Off with his head and other thoughts on the monarchy

‘the King of England was not a person, but an office whose every occupant was entrusted with a limited power to govern ‘by and according to the laws of the land and not otherwise’

(from the arraignment of Charles I)

In a horoscope he cast in 1647 for Charles I, William Lilly a noted English astrologer, a Parliamentarian, made the following judgment of the astrology of the time:

“Luna is with Antares, a violent fixed star, which is said to denote violent death, and Mars is approaching Caput Algol, which is said to denote beheading.”

Two years later the king’s head fell on the block. The English, supposed to be the most phlegmatic of countries, had finally lost its patience with a corrupt, greedy and bullying king.

We have a new King, Charles III, what are the prospects for his reign?

Charles’ Ascendant is conjunct the fixed star Praesepe at 7′ Leo 20‘ (orb 2’) of the nature of Mars and the Moon, shows

‘disease, disgrace, adventure, insolence, wantonness, brutality, blindness, industry, order and fecundity; and makes its natives fortunate though liable to loss through others, and the founders of large businesses.‘

The Fixed Star descriptions are abridged from www.astrologyking.com

Does this describe Charles? Certainly he is the founder of a large business, Dutchy Organics, (profit £3.6 million in 2021). You may also consider him ‘fortunate’ if you believe being born into royalty is a benefit. Is he ‘liable to loss through others’? I would say yes. His first wife, Diana most definitely lowered his fortunes, she was much more popular than he was and his infidelity and divorce caused anger among his subjects, many of whom felt it was a disgrace. His long time affair was hardly the behaviour of someone who is now head of the Church of England. Oath-breaking as William Lilly would have told him, is a serious business, with far-reaching consequences.

Now Charles’ own son and his wife, are rocking the foundations of the monarchy, which, arguably lasted so long because the late Queen was a beloved and non confrontational figure, our archetypal grandmother. Certainly, the power and prestige of the monarchy could fall after her death.

Prince Harry has Uranus, the planet of revolution and splitting apart conjunct Antares, at 9’46 Sagittarius (orb 2’40) which is a Royal planet, indicating

‘Honours, sudden losses, a suspicious person, of the nature of Mars and Jupiter, showing great pride, grandly liberal, commanding, with cosmopolitan views. Antares can also show malevolence, destructiveness, and danger of fatality. It makes its natives rash, ravenous, headstrong and destructive to themselves by their own obstinacy.‘

Charles I had a Sun Mercury conjunction at 8’/9′ Sagittarius and ‘destructive to themselves by their own obstinacy‘ is a good description of his reign. Charles I caused the downfall of the monarchy, the bloody and divisive English Civil War and his own death by execution. Will Harry’s revelations and his behaviour cause such disaffection that once again the monarchy will be overthrown? Notice Harry’s Chiron is at 8′ Gemini, so exactly opposite his Uranus across the 5th/11th houses, this is the wound that cannot be healed, for him at least.

The easiest way to work with multiple charts is to put them in a table and see the correspondences.

Sagittarius

Charles 1st had a Venus Mars conjunction at 23′ and 25′ Sagittarius, Charles III has a Mars Jupiter conjunction at 21′ and 29′ Sagittarius, and Harry has a wide Mars Neptune conjunction at 17′ and 28′ Sagittarius. What can this mean? Mars is the planet they have in common, Mars in Sagittarius has little dignity (although the terms of Mars are from 26′ to 30′ of the sign) despite it being a fire sign.

Sagittarius is the sign of the philosopher, guru and ideologue. Mars there makes the natives defend their beliefs with violence, bullying and passion. Charles I’s behaviour brought about the English Civil War in which an estimated 400,00 people were killed. Sagittarius is the spiritual warrior, arguably Charles I was one, however misguided.

Archbishop Laud, also executed during the Civil War, described Charles I as,

‘intransigent. He deliberately pursued unpopular policies that brought ruin on himself.’

While Charles believed in the Divine Right of Kings

‘Princes are not bound to give account of their actions. Only to God.’

Charles III has strong beliefs about organic food, complementary medicine and world religions. All of these characteristics could be applied to Harry, both honours (a Prince) and sudden loses (losing his Royal status). Harry appears to believe he is right and he will continue banging his point home until we agree with him.

There is a kind of blindness about their beliefs (see . This, then is a theme in the family connection they share. All three are the ‘unconventional’ royals who will do what they wish despite the chaos and destruction these cause.

Charles I had a Venus Mars conjunction at 23′ and 25′ Sagittarius, Charles III has a Mars Jupiter conjunction in Sagittarius at 21′ and 29‘ degrees while Harry has Mars at 17′ degrees Sagittarius and Neptune at 28′ Sagittarius.

The fixed stars again, speak for themselves.

The Fixed star Rasalhague 22′ Sag.27 ( 2 ‘ orb) It is of the nature of Saturn and Venus and gives

‘misfortune through women, perverted tastes and mental depravity, slovenly, very immoral, shameless, revolting, mean, sorrows in love.

Hmm, Definitely Charles III has had ‘misfortune through women‘ via his first wife, Diana, some would say Harry also, Charles I ‘s wife was disliked as she was a Catholic.

The Fixed star Lesath, 24’Sag 01 (orb 2′) It is of the nature of Mercury and Mars gives

‘danger, desperation, immorality, and malevolence.  It is of the nature of Mercury and Mars making the native prone to exaggeration, argumentative, unreliable and unscrupulous.‘

Charles I (Venus, Mars) fits well with his life (or what has been recorded of it). Plus Charles I had Mars at 25′ Sagittarius 44 on the Fixed star Aculeus (orb 1′) which is of the nature of Mars and the Moon making the native

”adventurous, perfidious, insolent, wanton, brutal.‘ 

The Fixed star Acumen, 28’Sag 45 (orb 1′) (Charles III Jupiter, Harry Neptune)  is of the nature of Mars and the Moon making the native adventurous, perfidious, insolent, wanton, brutal. If rising (Charles III) it gives trouble and loss through women, most definitely! If culminating, (Harry) it suggests disgrace and imprisonment. The former, surely (through the eyes of some people) the later remains to be seen! This description would fit more to Charles I, but his Mars at 25′ Sag was out of orb.

The Fixed star Khambalia 6′ Scor.57 (orb 1′) is conjunct Charles I Saturn and Charles III Mercury. Khambalia has the nature of Mercury and Mars. It inclines the native to be

‘exaggerative, unreliable, unscrupulous, given to invective, a very quick mind, great talker. It causes swift violence, unreliability, changeability, and an argumentative nature‘

This certainly describes Charles I and we shall see if this describes Charles III.

Harry has Saturn (his chart ruler, Capricorn Ascendant) at 12′ Scorpio on the Fixed star Alphecca (orb 2′) which has the nature of Venus and Mercury, and makes the native

‘idealistic, psychic, handsome, neat, lovable, refined, genteel, intelligent. It gives honor, dignity and poetical and artistic ability.’

This may give Harry a way forward after leaving the ‘Firm’. With a Capricorn Ascendant, Harry will move slowly, he may well find his place in later life.

I have chosen to focus on Fixed Stars here, but equally we can look at planets, signs and aspects between family members.

And what of their women?

Charles I decision to marry a Catholic, Henrietta Maria of France, caused bad feeling among the English and Scottish Protestants and added to their resentment of the King. She is shown by the ruler of the 7th, Jupiter at 20′ Virgo in the 1st house. It was a fruitful marriage, they had nine children. No mistresses were recorded, it seemed a peaceful marriage (Virgo).

Charles III’s wife Diana, shown by Uranus 30′ Gemini in the 11th house (the People’s Princess) nearly brought down the House of Windsor after her death. His second marriage to his longstanding mistress, shown by that Mars (with Jupiter) in Sagittarius ruling the 5th. Notice, his Sun is conjunct the 5th house cusp, she is his Soul Mate. Kings do not normally marry their mistresses but she brought Charles in touch with his real self (Sun). As the second wife, Camilla is shown as Saturn at 5′ Virgo in the 2nd, she brings him peace, stability (Saturn) and all the countryside pursuits he loves (Virgo).

Harry’s wife has also rocked the Monarchy. Megan is shown by the ruler of the 7th, Moon (mother) in Taurus conjunct the IC, she grounds him and gives him a home and a place to be (IC). Despite the bile that has been created around them, it feels like a coming home for Harry, who lost his mother when he was so young. She would give him stability and calm, at home anyway. The Moon is separating from an opposition of Saturn, which may represent the ‘Firm’ the dead hand of tradition, power and privilege he has walked away from. His Moon is applying to the North Node, suggesting this marriage is his destiny and will give him a real domestic life, perhaps for the first time.

For Charles I, Charles III and Harry, their wives offer peace, security and comfort which, arguably, was lacking in their upbringing.

The skill in Family Astrology is to separate out those planets the astrology family members have in common and see what issues are being worked through the family line.

I will be teaching a week on Family Astrology at the Greek Island Summer School May 24th-31st, Nidri Greece.

During the week we will discuss

• Siblings and the 3rd house
• The Sun, Moon and 4th and 10th houses of the parents
• Children and parents, the North Node, karmic ties, children’s experience of their families, examples of big families and singletons.
• Grandparents, aunts and uncles
• Family lines, adoptions, blended families. Chiron, ancestral pain and lessons.

I deliberately work with small groups so we can cover the material in depth and students have time to work on their own charts and we can have group discussions, which are where the learning really gets embedded.

Rosalind Moody editor of Soul and Spirit Magazine came to Greek Island Summer School and described her experience…You can read the full article here

The course costs £345.00 for 17 hours of tuition over 4 days, leaving plenty of time for exploring the island and beach time. Accommodation and travel extra. A £50 deposit reserves your place. The balance is payable before the course, contact me for details. elisabethbrooke209@gmail.com

Joanna Watters has run The Greek Island Summer School for 21 years, there are more details on her website here. http://joannawatters.com

‘Thank you so much for a truly wonderful workshop. I learned so much. I feel empowered (to a certain extent) but certainly I’m on the path’ AW after the 2021 course.