Living with the Stars

  On the 21st of December 2024, at 10:20am, the Sun moves into the sign of Capricorn. Over the past three months, ever since the autumnal equinox, Planet Earth's wobble has tilted the northern hemisphere away from the Sun. Tomorrow, the Sun will reach it's maximum declination south of the equator (remember, it's the height of summer in the southern hemisphere) and will start moving towards the equatorial (the equator projected out into space).  So why is this chart is important enough for a blog post to be dedicated to it? This type of chart is called an Ingress Chart and is used in mundane astrology, which charts the progress of a place (in this case it is set for Malta) at the moment the Sun enters the sign associated with a solstice or an equinox. In short, the affairs of a nation can be judged by this type of chart and is one of the most ancient types of judged charts in astrology. The planets signify specific things; the Sun, the ruler of a nation; the Moon, its people...

  Our English Literature students are currently revising their poetry in anticipation of their Matsec exams (our version of O' Levels) and one of the poems up for study is Sonnet LX by William Shakespeare. Here it is: Simply put, in this sonnet Shakespeare ponders on the brevity and meaning of life, something he alludes to in both 'Macbeth' and 'As You Like It'. What caught my eye was 'And nothing stands but for his scythe to mow'.  That is definitely a nod to the Grim Reaper - or in astrological terms, Saturn. The ancient Greeks often referred to Saturn as 'Chronos', from where the word 'chronological' comes to us, and was usually portrayed as an old man with a scythe. Until the 16th century, Saturn was believed to be the outermost planet in the solar system and it was for this reason, perhaps, that 'he' was considered to represent the outermost boundaries, the end, so to speak. Beyond him were the fixed stars. It is no wonder, then,...