So it's the mid-13th Century and England is being ruled, not altogether satisfactorily, by Henry III (born Winchester, 1st October 1207 OS, time unknown). To quote Nick Campion in Born To Reign, "he loved beauty and was a patron of the arts... he had many good ideas but was unable to either assess the practical consequences or even put them into effect... indeed, Henry was unable to cope with the realities of power."

The barons started to grumble.

One of their grievances was that Henry listened less to them than to his French extended families. His Queen was French and his French mother had remarried in France and provided him with some French half-siblings. Euro-scepticism in England goes back a long way.

The barons had "advised" Henry to sign the Provisions of Oxford in 1258, which were to guarantee 3 Parliaments a year, at which he would accept counsel from "native-born men". However his brother, Richard Duke of Cornwall, later persuaded him to seek Papal absolution from his oath, on the grounds that a consecrated monarch ought not to be ruled by his subjects. This would not be the last time that a king's strict adherence to religion would clash with the people's wishes.

In the meantime, Simon de Montfort (no birth details known) had decided that, although he was of noble French birth, career advancement more likely lay in England. Through some hereditary hopscotch he had a part claim to the Earldom of Leicester and, after negotiation, attained it. Also, not purely as a career move, he married one of Henry's sisters, Eleanor. Steadily he became one of the richest and most influential men in the realm. His relationship with his kingly brother-in-law, however, blew hot and cold.

In the end, civil war broke out, with de Montfort and the barons challenging the king, culminating at the Battle of Lewes on 12th May 1264. As the challenger had a superb grasp of military tactics, not to mention much national support, and the defender did not, the end was clear: Simon won and Henry lost.

De Montfort called the celebrated Parliament of 20th January 1265 (OS) [click here] which, for the first time, included 2 burgesses each from the burghs. In one sense these were men who had proven civic worth, so that Parliament was not comprised only of knights of the shires etc, their positions achieved through birth or royal gift.

In other words, this was the first attempt to convene a Parliament with broader national representation, and that representation involving election because of merit.

Simon de Montfort did not retain the upper hand for long: in fact he was killed in a subsequent battle later in 1265. Nor did Henry, through the greater guile of his son Edward or quite a few of their successors, always allow the nobles, barons and general riff-raff to determine style of government. However, the nucleus of our modern parliamentary system had been established.

I have found, when looking at older charts of foundations of organisations, which have grown dramatically through the centuries, that it can be fruitful to examine the charts in the first instance with the traditional planets only, adding in the modern planets "as and when".

No time is known to have been recorded for this historic first meeting, so initially I thought, well, why not erect it for 2.30pm, as they meet now? I have since adjusted this back to 2.10pm (GMT), although it possibly requires further fine-tuning.

The first thing that struck me was the Moon's position in Aquarius. The Sun, of course, is Parliament itself, which exists to be the Representation of the People, and the Moon, in a mundane chart, usually represents the people. The Moon in this chart is in the degree (approximately) which the Sun occupies on 16th February, the date each year that the new Electoral Register comes into effect - and no-one seems to have any idea why this date was chosen. Even in a fixed sign, the Moon is subject to fluctuation, in this instance, of the population.

The Moon, fittingly, is the Ascendant ruler: what else but Cancer rising in the chart of the organisation which claims to be the "Mother of Parliaments"? (Conveniently forgetting that Iceland had held regular "Althings" since 930AD.) It has also been mooted that the word "Commons" is derived from "communities".

The Midheaven is mutable, allowing for changes of monarchs, dynasties and, later, governments.

The Moon in Aquarius in 9th house is looking for a democratically-elected legislative assembly: let's hear it for fixed-sign optimism! The people (Ascendant) elect agents (2nd house) from amongst themselves (same sign on both cusps), who become in conglomerate the Sun (Leo occupies most of 2nd house and is the heart of the chart). The Moon is sextile Jupiter, the king (MC ruler): the people in principle have no problem with a monarchy, but would prefer to negotiate a somewhat different constitution (dissociate aspect). The Moon is separating from the Mars/ Saturn conjunction, which is itself separating. The present position has been won by force, by challenging and overcoming the king's authority (Saturn rules 10th from 10th). And a monarch's first duty is to defend the realm (Saturn conjunct Mars). This chart was born of conflict, and the conflict reverberates down the centuries.

It may be glaringly obvious that The Speaker has to be represented by Mercury, but some of the symbolism requires a closer look. He or she is the Member chosen to parley with the Monarch. 7th from 10th = Virgo. Who calls, "Order! Order!"? But Mercury in this chart is severely debilitated, being, amongst other things, combust the Sun, retrograde and separating from conjunction and cazimi. On being "dragged to the Chair" (Mercury square Jupiter? The apparent reluctance is because it sometimes proved to be the last job they ever had!), the Speaker must abjure former party allegiances for the sake of impartiality (and when standing for re-election as an MP must do so as "Speaker" and canvass the electorate not), forswear previous in-House friendships (although genteel cross-part soirees are acceptable) and, except on official business, may not leave the Palace of Westminster while Parliament is in session. Speakers take no part in debates and do not vote. As Speaker Lenthall said to Charles I in June 1642, "...I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place, but as this House is pleased to direct me, whose servant I am here..." Indeed a Virgoan Mercury.

As the leading planet in the chart, the Speaker, even up to the 20th Century, held the title of "First Commoner". He or she also ensures that the views of the minority are heard during debates. Finally, Mercury is in 8th house, the 5th from 4th, backward-looking (apparently) and in a fixed sign - is this why the Speaker wears archaic fancy dress?

Looking at umpteen transits, progressions and events through three-quarters of a millennium (and a millennium is a long time in politics...) has led me to conclude that the nodal axis is the idea or belief that it is the British destiny to have rule by Parliament.

Venus, as well as the usual mundane expression of public opinion, appears to represent the Cabinet, as ruler of the 12th house. Perhaps Venus, fond as she is of relating, and fond as Aquarius is supposed to be of public information, is more prone than other planets to "leaks"!

Venus and Saturn by dignity are the strongest planets in the chart. What British politics comes down to is not so much power but money. After all, Parliament's original function was to grant supply to the monarch, often for wars - Mars conjunct Saturn again. In Henry's case, their placement in Taurus often manifested as funds required for building works, painstaking and expensive in their details and quality, and fine living. Looking at the money houses in this chart, 2nd, 8th and 11th (my, ours, national), there is an obvious clash between the rulers, Moon, Saturn and Mars. Whichever party forms the government of the day, the electorate can never be happy with taxation, neither the method of collection nor the intended expenditure.

This first elected Parliament met a day-and-a-half after an eclipse. Henry's Moon was in either late Capricorn or early Aquarius and would certainly have felt its effects. (His flat chart also interacts in several other ways with Parliament's.) This eclipse is of Saros Series 6 North, of which Bernadette Brady, in The Eagle and the Lark, wrote, "This family of eclipses is concerned with the individual's relationship to father figures or the need to take responsibility or control. This is a time to accept the commitments that are presented, commitments which could occur due to another person's illness or another person's unreliability."

Why should Parliament meet in London? The geodetic MC for Westminster (co-ordinates from OS map - accept no substitute) is 29 Pisces 52. This is where the representatives of the people meet with the monarch: the Moon/ Jupiter midpoint is 29 Pisces 26. It's where Parliament attempts to check the executive: the Sun/ Saturn midpoint is 29 Pisces 43. It's where the minorities ought to be heard against the force of the government: the Mercury/ Mars midpoint is 20 Pisces 48. Oxford, Winchester or any other prior meeting place just won't do.

Does this chart key into the 1066 chart? [click here] Oh, yes! The 1066 Moon is in the last degree of Pisces, the Sun is close to the 1265 Descendant, the Aries Midheaven has its ruler Mars in 11th house at 8 degrees Aquarius beside Venus at 29 degrees Capricorn and Fortuna is at 11 degrees Cancer.

Anyhow, this is a very fixed chart, so not too much happens for a while. Monarchs come, dynasties go; sometimes Parliament is called often (when the Royal Purse needs filling up) and sometimes rarely. Things did get rather exciting in the 17th Century (progressed Sun conjunct natal Sun resulted in another civil war) and then quietened down again.

Suddenly, one clear night, some bright spark invented Uranus. Eight planets! In Parliament's chart [click here] we now have an occupant at 27 Aries 03, providing a Cardinal and Fire input at last. Parliament reacted immediately, of course, to this new impetus and only half a century later passed the 1832 Reform Act, extending the franchise (a little) and sweeping away the old rotten burghs. Parliament had intended to do this 200 years earlier, except it had been distracted by having another wee war with the Dutch and afterwards, well, they never quite got around to it.

Uranus is sextile the Moon, granting these new-fangled democratic rights to more of the populace. It is also conjunct Jupiter, and this appears to work out in two main ways. One is that an MP's aim (Jupiter, MC) is to serve democracy (Uranus) and the people (Uranus, as Moon's dispositor) in an often anonymous and selfless manner (Pisces on MC). The other is that, through democracy, some MPs can create a social standing and substantial second incomes (Jupiter in Taurus) for themselves. The Jupiter/ Neptune conjunction of January 1997 will square the natal Uranus and I expect that we will see a "crunch" or a very public resolution of the "sleaze factor" of recent years.

Then someone dreamed up Neptune, appearing in the 1265 chart at 09 Leo 54R. By this time Parliament had got used to the idea of more frequent activity, so took only a quarter of a century to pass the Secret Ballot Act. During this time, the monarch's role became less direct and more symbolic and ceremonial. Neptune as MC ruler is in Leo, after all. Jupiter retains co-rulership of the MC, but begins to represent the party in power, or the current government. Neptune being opposite Mercury, Sun and Venus in Aquarius, MPs start talking grandiose guff about how democratic they are! Another new-ish development is the Jupiter Neptune/ Sun T-square: it is now clear that Parliament does not assemble and disperse at the monarch's personal command, but, in this fixed system, still the Prime Minister must request the monarch's permission to dissolve Parliament.

Finally, Pluto is dredged up to complete the picture (20 Sagittarius 48) and is found to be sextile Moon, trine Uranus and quincunx both Mars and Saturn. This "coincided" with widespread empowerment of the population in 1918 (the electorate jumped from 8 million to 21-and-a-half million) to universal franchise (29 million). Pluto is the will of the people.

The transits etc during these three periods are worth a look, as are the several charts relating to Ireland and Scotland, most of which are available in The Book of World Horoscopes.

If we now look at the complete chart, all the planets associated with ideas and concepts are in fire signs, but those representing functions, personalities and day-to-day activities are in fixed air and earth. And no water, other than the angles. It is still a male-dominated arena and, despite the recent prominence of Margaret Thatcher and Betty Boothroyd, in no way feels like a "mother" of parliaments.

Naturally I had hoped to fix the angles somewhat more accurately. Amongst other things, I looked at event transits and progressions which affected the actual building (IC, I thought), such as Guy Fawkes in 1605, the Fire of 1854, the bombing in 1941, but in general I found that the Mars/ Saturn conjunction was contacted. Mars conjunct the 7th house ruler is often aggression from open or perceived enemies, or attacks against Parliament's authority.

One of my favourite testing methods is Local Space. As well as other places, the Jupiter line runs through Dublin, the Uranus line along the Ulster/ Eire border and the Moon line through Gibraltar. The Jupiter, Uranus and Mars/ Saturn lines also run through Luxembourg, Strasbourg and Brussels - and to listen to some MPs talking about the "surrender of British sovereignty" leaves me wondering if they view these pivotal points of the European Union as strongholds of a perceived enemy rather than as meeting-places with partners with whom they willingly signed treaties in an idealistic yet practical attempt to rid Europe of war. This chart was born of conflict...

This article forms part of a talk, The Westminster System of House Division, which was presented to The Scottish Astrological Association and to The Urania Trust Open House in October and November 1996.

First published in Astrology Quarterly, Vol.66, no.3.

Data: England: 25 December (OS) 1066, Noon LT, Westminster, 00W08, 51N30 [click here for chart]
De Monfort Parliament (no trans-Saturn planets): 20 January (OS) 1265, 14:10 p.m. LT Westminster, 00W08, 51N30 [click here for chart]
De Monfort Parliament (trans-Saturn planets: 20 January (OS) 1265, 14:10 p.m. LT Westminster, 00W08, 51N30 [click here for chart]