"45"

In a few days time I will turn 45. In many ways it feels more symbolic than turning 40. If we were to take a cross section of other female 45 year olds we would find: mothers; grandmothers; singletons; divorcees; widows; those pregnant for the first time; those getting married for the first time....almost every significant life-stage would be represented.

Our 40's have long been branded as the "mid-life crisis". Astrologers would say that this is no accident but "written in the stars". It is all down to troublesome Uranus and it's "half return". This is when it reaches the exact halfway point in it's journey back to the precise position it was in at the moment of our birth. It brings with it chaos; new beginnings; dramatic changes to circumstances and a greater desire for individuality, self expression and freedom - like our "true self wants to break out in some fashion and make it's individuality known".

It's effects can be felt from our late 30's onwards so perhaps it is no surprise that most of my clients fall in to the 37 - 50 age bracket. Personal image is all about our identity and how we show up in the world and nothing to do with conformity or keeping up with trends.

It makes me smile when celebrities proudly pronounce to have finally found "fulfilment and serenity" when barely over the cusp of 30. Just you wait! Didn't we all feel like that? Everything was still to play for and possibilities were endless.

I recently had the fortune to receive words of wisdom from a lady in her early 60's. She told me to appreciate my age and that I still do have many more options available to me than I will do in my 50's and less still in my 60's. Thanks to her insights I will be more careful with my finances; spend more time being "light"; nurture my relationships and not make work more important than it actually is.

Uranus finally returns at ages 82-84....peace at last!