit and express your feelings and emotions before they reach the breaking point, you can be extremely patient and persistent. You will be able to accomplish many tasks that others would give up on, if you do not hold in all your feelings and desires for freedom.
Want an Example or Two?
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Is He Still One of the Hippies in a Van?
No, not anymore. But you knew that already, didn’t you?
Read the book: you’ll have at least a laugh or two on every page, but probably much, much more.
I never knew that Kenneth Branagh had cheated on Emma Thompson by having an affair with Helena Bonham Carter. Now it all makes sense. (And this bit of gossip is now about 4 years old. It takes me a while to catch up with the world.)
I always though this pair were very well suited. But you knew exactly who wore the pants in the family. Kenneth’s Sun is conjunct Emma’s Ascendant in Sagittarius, while Kenneth’s Ascendant is conjunct Emma’s Mars in Cancer. But it’s not a past life connection, as it is with Emma’s second marriage to Greg Wise. Hmm.
Maybe the point of their relationship was to launch her acting career into the stratosphere of stardom. The interactive Yod pointing at her Mars is supported by inconjuncts to his Mercury and his Venus. And the film that caused their split was “Frankenstein” – how very appropriate.
Frankenstein (1995)
Emma says that this scene from “Love, Actually” was informed by her heartbreak of their divorce:
This might seem a bit tongue-in-cheek, but Greg Wise married his boss (Emma Thompson) years after they were in “Sense and Sensibility” together. He is also 7 years her junior. (Another case of taking ‘a flying leap’?) By all accounts they are very happily married. They’ve been together since 1995.
As Wise’s birth time is unknown, I’ve rectified his chart to have the position of Venus be situated at about age 30. The rest of the chart then follows suit. (Interestingly, most astrology sites have his Moon on the Ascendant, whereas, it rests on the Descendant, conjunct Saturn.) There are no inconjuncts.
The Uranus/Pluto conjunction @ 15° Virgo in his 12th House is probably the attraction for most of the female population. (I don’t share their enthusiasm.) When I compared his chart with Emma’s I got this:
That South Node in Aries in her chart is conjunct his Venus @ 12°. They have had a past life together. That’s the only way I can explain why she’s with him and not her previous husband, Kenneth Branagh.
Wow! This ‘protest’ has been going on for a fortnight. And, as is usually the case, it is divisive as hell.
Now, my normal stance in these matters is to side with the ones who are seeking ‘freedom’ from government control, but this time, they are holding the whole country to ransom. Trudeau is not the villain here, but you’d never know that from the rhetoric that’s been swirling around Parliament. The Conservatives see this ‘problem’ as his, but I suspect they would have reacted the same way when being backed into a corner. He’s ‘damned’ if he keeps on with mandates and he’s ‘damned’ if he gives in to the protesters. I wouldn’t want to be the one to try running a country under these pandemic restrictions.
Today, Premier Doug Ford has declared a state of emergency in Ontario. He and the Progressive Conservatives in power want to enact laws that will make it illegal to block roads and stop international trade with America. Sure, great, but who will enforce those laws: the Ontario Provincial Police? The mayor of Ottawa has already requested 1,800 more police from that service, but has had only about 200.
This is not an ‘insurrection’ a la January 6, 2021. But the news media are portraying it as such, adding more fuel to the fire. Now the authorities are citing air pollution from the diesel engines running 24/7 in an urban setting. The truck owners don’t care. They just want the mandates lifted completely.
What makes this laughable is that they have chosen to finally stand up to government control at just about the same time that all levels of government are looking to reduce or eliminate these same controls.
In the end, the truckers will take full credit for these mandates ending, and everyone else will look like they caved in to the pressure. Such is life.
That means we’re ALL ‘damned if we do and damned if we don’t.’ It’s the late 60’s, early 70’s again.
This post was intended as a companion piece for the author of “Remains of the Day”. Besides, I had already written about her former husband and costar, Kenneth Branagh. The impulse to finally write about Emma Thompson was The Guardian story that my sister Anne shared on Facebook yesterday.
This is one of the rare occasions that all the astrology web sites agree that Emma was born at midnight. I was going to resist that timing (just because I can), but then realized that, as far as chart rectification is concerned, this one properly highlights her marriage to Branagh (Mars) @ age 30 and her new found popularity in the world, after winning an Oscar (Moon) @ age 35. Any other time would have lost that one-two punch.
Emma has two inconjuncts.
Mercury Inconjunct Pluto
You have a rather complicated and sometimes tricky mind. You usually prefer to do things in roundabout and involved ways instead of being simply and direct.
This aspect can mean that at certain times in your life you will go through tremendous psychological changes. All your thoughts and opinions will change completely. These stages may seem difficult, but you will be much better off if you let go of the past and welcome the new ideas.
Mars Inconjunct Jupiter
With this aspect you probably are quite active, with abundant energy for anything you want to do. But you must learn to control your energies rather than have them control you. You may be inclined to take excessive risks, to try out things that you are not sure you can do. But be careful, because with this aspect the energies of Mars and Jupiter do not work very smoothly together. If you overextend yourself and try to do more than you are physically capable of, you may have an accident.
A Few Words from Ms. Thompson:
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One Final Thought:
Nanny McPhee seemed like Mary Poppins brought closer to our time period. It’s therefore interesting that Emma Thompson played P.L. Travers in “Saving Mr. Banks“, Typecasting? No, serendipity.
