Meet Sun astrologer Mystic Meg’s brilliant successor, Maggie Innes – who explains why she WON’T be using a crystal ball
WHEN Mystic Meg, the world’s most famous astrologer, died last month everyone wanted to know who would take over her Sun column.
Before she passed away, Meg had been carefully preparing her chosen successor.
From next week Mystic Meg’s horoscopes will be written by her long-time friend and assistant.
For more than three decades, mum-of-three Maggie Innes was at Meg’s side, learning from the best on how to predict the future based on the planets and stars.
Britain’s favourite daily horoscopes in The Sun will still be called Mystic Meg, in tribute to our legendary astrologer, with Maggie Innes.
Maggie says: “It feels like Meg had planned everything to the moment.
“Today is special because it’s my birthday and on Monday it will be Meg’s funeral.”
Maggie, 57, is one of only a handful of close friends and relatives who will attend the service to say farewell to Meg, real name Margaret Lake, who died on March 9, age 80.
For nearly 25 years, Meg had predicted the future for millions of Sun readers.
Maggie says: “Her death was really sad. I thought she’d go on for ever.
“I don’t think people are ready to let her go so it will still be her page.
“The horoscopes column will still be called Mystic Meg in tribute to a brilliant astrologer.
“She’s a hard act to follow because Meg was unique, a one-off. They’re big shoes to fill but all I can do is be myself.
“Meg was a tough boss as she always wanted the best for Sun readers who were her biggest fans.
Turmoil in the world
“It is a privilege to continue her Mystic Meg column to give people hope in their lives.”
Maggie adds: “Astrology has its detractors but it brings a psychological and emotional boost to a lot of people every day.
“It’s been around for thousands of years and, as far as I know, it has never started any wars.
“I’m not a fan of the ‘guess my star sign’ kind of stuff. But it’s amazing how often I meet people and they behave in a certain way that is typical of a specific sign, then later they turn out to be exactly that.
“Sometimes I check out people’s sign before I meet them, but mostly I don’t, as I want to keep an open mind.
“Everyone has the choice to shape their life, and love life, and make the most of what they are born with.
“What do people most want to know about? Love, of course — but money comes a close second.”
Maggie believes that astrology can help us at this point of turmoil in the world.
She says: “We are living through difficult times at the moment and hopefully people will read in their stars something that tells them that, although things are tough at the moment, they can get through it.
“Meg never sugared the problems posed by the planets but she gave her readers encouragement that they can do it.
“To me it is about people looking for their place in the universe, and horoscopes can give you a bit of control over your life.
“There’s a lot of upheaval in the world at the moment because Pluto is on the move and will eventually settle down in Aquarius next year, where it will be for the next two decades, with positive effects for communities and individuals.”
Maggie Innes was born on April 15 and grew up on a farm in rural Aberdeenshire.
She says: “I’m an Aries, Virgo is my rising sign and my moon sign is Cancer.
“Astrology wasn’t really a thing in my traditional Scottish family, although my grandpa was a water diviner. But the Garioch area I grew up in is quite a mystical place.
“There are a lot of standing stones and circles. You can find ley lines all over the countryside up there and lots of them line up with planets and with stars, or they come up at the solstice or full moon.
“There was no light pollution whatsoever and it was so dark you could see all the constellations clearly and wonder at them.
“My dad would try to explain about the universe, the stars, their patterns and how people all over the world would see them differently.
“One of my earliest memories is when Neil Armstrong landed on the moon. I didn’t think people should be going there and they should leave it be.”
Maggie’s birth stars are often linked to writers and she follows the trend.
She moved to London to work on women’s magazines and eventually found herself sitting opposite chief sub-editor Meg Lake.
As a child, Meg had been taught by her Russian great-grandmother, a Romany gypsy, to read the future and she often made predictions for work colleagues.
Maggie says: “She was really nice but to start with I was pretty scared of her. Even then she had that aura.
“I realised I had to up my game a bit to work for her.
“I was away for a couple of weeks and when I came back she was doing the horoscopes because she had learnt astrology from her great-grandmother.
‘She was quite shy’
“The ones we’d been using from another astrologer were an insult to the magazine’s readers, so Meg started doing them and was just very, very good.”
As Mystic Meg’s career took off, she became a household name and started delivering winning predictions on the National Lottery from 1994 until 2000.
When Meg’s workload increased, she asked Maggie to help out and, over the years, taught her the intricacies of astrology.
Maggie says: “She was quite shy and didn’t make friends easily but once she did it was a friendship for life — so loyal and supportive. She encouraged everyone to follow their dreams and be their best selves.”
To see into the future, Meg used a crystal ball that she inherited from her great grandma Howard, as well as runes and tarot cards.
Maggie, however, uses an ephemeris — a booklet similar to a diary that plots the position in the sky of planets, stars, the sun and moon on every day of the year.
Each planet has its own set of characteristics.
Neptune is spirituality and sensitivity and Jupiter is joy, expansion and luck.
Every day the planets travel through the twelve zodiac signs, which also have their own characteristics — Leo is loyal and dramatic, and Scorpio is intense and sexy.
Intense and sexy
The final part of the puzzle is the houses of the horoscope, numbered one to 12 and also representing certain categories.
First House is personality, Fifth House is creativity and children, Twelfth House is spirituality and secrets.
Maggie says: “Meg was one of those people who commanded a room, even though she would be in a corner not saying a word.
“She had a presence, a mystique. She also had a great, sometimes barbed, sense of humour and a razor-sharp wit. But she was happy to poke fun at herself and her image, as we saw in the TV sketch Septic Peg with Brian Conley.
“She didn’t suffer fools, but if she liked something you had done, she always let you know. I’ve never met anyone else like her and I don’t think I ever will again.
“I still hear her voice when I am working, and sometimes she likes what I’m doing and sometimes she thinks there is ‘room for improvement’. And she’s usually right!
“She set such a great example of always going that extra mile, because that’s what the readers deserve.
“I will try to live up to that. It was an honour that she shared her knowledge with me. I miss her.”
So what's in the stars?
GENERAL: On March 7, just before Meg died, stability planet Saturn left analytical Aquarius and entered sensitive Pisces where it will stay for the next two years.
This was followed by Pluto moving to Aquarius on March 23 and, after a flip back to Capricorn for a few months, Pluto will stay there for more than 20 years.
The last time Pluto was in Aquarius was in the late 1700s, a period of great upheaval and revolution for the world.
This time will not be an easy road but people and principles will come to matter more than power across the globe.
A Hollywood star can facilitate a secret meeting, with the potential to end conflict.
ROYALTY: With Pluto turning retrograde on May 1 and a full moon lunar eclipse in Scorpio on May 5, King Charles III’s pre- and post-Coronation period promises to be eventful.
He’s a Scorpio – intense, loyal and determined, with a sting in the tail, and he’ll be impatient to make his mark.
As Scorpio is ruled by Pluto (and Mars), the planet timing is perfect for a rule to bring change on every level.
But not without challenges.
An original poem can unite two royals who may never see eye to eye, but end up writing a book together.
SPORT: Jupiter enters Taurus in mid-May and this is a planet position of wellbeing, expansion, experimentation and success.
It’s a really feel-good set-up that urges everyone to find time for the things, and people, they love.
One of the UK’s national football squads can be considering a female manager.
An athlete who only starts training this summer can win gold for GB in the Paris Olympics next year.
MONEY: Global financial challenges will not end imminently but Saturn’s new steadying position promises a greater sense of control.
Societies spend increasingly less and recycle and re-use more.
A company started by twins in their kitchens and inspired by a TV show can be a world leader by 2025.
Pluto’s influence could eventually lead to print-at-home cash machines as demand for cash declines.
LOVE: With Venus in retrograde from July 22 to September 3, this is the time of the year to expect shock celebrity hook-ups and bust-ups.
At least two high-profile divorced couples could decide to get back together.
A festival headline act can turn into a live commitment ceremony.
Two full moons in August double passion potential, and every partnership should feel the physical heat that month.
HEALTH: Saturn strengthens willpower and self-confidence, while Pluto’s chart contribution is the ability to strip away dead wood – so the next few years are a brilliant time for us all to follow a new, long-term health regime.
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