CONFERENCE 2005

Make a note in your diaries now! The AA's next annual conference promises to be very special. In co-operation with Continental astrological organisations and the USA’s ISAR, it will be a multi-lingual conference, in English, French, German and Italian.

Held in in the conference centre of the University of York from the 30th September to the 4th October, there will be room for up to 1000 delegates. Speakers so far booked include: André Barbault, Liz Greene, Bernadette Brady , Robert Hand and Dennis Elwell. The total cost for all fives days is expected to be around £499. This will include a room for four nights, three cooked meals a day, entry to all Main Conference sessions, many of the special attractions, the Astro Exhibition, a pocket radio receiver/ earphones for the translated sessions and VAT. You can of course book just for individual days, for much less than that; there will be discounts for group bookings; there will also be a 10% discount if you book and pay a £49 deposit by the end of the year.

Full details and an online booking form can be found on the AA's website.

Changes and Passages

James Brockbank is now the new Treasurer for the AA, taking the place of Kate Czerny. Hallo James, and welcome!

And Claire Chandler, President of the Astrological Lodge of London, is handing over the editorship of Astrology Quarterly to Gill Dorren, the current Lodge Vice President. Claire, by the way. has her own website: www.clairechandler.com, which has lots of interesting articles.

US Astrologer Joyce Jillson, who was consulted by Ronald and Nancy Reagan, died last October (2004) at age 58. Jillson, once an actress in the TV series "Peyton Place", was the official astrologer for 20th Century Fox Studios, and was consulted by them on the best opening days for Fox movies. She picked the opening date for 1977's "Star Wars".

This October, America's Kepler College awarded academic degrees in Astrological Studies for the first time in 400 years.

Ceremonies were on October 10, 2004 in Seattle, Washington, U.S.A. and Bachelor's Degrees were awarded to: Linda R. Birch, Norma Jean Ream, Lindy Bradstreet, Paula Wagner, Karen Hawkwood, Maire Masco, Tishelle Betterman and Elizabeth Kitney.

A couple of astrological groups are holding Christmas parties, to which all are invited:

13th December: The Astrological Lodge of London is holding its Christmas party at 8pm. Invitations are extended to all members of the astrological community. Contributions of vegetarian food will be gratefully received. Entrance will be £5 for members and £7 for non members. (Those bringing a donation for the party will pay the normal entrance fee.) At The Theosophical Society, 50 Gloucester Place, London W1.

The Scottish Astrological Association will be having its Christmas bash on 15th December. Venue: The Theosophical Society, 28 Great King St, Edinburgh, time: 7.30 pm.

DATA

CHERIE BLAIR: 23 September 1954; 01:20BST; Bury, Lancs. (50N54, 0W34); Sun 29Vir27, Asc 0Leo18. Rodden rating is A, "from memory", quoted from Frank Clifford in 1996 - she had obtained the birth time from her father. David Fisher received a letter in 2000 with the same date and place, but a birth time of 01:30.

JOHN PEEL: 30 Aug 1939; '07.30' GDT Heswall, England (53N20 03W06); "His data in Frank Clifford's book, only has a rating of C, as the time is vague - 'around breakfast time'. (FC uses 7.30am)" Death: (data from the Guardian, 27 Oct 2004) 25 Oct 2004; approx 9.00 pm local time; Cuzco, Peru (71W59 13S31)

British astrologer Lyn Birkbeck has bought out a new book: The Instant Astrologer (ISBN 1903816491), a large (570 pages) hardback book with a CD containing an astrology calculation program. I was impressed with the book. This is aimed at astrology novices and contains extensive 'cookbook' delineations of natal aspects, transits and synastry. Well written, beautifully designed and printed, it is a handsome addition to any bookshelf. I was less impressed with the computer program; it simply calculates and prints out natal charts, interpretations and graphic transits. The graphic design here is very plain compared to the book, and rather disappointing. However, it will be improved and upgraded in future editions. The whole lot costs £30; rather expensive, I think, for a beginner's book. The fact that it doesn't tell the reader anything about how to calculate charts by hand is, for me, another black mark. However, it could make a good Christmas present for the budding astrologer in your life!

Some of you may have heard of Hedley England and his research into the astrological history of aviation and space flight. He has just published a book called Degrees of Flight. Hedley writes: "It explores the argument that there is a degree of flight at 5 Sagittarius from the degree of the first powered and controlled flight MC at Kitty Hawk in 1903. I follow that argument, going back to the Montgolfier balloon ascent in 1783 and find an MC connection to the early degrees of Sagittarius again, and then look at first certain flights from 1903 onwards. I go into some detail with the BOAC Comet 1 accidents in the early 1950's, and have a chapter on Concorde. The book is written in a fictional style, as though I was the official astrologer there at the time first flights happened to make it a more enjoyable read. It is 224 pages long, contains over 40 photographs, some in colour, and over 320 charts, spaced in the text so the story is easy to follow. I introduce new methods of prediction, showing that is possible to predict when and where an incident is going to happen, and develop new theories about the black Moon and the important role it plays in aviation astrology as well as your own natal chart."

It costs £14.99 plus P+P and will be published in November. It should be available from astrological bookshops; in case of difficulty, Hedley can be contacted via email at hedley.england@lineone.net or from the website: www.lunationpress.co.uk (which may still be under construction).

And still on the subject of books, The Wessex Astrologer has a new book list out. Amongst their new books on offer is Darrelyn Gunzburg's Life After Grief: An Astrological Guide to Dealing with Loss, a revised version of Nicholas Campion's Book of World Horoscopes, Harmonic Charts by David Hamblin and lots of others, including a series of reissued astrology classics. They also have slightly damaged books going cheap. Go to their website, or request a catalogue: The Wessex Astrologer, 4a Woodside Road, Bournemouth BH5 2AZ. Tel/fax: +44 (0) 1202 424695

Finally, if you are planning next year's holiday, why not try a Greek island Summer School? Forget classrooms - relax on a sunny vine-covered terrace a stone's throw from the beach while you brush up your astrology or your tarot! There are several courses available, from May to October, and each costs £150 (exc. flights and accomodation). For more information, contact Joanna Watters: joannaw@otenet.gr or tel/fax 0030 26450 92943.