I first met Suzie at a Liz Greene astrology lecture in London in the early nineties.
“Lyn?” Snowy Claire tapped me on the shoulder. After greetings she introduced her friend Suzie, another Aquarian.
“Oh”, I said, interested, appreciating the long ginger flowing hair and her high energy. “Hi Suzie! What date in Aquarius are you?”
“11th February” said Suze.
“Wow! So am I! 11th February! How amazing! What a co-incidence! Hey! What’s your ascendant?” “Sagittarius.”
“Really?! So’s mine! Whoo that’s weird!”
“Hey it is! Really weird!”
We established that Suzie was eight years younger than me and that her ascendant was earlier than mine but then tentatively, “Where’s your Moon?” We both had the Moon just below the ascendant in Sagittarius.
This was suddenly too much, too close for us detached Aquarians! We both felt acutely uncomfortable. We moved separately to the drinks table and mingled with other astrologers!
Later, once we had become friends, we discovered other amazing co-incidences in our charts and lives. We both had Venus in Aquarius and Mars in Venus signs. We both had daughters around our Saturn Returns and our daughters are both Earth signs. We then both had Sagittarian sons with Moon in Cancer. However, Suzie had her Sun conjunct Jupiter and Moon square Saturn, whereas I have my Sun square Saturn and Moon quinquunx Uranus. I learned loads about how to be positive and confident from watching that Sun Jupiter conjunction!
In 1992, Suzie came to the Rainbow Circle Astrology Camp, the Wet Astrology Camp, the one where the stream overflowed its deep banks and forgot to turn left, rushing across the field and carrying off Darve’s cooking fire, which continued to burn as it floated away! I remember Suzie there, dancing naked in the thunderstorm!
For many years Suzie focalized the Astrology Plays which were one of the highlights of the camps. She would call a meeting, we’d all sit in a circle and she’d ask each person what they wanted to be. People would say “What’s the play? What parts are there?” And Suzie would explain that there wasn’t a play, but if there were to be a play, what would they like to be? There were no limits! Ah! Where am I at? What do I want to do? Over a couple of days the characters would emerge, then Suzie would take them all away and write a plot, a plot that brought in all these characters and somehow managed to relate to the chart of the evening as well!
At first I used to chicken out and say to Suzie to plot me an appropriate part and I’d do it. So I have ended up working at the First University of Consciousness and Knowledge, being Eve in the Garden of Eden, as an immoveable object on a road protest and as an old woman in a launderette who wanted, and got, change. Initially Suzie would have to help me loads to develop the part and then I would script and learn it! But over the years she helped me gain confidence on the stage and the last play I did with her was more or less impromptu apart from having a vague plot and working out a few puns and jokes which might come in handy. Many, many people have had such a brilliant time working with Suzie on these plays and other plays and cabarets in different camps.
Often I would take my problems to Suze. We’d meet at Spitalfields and after organic veggies and going round the stalls, we’d have coffee and talk Stuff. Sometimes it was difficult for me to accept what she said. Suze did not pull her punches. But after a while I would come to appreciate the wisdom of her words. She was so brave, she never shirked from saying what needed to be said. Sometimes we would argue and have our own Stuff. It took me courage too, to phone when I thought she might not ever want to know me again. But Suze wasn’t like that. I remember her saying once: “Of course we’re still friends. How could you ever think that we wouldn’t be?” We talked and laughed about this at some point during the months that she was ill. “Well, at least you always came back and faced me!” she said.
Suzie’s now gone on another adventure. Got to have someone out there blazing the path for the rest of us.
Lyn
Sweet soul Within the circles of the heart
The white bird flies
From life to life she rides the wind
She’s never born and never dies
Your journey’s just begun
Sweet lover of the Light
Your time has come
