During August 1954, the first unofficial, and exactly one year later, the first official version of the almanac appeared, that is, the annual review of world records, both of human achievements and natural phenomena, called the “Guinness Book of World Records“. To date, this book is published in more than a hundred countries in over 23 languages. Appropriately, a book with this title is the owner of a world record, as the best-selling edited book or almanac of all time.
If the title of this book is translated into astrological language, it is not difficult to determine which combinations of planets and their positions in signs and houses describe a book that contains world records.
The book is symbolized in any context by the planet Mercury, the sign Gemini and the 3rd house, while the records, especially at the world level, are symbolized by the planet Jupiter, the sign Sagittarius and the 9th house. Thus, the book of world records is represented by the following planetary positions and combinations: the aspect of Mercury and Jupiter, Mercury in Sagittarius or Jupiter in Gemini, Mercury in the 9th house or Jupiter in the 3rd house, Mercury on the degree of Sagittarius or Jupiter on the degree of Gemini.
The circumstances that preceded the creation of this book are known and available to the general public. 11.10.1951 Hugh Beaver, then director of the Guinness brewery, went to Weston Harbor, a place in south-eastern Ireland, to hunt birds. After the hunt, he was involved in a discussion with other hunters, which is one of the two European birds that hunt faster, the golden plover or red grouse. After returning home, he realized that with the help of available reference books, it was not possible to determine which of these two birds was faster, and that it was not possible to find answers to countless other questions of a similar kind. He soon came to the conclusion that a book containing answers to such questions would prove extremely useful and popular. With the intention of making the book a reality, he hired the twin brothers, Norris and Ross McReiter, to see if their London fact-finding agency could help. An office was soon opened, which began work on the first edition of 198 pages, the first copy of which was printed on August 27, 1955.
The chart of the engineer, industrialist, director of the Guinness Brewery and founder of the Guinness Book of World Records Hugh Beaver (4.5.1890 Johannesburg 19:20) contains several positions and aspects of the planets that should be in the chart of the man who first came to the idea of compiling a book containing world records. ASC is on the 15th degree of Sagittarius, and the ruler of ASC, Jupiter, is placed on the 11th degree of the sign of Aquarius in the 3rd house. This position of Jupiter, in addition to showing one of his vocations (engineer), in itself describes someone who could come up with the idea (Aquarius) to compile a book (3rd house) that contains world records (Jupiter). Then, Jupiter is the most aspected planet in his chart, because it is in the squares with the Sun in Taurus and the Moon in Scorpio, in sextile with Mars in Sagittarius and in trine with as many as four planets in Gemini, Venus and Neptune in 3rd degree and Mercury and Pluto at the 5th degree of this sign. Of all these aspects, the most important is the trine of Jupiter and Mercury, because this aspect most directly describes the book of world records, especially since Mercury is in Gemini, and Jupiter is in the 3rd house.
NATAL CHART Hugh Beaver
Then, it is important that both Jupiter and Mercury form an aspect with Mars, because the combination of these three planets accurately describes the circumstances that contributed to Beaver coming to that particular idea. As mentioned, he (Jupiter) participated in a discussion (Mercury) with hunters (Mars) which of two birds (Mercury) is faster (Aquarius) that are hunted (Mars).
That it is no coincidence that Beaver came up with the idea on November 10, 1951 is shown by the transits of the planets for that particular day. Mercury was on the 3°of Sagittarius that day, which is a position that describes the book of world records for itself. Then, Mercury is in a trine with Jupiter in the 4°of Aries, so he came up with the idea after returning home (4°, Cancer) from hunting (Aries) for birds (Mercury). What is important to emphasize is that a man who he has a trine of Mercury and Jupiter in his natal chart, which is an aspect that unequivocally describes the book of world records, has came up with such an idea on the very day when the two planets were in trine in transit, with the difference that in his horoscope the trine was formed over signs of the air element, and in transit through the signs of the fire element.
NATAL CHART November 10, 1951 – day of the idea
That the presence of aspect of these two planets in the previous two charts is not a coincidence is shown by the chart of the twin brothers, Norris and Ross McReiter, who Beaver hired to turn the book into reality. The fact that he hired twin brothers for this job confirms the rectification of his chart, because the stellium of planets in the sign of Gemini is in the 6th house, which represents the workers, that is, who we hire to do the practical part of a certain job. Before analysing their chart, it is important to mention some relevant data from their biography.
They started their career in 1950 as sports journalists and in the same year they founded an agency whose main activity was collecting accurate data and figures from various fields and submitting such information to news and advertising agencies, almanacs and encyclopedias. Norris and Ross were otherwise known for their photographic memory based on which they were able to memorize a large number of statistics. After an interview during which the directors of the “Guinness” brewery enjoyed checking this unusual ability of them to remember a large number of records and unusual facts, they agreed to start working on the book that became the “Guinness Book of World Records” in 1954. A year later, in August 1955, the first copy of 198 pages was published, which within four months took the first place on the British list of bestsellers for that year.
Norris and Ross McWhirter were born on August 12, 1925 in London. Given that the brothers are twins and, therefore, were born in a short period of time from each other, as well as the fact that they were engaged in the same business, for simplification it is not necessary to analyse their charts separately, because what matters is what positions and aspects of the planets were on the day of their birth.
NATAL CHART Norris McWhirter
In the first place, the position of Mercury on the 9°of Virgo is striking. This position of Mercury could have been expected, because Virgo, as an intellectual sign that is most in favour of accuracy and precision, is a sign that is always emphasized in the horoscopes of statisticians and editors, as well as in the horoscopes of encyclopedists and writers of almanacs or dictionaries. Mercury is in sextile with Saturn in Scorpio, which is an aspect that, among other things, gives an exceptional memory (Saturn). However, it is of the greatest importance that Mercury, placed on the 9°, i.e. the degree of Sagittarius, which is a position that already symbolizes the book of records, is in a trine with Jupiter on the 13°of Capricorn.
The presence of the same aspect of Mercury and Jupiter on the birthday of Hugh Beaver, on the birthday of his idea and on the birthday of the persons who put that idea into reality is not a coincidence. What remains to be explained is why of the five main aspects, the trine is present in all three charts, as well as why this aspect is present in the signs of different elements, as well as why the order of elements in which this aspect is formed is as it is.
The reason why Mercury and Jupiter in all three examples are in the trine aspect is obvious. Trine as an aspect, an angle of 120 degrees obtained by dividing the zodiac circle of 360 degrees with the number three, is an aspect that is in the nature of Jupiter. Therefore, when two or more planets are in a trine, what it actually means is that the planets in question are connected in the manner of Jupiter, that is, that the cooperation and exchange of energy between them is in the nature of this planet. If one has in mind phenomena such as the “book of world records”, which means a book that is filled from the first to the last page with superlatives, that is, statements about who or what is “the most” in something on a global level, is a book which is to such an extent in its content in the nature of this planet that only the trine between Mercury and Jupiter describes it in a direct and comprehensive way.
The order of the elements in which this aspect is repeated is logical. As is often stated, everything that was ever created by human hand in its beginning was just a thought, a mental image, an idea. In the chart of a man who was destined to come up at some point with the idea that it would be desirable to compile a book of world records, the trine of Mercury and Jupiter is formed through the signs of the air element, which is an element that represents the mental level of reality and that symbolizes the world of thoughts, theories and ideas.
In order for something that is just an idea to be realized, that is, materialized, it is necessary to invest energy, courage, engagement, encouragement, so the trine of these two planets in fire signs was present on the day when Hugh Beaver participated in hunting, an activity characteristic for the fiery element, after which he came to the idea itself, which is also the day when he started and made the first steps in realizing that idea.
The earth as an element, which is the result of the previous two stages, symbolizes hard, tiring, disciplined work whose goal is to materialize something that was initially just an idea, that is, to acquire a solid form, to manifest in material reality. Therefore, this aspect is formed through the signs of the earth element in the chart of the brothers who did the practical part of the job – compiled the book itself.
So we saw what the horoscopes of the people responsible for the creation of this famous book look like. The following questions can be asked here. What should the chart of the record holders themselves look like, and especially the charts of multiple record holders, that is, those who set records in the Guinness Book the most times? Should their charts also contain some aspect of Mercury and Jupiter or just Jupiter in strong dignity, in numerous aspects and laid at important angles?
American Ashrita Furman (September 16, 1954, Brooklyn, New York) has entered the Guinness Book of World Records more than 550 times since 1979, and currently holds nearly 200 records, including, as expected, the record for the number of records in this book.
NATAL CHART Ashrita Furman
As his date of birth testifies, Furman was born in 1954, which is the year when the first unofficial edition of the Guinness Book of World Records was published. Therefore, Jupiter is placed in the sign of Cancer in his chart, which is a sign of Jupiter’s exaltation. Of course, this position of Jupiter, although significant, cannot show anything concrete on its own, because it is common to its entire generation. Jupiter, placed in the 24°of Cancer, is in almost exact sextile with the Sun in the 23° of Virgo. This aspect, although it describes his exploits in more detail, is not enough because being successful and known for records is only one of the countless meanings of this aspect. Further, the Moon, which, like Jupiter, is placed in the sign of its exaltation, Taurus, is also in sextile with Jupiter. The fact that both luminaires are in good aspect with exalted Jupiter shows a somewhat more concrete picture, because they describe someone to whom setting and breaking records (Jupiter) will become everyday (Moon) life (Sun).
On the other hand, the conjunction of Jupiter with Uranus describes the nature of his records, which, like most records in the Guinness Book, are quite original and unusual (Uranus). Some of his many records are: the fastest mile running balancing a baseball bat, the fastest mile running balancing a bottle of milk on his head, the fastest running 8 miles on crutches, the highest mountain peak anyone has climbed on crutches, the most caught ping pong ball sticks in a minute, the longest time balancing a lawn mower on your chin et cetera.
In order to set such records, no matter how unusual and unimportant they may seem, enormous physical energy, discipline, endurance and concentration are necessary. Furman possesses all these qualities thanks to the third planet that is exalted in his horoscope, and that is Mars, placed on the 9°of Capricorn, which is in exact sextile with Venus in the 9° of Scorpio and Saturn in the 8° of Scorpio. It is important that both Venus and Mars are on the degree of Sagittarius (records).
So, this man is the most successful record holder in the world not because of one or two isolated positions of the planets, but because of the unique combination of various aspects and strong dignities of the planets. Jupiter and Uranus in sextiles with the Sun and the Moon show someone whose life goal (Sun) will be to set unusual (Uranus) records (Jupiter) on an everyday (Moon) level. On the other hand, the exalted Mars gave him the necessary physical attributes to achieve this goal, while the sextiles of Mars with Venus and Saturn show that he enjoys (Venus) setting records (both planets ion the degree of Sagittarius) that require great endurance and discipline (Saturn). The mutual reception between Mars and Saturn shows that he will set records over a fairly long period of time, which is why he has been regularly entered in the Guinness Book of World Records for almost 40 years.
