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Mystic Meg

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Mystic Meg
Born
Margaret Anne Lake

(1942-07-27)27 July 1942
Accrington, Lancashire, England
Died9 March 2023(2023-03-09) (aged 80)
Paddington, London, England
EducationUniversity of Leeds
Occupation(s)Newspaper and television astrologer, racehorse owner, and breeder
Websitemysticmeg.com

Margaret Anne Lake (27 July 1942 – 9 March 2023), best known by her stage name Mystic Meg, was an English astrologer who had a regular astrology column in The Sun and the News of the World.[1]

She also hosted Mystic Meg's Wheel of Destiny for Sun Bingo.[2]

She came to greater public attention when she hosted what became a regular item on the first broadcast of the National Lottery draw in 1994. Her image also appears on various astrology-related books, posters and merchandise.

Early life and education

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Mystic Meg was born Margaret Anne Lake on 27 July 1942, in Accrington, Lancashire, to Bill Lake, an RAF aircrewman, and his wife Millicent (née Howard).[3][4][5] Of Romani heritage, she grew up in Accrington and was taught astrology by her grandmother. Her mother formed a new relationship before her father's demobilisation in 1946, and the marriage ended. Meg never saw her father after her parents parted.[5]

Meg studied English at the University of Leeds, and then became a sub-editor at the News of the World, rising to become deputy editor of its weekend colour supplement Sunday. In the 1980s, she became the paper's regular astrologer.[6]

Career

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From 1994 to 2000, Mystic Meg appeared weekly on The National Lottery Live in 'Mystic Meg Predicts', a 45-second reading segment, during which Meg attempted to predict facts about the future winner.[7] Comedian Brian Conley spoofed Mystic Meg under the guise of Septic Peg, a character on The Brian Conley Show, with Meg even appearing alongside his parody.[8][9] Upon her death, her agent paid tribute claiming that, in Britain, her name became synonymous with foretelling the future, to the extent that the answer "I'm not Mystic Meg" would be used by everyone from people in the street to politicians to evade questions about future events.[10]

In April 2015, Meg became the face of bookmaker Gala Coral Group's Grand National "You're Guaranteed a Fortune" marketing campaign. Images of Meg and her crystal ball featured in all of Coral's 1,850 shops via window posters and Coral TV.[11]

Meg owned a number of racehorses[1] under the company name Mystic Meg Limited, based in Bedford.[12] The horses include Astrodonna,[13] Astroangel[14] and Astronova,[14] and other horses with celestial names. Her horses were trained by Mark Tompkins from the mid-1990s until 2019 and then by James Eustace. The most successful horse she owned was Astrocharm, which won the Lillie Langtry Stakes at Goodwood in 2004, and she also bred racehorses.[15]

In 2015, Meg launched a website featuring horoscopes, personalised readings, and a telephone hotline hosted by psychics.[16] She left The Sun on 2 January 2015.[2]

Personal life and death

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Meg lived in Notting Hill with her seven cats. She died from influenza on 9 March 2023 at St Mary's Hospital in Paddington, London, aged 80.[17][4]

References

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  1. ^ a b Miller, Compton (23 January 2006). "Inside Story: The big stars of astrology". The Independent. Archived from the original on 5 July 2008. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  2. ^ a b "End of the road at the Sun would have been no surprise to Mystic Meg". Press Gazette. 9 February 2015. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  3. ^ "BFI | Film & TV Database | Mystic Meg". Ftvdb.bfi.org.uk. Archived from the original on 8 January 2007. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  4. ^ a b Lynch, Niamh (9 March 2023). "Mystic Meg, one of Britain's most famous astrologers, dies aged 80". Sky News. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  5. ^ a b Telegraph Obituaries (9 March 2023). "Mystic Meg, astrologer with The Sun and News of the World who predicted National Lottery winners on TV – obituary". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  6. ^ Howarth, Rachel (12 July 2020). "The untold story of Lancashire TV psychic Mystic Meg". LancsLive.
  7. ^ Lambert, Helena (9 March 2023). "TV and newspaper astrologer Mystic Meg dies aged 80". The Daily Telegraph. ISSN 0307-1235. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  8. ^ Nunn, Gary (2021). The Psychic Tests A deep dive into the world of believers and sceptics. La Vergne: Pantera Press. ISBN 978-0-6487489-3-9. OCLC 1263873106.
  9. ^ "Brian Conley – In Conversation". Beyond The Title. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  10. ^ McIntosh, Steven (9 March 2023). "Mystic Meg: Astrologer dies aged 80". BBC News. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
  11. ^ "Coral teams with Mystic Meg for Grand National campaign". TheDrum.com. Retrieved 22 April 2015.
  12. ^ "MYSTIC MEG LIMITED | Companies House Webcheck". Companiesgate.co.uk. Archived from the original on 23 March 2008. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  13. ^ "All Previous Runs for Horse Astrodonna (GB)". irishracing.com. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  14. ^ a b "Astroangel". Racing Post. 2 June 2011. Archived from the original on 23 March 2008. Retrieved 18 November 2011.
  15. ^ Milnes, David (9 March 2023). "'She was the most marvellous woman' – astrologer and owner-breeder Mystic Meg dies aged 80". Racing Post. Retrieved 10 March 2023.
  16. ^ "MysticMeg.co.uk".
  17. ^ Stolworthy, Jacob (9 March 2023). "Mystic Meg death: TV astrologer dies, aged 80". The Independent. Retrieved 9 March 2023.
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