Another Neptune in Pisces dream dies as former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell and husband of Nicola Sturgeon faces a charge of embezzling £459,000 from the party over 12 years. He is accused of illicitly purchasing items including luxury goods, jewellery, cosmetics, two cars and a motorhome. He made no plea during an initial appearance at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last year after which he was granted bail.

  The initial push for a Scottish independence referendum was made in 2012 as Neptune entered Pisces with the revolutionary, rebellious Uranus square Pluto in place. The SNP’s star rose through the decade with Alex Salmond and then Nicola Sturgeon at the helm of a resurgent Scottish National Party. And is now on the slide with question marks over their competence in government, never mind this scandal.  

 The SNP, 7 April 1934, was determined and vociferous during the years of tr Uranus in Aries square Pluto in Capricorn from 2011 onwards – since it ramped up the SNP’s pugnacious Sun Mars in Aries opposition Jupiter square Pluto. When that moved on in recent years and the financial ramifications of a split from the UK became clearer the heat went out of the fight.

With this week’s Aquarius eclipse and the August Leo eclipse both impacting on the SNP Saturn, there will be a rueful face-reality mood.

 Nicola Sturgeon, 19 July 1970 3.16pm Irvine, Scotland, now separated from her husband, stepping down as an MSP and not facing any charges, is nerve-stretched at the moment with her Solar Arc Uranus conjunct her Neptune and tr Uranus about to oppose her Neptune in March. She looks trapped and frustrated in 2027 with her Solar Arc Mars conjunct her Pluto; and discouraged by 2028. Not an easy few years ahead as she steps down from a period of glittering acclaim.

What is intriguing is the Scotland Act of Union chart with England, 1 May 1707, which has a Jupiter Pluto in Leo conjunction square a Taurus Sun which will be highlighted by the coming August solar eclipse. Interesting to see what if anything transpires.  That chart looks unsettled, uncertain and discouraged this year and for the next two.

 Both the Scotland 16 March 842 and 25 March 1005 have an Aries Sun with other Aries planets so will not find tr Neptune Saturn does much for their fighting spirit. Time to regroup and rethink.

  Indulging in schadenfreude is not a good look (= triumphing over others misfortune) but there is a hint of karma about what was once top of the heap (and contemptuous with it) coming down to ground level again. In the words of the I Ching ‘what goes up must come down.’ Is in the nature of things. In this case a Neptunian delusion – an inspirational dream lacking practicality.

Galileo Galilei, the Italian astronomer known as the “father of modern science”, stood trial for the second time on 13 February 1633 for the heresy of proclaiming that the Earth revolves around the Sun. He had revolutionized astronomy using an improved telescope to discover Jupiter’s moons, Venus’s phases, and lunar craters but his support for heliocentrism led to life imprisonment by the Catholic Church. 

  His birth date varies by a day but on 16 February 1564 JC 3.41pm in Pisa, Italy, it gives a Pisces Sun conjunct Pluto and Mercury in a rebellious, revolutionary square to Uranus square which is in an innovative (eureka moment) opposition to Neptune in Gemini. His Taurus Moon, here in the 10^th would bring him into the public eye.

 Birth time being accurate – a focal point Pluto is often ahead of its time in terms of insight and has a tendency to run into hostile resistance. In the 8^th would double up the reactions he stirred up from the authorities of the day. Pisces is also a sign not only connected to Neptune but also to explorers as well as mathematicians.

His Mars in final degree Taurus was conjunct Neptune and square his Sun – so he was a force to be reckoned with.  He had a Jupiter Saturn conjunction in Cancer (in certain cases an indication of a high flyer) trine Venus in Pisces. He was sentenced to indefinite house arrest where he remained until he died in 1642.

The 13^th February (thanks AI) does appear to be a significant date with the Lindbergh kidnapping and Dresden bombing also falling on February 13 in 1935 and 1945 respectively.

  The grip the destructive Inquisition of the Roman Catholic Church had between the 13^th Century (Pluto in Virgo?) and the 19^th Century (Pluto in Pisces?) when it was dissolved is sobering to reflect on. Western civilization has moved on apace since then but it is a damning indictment of what happens when narrow minded and arrogant religious fanaticism is allowed the upper hand.

Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte’s classic novel has been given a ‘hyper-sexualised’ makeover in a new Jacob Elordi/Margot Robbie film. The provocative scenes in question are erotic, with much moaning and writhing though they are not explicit. One reviewer pointed out the passionate Heathcliff Cathy love affair had been interpreted in different ways at different times, which say more about the era in which they were produced — its expectations, prejudices, and neuroses — than about the work itself.

  The devoted lover. The toxic narcissist. The sex symbol. The chaste beloved. The perverted necrophile. The proto‑Marxist rebel. The idealistic lunatic. The unscrupulous psychopath. The victim of the powerful.

 The story is about Heathcliff, a street boy taken in by a rural landowner and brought into his home, where he becomes part of the family, hated by son Hindley, and adored by Cathy. He eventually leaves the family, and Cathy marries a neighbouring landowner, Edgar Linton. Heathcliffe returns as a wealthy man, consumed by resentment, determined to corrupt and destroy the family, while still trapped by his indestructible love for Cathy. She dies in childbirth and he dies much later, being buried beside her decomposing corpse in her coffin.

 Despite its reputation as a story about soaring passion, in reality as another reviewer pointed out is a novel about violence, powered by rage, alcohol and fear with much child beating, temper tantrums and blood. Undoubtedly it was a reflection of Emily Bronte’s curate father who was prone to violent rages, as was Emily. In her biography of Charlotte Brontë, the novelist Elizabeth Gaskell describes how Emily once lost her temper with her bulldog, Keeper, and repeatedly punched it in the face with her “bare clenched fist” until its eyes were swollen and “half blind”.

 Its publication in 1847 met a muted response, unlike her sister Charlotte’s Jane Eyre and only became a success well into the 20th century, thanks to champions like Virginia Woolf and to the impact it had on the Surrealists.

 Emily Bronte, born 30 July 1818 2.49pm Thornton, England, had a Leo Sun and Mercury in the 9^th house of communication and writing and a Cancer Moon deeply buried in the 8th. But what marked out her subject matter was a volatile, Mutable T square of a passionate Venus Mars conjunction in Virgo in the 9th opposition a regretful Saturn in Pisces square Uranus in Sagittarius.  Venus Mars can give an inclination to strong sexual yearnings. Mars Saturn can be cruel. Mars Venus square Uranus – a need for constant excitement without ties. It is quite a perverse chart. She had the destructive Fixed Star Algol conjunct her Descendant. A controlling Pluto in her 4^th hinted at a tricky father and dark undercurrents running through the family home.  There are some theories that she was autistic.  She died a year after publication of her novel, on her First Saturn Return, possibly from tuberculosis, never having married.

 The novel was published on 24 November 1847 with a rage-filled and frustrated Sun inconjunct Mars Pluto; and maybe on the point of a yod with Mars Pluto sextile a late Gemini/Cancer Moon which would make sense of the content.

I am eternally fascinated by what catches the mood of the moment and in some cases continues to do so over decades and centuries.

The Solar Eclipse on 17 February 2026 at 28 degrees Aquarius is square Uranus so will bring sudden surprises, perhaps opportunities but certainly a change of direction. Uranus also square Mars for an uncompromising mood and over-reactions. A positive Mercury trine Jupiter. And the exact Saturn Neptune conjunction in Aries sextile Pluto.

 The path of the eclipse is across Antarctica – Argentina, Chile and southern Africa region.

  The Eclipsed New Moon falls on the Midheaven for London which might suggest key events there.

  In Saros Series 10 North which occurred before in 2008, 1990, 1972, 1954, 1935, 1917, it brings an emphasis on communication with frustrating or inhibiting circumstances. The general mood will be tired or drained and difficulties need to be worked through one at a time (Bernadette Brady).

 The Total Lunar Eclipse of 3 March 2026 at 12 degrees Virgo/Pisces is in an upbeat sextile/trine to Jupiter though it again features the edgy, explosive Mars square Uranus. Plus Saturn Neptune in Aries sextile Pluto.

The eclipse will be completely visible over northeast Asia, northwestern North America, and the central Pacific Ocean, seen rising over much of Asia and Australia and setting over North and South America.

The Total Solar Eclipse of 12 August 2026 has the New Moon at 20 degrees Leo in a steady trine to Saturn in Aries. For the first time it has Uranus in Gemini trine Pluto sextile Neptune as the mood music of the new era. Venus in Libra opposes Neptune and squares Mars in Cancer for a go-head and (argumentative) mood.

 In Saros Series 10 South, it brings a time of breaking out of a negative, hopeless situation into positive phase with more options. A worry will disappear as solutions appear that need to be grasped. (Bernadette Brady).

Around before in this Saros Series 2008, 1990, 1972, 1954, 1936, 1918, 1900. 

    The total eclipse will pass over the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, the Atlantic Ocean, northern Spain and northeastern Portugal. The first part of the total eclipse path will pass from east to west from Russia to Greenland. A partial eclipse will cover more than 90% of the Sun in Ireland, Britain, Portugal, France, Italy, the Balkans and North Africa and to a lesser extent in most of Europe, West Africa and northern North America.

  The Lunar Eclipse of 28 August 2026 at 4 degrees Pisces/Virgo will square Uranus so will be highly strung and uncompromising, although also innovative. The Virgo Sun will be on the point of an ambitious, ego-centred yod inconjunct Neptune sextile Pluto.  With an accident-prone and aggravated Saturn square Mars, though Saturn trine Jupiter will soften the harder edges of the mood.

  The eclipse will be visible over North and South America, rising over the central Pacific Ocean and setting over Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.

See saw charts are evidently one of the rarer configurations, indicating complex, not always stable temperaments who are constantly dancing between opposing sides of themselves, trying to find a balance and a way of integrating their inner incompatibility. They are constantly pulled between alternatives and two distinct, often competing sides of their personality. Sometimes they seek out a partner to carry the ‘other half’ of themselves, making them overly dependent with their relationship needs intense.

   What it can be good for in certain individuals is an ability to solve conflicts. They can be successful negotiators between opposing parties because they want to make sure that the resolution is fair for both parties; an echo of what they want for themselves at an inner level.

 What brought this to mind was a surprisingly reverential biography of Labour politician and briefly former UK prime minister after Blair, Gordon Brown. He did admittedly prove crucial in finding a way through the financial collapse of 2008 but was a famously flawed man with a curious chart. He had a volcanic temper, a talent for grudges and a willingness to rely on “sometimes thuggish spin doctors”, expert in the blackest arts. On the other hand he is seen as highly moral with a robustly Christian approach, focusing since his retirement on global education and health financing and avoiding the standard post-political money-making mission.  

 Frank Field, a fellow politician once remarked: “It is almost like [Brown] has two brains. ”

   Born 20 February 1951 8.40am Glasgow Scotland with a Church of Scotland minister for a father, he had a precocious and outstanding intellect, gaining ultimately a PhD in the history of the Labour Party.

  He has a 12th house Pisces Sun as well as Jupiter, North Node, Venus, Mars in Pisces all in the 12^th; with his Jupiter Mars Veus inconjunct Neptune; and Mars Venus opposition Saturn with Saturn square Uranus. And his Mercury in Aquarius opposes a Leo Moon conjunct Pluto in his performing 5^th house. It is not quite a stereotypical see-saw chart but it is near enough. And his personality oddities do fit.

One other is Edward Kennedy, 22 February 1932 3.58 am Brookline, Massachusetts. At the time of his death there was a division of opinion given his callous behaviour over the death of Mary Jo Kopechne and his reputation as a serial womaniser and philanderer. But there were those who pointed to his superior political abilities in resolving cross party disputes, being able to cross the aisle and negotiate settlements with ‘the other side.’

 He had a more obviously see-saw chart with his Pisces Sun opposition Moon Neptune; his Pluto opposing Saturn and his Jupiter widely opposing Mars Mercury.  

  King George V1, 14 December 1895 3.05am Sandringham, England, was also see saw with an 8^th house Pluto Neptune opposition his Sun Mercury. Despite a flawed character and uncontainable temper, he managed against his inclinations to take over the throne and pull the UK together through the war years with the help of his redoubtable wife.

  Whitney Houston, 9 August 1963 8.55pm Newark Heights, NJ, was another, though in her case partnerships proved her downfall. A 6^th house Leo Sun Venus opposed a 12^th house Saturn; and her Moon opposed Mars.

 Configurations don’t tell the whole story but they do add another layer of insight into the shaping of a temperament and the direction a life will take.

See-saw examples:

– Frank Sinatra is a good example of problems see-saw may cause. He was a loving father, a lover, an artist on the one hand, and a Cosa Nostra family member on the other.

Mark Carney, PM of Canada is another see-saw with a different lifestyle – trying to mitigate the worst of Trump’s wild rhetoric on tariffs and claiming ownership.

Ramsay MacDonald, a former Labour UK prime minister in the 1920s, whose ‘great achievement was making the Labour Party electable by bringing its fissiparous factions together.’

Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny smashed the record for the most watched Super Bowl Halftime Show in Santa Clara, California with a historic 135.4 million views. And became the first musician to perform entirely in Spanish at a Super Bowl.

Benito Martínez Ocasio has been Spotify’s top annual streaming artist four times and has helped to turn Spanish-language rap into a global success story. Born 10 March 1994, in Bayamon, the son of a truck driver and a school-teacher, he sang in the church choir as a child and got his first record deal aged 14.

 Unlike last year, Donald Trump did not attend and poured vitriol on BB’s performance -“Absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER!” he declared on Truth Social presumably a reaction to Bad Bunny using his recent Grammys speech to criticise the government-sanctioned ICE raids in Minnesota.

  BB is a Sun Pisces with a Pisces/Aquarius Moon. He has an intense North Node conjunct Pluto in late Scorpio which squares Mercury giving him strong opinions. His Pluto North Node also square a hard-edged Mars Saturn (Moon) in Pisces which will give him a deep reservoir of anger about unfair treatment. His Pluto opposes Trump’s Midheaven and squares DT’s Mars for a mighty, never-give-in clash. BB’s inventive and highly-strung, generational Uranus Neptune also oppose DT’s Saturn Venus in Cancer for a clash of values. And BB’s short-fused Mars Saturn falls in DT’s 7^th house.

 Worst of all possible combinations.

  Their relationship chart has a composite Mars Venus in final degree Taurus opposition Neptune in final degree Scorpio – Mars Neptune is an ego-clash, one wins the other loses. The final degree of signs is pervasive in-the-news charts at the moment. Maybe a hint that this run-in could have potentially wider ramifications as a turning point in the culture of the times.

 Bad Bunny looks very unsettled ahead with tr Uranus square his Pluto in March and then moving in to square his Mars Saturn in June/July and on. Risky?

Rudolf Steiner, founder of an esoteric spiritual movement, a philosopher, social reformer and educationalist, has attracted devoted followers as well as critics for his racist, antisemitic and pseudo-scientific beliefs (according to mainstream academics). His Waldorf inspired schools opened in Stuttgart in 1919 and have spread across Europe and the USA. Recently there have been scandals involving sexual abuse, a “toxic” culture of bullying. Concerns have also been raised about far-right, anti-vaccination, and conspiracy-theorist ideologies.

   He was born according to Astrodatabank on 25 February 1861 at 11.15pm in Croatia, though there are alternatives suggested by devotees. This chart gives a Pisces Sun (conjunct Eris planet of discord) opposition Saturn in Virgo in the 10^th square an 8^th house Uranus in Gemini. Saturn in Virgo would give him a serious, scholarly cast of mind while a focal point Uranus in the 8^th would prompt him to explore what lay beyond rational understanding and make him a divisive figure. His Jupiter in Leo conjunct his Midheaven would bring him success and confidence.  His Pluto Mars in Taurus conjunction was ultra-determined, fairly ruthless in pursuing his ambitions.  

 The first Waldorf School opened on 7 September 1919 in Stuttgart, with Sun conjunct Saturn in Virgo and Venus also in Virgo. There was a super-charged conjunction of Jupiter, Mars, Neptune in Leo. And Uranus in a reforming, revolutionary opposition to Mercury square a Scorpio North Node.

  The Uranus in final degree Aquarius is about to catch a tr Uranus square and opposition North Node which hints at a need for radical changes ahead. Indeed the Solar Arc Jupiter, Mars, Neptune moving in conjunction to the North Node and square Uranus over the coming few years does suggest a fork in the road with crises forcing a radical rethink.

When behind-the-scenes political aides become the focus of media attention it usually spells trouble ahead. They fall on their swords or are pushed; and then spill the beans.  The UK is following a well-trodden path with Morgan McSweeney exiting stage left carrying the can for Starmer.

 In the US, Trump-inspirer Stephen Miller has recently found himself thrust into the national spotlight with the ICE killings and is widely seen as the architect of the mass deportation policy which is meeting increasing criticism.

 Born 23 August 1985 4.53pm Santa Monica, CA, he is facing heavy pressure on the career front with a challenge to his chosen direction as tr Pluto square his Midheaven now till mid March and late June to early August. Plus an unsettling/upsetting tr Uranus square his 8^th house Virgo Sun mid to end of May this year. He won’t budge easily with Pluto in Scorpio on his Midheaven. But his problems will mount with tr Neptune undermining his influence as it squares his Mars/Node and opposes his Sun/Pluto and Mercury/Saturn midpoints from now to late April, and again late year into early 2027. His major major calamity comes in 2027 with tr Neptune opposing his Mars/Saturn midpoint. 

  That also shows up in his relationship chart with Trump with 2027 flagging up as an all-round disaster between the two of them. That follows on from one misstep after another from early this August to late December this year.

 Susie Wiles, Chief of Staff, who has already rocked the boat with a Trump critical interview earlier this year, does seem to be moving through turbulent seas with tr Uranus square her Pluto until mid March; plus a panicky-failure Solar Arc Neptune opposition Mars and Solar Arc Mars square Saturn across this year. Followed by an applecart-upending tr Pluto opposition her Uranus early August till the end of the year. Plus several Uranian jolts to other midpoints from mid May to end of the year.

 Either she is throwing in the towel or clinging on to the mainmast in stormy seas as dozy Don slides deeper into demented Don.

  Her relationship with Trump worsens late April this year to late September with late May to mid August being particularly panicky. And a catastrophe or two the first half of this June and across the New Year.

 The other forefront aide, communicator Karoline Leavitt, 24 August 1997 Atkinson, NH, like Miller has her Virgo Sun being seriously jolted by tr Uranus square in the second half of this May, and again early 2027. It will be even more tumultuous in her case since tr Uranus moves to oppose her Pluto this June and again across the New Year. Everything will be going up in the air for her, followed by a trapped scary 2027/28. Her Solar Arc Sun is in final degree Virgo at the moment – so teetering on the edge; as her Saturn heads for its First Return.

 Her relationship chart with Trump is on a downward slide in a major way this March with tr Neptune opposition their composite Mars; with an explosive tr Uranus square the Sun/Mars midpoint in April; followed by a long run of instability from mid May right through into 2027 as tr Uranus elbows their composite Neptune opposition Saturn square Venus T square.

  Too much information but I am struggling to pin point a turning point where calamity turns terminal in career terms.  Jettisoning one aide over the side would hardly be a surprise. But across the board the inner circle do appear to be in considerable disarray.

See previous post: Trump’s trusty wingmen – unravelling by 2028 – 11th January 2026

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   The long ripple of contamination from Epstein has entangled Norway’s Crown Princess Mette Marit with newly released emails suggesting she was still in contact with him just months before his suicide. She is already on the ropes with the trial starting of her son Marius Borg Hoiby, born before her marriage to Crown Prince Haakon, who is charged with raping four women and 34 other offences. He denies the most serious charges.

 Questions are being asked about whether she can be queen after this. She is suffering from pulmonary fibrosis and will probably have to have a lung transplant.

  Born 19 August 1973 1pm (unconfirmed) Kristiansand, Norway, she was a party girl before she met Prince Haakon with a string of relationships and their marriage was controversial.

 She has a showy, attention-seeking Leo Sun conjunct her Midheaven from the 9^th trine an excitable and indulgent Moon Mars in Taurus in her 6^th house of health. She has an ambitious mini-Grand Trine of Jupiter trine Pluto sextile Neptune. With two yods onto evasive Neptune and needs-maturity Saturn respectively. With her Saturn square a Venus Pluto conjunction = emotionally manipulative and bleak. A complicated personality. Both of her yods are under pressure from tr Neptune, Pluto and Uranus hard aspects in the coming year.

  For afficianados of asteroids – Psyche (tribulations on the road to true love) is conjunct her Ascendant in the 1st. Chariklo (endless suffering) and Eris (discord) in her 5^th house of children. Chiron, the wounded healer, in her 6^th.

 Prince Haakon, 20 July 1973 2.12pm Oslo, Norway, a Sun Cancer trine a Pisces Moon, so Watery which is the opposite of her Fire Earth chart. Her Sun falls on his Midheaven conjunct his Venus = good for his career and affectionate.  But her Mars Moon on his Descendant hint at a troublesome, argumentative match.

 Her Sun/Moon midpoint, the marriage significator, is conjunct his Saturn with duty looming large from his side; and his Sun/Moon midpoint is square her Sun for differing agendas.

 Not only is her chart riddled with yods so are her relationships with Prince Haakon (apex Saturn), Epstein (apex Mars) and even her wedding in 2001 has a Neptunian apex yod.

 The Epstein link may not recede in a hurry and there may be more coming before Uranus exits Taurus in April – beyond that it could drag on.

 She has two children with Prince Haakon and their bond would not split easily with Saturn Pluto aspects running throughout. But he does seem to be backing off with tr Uranus moving through his 7^th in recent years and ahead.

  Norway, 7 June 1905 11am Oslo, is facing a troubled year or so ahead which may be little to do with this – with tr Uranus square Saturn and tr Neptune Saturn square the 4^th house Uranus. What is notable are the Solar Arc Saturn, Uranus and North Node all at 29 degrees, hinting at a cuspal year, clearing out the past to make way for the new. A rethink of the Royals may be part of that process.

See previous post: Norwegian Royals – another family calamity

19th August 2025