Author: Christina

The Summer Wind

A little easy listening for summer. This melancholy song with its beautiful lyrics has been covered many times. I didn’t know it was initially a German tune — Der Sommerwind — which Johnny Mercer heard and translated into English. I’ve been listening to many versions on YouTube. Here are my four top picks, plus the astrological information I can find about each singer. ———————————- This is the great lyricist, musician and founder of Capitol Records Johnny Mercer himself, singing his own words. It’s confident, wistful, grown up, sophisticated, precise. Also, unlike a lot of versions, it’s perfectly paced.   Scorpio Sun, Aquarius Moon, Leo […]

The post The Summer Wind appeared first on The Oxford Astrologer.

Ayn Rand: The Dark Side of the Goddess of Wisdom

In Hans Christian Andersen’s story  The Snow Queen, a little boy called Kay has tiny shards of an evil, distorting mirror lodged in his heart and in his eye. “…a mirror with the power of causing all that was good and beautiful when it was reflected therein, to look poor and mean; but that which was good-for-nothing and looked ugly was shown magnified and increased in ugliness. In this mirror the most beautiful landscapes looked like boiled spinach, and the best persons were turned into frights, or appeared to stand on their heads; their faces were so distorted that they were […]

The post Ayn Rand: The Dark Side of the Goddess of Wisdom appeared first on The Oxford Astrologer.

Crab, Crayfish — or Scarab?

If you look at old manuscripts, or the doors of cathedrals, or stained glass or indeed most representations of the sign Cancer before the Renaissance, you won’t always be looking at a roundish, cosy old crab. Sometimes Cancer is a crayfish, sometimes an odd beetley thing, sometimes who knows?! In ancient Egypt, the constellation was named scarab, after the dung beetle, a creature of extraordinary importance in the Egyptian world. The dung beetle was associated with Khepri, the god of the rising sun, a creator god and bringer of life. Scarabs made of faience or carved from stone were popular amulets. Small ones must […]

The post Crab, Crayfish — or Scarab? appeared first on The Oxford Astrologer.

July Horoscopes

It’s quite a month ahead. The god of war and fire, Mars, has been clanking through Cancer, the sign of home and mother, patriotism and tribe, since June 5, making his way towards an inevitable confrontation with Pluto on July 2. These two gods of war clash every couple of years in fact, so it’s not such an unusual face-off. Yet it’s clear this year, that this is an especially potent opposition.  It’s tense and emotional. That opposition is further stimulated by the Full Moon on July 9. A week later, Mars takes a final hostile sideswipe at Uranus before […]

The post July Horoscopes appeared first on The Oxford Astrologer.

The Tower

The fourth wall of that apartment was sky — straight out west to infinity. At sunset, the colours were delirious: orange, magenta, fuchsia, red, burning in the west. And then, through dusk, subtle mauve and bruises. In the distance the planes circling to land at Heathrow blinked in the beautiful damask clouds. When night fell, the sky was prussian blue. It was a magical view, full of possibilities and dreams. To the right were the towers, some close to, and others smaller, a mile or so away. During the day, these were boring blocks of brown, but when the deep blue came, they turned into glittering constellations. […]

The post The Tower appeared first on The Oxford Astrologer.

Solstice Blessings

It’s true the world around us is in upheaval. We are in a time of transition, with all the dangers, obstacles and dramas which that entails. And astrologically on this Solstice we can expect the collective emotional temperature to be turned up to boiling point — (with Mars and the Sun in Cancer soon to oppose Pluto in Capricorn square Jupiter in Libra and finally Uranus in Aries.) This summer is already too hot. However, within this maelstrom, there are some outstanding positives on which to focus here at the turning point of summer. The shape of the planets on this day […]

The post Solstice Blessings appeared first on The Oxford Astrologer.

The Price of a Cup of Coffee

As those of you who are already subscribers will know, the monthly horoscopes here on The OA are in some ways the heart of the site — and I’d like to thank all of you who have remained such loyal readers over the last few years. You have helped support the whole website. The horoscopes are a co-creation between me, the writer, and you, the reader. Each is about 1000 words long per sign, depending on the month ahead — and you blend the Rising sign and Sun sign as you read, interpreting the interpretations. The breadth of the material allows you to […]

The post The Price of a Cup of Coffee appeared first on The Oxford Astrologer.

6 Things To Do While Mars is in Cancer

Mars in Cancer June 4- July 20 Mars the fiery planet of war jumped into the soothing waters of Cancer last week. It’s time to take action in the realms of emotions, beaches and kitchens. Water Sports Jump on a surfboard — preferably on a wave. Failing that take up sailing or waterskiing or shell-collecting. Keeping in mind that this is the planet of fire, be sure to wear your sunscreen! Make a Baby Cancer is one of the most fertile signs, and Mars is a planet that can spark things off. Get to work. Get Angry Yes, do it. […]

The post 6 Things To Do While Mars is in Cancer appeared first on The Oxford Astrologer.