According to the many horoscopes we have for England and the United Kingdom, all set for various stages in her history, there is a huge risk of serious wild fires in 2018. As I write this on 16th July 2018, we have seen (since June 24th) disasters at Saddleworth Moor, Winter Hill, Glenshane Pass, the Vale of Rheidol – and now we have a new fire burning in London.
More than 225 firefighters were tackling an enormous grass fire in east London that sent smoke over the capital on Sunday 15th July.
I am not the only astrologer concerned about grave fire threats to the United Kingdom in July and August 2018. My friend, Robert Currey, the founder of The Astrology Shop in London, was exchanging the same views with me on Twitter a few weeks ago. We use different methods of astrology but had the same concerns. My colleagues and friends in astrology, Susan Miller and Joanne Madeline Moore also used Twitter to raise the alarm. Joanne @JoMadelineMoore is concerned about July 23rd through 29th because of the Sun’s square to Uranus, among other factors. Susan Miller singled out Mars (fire) in square to Uranus around August 1st and September 18th @astrology zone. That’s four high-profile astrologers on Twitter alone and I haven’t even checked with my other colleagues online. Fire risks in the UK, July to September 2018 is of deep concern to our profession. This goes beyond the recent blazes into something more, unfortunately. So – it is time for astrology to do what it does best, and that is sound the alarm.
The U.K. is not used to wildfires (or bushfires as they are known in Australia, where I spend half the year). Is the country ready? This image of the fires at Saddleworth Moor ran in Wired and it’s a reminder that we are in eclipse season and that can be risky.
How the U.K. Risks Fires in Summer 2018
We have a combination of worrying factors in the heavens in Summer 2018 in the United Kingdom. Mars is retrograde. Mars is the red planet – a symbol of male aggression – he often turns up in the charts of angry young men. Arsonists. When Mars goes back and forth, heat can build. Anger can build. We have a clash between Mars and Uranus (electricity) on Thursday 2nd August. Just before this we have a total lunar eclipse and Full Moon on Friday 27th July.
Mercury is also retrograde (from shadow to shadow) right across the U.K. school holidays. That’s chaotic.
Predictions of Fire – Right or Wrong? What William Lilly Knew
Is it right or wrong for astrologers to predict wildfires or ‘great fires’ as they were known in the 17th century? The best-known name in astrology from that time, William Lilly, famously saw The Great Fire of London in 1666 before it happened and gave a public warning.
The Museum of London confirms that in his book, Monarchy or No Monarchy, published in 1651, William Lilly printed several hieroglyphics which he used to predict various events, including the Great Plague and the Great Fire. There are two relating to the fire – one shows a city by a river burning and the other depicts a pair of twins hanging over a fire (Gemini was held to be the ruling star sign for London). Here they are. Easily the best-known astrological predictions in British history. The top figure is from Deborah Houlding’s website Skyscript and was annotated by the late, great Maurice McCann. He cleverly decoded the original 17th century print to show how William Lilly disguised his astrology in a drawing.
Was William Lilly issuing a terrifying warning, hoping that his readers would negotiate with destiny and avoid the worst? Or was he claiming to show a future which was fixed and non-negotiable? The truth is, if people had listened to him, London might have taken steps towards preventing the Great Fire or at least having safety measures in place. Instead, London burned.
Astrologers and Politics
As many of you know, I spend half the year in Australia. I am the astrologer for Cosmopolitan there and have a home in beautiful Tasmania. Unfortunately beautiful Tasmania is bushfire prone and as a typical fire-aware Australian resident, I am concerned that British politicians are not doing more to inform the public about wildfire (bushfire) prevention and management. Try this. Search Google for ‘what to do in a U.K. wildfire’ and see what you turn up. All I found on July 16th was a very brief article in a newspaper. There is no official U.K. government website or Twitter channel about wildfires.
William Lilly had the ear of politicians as a successful London astrologer, helping both sides in the Civil War. Today, astrologers should be ringing warning bells – not about a civil war – but about the serious threat of disastrous wildfires lit by arsonists or even terrorists in Summer 2018. Where’s the advice? In Australia we have bushfire plans.
What to do in a U.K. wildfire? At the moment, thanks to the shocking lack of public information in the U.K., you should probably start your research by looking at Australian websites.
On 29th June 2018 a 22-year-old man was arrested for arson with intent to endanger life, on suspicion of starting the initial Winter Hill fire. With Mars retrograde, Mercury retrograde, an eclipse and an inflammatory Mars-Uranus square, this is the summer when Great Britain will need a lot more than just the Met Office fire severity index.
Astrology and Public Warnings – How William Lilly was Accused
On Friday, October 25th, 1666, William Lilly was ordered to appear in the Speaker’s Chamber of the House of Commons to give testimony before the special Committee set up to examine the cause of the great fire in September. Lilly was seriously suspected of causing the fire predicted by his woodcuts (above). Fortunately, Lilly persuaded the committee that his prediction had not been precise and was released. A lucky escape.
As Maurice McCann points out in his Skyscript article about Lilly – There are seven people in the drawing, one for each known planet, the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter and Saturn. The two babies suspended upside down above the fire represent the sign of Gemini, believed to be the traditional ruler of London.
This brings us to the question of zodiac signs and why the ‘new’ chart for the United Kingdom, based on her Brexit incarnation, is such a concern. This horoscope for the nation is very recent but it is also showing much in common with the 1801 chart, which was originally created for the Act of Union – represented (below) by the Union Jack flag.
The New United Kingdom Horoscope – Brexit Britain
The U.K. has many different astrological ‘birth’ charts which are all rebirth charts. She has been reborn under many different constitutions and names over the years. When PM Theresa May signed the Article 50 farewell letter on Tuesday 28th March 2017 at 10.00pm she gave the country another incarnation – and horoscope.
Astrologers traditionally use the 1066 ‘William the Conqueror’ chart for Britain, or that great favourite, the 1801 chart set for the day that the United Kingdom became united.
So far the new Article 50 chart (which will hold until the country gains a brand new incarnation and horoscope when she officially leaves the E.U.) is accurate. I used it to predict heatwaves, success for the England team and an American-British rift over a year before it all happened in July 2018. You can check here if you like.
The new chart is a real worry in terms of fire risk. This Brexit Britain horoscope shows the Sun, Moon, Mercury, Venus and Uranus in Aries. I am sure you know Aries is a fire sign. This is a strongly Aries new nation. Very good for football, not so great for the risk of arson attacks using wildfire as a weapon – or terrorism. Grass fires or wild fires have already come very close to central Manchester and London in 2018.
Those Aries factors in the new Brexit chart are all ignited by Mercury Retrograde in Leo (from shadow to shadow the cycle runs, July 8th to September 2nd). The school holidays (Mercury rules students) run from July 25th to August 31st. Meanwhile Mars retrogrades and the Sun and Moon enter eclipse territory, which Lilly would have taken very seriously.
This is not alarmism. Yet, this is astrology ringing an alarm bell. Destiny is negotiable, according to The Company of Astrologers. Well, I agree with them. Fate can be avoided and that is the whole point of this kind of ‘warning bell’ astrology.
12 Responses
Hi Jessica,
Thank you for trying to get this fire warning and precautions to a wider audience in the UK. I grew up in the UK and nothing prepared me for the horror of Australian bushfires in Sydney. (The Great Fire of London gave me nightmares as a child.)
To those of you in the UK, near woodlands, forest parks, moors or anywhere near ground fuel, I strongly urge you to do your research and know what to do. If you are not fully prepared, pack your family members, photos or other memories and evacuate early. If there is not enough time to evacuate large animals, leaving gates open can give them a chance.
Hopefully you will not need to and wishing you the best of luck.
Thank you so much. I also grew up in London and was terrified by my first bushfire. Then my second one. Then my third one. I wonder if your nightmares about the Great Fire of London harked back to a previous life? Perhaps that is why you feel so moved to write now. I am hoping everyone in the United Kingdom on this website, reading this story now, sees your message. I have had my spirit guides around me constantly with this issue and it’s now at the point where I’m going to use some of my political contacts. At the very least there needs to be an emergency ‘what to do’ website, just as Australians have. Everyone needs a fire plan. That school holiday period is dangerous.
Hi Jess,
I have to agree with you here on how these fires are started. There are lots of parallels with 1976, which I just about recall. In 1976, Mercury retrograded in late spring from Gemini to Taurus, almost signifying an unnatural drying of the earth, as it followed the Sun back and forth. I would guess there were three quick conjunctions also.
However, this is a different country now, as you say, and the dangers are different. In 1976 a fire might have been started by thoughtless act, such as a carelessly discarded cigarette. In 2018, it is far more likely to be a willful or criminal act, even as far as the careless cigarette being of an illicit variety. Do you think that we might see our parks and forests destroyed in a new phase of summer terrorism?
Interesting reading as ever.
KC
Thank you KC. I am very grateful to you for bringing up the year 1976 which was also Mercury Retrograde. This planet is such a symbol of chaos when he retrogrades that we always have to look to the weather. Extreme conditions stop trains, traffic and planes – but there is something more about the United Kingdom in 2018. It’s that aggressive Mars I don’t like the look of. He is also hanging around far too long. And he’s a fire starter. I cannot believe that after Grenfell Towers people are not right across all fire danger – but this time it is not inside a tower block, it is in the countryside and even in dried-out parks. William Lilly rang the warning bell, so are astrologers like us now.
I’m British and my house caught fire last month, so this article hits home (not that I have one at the moment…)! It wasn’t connected to the wild fires but it was a freak accident that I couldn’t have foreseen or prevented.
My Cancerian Sun is in the same place as the 1801 British moon, and they’re both currently being opposed by Pluto and were recently eclipsed on, so I find that I’m seeing the pressure on home and hearth from big take-overy power structures at both a personal and a national level. And some of the cuts to domestic services over here have included the loss of 10 000 firemen since 2010.
No question really, but crikey I hope it starts easing up soon!
This is a really important piece of information for me, thank you. You are quite right about the Cancer-Capricorn clashes in the heavens. Cancer is of course home, but also home town and homeland. You are picking up on the 1801 chart United Kingdom Moon position and that is absolutely right. The loss of firemen (budget cuts) is something else you are absolutely bang on target about. I hope everyone who reads this feature also reads your comment, it’s incredibly insightful. It takes nothing to put up a website with prevention and management SOS information for people caught in wildfires. Where is it? Surely it’s not just astrologers and astrology readers who are the only people calling for this?
Cwm Rheidol (Vale of Rheidol) in Mid-West Wales isn’t the only wild fire that has beset Wales. You may find the content of the following websites in relation to wild fires in Wales interesting: (a) http://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/wales-news/live-updates-series-grass-fires-14858137 (3 July 2018); (b) http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-44708027 (4 July 2018); and http://www.dailypost.co.uk/news/north-wales-news/huge-north-wales-wildfires-saw-14901713 (15 July 2018).
Thank you so much. I need to find a good, reliable chart for Wales – before 1801. I’ll report back.
Anything on bushfires in Scotland Jessica? A few weeks ago we had a bush fire in North East of Scotland. As much as we are loving the warmest weather we’ve had in many years, I’d rather have just warm summers and no fires as heatwaves with fires.
This seems to be about the whole of the United Kingdom using the 1801 chart so unfortunately Scotland is also at risk.
Hi Jessica, I can’t comment on your Brexit posts as the comments are shut but I wanted to know whether you foresee another referendum on the final Brexit deal. As you know, the polls are changing and statistically (through polling), remain would win another referendum. Vote Leave has been convinced of cheating as well and the tide is turning. Do you see another vote happening? The calls are growing louder for one. Thanks for any insight you can give 🙂
If the Brexit referendum had been held on Mercury Retrograde there may be a chance of that, but it wasn’t. There was an exact line-up of Mars at 23 Scorpio, Ceres at 23 Aries and Uranus at 23 Aries on the day. A revolution. I often tell readers this, but Britain will follow the Swiss model – Britzerland, as Boris Johnson was fond of saying.