Russell Grant - The Book of Birthdays

M any Happy Returns to you all! (Or should I say Many Happy Solar Returns! Solar because the Sun returns to the same place as it was on the day you were born. Hence the saying!)

I'm delighted to welcome you to my Book of Birthdays, a venture which has been tremendously exciting and rewarding to develop, and which is borne from many years studying astrology, the great systems of the universe and the fascinating people of every race and nation who dwell within our world. As a Sun and Moon Aquarian, I am a natural observer of individual people and their characters.

My life as an astrologer has brought me into contact with incalculable numbers of people over the last thirty years, through viewers' direct and personal response to my appearances on television, my columns in national and regional newspapers, and as a result of my many astrological books. I have also had the opportunity to meet people from all over the world who have sought my help. They range from members of our own Royal Family, to business magnates in the City here and Wall Street in America, politicians, television pundits, actors, actresses, editors of our own national newspapers and magazines, to people from all sorts of less high-profile professions and jobs. Rich or poor, we are all concerned about our destiny and certainly want to make the best of it. I count many clients among my dearest friends.

But, of course, apart from astrology, I am also deeply involved in other allied disciplines. Chinese astrology and other Oriental belief systems have taken my interest for many years and become an integral part of my professional and personal pursuit of knowledge. Other studies include my own work on systems of numerology, palmistry, some forms of magic and many areas of ancient Celtic wisdom. Perhaps one of my most personally rewarding studies, and indeed discoveries, has been the Astro-Tarot pack, created by me and taken up by followers all over the world. This acted as the tool through which I could channel my psychic energy and fulfilled my ambition to combine my expertise of the tarot with my knowledge of astrology, making the Astro-Tarot a school for learning both disciplines.

Astrologers and followers of these other studies have always accepted that we are all influenced by the geographical place, date and timing of our birth. Birth rituals to record this are performed in ancient religions and cultures all over the world. And we accept that certain characteristics are associated with each birth sign motivated by a particular planet in a sensitive area of our own unique natal chart. But in my own studies I have long held the opinion that your character is not only affected by your sun sign but by the exact date you were born, and the intricate astrological influences that are cast from it. Even Carl Jung, the great psychologist, stressed that each and every one of us is born with a huge collective of characteristics in a kind of universal archetype, influenced by the time we are born within the natural cycle of the year. The rhythms of the year are determined by the seasons - the changes between spring, summer, autumn and winter - along with the lengthening and shortening of days and nights. It corresponds that those born in the heat of the summer differ to those born in the cold light of a short winter's day (and of course this still applies if you are born in the southern hemisphere where the seasons are reversed).

With this awareness of the undeniable pull of nature combined with the basic principles of psychology and astrology it seems clear to me that destiny is influenced by the individual date of birth, irrespective of the year, allowing us to make personal choices in our own exclusive way. Dr Marc Edmunds Jones, in his stimulating and penetrating book The Sabian Symbols in Astrology, draws similar conclusions by emphasising not the actual date of birth but the symbolic meaning attached to each of the 360 degrees of the zodiac wheel.

What has also cemented this conviction for me is the knowledge gained from my perhaps less well-known psychic and Spiritualist experiences. For many years I have practised as a medium and have had the privilege to work with my dear friend, one of the wisest psychics of all, Doris Stokes, now passed on to a greater world. I have many clients with this work. Some come to me for healing, others simply to consult through my clairvoyant ability. As President Emeritus of the prestigious body, The British Astrological-Psychic Society, I am able to keep in touch with current thinking about the New Age. Using this psychic ability I have been able to synthesise knowledge and experience, honing them to an outline of the characteristics of individual dates - hence the 'psycheology' of every birthday in the year.

You'll find that each psycheology gives an insightful outline of the characteristics you might find for every birthday boy or girl as well as snippets of information about events that occurred on your date of birth, a thought for the day, the element (fire, earth, air or water) attributed to your sun sign and the names of celebrities born on the same day. It also includes sections loosely gathered under the headings Mind and Body. These can cover a whole range of physical and emotional attributes and are written to appeal to each birthdate's individual character and interests.

Remember that each psycheology, as with all astrological readings, acts rather like a signpost - the road doesn't have to be taken. This is a book which is invaluable as a guide, not as an ordinance on how you must lead your life. Glean from it what you can in the journey to discover more about the inherent nature and destiny of yourself, your friends and loved ones, and the choices that are open to fulfil your self-potential.

The word psycheology may be new in our language at least - but it describes something in us all that is as old as time.

The Book of Birthdays begins with a general outline of the characteristics of each sun sign archetype. Every sign is subdivided into three equal segments called decanates or decans. A decanate is a different vibration of the three signs and their ruling planets associated with the element (fire, earth, air or water) from which they form a part. The first decanate always starts with the nature of the sign in question followed in correct order with the next two from the family of the same element.

I have rounded off the decanate dates to come up with the most accurate and acceptable periods possible. This is because the start and finish of both star signs and decanates will, of course, alter yearly.

We then follow with psycheologies for every birthday of the year. Several of the psycheologies utilise the principles of my Astro-Tarot for added insight into the character and personality of a particular birthday. On occasion, numerology has also been used. If you would like to know more about my Astro-Tarot and personal systems of numerology, please send an S.A.E. to me c/o:

PO Box 5757, Royal Lytham St Annes, Lancashire FY8 2TE, Great Britain.