Happy Birthday Tony Blair and Goodbye!

Taurus 2007 

A few days after his 54th birthday, Tony Blair, of course a Taurean, announced his plans to hand over the reins of the country later this year. As a typical Taurus he stubbornly waited until he was ready to do this. Stubbornness and patience are part of the Taurus mould. Taurus is also the sign associated with finance so it was not surprising at this time of the year and because Blair is a Taurean, that some of the first articles after the departure announcement, were about how much money he could make in the future. Suggestions are that the Blairs together could earn $12 million in the next twelve months, (BBC Money Programme). With his memoirs or with speaking engagements he may make even more than Bill Clinton. In 2005 Clinton earned nearly $5 million for 29 speeches and even more last year.

taurus

So the Taurus archetype is alive and well. Money money money! Security is another facet of this archetype. No surprise then that the Blairs are major property owners, with mortgages of £20,000 per month.

In the Life Clock model I use, age 54 is also the peak of life, the Capricorn phase until 60, where one becomes an authority and reaps the benefits of the life lived so far. A tribal elder as it were. A world statesman. I suspect Blair will be asked for a lot of advice in the coming six years. He will be seen as a serious politician and person who has achieved results. Already the Blair Foundation has been set up to support good causes. Perhaps he sees this as building (Taurus) a lasting legacy. It also gives him something to fight for. See later.

So it’s Goodbye to Tony and maybe ‘Hello’ to Gordon Brown, who is a very different kettle of fish, indeed a Pisces. But we have to wait until next year for that post.

The law of attraction – what do you want to attract?
What I want to discuss here is the law of attraction, also since the book and film ‘The Secret’ is getting much attention as well as a lot of criticism. It is a hot topic and has been discussed in influential programs like Oprah Winfrey’s, which had a huge response. ‘The Secret’  and ‘Laws of Attraction’ workshops abound. In a BBC program about the book, people were getting very angry, suggesting that it implies that if we can’t think positively and get what we want or if we get for cancer for example, it is our own fault.

the secret

I have my own criticism of the material but I wholeheartedly agree with the principle that we can create our own world and attract what we want in it. Critics are missing the point of the ancient secret, in my view, due to the way it is presented. The examples are often materialistic, of course intended as something our society can relate to and that is laudable, but it seems to give the impression, based on reactions I saw, that if we think we can have a lot of money we only have to think that and hey presto! If that doesn’t work – a shame –  but the book has made a lot of money by exploiting people. This would not be my conclusion.

I believe that with intention we can create a lot, but that is more than just a mental activity, it also involves imagination and focus. However being an astrologer, I believe we also must work within the boundaries of our given archetypes, not that that is much of a limit! A warning is, however, that attention on the things we don’t want in life, also works. I often see this at work in my practice. The things we worry about are what we attract.

venus

The Birth of Venus – Botticelli

The secret was out
Like a lot of this type of material, this secret is not new. Astrology has always held that Venus, the ruler of Taurus and Libra, has to do with attraction. “Follow your bliss” was the call of Joseph Campbell many years ago when he was asked about the secret of life. Many ancient texts also talk of this principle. Venus also has to do with enjoyment.  But mostly Venus is about worth, including money and in particular self-worth. It is often said that how we are with money, is how we are in relationships. Something to think on! Focusing on this group together; attraction, what we value, enjoyment and money, makes total sense to an astrologer as a means of being happy because these are things that can create a sense of self-worth. All characteristics of the Venus archetype.

So where is Venus?
By looking at a horoscope and looking at the sign and placement of the planet Venus, tips can be given to improve self-worth and therefore happiness. What type of partner would make us happy? We can attract what we want, but sometimes we could use a bit of help to define what we want and really value.  The world is often so busy telling us what we should want, the perfect figure, eternal youth , lots of money, an expensive house and I could go on…, that we don’t know what really makes us happy any more.

As we are talking about Tony Blair, I will use him as an example. An astrologer could probably guess from this quote, where Venus is in Tony’s chart: “They say I hate the party, and its traditions. I don’t. I love this party. There’s only one tradition I hated: losing.” This is a quote from his final conference speech, in September 2006.

competition

Yes, Aries it is! The topic of  last month’s post.  A love of competition, of conflict, defending, taking a stand, protecting the underdog and yes, winning. Maybe this gives us a better understanding of his views on Iraq. To not fight and in his view to not protect the people, may have meant a lack of self-worth. His values would not let him not fight. Venus in Aries loves initiating and admires enthusiasm. It is daring.  This seems to work quite positively for Blair and he attracts situations where there is conflict, with which he loves dealing. If Venus in Aries works negatively it can express itself as a love of aggression and anger. It could also mean that being violent creates a sense of self worth, this is also winning.

As an aside, to demonstrate the differences, Bill Clinton has Venus in Libra, the opposite of Aries. Interesting to note that Clinton ordered attacks against Iraq due to a lack of cooperation on their part. They were not playing fair with the arms inspectors, despite several warnings. A very different value system here. Libra is about partnership, fairness and cooperation. Venus in Libra also loves beauty, but that is another story!

And on to advice
The advice for Blair and anyone else with Venus in Aries is to find something to enjoy that gives the potential for bravery, daring, competition, initiating and protecting the underdog or the country. A focus and intention in this direction would deliver easy results as we are working with the universe. Maybe some intentions don’t work because they are not true to our nature. It will be interesting to follow the new Blair to see how he can enjoy life without world conflicts to solve. What will he create with his intentions?

So the benefits of looking at Venus in a personal chart are that we can get help in defining what we want and when and how we should use our intention to create a future we would enjoy.

Venus in the company horoscope can show:

* company assets
* what products would work
* norms and values
* what the intention as a company should be
* what would be enjoyable and therefore help with the worth of the company

It could even give hints as to how to lower the number of days lost through illness.

Faye Blake-Cossar

Interesting websites of the month

This site, which is about manifesting your dreams, has some great articles and book reviews:
www.dreammanifesto.com

Taurus Quotes

Since Taurus rules the throat and often produces singers like the following two Taureans…
“I can’t stand to see red in my profit-or-loss column. I’m Taurus the bull, so I react to red. If I see it, I sell my stocks quickly.”
Barbra Streisand, singer/actress

“If you really want something you can figure out how to make it happen.”
Cher, singer/actress.

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