Hilaire Belloc probably isn’t everyone’s cup of tea right now, but in the first half of the last century he was one of the leading writers of tradition, yet with eclectic tastes.

Born in France but living mostly in England, he had strong feelings for both countries and their traditions. He was a great scholar and Catholic, abhorred by the disappearance and deliberate dismantling of the old religion and the culture associated with it.

He became a Liberal MP in 1906 for four years and also served in the French army.

His wide range of interests and ability are shown by the Sagittarius ascendent, with his ruler Jupiter in a seventh house Gemini, opposed to Saturn in the first – he could not be pinned down to being a typical patriot and traditionalist, he was too restless, yet remained conservative in outlook.

Great Intellect

And with Mercury closely conjunct his ninth house Sun in Leo, he had a naturally expressive, creative intellect of great ability.

Moon conjunct Uranus, Venus conjunct Mars, plus the Moon’s North Node in Cancer in the eighth house, reveal how deeply invested his strong emotions were; he was both eccentric and caring, passionate and tender. He was able to instinctively home-in on the shared feelings and inheritances of England, France and their respective cultures, his life’s work. Little wonder that his patriotism and traditional sensibility stretched across The English Channel and beyond.

In other words, he epitomised the true patriotic spirit which cares for the integrity of all nations, not just its own, and due to this he was most insightful in his writings.

Copyright Francis 2022