A few years ago I spent a lot of time researching the history of Edinburgh in preparation for a talk based on its earliest surviving charter (28th May 1329 OS, 03w12, 55n57, time rectified by myself to 09:45 GMT).

For the purposes of this article, there are just a few features of the chart to which I would bring your attention. Aries is on the 9th house cusp, by Placidus, and Mars at 07Leo08 conjoins Saturn at 06Leo52 in the 12th house, both sextile Jupiter. Also in the 12th is the North Node at 13Leo25, opposing Uranus at 15Aquarius54.

The 9th house and Mars and Saturn in Leo symbolise some of the areas and institutions which Edinburgh proudly considers as authoritative and pioneering, viz, law, further education, research, religion, international relations, etc.

In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, for reasons I am not entirely sure of, the Town Council went through a spate of granting "Seals of Causes" to various Incorporations of Craftsmen (Saturn rules the 6th house), which set out self-defined standards and obligations. One which caught my attention for several reasons that to the Barbers and Surgeons. Most of you will know that in those days the two professions were linked, and that the traditional red-and-white pole of a barber's shop represented blood and bandages.

One section of the document reads:

"...that euerie man that is to be maid freman and maister amangis ws be examit and previt in thir poyntis following thatt is to say, that he knaw anotamell, nature and complexion of euery member humanis bodie, and inlykewayes he knaw all the vaynis of the samyn, thatt he may mak flewbothomell [blood-letting] in dew tyme, and als thatt he knaw in quhilk member the signe has domination for the tyme, for euery man aucht to knaw the nature and substance of euery thing thatt he werkis, or ellis he is negligent."

The Royal College of Surgeons, Edinburgh, likes to use this section, but, unsurprisingly perhaps, the extract has been "doctored" to remove the references to astrology. Academic pride and prejudice strike again.

The document continues:

"...and that we may have anis in the yeir ane condampnit man efter he be deid to make antomell of, quhairthrawe we may haif experience, ilk ane to instrict vthers, and we sall do suffrage for the soule;"

To this day, any medical student caught being less than respectful to any cadaver (now volunteered) in a dissection class can be thrown off the course. And ultimately the "patient" must still receive "a decent funeral".

However, there is a more important historical significance: pre-Reformation Edinburgh granted permission for human dissection, at a time when the rest of Europe was still discussing whether this was compatible with Christian ethics.

This pioneering move fits beautifully with Edinburgh's 9th house ruler Mars conjunct Saturn in Leo. I've never wanted to be a medical student, so I don't mind being crass enough to suggest that this represents the cutting up of stiffs to study life for educational purposes.

The time (of the Seal of Cause) is not recorded, so I've set the chart for noon. (1st July 1505, 03w12, 55n57) The Mars/ Pluto opposition across Gemini/ Sagittarius (cutting into people dead by the legal process for the furtherance of information?) quite neatly aspects Edinburgh's Mars/ Saturn conjunction. Saturn is almost at return, and the North Node sits of one of those so-called astrological degrees everyone's talking about all over again.

But I was very intrigued when I realised that repeat positions were imminent, in the 1990s, of two of the outer planets, viz, Pluto and Neptune. This was going to be the second return of Pluto and the third of Neptune, thus the first opportunity they'd had to re-occupy similar positions at the same time. I noted at the time that it seemed reasonable to expect another breakthrough, actual or intellectual, in issues of life and death, the most likely areas, I thought, being euthanasia and genetic engineering.

Well, hello Dolly! The data (5th July 1996, 16:00 BST) appeared in Lois Rodden's "Data News" after Debbi Kempton-Smith had spotted the date and time in "The New York Times". I corrected the latitude and longitude according to OS references (Roslin Insttute, 03w11, 55n51 30). I seriously suspect that this is a rounded-off time, and although I wrote to the Roslin Institute for one more accurate, I received no reply.

Dolly's existence as (probably) the world's first cloned mammal was announced to an astonished world around 21st February 1997, when Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Pluto were all aspecting relevant parts of the charts of Edinburgh and the Barbers and Surgeons. Instead of recognising that this might lead the way to enormous advancements in medicine, many people demonstrated that they watched far too much television and had nightmares about the cloning of humans.

You may judge her chart for yourselves. All I wish to say about it is that, as you might expect from a being with Sun in Cancer and Moon in Pisces, she does appear to have a caring and charitable nature. In June 1997 it was announced the first trials were to take place of a medicine for the sufferers of cystic fibrosis, extracted from a human protein produced in the milk of transgenic sheep. In the Spring of 1997, Dolly had her first shearing by an International Shearing Champion from the Scottish Borders. Her fleece was donated to the Cystic Fibrosis Trust, who will have it transformed into a designer garment to feature in a fund-raising auction in the Autumn.

Yep, Dolly went from the Surgeons to the Barbers!

Caroline Gerard, June 1997.

Data:

Edinburgh, granting of charter: 28 May (OS) 1329, 9:45 LT Edinburgh 03W12, 55N57 [click here for chart]
The Royal College of Surgeons, granting of charter: 01 July (OS) 1505, Noon LT, Edinburgh, 03W12, 55N57 [click here for chart]
Dolly, cloned sheep: 05 July 1996, 16:00 BST Roslin Institute 03W11, 55N51 30 [click here for chart]

This article was first published in The Astrology and Medicine Newsletter, issue No. 24

For details of the quincentenary of the Royal College of Surgeons click here.