Kate Adie has recently been making the news, rather than reporting it, but to be so personally in the limelight does not suit this conscientious, hard-working Virgo (September 19 1945). Virgo the Virgin is one of the most self-reliant of the signs, and rather than take a lead, it has a strong desire to be useful to others and serve their needs. Shrewd and analytical, Virgos are well able to discriminate the wheat from the chaff, and they are "meticulous in their work, paying great attention to detail and doing things carefully and efficiently. They like to bring order out of confusion" (Sakoian & Acker, Astrologer's Handbook). Virgo is ruled by quick-thinking, intelligent and adaptable Mercury, and Kate Adie's ability to be accurate and precise are the keys to her credibility and trustworthiness.

In addition to her Virgo qualities, she has several planets in the impartial and objective air signs. In particular, her humanitarian Moon in Aquarius gives her a detached perspective and the desire to present a reasonable and balanced view. This sense of propriety and lack of personal edge has worked superbly for her in the past to make her the BBC's chief news correspondent.

So how come she now feels like a "terribly old-fashioned old trout"? All is not running to plan for this careful Virgo. She has had two widely reported spots of bother recently, the first being over the gaffe - not of her making - that revealed Blair's Middle East itinerary. She was reported to be furious, and there was even talk of her suing Downing Street - Virgos "are much too practical and intelligent to allow anyone to make martyrs of them" (Sakoian & Acker). Then she stirred the pot with her remarks at the Cheltenham Festival of Literature when she grumbled about being side-lined by bimbos and the BBC dumbing down its news reportage. The fracas has led to whispers that Kate is experiencing professional jealousy, but the thread here is her professional pride, connected with Venus in the sign of the proud Leo Lion, which has been fired up recently. Anyone who knows a Virgo knows that the one thing you must never do is to criticise them, blame them unfairly, or cast doubt on their technical expertise.

Putting aside her indignation, these somewhat petty incidents are early warning signs that it's time for the old lioness to make way for energetic, up-and-coming young cubs. Her horoscope shows she is entering a phase of change involving Saturn, planet of time itself. At 56, she is heading towards her second 29-year Saturn cycle and, although she may not like to hear this, for women, this is about starting to give way gracefully to the wisdom and experience of cronehood. Virgos are usually realistic, and if Kate Adie can accept that the ground plans are changing for her, then she is likely to find even more responsibility and prestige coming her way. In the summer of 2003, opportunity Jupiter lines up with Uranus, planet of the unexpected, liberating her into a whole new ball game. By then, it will be timely for her to move away from news reporting and to allow the more visionary and big-thinking dimensions of her horoscope to come into play. She's still likely to be on our screens, but the days of the bullet-proof vest will soon be over.