The Heart of the Matter

by Claire Chandler

On Sunday 19th October 2003, Tony Blair was taken to hospital with chest pains and an abnormal heart beat; he was later treated at the Hammersmith Hospital in London for ventricular tachycardia, was released after about six hours with a clean bill of health and told to rest for 24 hours. (Birth data: 6 May 1953, 6:10 am GMT, Edinburgh, Scotland)

So what can the astrology tell us about this incident? Is there an underlying condition? What triggered the event?

Looking at the transits for that Sunday, we can see Mars acting as a classic trigger. It is square itself and will square the ascendant the next day. Uranus had slipped back into Aquarius and squared his natal Jupiter, the transiting Sun was conjunct his natal Saturn Neptune conjunction and transiting Mercury was opposite his Venus, square his Uranus and quincunx his natal Sun.

Now given that he presented with a heart problem, you would expect more than the average amount of Sun contacts and the absence of them may explain why it wasn't a heart attack. He has a host of long-term transits and progressions but you would expect that from someone who's just taken his country to war. Progressed Sun makes a semi sextile to natal Mars and trines transiting Mars but no one ever put their money on a semi sextile as the principal factor in a situation. (Event chart noon London 19 October 2003 left, progressed Chart right)

His natal Saturn conjunct Neptune is in the sixth house opposite Mercury in Aries in the twelfth house. Ebertin links these two with illness and oppositions across this axis have an awful reputation with regards to health, especially huge, double intercepted houses like this. The ruler of the sixth is in the twelfth and the ruler of the twelfth is in the twelfth and is also ruler of the eighth. Saturn rules the 10th and 11th. But this is a man who's constructed an image of being fit, young and healthy? Could it be that something doesn't quite fit?

The sixth house is the illness in a decumbiture chart and the tenth house is the medicine. Mercury rules the sixth and tightly squares the MC/IC, which is ruled by Saturn which is in the sixth and opposite Mercury. Mercury is the chart ruler and is in mutual reception with Mars which is conjunct the Ascendant. Bringing all these significators together, by aspect and by rulership points to the importance of status and other tenth house matters to Blair. Is it a coincidence that he has a health scare when his popularity is falling? And when Jupiter, ruler of twelfth and eighth, is transited by Uranus but also sextiled by progressed Mercury, ruler of sixth?

His progressed MC is at 14 Pisces and is currently square the progressed Moon at 14 Sagittarius. This will move to sextile his natal Sun over the next year and will be picked up by transiting Jupiter over the next six months. Transiting Saturn will pick up his natal Uranus, natal Venus by square and natal Sun by sextile next year. It will also line up with the progressed ascendant and Uranus. Neptune will finish its transit to his Moon but will move to square his Sun, quincunx his Uranus and sextile his Venus. These contacts are more worrying if there is an underlying health problem.

The sudden wave of speculation concerning his leadership of the Labour Party reflects this emphasis on his solar and 10th house energy. As always, those in power need to decide how they measure success and quality of life.

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