Style Inspiration & My Style Icon: Gitte Lee

A former model, consort of the most famous Count Dracula in film, and a fellow Aries - the timeless and elegant, Lady Birgit Lee (Gitte Lee for short). Her signature style and presence will always be an inspiration - her red ruby lips, dramatic sunglasses, turbans, and her fabulous classic clothing that accentuates her slender shape and frames her strong features, while being utterly comfortable. This is what I shall look like in my 70s.

"Not only are positive and beautiful images of older men and women who are aging gracefully and living life the to the fullest inspirational, but they give people of all generations something to aspire to. A picture of an elegant older lady in an ad campaign adds an element of history, quality, timelessness, and it tells a story." -Ari Seth Cohen of Advanced Style

Vogue Italia shot by Tim Walker

Uranus Turns Retrograde: Think Before You Act

Uranus, the planet of rebellion, turns retrograde on July 5.

Uranus is the oddball of the solar system. For starters, it rolls along its side -- on its equator -- instead of spinning upright in its orbit the way planets typically do. Uranus is also in retrograde for more than half of the year. This means it is only direct for two weeks, and is retrograde for about five months out of every Earth year.

Astrologically, Uranus liberates you from the shackles of convention and applies pressure to change whatever is stagnant in your life. Uranus rules electromagnetic energy and is like a lightning storm that creates chaos as it cleans the air, revealing a fresh new world once the storm has cleared.

This year, Uranus goes retrograde in Aries, and heads back into Pisces in August in its retrograde motion. Uranus can be reckless, especially in fiery Aries and can be too aloof and impervious and inconsiderate about other people's opinions and needs. There is always a risk with Uranus that you can turn everything upside down and then throw the baby out with the bathwater. So be careful and think before you speak or act. In addition, be prepared for your forward movement to suddenly stop or be put on hold for a little while.

Do not despair! Sometimes it is better to take a step back and really think about what your next steps ought to be. Take the chance to review and refine your plans with a more detached outlook. This is your opportunity to go inwards, ask your unconscious or your creative muse for guidance. You may lose some of that rebellious spirit which surfaced in late May. But now you have a chance to put more strategy in place. By next March, when Uranus moves firmly into Aries to stay for seven years, you'll be prepared to really follow your passion and not be deflected.

To know exactly what to expect, review the placement of Uranus in your birth chart. If Uranus is direct in a chart, intuitive and inventive impulses flow on a regular basis. However, when Uranus is retrograde in a birth chart, rebellious urges tend to bottle up and then burst forth, seemingly out of nowhere. A retrograde period seems to reawaken freedom urges within individuals, causing them to suddenly and unconsciously rebel against any ruts or confinement in life. Is Uranus retrograde in your birth chart? Should you be on guard against your own rebellious tendencies in the following months to come?

Jupiter Moves to Aries: Fortunate Times Ahead

On June 6, expansive, lucky Jupiter dances into dynamically go-ahead Aries to stay there until early September. This is the first time in 12 years that Jupiter has been here and it will have the feel of a new cycle of growth and good fortune beginning.

All signs will benefit depending on where Jupiter falls in relation to their sign. The Fire signs will benefit most of all in terms of confidence – Aries, Leo and Sagittarius. The Water signs – Cancer, Scorpio and Pisces – will get a career or cash boost. The Earth signs – Taurus, Virgo and Capricorn - will be emotionally better supported. The Air signs – Gemini, Libra and Aquarius – will be firing on all cylinders.

Jupiter in Aries brings either a positive fountain of inspiration or leadership abilities to the fore. However, beware -- the downside can be recklessness and over confidence. Be cautious when it comes to thinking -- there’s nothing you cannot do.

What makes this Jupiter in Aries all the more exciting is that it is conjunct (close to) Uranus on the 8th. This brings great relief as a lucky turn of circumstance will suddenly make life easier. Whatever good things happen, it will come in from left field and open your life up in a way that you could not have imagined. This may not be a life changing even but it will bring up more freedom and open up new opportunities for the times ahead.

Uranus in Aries: Promote Your Uniqueness

Uranus is the planet of rebellion. It brings with it a new way of looking at things and its approach is best met with an expanded consciousness. Originality, inventions, computers, cutting-edge technologies and future events are all ruled by this planet. Uranus sees no need for the status quo, preferring instead to break with tradition and create a new mold. It takes Uranus 84 years to complete its trip around the zodiac and it changes signs every seven years or so.

On May 26-27, Uranus will dip its first toe-in-the-water into Aries, a planet it has not been in for 84 years. However, this is for a brief sojourn, since it will retrograde back into Pisces on August 14, and will get into proper forward gear in Aries only in March 2011.

Uranus wakes things up and rattles the bars of the cage you’ve constructed around one area of your life. You’ll suddenly find out where you’ve been compromising too much, trying to fit yourself into a square hole to suit others when really you’re a round peg. Uranus wants you to exert your independence and promote your uniqueness. Be yourself no matter who you startle or shock. Admittedly it isn’t always co-operative and can be downright rebellious but it will trail blaze you into the future. Uranus is the torchbearer who leads the way into the unknown or into what you haven’t previously experienced. It may feel initially unsettling but the end result will be to liberate you if you accept the challenge.

Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, fiery, full of initiative and energy. The combination of Uranus and Aries will be revitalizing, a kick start to get you moving faster. It’ll clear your head of cobwebs and odd delusions which have been fostered by Uranus in Pisces. You’ll be moving straight ahead without a moment to waste.

Just three hours before Uranus shifts sign there is a Full Moon in Sagittarius. Cancer and the other two Water signs, Scorpio and Pisces may be hyper-sensitive since they tend to react to the mood swings of the Moon on the opposite side of the zodiac from the Sun. But, this is one of the less emotional Full Moons of the year so they won’t be edgy for long.

The Sun Enters Aries

For all you Aries out there, including myself, the sun has now entered into Aries. Oh how this will be a very interesting and exciting time for the rams as well as everyone else!

March 20: Sun enters Aries

It's time for a new journey as the Sun enters the first sign of the zodiac marking the Spring Equinox for those of us above the equator, and the Fall Equinox for those below. Aries is the sign of the pioneer, so draw upon the fiery bold nature of this sign to help you get exciting projects moving. Although Aries is known for impatience, this warrior sign also has risk-taking attributes that lead to success.