Friday June 21st 2002 - edited by Bernard Fitzwalter This week in Astro News: ~ Summer Solstice ~ ~ AstroDiary ~ ~ Astrology & Fertility - Can you help with some research? ~ It's the Summer Solstice today, which means druids and New-Agers of every tribe and type getting together for a pre-dawn rave at Stonehenge and various other stone circles and sacred sites. But what is a Solstice, apart from an excuse for an outdoor party in June? It's all to do with the sun. Each day in spring and summer, the sun rises just a bit further to the North of East than it did the previous day, gets just a bit higher in the sky and stays visible a bit longer, and sets a bit further to the North of West. On June 21 it is at its maximum. For a day or two the daylight period stays the same length, and the sun reaches the same elevation in the sky; and then, day by day, the points of rising and setting start to creep southwards, the sun gets lower in the sky, and we're on our way to autumn and winter again. On December 21, there's another turning point - the Winter Solstice - and the cycle repeats. This is the basic sky rhythm of the northern hemisphere, from which we get our seasons, our weather, and our calendar. You don't need Stonehenge, either. You can follow this annual rhythm in your back garden. Push a stick into the ground anywhere that sees the sun. At 1pm on any sunny day, note where the shadow falls, and mark the top of the shadow with a plant tag. Right now, the shadow is at its shortest. Check the shadow again every ten days or so - whenever it's sunny and around 1pm. You'll soon see that the shadow gets longer as summer moves towards autumn, and you'll see, too, that your line of tags is aligned exactly North-South. So - a solar calendar and a compass all in one. That's how the Ancient Egyptians did it, and you can too. What did I tell you? Last week I said that the recent eclipse activated Mars in the chart of the US � �good if you're fighting a war, but is the World Cup quite the same thing?� Well, they haven't done too badly in the World Cup, but I note that President Bush has now given the CIA permission to find and remove Saddam Hussein. If that isn't activating Mars the god of war, then what is? AstroDiary Friday � Sunday (June 21 � 23): Irish Astrological Assoc. Annual Residential Conference, Bellinter House Conf. Centre, Navan, Co. Meath. Info: 353-1-4969440 [email protected] Monday (June 24): Astrological Lodge of London 7pm: Chiron - Occult Key to the Outer Planets, Prudence Neusink; 8.20pm: Members' class: Astrology & Counselling, Mavis Klein. 50 Gloucester Place, London W1. �5 (�3 members/conc). 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 [email protected] 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: [email protected] 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.