Whenever we reach a big birthday we look back and see how the previous decade went.
As I move towards my 70th, the last ten years have been phenomenal, both unbelievable and wonderful.
But I’ve also been looking back to the end of my first decade.
The themes of an astrology chart stay with you for life, your childhood experiences would inevitably be chiming with it, building the adult that you will become.
By the age of 10 those natal patterns will have crystallised and behaviours will be as astrologically predictable as those of 70.
The same triple Capricorn 12th house character that researched astrology on his own for 40 years was in evidence then.
But instead of the cosmic science, my area of obsessional focus was board games.
Monopoly not so much because that was the kind of game your parents would join in. Risk yes, because what 10 year old boy doesn’t identify with conquering the world.
My favourite was Cluedo.
Cluedo (or Clue as the Americans called it) is a murder mystery game, he object of which “is to determine who murdered the game’s victim, where the crime took place, and which weapon was used. Each player assumes the role of one of the six suspects and attempts to deduce the correct answer by strategically moving around a game board representing the rooms of a mansion and collecting clues about the circumstances of the murder from the other players.”
As a committed 12th houser, I would play the game on my own trying to block from my decision making any information that I’d gained about the possible identity of the killer from previous turns.
I was discussing horary astrology with a client recently and she said a chart is like a theatre play with each planet playing different roles. We laughed at the idea of an Agatha Christie style drama where each planet has a motive for killing another.
At that moment I knew I had to write an article on the Astrology of Cluedo, but where to start.
Intriguingly there are seven characters involved so they must fit with the traditional planetary archetypes.
Dr Black, “the wealthy owner of Tudor Mansion, the unseen host who is murdered, is an eminent anthropologist and the heir of his late uncle’s estate, which he is set to fully inherit on the day of his thirtieth birthday. Before then, he discovered a series of secret allowances bequeathed to some of his uncle’s former associates. Vowing to investigate these financial dealings, he invites his uncle’s associates to Tudor Mansion for a weekend visit. However, Mr. Black is murdered by one of them.”
Black would be Saturn.
Miss Scarlett is “a stereotypical femme fatale, typically portrayed as young, cunning, and attractive”. In films based on the game she has been portrayed as a “madame who runs an underground brothel”
Miss Scarlett has to be Mars, not least for the colour red.
Colonel Mustard is “a stock military officer. He is usually portrayed as a dignified, dapper, and dangerous military man who is known to sleep with a revolver under his pillow”. In one edition “behind his medals of honour, are rumours of treason and war profiteering, which he has been paying someone to hide for far too long. Believing Mr. Black is blackmailing him, Mustard eagerly comes to Tudor Mansion in search of evidence.”
Colonel Mustard would be the Sun, again particularly because of the colour.
Mrs. White is “usually portrayed as a frazzled servant who worked as Mr. Black’s cook and housekeeper, who also served as his nanny. Despite her years of dedicated service, she has little to show for it.” In the film she is “depicted as the widow of a nuclear physicist, an illusionist, and three other men, all of whom died under mysterious circumstances.”
Mrs White would be the Moon.
Reverend Green is “a hypocritical Anglican priest who wavers when the subject is murder. He has a reputation for fraud, money laundering, and smuggling. He has also appeared as a charming con artist who is in hiding, disguised as a priest. In the film he is depicted as a closeted homosexual and member of the Republican Party who is concerned that his secret might cost him his job as a State Department employee.”
Reverend Green would be Jupiter.
Mrs. Peacock is a grande dame and middle-aged woman who nearly always maintains her dignity. She is depicted as an elderly ornithologist with a specialty in birds of prey who wanted Mr. Black to turn his manor into a bird sanctuary as part of a donation to the Peacock Salvation Society. In the film, she is “depicted as the wife of a U.S. Senator who is accused of taking bribes.”
Mrs Peacock would be Venus.
Professor Plum is an “absent-minded professor character”. He has been portrayed as “a shady archaeologist and Egyptologist who formerly worked as the curator of the British Museum before he was fired due to allegations of plagiarising his article on the dynasties of ancient Egypt from a deceased colleague and a disgraced former psychiatrist of the World Health Organization who lost his medical license for having an affair with one of his patients and became an employee at the United Nations.”
Professor Plum would be Mercury.
In more recent formats of the game, new characters have been included, the most significant ones seem to be related to the three outer planets.
Monsieur Brunette is a foreign con artist with many talents, passports, and accents who is usually a Frenchman intent on personal gain. He poses as a lawyer.
Monsieur Brunette would be Uranus.
Miss Peach has been described as “the daughter of M. Brunette who arrives by “accident”. She is the daughter of a wealthy American businessman and a famed British stage actress who had a happy childhood in America until her father’s finances were ruined, causing her to drop out of law school. She now works as a secretary for her uncle’s law firm in Hampshire, England. She usually manipulates others with her charm.”
Miss Peach would be Neptune.
Sergeant Grey is a corrupt police officer or a crazed mental patient who escaped from the nearby asylum and evaded discovery by posing as a police officer.” He also “secretly worked with Dr. Black to drop tax evasion charges in exchange for a cut.”
Sergeant Grey would be Pluto.
When it comes to Cluedo however, I’m a traditionalist sticking with the original group.
I’ve tried to find a date of release chart for Cluedo but can only come up with the year 1949. However, I do have a noon chart for its inventor, Anthony E Pratt.
“Holed up in his home in Birmingham, during air raids on the city in World War II, Anthony E. Pratt, an English musician and factory worker, recalled the murder mystery games played by some of his clients at private music gigs as well as the detective fiction popular at the time, most notably Agatha Christie. In 1944, Pratt applied for a patent of his invention of a murder/mystery-themed game, originally named Murder! Shortly thereafter, Pratt and his wife, Elva, who had helped design the game, presented it to Waddingtons’ executive Norman Watson, who immediately purchased it and provided its trademark name of Cluedo (a play on “clue” and “Ludo”, the Latin word for “I play” and the name of a popular board game based on Pachisi). The design of the house in the game is reputed to be based on what was the Tudor Close Hotel in Rottingdean” (not far from where I used to live).
Could Anthony Pratt’s noon chart give us more clues to help find the killer?
Of course it can.
Pratt’s Sun in Leo in the 10th house would suggest he identifies with Colonel Mustard although his Mars rising in Scorpio betrays a keen interest in Miss Scarlett.
The noon chart ruler Pluto is in Gemini in the 8th which is perfect for a murder game with many suspects.
Pluto is part of a Grand Cross.
A tight opposition with Uranus in the 2nd shows that the motive was an unexpected financial one.
The other two players in this aspect pattern are Venus and Jupiter, so the killer could be Miss Peacock or Reverend Green.
But my choice would be with the much tighter aspect to Jupiter so the villain of the piece is Reverend Green.
The most Piscean of the murder weapons looks like the candlestick and the 5th house would be the billiard room.
In 1949 when Cluedo was released, transit Pluto was conjunct Pratt’s Sun.
In the same year, Jupiter (Reverend Green) was conjunct Pratt’s Saturn (Mr Black). So there we have it.
My 10 year old self would have been impressed with the detective work.
Posted on Oct 28th 2024
YOU CAN BOOK YOUR OWN PERSONAL ASTROLOGY CONSULTATION HERE
HAVE YOU BEEN HERE BEFORE – ASTROLOGICAL REGRESSION AND PAST LIVES
KEEPING IT IN THE FAMILY – A DETAILED LOOK AT YOUR SYNASTRY WITH THE RELATIVES
TREAT YOURSELF – REMEDIES INDIVIDUALLY TAILORED TO YOUR BIRTHCHART AND TRANSITS
PROGRESSED LIFE SUPPORT – WHEN WILL YOUR SOULMATE BE COMING ?
WHAT’S HAPPENING MAN ? USING HORARY TO ANSWER ALL YOUR QUESTIONS
HOW TO CHANGE YOUR FATE – USING ELECTIONS TO ENSURE THE BEST POSSIBLE OUTCOME FOR EVERY VENTURE