END OF THE BRITISH MONARCHY?
In an early article on eclipses and their ‘families’ aka saros cycles, Bernadette Brady wrote:
If a person is born a day either side of a solar eclipse, then in a sense they become part of that Saros Series with their life interwoven with the meaning of the Series.
A note-worthy example of this occurred on the 21st June 1982. The heir to the British throne, Prince William, was born. This was also the date of a solar eclipse. The Saros Series which provided the eclipse was 2 Old North. Saros Series 2 Old North is finishing. It is in its last stages and only has a few more tiny partial eclipses around the South Pole. It started its life in 792 CE and completes in July 2036. This completion will occur when the Prince is 54 years old.
BERNADETTE BRADY
Some have suggested that this may spell the end of the monarchy as we know it. I am not sure it is that simple, especially given that we have just crowned William’s father, King Charles III at the grand old age of 74, under the rays of a pair of eclipses in the 7 North saros series. Interestingly, this is the next saros series on from that of the 6 North saros series, under which William the Conqueror, one of the first British kings, was crowned in Westminster Abbey on Christmas Day 1066. This began in 850 and will only coem to an end in 2094 – long after the 2 Old North series ends. So I reckon the British throne won’t be abolished anytime soon.
9 new north & queen elizabeth ii
Interestingly, a similar thing happened when Prince William’s grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II, ascended the throne in 1953. She did so under the auspices of a solar eclipse in the brand new eclipse 9 New North series, which took over from the 9 Old North Series, which had phased out 18 years (or one saros cycle) earlier in February 1935 – before WWII. Strikingly, the first solar eclipse in this series took place on 14 February 1953 – just a week after her father, King George, died unexpectedly on 6 February 1953. Was this symbolic of a new, modern post-war monarchy on the rise? One that had a woman at the helm, rather than a man…?
This ‘succession eclipse’ had the luminaries in Aquarius – the polar opposite sign to Leo – and a zodiac sign associated with democracy, equality and the populace as well as scientific advances, including inventions like electricity, which seems signficant, given that her coronation was the first to be popularised via television broadcast. Secondly, Aquarius is ruled by Uranus, a sign associated with shocks and unpredictable curveballs, which fits with how unexpected the death of King George was, but also with modernity. Like her predeccessor, Elizabeth I, she also faced many obstacles and outdated traditions and had to modernise. And in many respects, she did. In addition to being the longest-serving monarch ever to grace the British throne, and represented women in positions of power during the sixties and seventies when feminism was on the rise. She also ‘invented’ some new traditions, such as the ‘walkabout’ which allowed her to mingle with her subjects on outings – unheard of in the past, when monarchs expected their subjects to seek an audience with them in court, and might occasionally do a carriage ride or balcony appearance and wave at her subjects from a distance.
7 north & charles iii
Now, as we move into a new era – that of Charles III, many argue that the same thing needs to happen, especially given the UK’s colonial heritage and links to Empire, which, along with slavery. are seen in a less desirable light in an increasingly ‘woke’ social milieu. Luckily, the new Prince of Wales, now 40 years old, and his father are acutely aware of this and already taking steps to address it. So, to me, it just signifies another evolution of the Firm, as it is known, ather than its demise.
54 is an interesting age because in astrology, this usually signals the so-called second Saturn Return, a time when someone is either forced to take on extra responsibilities (possibly due to assuming public office such as being elected president, for example), or starts to feel the first twinges of old age and realises that they may need to cut back on their public duties due to stress or overload, or because they don’t have the same stamina or energy levels that they did when they were younger. Almost the first Saturn Return in reverse…
coronation charts
But, given that we’ve just seen Charles recently being crowned King of the United Kingdom (6 May 2023) let’s stop and talk about eclipses in relation to coronations for a second.
King Charles the Third was officially crowned as head of the United Kingdom just a day after a solar eclipse in Scorpio (5 May 2023) – the same sign as Charles’ natal sun, which is, of course, symbolically significant in any event involving kingship. What’s so fascinating is that this most recent pair of eclipses, which took place in the unusual combination of Aries and Scorpio, exactly mirror those that took place in 2005 when Charles married Camilla. Same signs – even the same saros family!
What’s even more fascinating is that in April 2005, the royal wedding had to be postponed because the Pope died unexpectedly, mirroring the experience of Princess Elizabeth in 1953 when, at the age of 21, she had to cut short her tour of the Commonwealth to return to England to take over her father’s duties. 21 is the age of the Uranus square – a transit often associated with coming of age, reaer personal autonomy and a breaking away from childhood – talk about having to adult suddenly!
There are lots of other interesting synchronicities in the coronation charts of both monarchs, which are worth examining in more detail. Join me in this video as I share what I discovered, both in terms of Charles’ coronation astrology and that of his late mother, HM Queen Elizabeth II.
