Friday May 24th 2002 - edited by Bernard Fitzwalter This week in Astro News: ~ Saturn & Pluto ~ ~ AstroDiary ~ ~ Astrology & Fertility - Can you help with some research? ~ The final confrontation between Saturn and Pluto takes place this weekend. After this contact Saturn will move on, Pluto will back off - literally, since it is moving in reverse at the moment - and the series of contacts that have made our lives so difficult for the last ten months will be over. It's important to see, though, that it is all part of a larger cycle, which repeats at irregular intervals of between 30 and 35 years. The issues which are prominent when the two planets are together at the start of the cycle reach a crisis point when they are half-way round and exactly opposite each other, and that's what we've been going through in the last few months. When they were together in 1947, the State of Israel was in the process of being created. And the Palestine issue was a major concern too; when they were together in 1982, the present wave of Islamic fundamentalism started in Iran. Both events have become major issues now that the cycle has reached its most stressful point. So when the opposition is over, will those tensions start to ease? Yes. And will it all flare up again when the two planets are together again? Probably, if the past is anything to go by. And since you ask, that will be in 2020. Back to the present day. This weekend is going to be tense, that much is certain, but even if we see some dramatic events on the world stage, I don't think they'll add anything genuinely new to what's already there. This is, after all, not the first planetary contact in the sequence, but the last. It's worth noting, too, that Mars, the planet of war and an important triggering influence in these international crises, moves into Cancer on Tuesday, where it will stay for the next six weeks. This is good in three ways. Firstly, it takes Mars out of the signs where Saturn and Pluto are, so it's out of harm's way, so to speak; secondly, Mars is astrologically very weak when in Cancer, so it can't do much; and thirdly, Cancer is a water sign, which quenches Mars' fire. You can't light fireworks with wet matches, can you? AstroDiary Monday (May 27): Astrological Lodge of London, 50 Gloucester Place, London W1. 7pm: Glyphs with Kim Farnell; 8.20pm: Members class (4) Astronomy for Astrologers with Nick Kollerstrom. £5 (£3 members.) Advance notice June 1 (Saturday): Oxford Astrology Group. Asian Cultural Centre, Manzil Way, Oxford. Day workshop. 10am - 4pm. £5 at door. Email: tina@quaking.demon.co.uk June 2 (Sunday): Exeter Astrology Group. Friends' Meeting House, Exeter. Transits & Dreamswith Annabelle Rankin. 2.30-5.30pm. £2. Please double-check with the organisation before attending any events listed here - we cannot accept any responsibility for events changed/cancelled. Are you holding an astrological event - especially one outside London!! - that you would like others to know about? Write to jon@cainer.com with subject heading: Astro Events with website links. Please note - we cannot promise to include ALL submissions but will do our best. Research into Astrology and Infertility by Pat Harris, MSc., D.F.Astrol.S. I would like to thank everyone who has responded to my earlier notices on Jonathan's website and who volunteered to take part in the research that I am conducting as part of my PhD in astrology and health psychology at Southampton University, UK. I now have quite a number of people taking part which will help me in conducting my study into factors that may or may not correlate with fertility treatment outcome. I should have a progress report out soon. However, I am still looking for women who are currently pregnant - not necessarily as a result of fertility treatment - and who would like to contact me about details of my research to see if they would like to take part. My email address is: pharris@interalpha.co.uk New Service is Top for the Charts The Astrological Association of Great Britain is proud to announce that you can now speak LIVE to an expert astrologer. For an instant in-depth telephone consultation about your full horoscope call 0845 120 1416 or +44 207 436 9101 (a confidential 30-minute reading costs £29.50, payable by credit card. Or cheque/postal order from UK.) Lines are open 9am-9pm GMT, Monday to Friday. A few weeks ago, the Astrological Association of Great Britain launched this new, live fixed-fee, telephone chart reading service. It has since proved big hit with callers from all over the world. AA President Roy Gillett told Astro News: "I am delighted with the warm response that we have had. Once, if you wanted a reading of your full birth chart, you would have to struggle to find a genuine, reputable astrologer. Then, you would have had to make an appointment and travel miles. Now, at last, there's a quick and easy way to get your questions answered by a real expert - from the comfort of your own home." Mirror reader Julie Roberts from Rochester was equally enthusiastic. "I rang last Tuesday and spoke to an astrologer called Maria. Within moments, she was telling me details about my childhood that she could not possibly have known... then she said some fascinating things about my future. If you missed any of Friday's Astronews articles, click on the Archive Thought for the Day link in the left hand frame.