Astrology at the Bottom of the Garden
(Proceedings of a Monthly Astrology Group in 2012)
Skip the Intro and go to 2012 Notes
Between 2005 and 2016 I was lucky enough to run an astrology group each month in North London.
The group started at the request of members of the Kabbalah group to which I belonged who wanted to learn more about astrology. For this reason, our studies were often conducted against a background of Kabbalah and with reference to the Tree of Life.
We met between 2.30 pm and 5.30 pm on Sunday afternoons the only exception being our first meeting, held on a dark Monday night in January, with the planets suitably arranged for the start of our voyage of enquiry.
The three hours were divided into two session each lasting around one and a quarter hours. The first session would usually cover the current planetary weather with members reflecting on how the alignment of the planets was manifested in their own lives and on the world stage.
The Studio (at the bottom of the garden) where our astrology group met for six years between 2007 and 2013.
The second session could be on any aspect of astrology. Sometimes this would be a detailed examination of a particular planetary phenomenon occurring at that time while on other occasions it might be a discussion about the links between Kabbalah and Astrology. Some of the braver attendees also offered their own charts for review by the group.
We studied many aspects of astrology, rarely in a logical sequence but always with good humour.
The two study sessions were separated by afternoon tea – an essential ingredient of the overall experience which allowed people not just a break from study but also afforded the opportunity for conversation on topics outside astrology and for connections and enduring friendships to be made.
Our venue, after the first meeting, was the home of Anita and Emile Woolf. Until the end of 2007 we met in their comfortable and gracious lounge which, on winter afternoons, was warmed by a splendid log fire and, occasionally, a few eyes were almost closed after one of Anita’s substantial teas had been enjoyed…
Our hosts then built a studio at the bottom of the garden which was to be used by various member of their family for arts and drama projects. Fortunately, this also made the perfect location for our meetings.
The group, to many of us, then became known as “Astrology at the Bottom of the Garden.”
Our first meeting in this studio was on 2 December 2007 and it was the venue for all our meetings for nearly six years. The requirements of the Woolf family for using the studio gradually increased and we held our last meeting there on 27 October 2013 after which we decamped to my own home for the next three years.
A huge “thank you” goes to Anita and Emile Woolf for their hospitality and for their support of this work over many years.
I am also most grateful to my wife, Mahtab, who subsequently ensured the smooth organisation of the house for meetings, supervised the catering arrangements and lovingly continued to proofread the monthly table of planetary positions which were always used in my presentations.
I took a Sabbatical in 2017 and when we restarted the group in 2018 it was on a quarterly rather than a monthly basis before we migrated to the internet in 2020 due to the pandemic.
Group Inception
8.15 pm GMT, 17 January 2005
London, UK 51N30, 000W10
The moment the first group began is shown by the Inception Chart. Virgo, the sign of study, is on the ascendant and its ruler, Mercury, is on the cusp of the fifth house of pleasure conjunct Venus, ruler of the ninth house of knowledge.
The intention was that the group should be sociable and enjoyable as well as providing a place to learn. Our sessions were not just PowerPoint presentations but also included the occasional quiz, individuals acting out planetary attributes and the ever popular “mystery charts” where a chart would be presented to the group without the birth data leaving them to establish the owner of the chart (clues were provided where necessary…).
​The ninth house of knowledge is well marked in the inception chart with the Moon, exalted in Taurus, and the North Node both at the beginning of that house.
Between 2012 and 2016 Susan Slade took notes of the contents of the meetings with Jane Adams deputising when Susan was unable to attend.
I would then edit these and distribute them to the people who had
​attended as a permanent record of the meeting and as material for further contemplation.
To these notes I have now added many of the charts and diagrams which we discussed as well as internet links to the relevant topics. Many of the events which made the headlines in 2012 will have doubtless slipped from memory over the ensuing years – this was certainly true in my case when I reviewed the notes after a gap of more than a decade!
I have also added some further notes at the end of each session where more information has subsequently come to light about the subjects recorded in the notes.
I am deeply indebted to both Susan and Jane for their notetaking.
The record of the 2012 meetings is the first to be published and the record of other years will follow in due course.
I hope this document will serve as the record of a living astrology group which met on a regular basis over eleven years. Some of the material appears in the notes of more than one meeting which shows how the underlying themes of the year would recur from month to month.
Perhaps the notes will jog your memory about important events in your own life and you will be able to check back to find the relevant astrological conditions...
The file includes the following specialist topics as well as monthly reviews of the astrological weather:
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Major astrological trends in 2012.
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The sevens squares between Uranus and Pluto.
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Review of events occurring under previous aspects between Uranus and Pluto especially 1901, 1933 and 1965.
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Combustion and Cazimi.
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The sinking of the Costa Concordia
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Transits and Progressions using the charts of Princess Diana and Margaret Thatcher as examples.
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Planetary rulerships – origins.
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Transits and progressions – definitions and a detailed study of a member of the group.
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Reverse Mystery Chart - HG Wells
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Transits and Progressions in the charts of Queen Elizabeth II and members of the group.
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The sinking of the Titanic – a detailed study.
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Transits and Progressions of group members
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The Grand Cross of July 2012
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The Ten Commandments and Planetary correspondences set on the Tree of Life.
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Essential Dignity of planets.
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Astrology for the summer of 2012
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2012 - 2014 and history of Uranus Pluto squares
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Summer 2012 – the Uranus Pluto Squares – what happened
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Winter Solstice 2012
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Mystery charts - Ranulph Fiennes, Joseph Campbell, Bill Moyers, CS Lewis
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The Cuban Missile Crisis – 50 years on.
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2012 American Presidential Election – Barack Obama and Mitt Romney
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Demonstration of Planet/Sign/House aspects
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Winter Solstice 2012
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Rules for the duration of Ingress charts.
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Eclipses – the transit of planets to the Eclipse Degree.
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Notable Solar Eclipses – death of Pope John Paul II, First Atomic Bomb, Titanic, First World War, World Trade Center Attacks 2001.
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Pluto Uranus aspects
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Major Aspects for 2013
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The astrology of Ted Hughes and Sylvia Plath and their first meeting.
Jonathon Clark
August 2024
Click here to view the Astrology Group Notes for 2012 or on the icon below to download them.
The sinking of the pleasure cruiser Costa Concordia led to 32 deaths, the imprisonment of the captain and huge insurance losses.
Three days before a solar eclipse is not the best time to make your debut on the stock market
Despite some tricky astrological weather the London Olympics were generally agreed to be a success.
The Church of England narrowly rejected the proposal that women could become bishops - a decision which was overturned two years later.