Gok Wan is most famous for his television programme for women 'How To Look Good Naked'. Not formally trained in fashion styling, he has nevertheless made a name for himself by transforming women's images of themselves and radically altering the way they dress.

Having studied performing arts at college he went to London's Central School of Speech and Drama, but left after a year. He worked as a hair and make-up artist before moving on to his current focus. Describing himself as 'seriously into clothes', his work has been published in magazines like Tatler, Marie Claire, Cosmopolitan, and more.

His birth time's not known but here's his chart calculated for noon, with the house cusps removed. The Moon is shown in Cancer, where it was all day until it moved into Leo just after 10pm BST.

Obviously what stands out is five planets in Libra, the sign of adornment and feminine sexuality and looking good. With Sun conjunct Mars he is a forceful character, not hesitant to use his sharp eye and to cut - literally and otherwise - through what doesn't work, moving decisively to what does.

Most interestingly he has Venus conjunct Pluto. Venus is the planet of women in general, and of adornment - it's the 'ruler' of Libra. Pluto is the planet of - it's almost a cliché - transformation. Pluto, ruler of the underworld, is associated with experiences where you start off feeling pretty terrible, you journey down into the underworld, changing as you go, then emerging out the other side with a new lease of life.

The East Riding of Yorkshire government website officially confirms the date and time of the by-election here:

http://www.eastriding.gov.uk/welcome/news-releases/?EntryId16=36744

So the chart published previously and the planet-star parans were all calculated for the correct time, i.e. 10th July, polls open at 7am and close at 10pm.

It's emerged that the accountants for the Labour Party were possibly not going to sign-off the Party's accounts at the end of this month, and that could have ended up sending Labour into insolvency. And wouldn't that be a shame....

The Labour Party's financial crises - there are several - were written about in December 2007 on the Astrology for the 21st Century web site, as well as in this blog in 2006. Here's an apposite quote from that Dec 2007 writing:-

Neptune's transit to the Sun-Venus conjunction was briefly within orb in 2006, has been within orb all throughout 2007, and will be exact three times in 2008 and early 2009, finally moving out of orb for the final time in early 2010. The Labour Party can expect to be dealing with leadership crises, popularity issues, and financial problems until then.

And here are the relevant links:-

http://astrology21.co.uk/c1labourfinances.html

http://www.guardian.co.uk/politics/2008/jun/22/economy

Continuing on the David Davis / Haltemprice & Howden by-election, here are the planet-star paran interpretations for the location of the address listed on David Davis's website*.

Background Themes - these can be active for several months in this latitude, and so provide the longer-term context for the event

Uranus - Public opinion, Public expectations
Rising when Acumen is Culminating
Small biased attacks on a group
Setting when Rigel is Culminating
To reorganise, or reform, a situation in an assertive, or even aggressive, manner
Setting when Ras Algethi is Anti-culminating
A sudden upset in the political balance of power
Rising when Betelgeuse is Anti-culminating
The people favour the establishment policies

Neptune - The Hopes and Fears of the Nation
Culminating when Castor is Rising
A wave of spiritual, religious or metaphysical thinking

Pluto - The Crises or the Changes that Occur
Culminating when Betelgeuse is Anti-culminating
Benefits or breakthrough achieved in the wake of a disaster

Annual Themes - these recur at this latitude every year in this era, and so are part of the contextual setting but they're much more short-term than the above parans

Heliacal Rising Star
Alhena
People can be carried away with a misson or cause

Heliacal Setting Star
Arcturus
Exploring different options

Sun - The stars in paran with the Sun on this day
Rising when Scheat is Culminating
A time when unusual, or independent, ideas can be heard
Rising when Alhena is Rising
A leader with a mission
Rising when Markab is Culminating
A strong, persistent leader, an unchanging or unyielding person
Setting when Alphecca is Culminating
Strength and leadership found through hardship
Setting when Aculeus is Rising
Attacks that strengthen

Acute Themes - these are active just for this time period at this latitude, and so are more specific within the above general context

Moon - The Emotions of the People
Anti-culminating when Vindemiatrix is Anti-culminating
Attention is drawn to a person's, or a nation's, story
Culminating when Spica is Culminating
The hope that new technologies, or a new plan, will save the day
Rising when Sualocin is Anti-culminating
To be optimistic that an idea or an endeavour will be successful

Mercury - Business and the Media
Rising when Deneb Algedi is Culminating
Focus on media, or finance and taxation laws
Setting when Alhena is Setting
Bringing to light some injustice or swindle
Culminating when Betelgeuse is Culminating
Good economic news, or a big global news story
Setting when Arcturus is Culminating
A new invention, a bright idea

Venus - The Social Conventions
Rising when Alnilam is Rising
Being able to combine different resources for the common good

Mars - The Events of the Day
Culminating when Rigel is Setting
Military action, or the independent, headstrong action of an individual
Setting when Castor is Setting
The person with a plan

Jupiter - The Type of Action which is Favoured by this Period of Time
Setting when Fomalhaut is Culminating
The grand, or big vision

Saturn - The Law and Civic Order
Culminating when Hamal is Setting
Harsh critics, people angry
Culminating when Rigel is Setting
Faith in an elected leader
Setting when Ras Alhague is Culminating
The civic order needing to be repaired, or to be healed

*David Davis's website for the by-election:
http://www.daviddavisforfreedom.com/

Seems that 10th July is almost certainly going to be the date for the by-election triggered by Conservative MP David Davis's resignation over the government's continuing destruction of the UK citizens' civil liberties.

The Labour party has confirmed that they are definitely not putting forward a candidate. Their record in the constituency along with the general public's support for our heritage of values and hard-won laws protecting our rights suggests that Labour would only come third again, if not worse. If you can't stand the heat....

If the by-election does take place on 10th July and polling closes at 10pm, then this is the chart for that time. The location has been set for Willerby, which is near the centre of the population of the constituency, and also happens to be the location of the Conservative party's constituency office. If necessary this chart will be updated in the light of further developments in the data.

 
As mentioned in the previous blog post about this, on 10th July the Sun will be in trine with Uranus. It'll also be opposite Jupiter, picking up on the Jupiter-sextile-Uranus that we've been experiencing lately, and during which David Davis resigned to protest against the government's destructive acts towards our rights and freedoms.

David is experiencing his second Saturn Return, so he's making some long-range assessments of his life, both professionally and personally, that are not as ill-judged as some of his colleagues, opponents, and commentators are saying. He's definitely acting in accordance with his inner sense of timing - even if his motivation isn't the public good, on which no view is being expressed in this post - rather than the outer pressures to live according to their judgements, and this is very much a Saturnian theme.

Our civil liberties weren't won by careerists and short-term thinkers, they were won by generation, after generation, after generation, keeping on keeping on, in it for the long haul, refusing to accept successive governments' refusals to recognise what are in fact our birthrights. Sacrificing a career? In the past, people sacrificed their lives and that is how we possess the civil liberties we now benefit from. Are we now living in an age where nothing is worth a small risk to a political career?

Ralph Nader is a candidate in the USA's 2008 election for a new President. He's standing for election as an independent candidate, not affiliated to any political party. His birth time is taken from recollection rather than birth certificate documentation, so it should be treated with a healthy caution. Here's his chart:-

And here are his planet-star parans:-

Heliacal Rising Star
Deneb Algedi
Seeking the legal, physical or metaphyical laws that govern the world

Heliacal Setting Star
Regulus
A strong belief in the correctness of one's position, or path

Sun
Rising when Ras Algethi is Culminating
Seeking the natural order of life; balance in diet and life habits
Rising when Capella is Anti-culminating
An individual who wants to act as a free agent; the athlete
Rising when Rigel is Anti-culminating
Imposing one's will on a situation to change the natural outcome, or bring reform

Moon
Rising when Polaris is Culminating
Obsession with a goal

Mercury
Rising when Bellatrix is Anti-culminating
The craftsman and a person with alternative interests
Rising when El Nath is Anti-culminating
The satirist, the one who comments
Culminating when Alphecca is Setting
A successful merchant or trader, a person with successful ideas
On Nadir when Alcyone is Setting
Insightful and brilliant, but struggling with the darker side of human nature

Mars
Rising when Aculeus is Culminating
Frequent hardships encountered in pursuing your dreams
Rising when Phact is Anti-culminating
Bold, daring and original, needing a challenge
Anti-culminating when Alcyone is Setting
The critic, the commentator on social ills

Jupiter
Setting when Fomalhaut is Rising
Charismatic, or to have a philosophical cause, and a love of the classics
Anti-culminating when Murzim is Rising
The desire to document or record events

Saturn
Rising when Aldebaran is Anti-culminating
To be politically aware, to make comment
Anti-culminating when Hamal is Setting
Hard physical or intellectual choices that can cause frustration or anger

.... the more they stay the same. Sometimes.

The outgoing George Bush has Mars through Afghanistan and Venus through Iran and Saudi Arabia.

The possibly-incoming Barack Obama has Mars through Iraq and Iran and Saudi Arabia and Venus through Iran.

Change? I'm not convinced they know what it means.

And now for something completely different......

Not sure about the provenance and reliability of this data, but the Obama campaign website at http://my.barackobama.com is displaying what they say is a copy of his birth certificate showing his time of birth. With that cautious note in mind - it could turn out to be faked, I suppose, but in theory it's a good source - it's necessary to say that it's still by far the most reliable data we have to date. Here's the birthchart based on this data:

And here are his planet-star parans for this data:-

Heliacal Rising Star
Canopus
To be a navigator, a pathfinder, or a perfectionist

Heliacal Setting Star
Altair
To use boldness and bravery as the guiding principles of your life

Sun
Anti-culminating when Zuben Eschamali is Setting
The ability to influence society through one’s work

Moon
Culminating when Alcyone is Culminating
Insightful into the darker side of life
Anti-culminating when Deneb Algedi is Rising
A story-teller, the use of story to promote greater awareness of humanity

Mercury
Rising when Vega is Setting
A visionary with a very persuasive voice, or charismatic ideas

Mars
Rising when Alkes is Rising
To take action to achieve and protect one's ideals
Rising when Markab is Setting
To be honest, and act in an open-handed way
Culminating when Toliman is Rising
A persistent personality
Culminating when Alnilam is Setting
An individual who is an active problem-solver
Culminating when Bellatrix is Setting
A person who takes up a proletarian fight
Setting when Phact is Anti-culminating
Bold, daring and original, needing a challenge
Anti-culminating when Ras Algethi is Setting
Wanting to live by a moral code; strong principles and sense of justice

Jupiter
Anti-culminating when Mirach is Setting
An insatiable appetite for the physical world, money or people

Saturn
Culminating when Ankaa is Rising
A pathmaker - someone who can build new direction from chaos
Culminating when Altair is Culminating
Issues of bravery and honour in the daily life

On the 12th of June the Conservative MP David Davis resigned and triggered a by-election, intending to contest it on the issue of the Labour government's continuing and drastic erosion of civil liberties and human rights. This was a surprise move in the political arena, but then in an environment where virtually no-one is prepared to stand up for what the UK supposedly stands for by tradition, constitution and cultural values, it's only natural that everyone tries to get him to sit back down (irrespective of whether or not David is genuine about our human rights).

On the day he resigned the Sun was conjunct Venus (planet of fairness and justice), both in square with Uranus (planet of liberty and human rights). The square aspect is an aspect of potential crisis, or crunch time, where one thing goes head-to-head with another and there is a tussle. This occurred in the larger context of Uranus's sextile with Jupiter, planet of law and of free movement, with Jupiter almost exactly to the minute conjunct David's Mars, the planet of contests, of going it alone, and of - at its best - throwing down the gauntlet and standing up for what's right, the heroic battle against fierce opponents and destructive forces.

David was born when the Sun was directly opposite Uranus, so he's genuine at least in that Uranian issues are at the core of his life, his focus, and his identity, which is what the Sun represents. To use this aspect on the highest level he should indeed shine light on (the Sun) these issues of liberty and reform (both are Uranus-associated issues).

The by-election is expected to be held in July, with the most likely date being the 10th. On that date, the Sun and Uranus will be at another key stage in their cycle: they will be in trine aspect. So if it does go ahead then, the whole thing will be in tune with the Sun-Uranus cycle.

In the last election Davis came 1st with the Liberal Democrat candidate coming second. The Labour party's candidate trailed very far behind, so Labour aren't expected to win, and at the time of writing the party still hasn't confirmed that it will definitely contest the seat. The Liberal Democrats have confirmed that they won't stand against Davis.

Here's a link to an article published on the Astrology for the 21st Century web site in May 2005 discussing David's birth chart:

http://astrology21.co.uk/c1daviddavis.html

And here is a link to an article, published early in 2007, on the same web site about the astrological correlates in the development of Western human rights concepts:

http://astrology21.co.uk/c1humanrights.html

And now here's the same for Barack, starting with his birthchart and then some of his planet-star parans. Obama's birth time is not known at all, so in the birth chart please ignore house cusps and take the Moon's degree as approximate. The parans only include those that apply no matter what time he was born, so they're reliable.

Mars
Culminating when Bellatrix is Setting
A person who takes up a proletarian fight
Setting when Toliman is Setting
A persistent personality
Setting when Phact is Anti-culminating
Bold, daring and original, needing a challenge
Anti-culminating when Alnilam is Rising
An individual who is an active problem-solver

Jupiter
Anti-culminating when Mirach is Setting
An insatiable appetite for the physical world, money or people

Saturn
Culminating when Ankaa is Rising
A pathmaker - someone who can build new direction from chaos
Culminating when Altair is Culminating
Issues of bravery and honour in the daily life

So now we know that the two main candidates in the 2008 election in the USA are going to be John McCain (for the Republican party) and Barack Obama (for the Democrat party). Here's John McCain's birth chart, but be aware that the birthtime is quoted as from his mother's memory, and she has given both 9am and 'about 11am' as the times, which is part for the course when relying on recall rather than documentation:

I'll be writing more about this chart and the election on another occasion. For now I wanted to write about the parans between the planets and the stars, because they add perspective to the usual ways of interpreting a chart. These should be reliable despite the birthtime uncertainty. Here are John's, copied and pasted directly from pre-written headline interpretations (just headlines: there isn't space/time to go into more detail at present), so they're not at all tailored by me or anyone else to McCain himself:-

Sun
Rising when Antares is Anti-culminating
Someone who is intense and focused, the potential to be obsessed
Anti-culminating when Capella is Rising
An individual who wants to act as a free agent; the athlete

Moon
Rising when Sualocin is Rising
Good networker, helpful friends, and a popular person
Culminating when Arcturus is Setting
Concerned with the health of others, physical, emotional or spiritual

Mercury
Culminating when Murzim is Setting
The writer, the researcher, the business entrepreneur
Culminating when Alpheratz is Anti-culminating
Outspoken, and thinking in different ways

Venus
Rising when Alnilam is Culminating
Understanding connections between different ideas or groups of people
Rising when Ras Alhague is Anti-culminating
A person who expands the collective's options by increasing the information available
Setting when Schedar is Rising
To support another with quiet dignity; to give a cause dignity

Mars
Culminating when Menkar is Setting
Actions that please or jolt the collective; to be driven by hidden forces
Setting when Zuben Eschamali is Culminating
A disciplined, and ambitious, individual

Jupiter
Rising when Zosma is Culminating
The Angel of Mercy; to have compassion
Rising when Phact is Setting
The explorer, the wanderer through places or ideas

Saturn
Rising when Ras Alhague is Culminating
The desire to leave a legacy of knowledge or wisdom
Rising when Alnilam is Anti-culminating
To find simple practical solutions to complex problems
Setting when Bellatrix is Culminating
A battler, a person who struggles against the tide
Setting when El Nath is Culminating
Prepared to battle the establishment, a hard life