Friday April 12th 2002 - edited by Bernard Fitzwalter This week in Astro News: ~ Five planet alignment ~ ~ AstroDiary ~ ~ Astrology & Fertility - research request ~ ~ New Service from the Astrological Association of Great Britain ~ Five planet alignment There has been a flurry of interest in some papers about how five planets will be visible at the same time between now and mid-May. Astronomers say it will be pretty to look at, but it has no scientific meaning; astrologers, of course, disagree. The alignment is a triple conjunction of Venus, Mars and Saturn, all close enough to be covered by your hand at arm's length. Not far behind them is little Mercury, and a little way in front of them is Jupiter, making five in total, all in the same corner of the sky. You can see them in the south-west, about an hour after sunset, on any clear night from now on. Seeing Venus, Saturn and Mars should be no problem, but Mercury is always very hard to spot. They are at their closest on May 4. But if you wait until May 14 you should see the crescent moon appearing to hold Venus and Mars in its arms. That night is special, and I'll remind you about it nearer the time. So what does this all mean? Well, Venus and Mars together is very sexy, Venus with Saturn is love with conditions attached, but Mars with Saturn usually spells trouble. Put them all together and you have something very similar to your favourite soap plot. It's all happening in Gemini, so that affects Gemini, Libra and Aquarius straight away, and to a lesser extent Sagittarius, Leo and Aries. Is that anyone you know? Multiple conjunctions are not so rare. Jupiter and Saturn are close to each other for about three years in every 20. Venus and Mars are close for a month every two years. If the two cycles coincide, you need only add Mercury or the Moon and there you are - five in a line. There was a good line-up in 1991. Another is due in 2011. The best of this century, though, will be on September 8, 2040 - all six visible planets very tightly packed. AstroDiary Fri April 12: Exeter Astrology Group: Tarot and its inner meanings, 6.30pm, Friends' Meeting House, Wynards Lane, Exeter. £5 Sat April 13: London School of Astrology, London Voluntary Resource Centre, (Jones Brothers landmark in Holloway Road N7). Walking on the Shadow Side of the Planets - Lynn Bell, 10:30am-5:30pm, £40 Huber School of Astrology (API), Blossoms Hotel, Chester. Introductory course on astrological psychology, 10am-5pm, £45 (including birth chart) Bolton Astrology Group, Ukranian Centre, Castle Street, Bolton. Annual Conference with Richard Swatton, 10am-4pm, £25 (inc lunch) Mon April 15: Northern Lights Astrological Society Meetings 8.00pm, Waterloo Hotel, Waterloo Road, South Shore Blackpool. Kathy Rowan-Drewitt talking about Neptune and it's influences in the birth chart. 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.