THE SEXY MR BROWN

Gordon Brown, who is almost certain to become the British Prime Minister later this year, was recently voted 97th sexiest man in the world by readers of New Woman magazine. What I want to know is, if he’s on the list, why aren’t I? Haven’t they heard of me and my amazing blog? And why is he on the list at all? These poor women obviously think his smile is for real: what I see is a “Would you like to come home and see my puppies?” type of smile. The man belongs in a Dracula film, and if that’s what turns these women on, who am I to question their taste?

Of course, the real reason they fancy him is down to one thing: POWER. Some women would fancy a 3 foot dwarf with the halitosis of a dead fox if he was in a position of power. And I don’t mean to be unkind to our shorter brethren, but height makes a difference. However enlightened we might consider ourselves, however advanced and liberal and humane, looks and height, and maybe power and wealth as well, have to be weighed up before we even get to the first post. Although height seems to be more of a woman thing.

And while we’re on the subject, what could be more interesting than the sex lives of celebrities? We’re like a pack of dogs, obsessed with other people’s sex lives and hierarchy, as the sales of the tabloid newspapers and New Woman magazine demonstrate.

The real Mr Brown (born 20 Feb 1951, Giffnock, Scotland, 8.40am) has Venus in Pisces hidden in away in the 12th House (along with Sun, Mercury, Mars, Jupiter and Node) and opposite Saturn, and he has Neptune on the Descendant. OK, he has a compassionate streak when it comes to giving a bit more aid to Africa, but on a personal relationship level the man has real problems. Well, he doesn’t think he has. But everyone else does. He’s just not there. “Totally un-collegiate”, “autistic”, “psychologically flawed” are some of the epithets that have come his way. Good he may be with figures, but I don’t know why anyone imagines he’ll be able to hold a cabinet together.

The man is deeply unknowable, probably even to himself, and no doubt that is also part of his sexiness. Apart from his 12th House stuff, I think the key to his chart is Moon conjunct Pluto in Leo in the 5th/6th. This describes his obsessive need to be king, the childish (Moon–Leo-5th) tantrums at not getting his own way, the endless plotting to unseat Blair, and the remarkable way he has for many years created the impression that he is somehow entitled to be the next leader. He must have been delighted that Mr Blair, like me, doesn’t even appear on this year’s list of world’s sexiest men. With his weak Mars in 12th House Pisces, Brown is not able to fight directly for what he wants, unlike Blair who has Mars Rising.

(On the subject of the Moon, I have had 2 Boing! moments in the last day: (1) Moon in Leo people can be quite childish or child-like (2) The Moon can be important in old-age, as we reach our ‘second-childhood’).

I think one good thing Brown will have compared to Blair is that he won’t toady to America. Blair has Sun square Pluto (as well as Moon opposite), giving him a love of power, but I think the fact that his Sun is in the 12th weakens it, making him susceptible to others more powerful than himself. (Margaret Thatcher also has Sun square Pluto, but Sun in the 11th, and she had no problem standing up to Ronald Reagan – which he found sexy. Which in theory it is. But in Thatcher's case, as President Giscard D'Estaing of France said: I do not like her. She is not a man and she is not a woman.) Brown is the opposite of Blair – it is troubling to him to be around someone more powerful than himself, which is why there has been the constant warring with No 10.

The Composite chart between Brown and Bush has Mars rising in Gemini and Sun square Pluto. So they may not have an easy relationship.

Like Tony Blair, Brown has Chiron conjunct Midheaven in early Capricorn, suggesting that like Blair he will have a damaged legacy. What sunk Blair was his dishonesty over Iraq. Brown may well blow it as well, but it’ll probably be around the fact that though he has a desperate desire to be PM, he is not a leader of people: what he is known for on a personal level is intrigue, plotting and revenge. But with 12th House Mercury opposite his Moon-Pluto conjunction, what else could we expect? His will increasingly be a Cabinet of yes-men, which to his credit hasn’t been the case with Blair.

Brown has both Saturn and Pluto in the 6th House, reflecting his strong (Saturn), even obsessive (Pluto) work ethic. He has Uranus conjunct IC in Cancer: his father was a Church of Scotland minister, who encouraged in him an attitude of helping others. This Uranus, which is square to his Saturn, suggests to me that while Brown has given the impression he will continue where Blair left off, he may have a few surprises in store. With his Moon-Pluto in Leo, he will feel he has to show where he is different from Blair.

(By the way, I have done readings for 2 air hostesses with Uranus conjunct IC: as one of them put it, her home (IC) is in the sky (Uranus)).

To give Brown a bit more credit, he has been integral to the unique achievement of the Blair government, which has been to run a growing economy at the same time as putting more money into public services. In the past, both Labour and Conservative have done one at the expense of the other. Blair and Brown both have Saturn in 6th house Libra, an indicator of this balanced attitude towards work and the public services. And Brown, with Sun and Venus in 12th house Pisces and Angular Neptune, probably has a real feeling for the suffering of others mixed in with his power-seeking and plotting.

The real test will be the next general election, which will be in May 2010 at the latest. The Uranus-Pluto square in early Aries-Capricorn will be starting then, and it will hard aspect Brown's MC at 4 Capricorn. As I said in my blog of 21 January, a leader tends to be characteristic of his/her time, and will therefore tend to have a chart that is being activated by the major astrological configurations of the time. So we can’t rule out Brown winning that election, especially as his Progressed Sun-Moon cycle will still be in a waxing phase: the conjunction occurred in 1996, a year before Labour gained power, so the waxing phase seems to be associated with Brown being in a position of power.

David Cameron, his probable opponent at that election, has Sun at 15 Libra, which the Uranus-Pluto square would hard aspect towards the end of the term following the 2010/11 election. So we can’t rule out him winning it either. The one thing we CAN be sure of is that, whichever of them wins, they will shoot up the list of the world’s sexiest men. And David Cameron was at 87 on the recent list, 10 ahead of Brown.