The North Node retrogrades into Aquarius on July 27 to stay until March 2028, having been in Pisces since January 2025.
Having to let go the past and be less rigid has been the message of North Node in Pisces, with the necessity of finding faith in what is to come when plans do not work out. Replaying scenarios on the old rules will no longer work as well.
North Node in Aquarius for the next 20 months favours activism – finding a cause to promote rather than seeking personal glory (Leo South Node). Pride and vanity will not be favoured though may well be in evidence.
Previous North Node in Aquarius:
June 1989 to November 1990
November 1970 to May 1972
April 1952 to October 1953
June 1933 to March 1935
December 1914 to May 2016.
One point of note is the Saros Series 11 North Solar Eclipse in February 2027 (at 18 degrees Aquarius) has, in the past, been notable for the UK.
11 North
Queen Victoria, Britain’s longest-reigning monarch, died in 1901 under the same 11 North eclipse cycle as occurred over the period of the abdication in 1937 of Edward VIII, her great-grandson, who gave up the throne to marry Wallis Simpson. Eighteen years later in 1955 the great British statesman and prime minister Winston Churchill finally resigned because of ill health in the months following the same eclipse. There were hugely significant events over the next two occurrences as well. In 1973 Britain joined the European Community three days before the solar eclipse. On the next cycle Margaret Thatcher, Britain’s first woman prime minister and the century’s longest-serving, resigned seven weeks before the next 11 North solar eclipse, which occurred in January 1991, 12 days before the Allies launched Operation Desert Storm to recapture Kuwait from Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi forces. One month later an IRA bomb exploded outside No. 10 Downing Street while a Cabinet meeting was in progress.
Ruth Ellis, a Welsh-born nightclub hostess who became the last woman to be executed in the UK following the fatal shooting of her abusive lover, David Blakely has been posthumously granted a conditional pardon, commuting her sentence from execution to life imprisonment, on the grounds of the violence she had suffered at his hands.
Born 9 October 1926 6.41pm Rhyl, Wales, she was abused by her father from the age of 11, her older sister having been made pregnant by him aged 14. Ruth Ellis became a nightclub hostess as a teenager and had a series of chaotic, unstable relationships with men. She became pregnant at 17 and gave birth to a son whom she supported through nude-modelling work and prostitution, becoming pregnant again. She married a violent and possessive alcoholic dentist and had a daughter.
In 1953, she met David Moffett Drummond Blakely, a hard-drinking racing driver, who moved in with her despite being engaged to another woman. Ruth had her second abortion since he would not commit; and suffered a subsequent miscarriage when he punched her in the stomach. The relationship became increasingly violent as both continued to see other partners.
On Easter Sunday, 10 April 1955 at 9.30pm, Ellis shot Blakely dead outside The Magdala public house in Hampstead, London. She was found guilty of premeditated murder, sentenced to death and hanged on 13 July at 9.01 am at Holloway Prison, still protesting she loved Blakely and always would.
A car-crash of a life.
The birth time is unverified but if sound, she had a hard-working 6th house Sun Libra in a controlling square to Pluto, a legacy of a dominating father. Her emotionally intense Scorpio Moon was opposition Mars in Taurus and conjunct Saturn square Jupiter in Aquarius and square Neptune in Leo – a Fixed Grand Cross of emotional dysfunction. Her mother did not defend her children since she was scared of her husband so setting a pattern of embedded masochistic/sadistic involvements for Ruth extending into her adult life. Mars Saturn is an abuse signature in one of its manifestations. The Moon Mars hints at a mother who suppressed her anger/assertion. Saturn is depressive and in square to Neptune has potential for paranoia. Her 5th house Neptune was also on the apex of a yod inconjunct Uranus sextile Midheaven, which would make her a dreamer and to a degree delusional.
Her Venus in early Libra is not well integrated into her chart – or life.
Blakeley 17 June 1929, was a Sun Gemini (square her Uranus) with his Mars in Leo square her Mars and Saturn; and his Taurus North Node sitting on her Ascendant conjunct her Mars. So he would trigger all of her early trauma which she could not leave behind, having become addicted to the sexual violence she grew up with.
The relationship chart with Blakeley does have a passionate/obsessional composite Venus Pluto conjunction; and an adventurous Jupiter Uranus conjunction which was in an explosive square to Mars.
When she shot him tr Saturn was back in Scorpio for her Saturn Return which at that point was in a bleak square to Pluto with Mars in final degree Taurus. All of which would trigger her natal Mars Saturn opposition.
She was hanged when Algol was in the 10th close to the Midheaven square Pluto. Tr Saturn was exactly conjunct her Solar Arc Sun.
It is difficult to get a clear moral view of a wrecked life. Bad things happening early on tend not to produce good people. Part of me wants to say she had choices but I am not sure she had. The murder was premeditated though the reason for it was not clear since she was still obsessed by him.
ADD ON: Another miscarriage of justice which ended in a hanging was Edith Thompson, 25 December 1893 12.20am (unverified) London who was convicted of assisting her lover in murdering her husband. She had written love letters to her paramour describing her ill intent towards her husband but appeared to have nothing to do with his death.
She was a Sun Capricorn with a (maybe) final degree Cancer Moon. And a Fixed T square of Jupiter in Taurus conjunct Algol opposition Mars Uranus square Venus in Aquarius; with Mercury opposition Pluto Neptune in Gemini. Her key Fixed planets were similar to Ellis though she had a less traumatised chart.
Oddly she was also hanged on the year of her Saturn Return as well on 9 January 1923 at 9am in London. Her execution was a grim affair since she was hysterical and had to be heavily sedated.
Ann Widdecombe in her day was an outspoken politician and minister; and latterly became a bestselling novelist and a TV celebrity, gamely appearing on Strictly Come Dancing, Celebrity Big Brother and Have I Got News For You.
News of her death was followed by affectionate and favourable obituaries. Then the police admitted they were treating her departure as murder. Of which more will no doubt follow.
She was described as having a ‘matronly manner, fluty voice and combative debating style. She said herself “I’m toothy, dumpy and a spinster but what the hell”.
She was born 4 October 1947 8am Bath, England, the daughter of a senior Admiralty official and was a devout Anglican in a Roman Catholic convent school, later in life converting to Catholicism. She made her mark early on as an opponent of abortion and the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill. Serving in later Tory governments in Employment, Prisons and Health her trenchant views did not always go down well. In 2019 she served as a Brexit MEP and accused the EU of reducing Britain to “slavery” before becoming a Reform UK supporter in 2023.
She had an idealistic and caring Sun conjunct Neptune in Libra in her 12th house with the dogged Saturn Pluto in Leo of her generation in her 10th house of a career along with an ambitious Mars in Leo. A hidden, emotionally self-protective 8th house Moon North Node in Taurus opposed Jupiter in Scorpio. She had the capacity to be indulgent but apart from food appeared to avoid the pleasures of the flesh.
Her 1st house biting Mercury in Scorpio square her Mars made for an unrestrained expression of her opinions which often hit the mark but were not always well received. Her 9th house Uranus was trine her Venus and inconjunct her Jupiter – but apart from strong religious beliefs did not seem much integrated into her life. Though on reflection she did walk her own road defiantly and spoke against the mainstream when the spirit moved her.
Tr Jupiter is moving through her 10th which happens surprisingly often when public figures come back into prominence with their death. Her Solar Arc Pluto is exactly conjunct her Mercury at the moment but that apart there is not much showing exactly now – though there are a few Mars markers in the near future. Sometimes when a sudden death occurs it happens before the exact influences. Tr Saturn is opposing her Sun Neptune this year but not exactly for another three months. The August Solar Eclipse would have been conjunct her Saturn and her Solar Arc Moon – both of which were downbeat and discouraging.
Nigel Farage appears to have shot himself in the foot with a raucous declaration of shining innocence being smeared by the ‘deep state’ over a seriously large handout from a criminal crony. Stomping his tiny foot, he resigned and declared a bye- election in which he said the voters would raise him to hero status by beating all comers. The other parties decided not to play his game so he will end up standing against (hopefully) one opponent in comedy candidate Count Binface.
Farage was always going to be in trouble when tr Neptune moved to conjunct his Mars, exactly now to mid August; and on one off till early 2028. Mars is competitive and Neptune undercuts, bringing a sense of failure. Tr Saturn is also conjunct his Aries Sun this year which runs on into early 2027.
With tr Uranus conjunct his Midheaven from this August onwards bringing a sudden change in his direction in life and career. Plus tr Pluto opposition his Solar Arc Midheaven in 2027/28. With several other astro-disasters this year; and a confidence-denting tr Saturn conjunct his Jupiter in 2027.
The Reform Party, 23 November 2018, was always going to be on a roller coaster of highs and lows this year with tr Uranus triggering its opportunistic Mars square Sun Jupiter. With discouraging setbacks in 2027 from tr Saturn square Pluto and conjunct Uranus and more uncertainty in 2028/29 with tr Neptune square the Saturn.
High-drama Harry arrives in the UK in a dust storm of chaos, with his will-he-won’t-he approach irritating the Royal Household so much they barred his late acceptance (previously OKed and then rejected) of an offer of a Buckingham Palace stay.
He also chose to arrive as the judgement of his privacy case against the Daily Mail was due, a tendentious matter which King Charles would wish to keep at arm’s length. As it transpires Harry has lost, with the dismissal of every single one of the 97 claims made by himself and the six other claimants. A hearing on costs which could be as high as £50 million will be heard later this month.
Paul Dacre, former DM supremo described him as a ‘confused and angry young man’ which could be taken with a pinch of salt given the speaker. But there is a sense of whirling mayhem around Harry, a force field of havoc and turmoil, fuelled by a cauldron of anger and paranoia. Which aged nearly 42 is not good. Don Quixote still tilting at windmills.
Part of it must be his intense 8th house Virgo Sun square a volatile Mars in Sagittarius and also square a less-than-realistic 12th house Neptune (in an overly hopeful conjunction with Jupiter). His Mercury in the 8th is in a headstrong and outspoken square to Uranus.
His Taurus North Node in the 4th is also not a help since he will tend to reject all constructive advice. Behind his smiles he will be defensive, ‘like a wounded animal’, constantly plotting and planning intrigues against others he instinctively assumes as having ulterior motives. Moderation is not an aptitude easily acquired. Family relations are one area where the turmoil is likely to hit hardest. Only once he recognises that what he sees in others is a reflection of his own unconscious will he pull away from self-destructive behaviour. Schulman says: ‘ As he reaches his Taurus North Node he is reaching at last for stability… Ultimately he is destined to reach a state of contentment as the seething volcanoes of Scorpio melt.’
Since his North Node falls in his 4th he needs to build stronger, emotional foundations for his life, instead of achieving a great destiny. Put his own house in order before setting out to solve the world’s woes – of which this court case could be seen as a distraction from his rightful path. Pride, vanity and status (all 10th house issues) need to be pushed aside in favour of matters of the heart.
His Chiron falling in his 5th house will make him feel he is constantly denied an appreciative audience and in opposition his Uranus will make him question all traditional and conventional approaches – which is tricky with a Royal background. His Chiron is also opposition Antares which is exactly conjunct his Uranus – which latter can bring about ‘abnormal and extreme ideas, hypocritical, lies and exaggerates, disharmony with relatives’. (Astrology King.)
Several other asteroids are concentrated in his 3rd house of communication and siblings – Eris (conflict and catalyst), Scheat (unfortunate), Black Moon, Sedna (betrayal) – which might suggest that he is not designed to win medals for his views and brotherly love may be lacking. In the 4th house of family and roots – the destructive Algol and Chariklo (eternal suffering).
His notable harmonics all have a conspicuous Mars and seem to veer towards the negative.
5th harmonic: Can be creative but also freedom-loving, irresponsible, sensationalist, self-indulgent, deceitful
7H: Can be spiritual and a seeking soul. Also sceptical, critical, sarcastic, self-centered, attracted to alcohol/ drugs.
10H: “The wheel of Fortune” contains the seed of both rise and fall, of the good and the bad.
13H: Upheaval, change and rebirth. Exploration and breaking with the orthodox. It requires adaptation to change to be successful.
18H: Strength, material success, but also conflicts and enemies.
19H: Not a lucky number, ‘karmic’ in the sense that the person is forced to develop their individuality.
I am genuinely sorry for him since behind all the pandemonium he could be a likeable soul. My initial thought from years back was that he was a spoilt brat, born into privilege and wanting all the trappings with none of the responsibilities. Probably also with a few mental quirks coming out of a hothouse family. I never bought the poor-me ‘spare’ argument which Princess Margaret used as a hobby horse as well. Everyone walks behind someone in life and they both could have/had a fulfilling life developing their talents had they so chosen.
But excuses wear thin after the midlife crisis which he is in the middle of now. Tr Pluto squared his Pluto two years back, and Neptune squared his Neptune last year with the final piece of the mid-life passage to come as tr Uranus opposes his Uranus next year. Carl Jung believed those who made this transition successfully by wakening up and sorting themselves out went on to live a vibrant second half of life, while those who didn’t, would stay stuck in old negative patterns.
He looks directionless at the moment with his Solar Arc Midheaven conjunct his Neptune this year; and his 8th house Mercury being rattled by tr Uranus in square this year and early next which will bring strain – some of it financial. Tr Neptune is also square his Jupiter for disappointment (some financial as well) which runs on and off till early 2028. Plus a handful of undermining Solar Arcs running on to the end of the decade.
Jupiter moving through his 8th from this August for a year may help on the financial front and also in promoting psychological growth. By 2031 his Solar Arc Midheaven will conjunct his 12th house Jupiter for a glimmering of sunshine breaking through metaphorically speaking so he may be en route to a more together life thereafter.
ADD ON:
Princess Margaret, 21 August 1930 9.22pm Glamis, Scotland, had a Leo Sun conjunct Neptune in her 6th house of health (a hint that excess drink/drugs not a good idea). She had a rebellious, defiant Uranus in her 1st (shades of Prince Andrew) which opposed Venus and squared a super-confident (over-entitled) Jupiter Pluto conjunction opposition a 10th house Saturn – bucket loads of initiative, highly restless, but crisis-prone. Not really similar to Harry.
The Duke of Windsor had an Aries Mars square Sun, and his father Prince Philip had a Sun Mars in Gemini square Saturn – so go-ahead, assertive Mars is a Royal trend.
“The Odyssey” buoyed up with rave reviews for Christopher Nolan’s ‘astonishing, epic and ‘flawless filmmaking’, will be released on cue on July 17th to soak up the largesse of Barbault’s astrological bread-basket. Jupiter in Leo opposition Pluto, sextile/trine Uranus in Gemini and Neptune in Aries – all lined up in a talented Half Grand Sextile.
Based on Homer’s epic poem from the 8th Century BC, about Odysseus’ fraught 20-year journey to return to his besieged wife and son, it is a story of middle-aged love, family, war and wisdom, using contemporary dialogue and a star-heavy ensemble led by Matt Damon, Anne Hathaway and Tom Holland.
Chris Nolan, 30 July 1970, London – The Dark Knight trilogy, Dunkirk and recently Oppenheimer – is one of the highest grossing directors, his films earning over $6 billion worldwide.
What is intriguing is he works consistently with his wife Emma Thomas, 9 December 1971, London, together since she was 18, who is described as a “dream producer for both talent and studio”. Robbie Collin, The Telegraph critic, regards her as the “driving force” behind the success of “cinema’s most formidable power couple”. John Fithian, former president of NATO, hailed the duo as “two champions of cinema” and said “no one has done more to advance the theatrical experience” than them.
They married in 1997 and have four children.
It is certainly an inspirational and high-octane coupling since he is a Sun Mars conjunct in entertaining and determined Leo; with a Cancer Moon and a creative Saturn in Taurus opposition Neptune in Scorpio trine/sextile Venus Pluto in Virgo.
She has a lively, outgoing and optimistic Sun Jupiter conjunction in Sagittarius in an impulsive square to Mars in Pisces perhaps opposition a Virgo Moon. And an Air Grand Trine of Saturn in Gemini trine Pluto trine North Node, with Saturn opposition Neptune – making filmic Neptune her driving planet. Her adaptability from her seven Mutable planets and detachment from an Air Grand Trine will help her cope with his five Fixed planets which give him endurance and also make him stubborn.
Their relationship chart does not look like a bed of roses with an unconventional, freedom loving composite Sun Uranus conjunction and an extraordinarily-pressured and gritty composite Saturn Mars conjunction opposition Jupiter and Neptune and trine Pluto. In a different lifestyle that would be one tough relationship. But as ever, context is all. It clearly suits their dynamic, working partnership in a pressure-cooker industry.
Matt Damon, 8 October 1970 3.22 pm Boston, MA, stars as Odysseus, previously a winner in Oppenheimer, with the Bourne franchise behind him, as well as Good Will Hunting and The Talented Mr. Ripley.
He is a lively Sun, Uranus and Mercury in Libra with a hard-working Capricorn Moon; and the creative Saturn in Taurus opposition filmic Neptune in Scorpio on his Midheaven trine/sextile a determined Mars Pluto in Virgo. Charming with his Libra planets but with a tough streak from Mars Pluto trine Saturn.
A good fit with the Nolans and around the same vintage.
In an act of breathtaking entitlement Trump demanded Fifa to lift the one match suspension of US striker Folarin Balogun after a red card foul. What was worse was Gianni Infantino in craven and immoral response giving in and lifting the ban. Uefa, European football’s governing body, said that intervening to effectively cancel a suspension at a tournament “crossed a red line”.
Of the 189 other red cards at the World Cup, only one other time has a player escaped a suspension – in 1962 before automatic bans were in place and the failure to impose a sanction was shrouded in allegations of political interference.
Infantino, 23 March 1970 Brig, Switzerland, is having a bad year with his Solar Arc Saturn (Mars) square his Aries Sun Mercury – and later through the autumn tr Neptune conjunct his Sun as well. Plus a rules-don’t-apply-to-me tr Pluto square his Jupiter exactly now. Which is followed by tr Pluto conjunct his Jupiter/Saturn midpoint later which can lead to loss of a job, and worse in a depressed square to his Saturn in 2027/28. The repercussions may toll on.
Infantino’s relationship chart with Trump has tr Neptune square the composite Mars now which suggests a panicked decision and gross mistake which will extend through 2027.
Even UEFA, 15 June 1954, looks shocked through this year and next with tr Neptune square their Jupiter exactly now, repeating later; a discouraged tr Pluto square Saturn this year and more consternation in 2027.
I am not (ahem) a sports fan but there really does come a point when Trump’s fairy godmother gives up in disgust and lets him face the music.
Russia’s woes are mounting with high military spending leading to havoc in the economy with petrol queues, falling wages, redundancies, soaring prices and cripplingly high interest rates with a recent poll showing 81 per cent of Russians want the Ukraine war to end. It is estimated that between 400,000 and 450,000 Russian troops have been killed since the invasion, out of a total of 1.4 million casualties. The Ukrainian army has suffered between 125,000/150,000 fatalities with 525,000/625,000 casualties during the same period.
‘Russian fatalities in Ukraine are more than four times greater than all US fatalities in all wars combined since World War Two.’ The ratio of Russian to Ukrainian casualties has likely risen to about eight to one in the first half of 2026. Russia’s spring-summer 2026 offensive has failed to achieve significant gains thus far and the rate of advance in June 2026 a fraction of that achieved in June 2025.
The drone blitz has led to 56 Russian regions enforcing fuel restrictions.
But the concern is that Putin may be pushed into deploying nuclear weapons, against the Ukrainian frontline and European nations lending their support. The tipping point would be the loss of the Crimea.
The Russia 8 December 1991 7.45 pm Moscow chart is showing major insecurity as of now with the Solar Arc Mars conjunct the Uranus, exact over coming months, which can sometimes lead to an explosive over-reaction to prop up machismo. Tr Pluto is conjunct the Saturn for a time of deprivation, hardship and an increasingly hard struggle running on till mid December this year. That is followed by Solar Arc Mars conjunct the Moon in 2027 hinting at an angry populace.
The Russia 8 November 1917 2.12 am Leningrad, Russia, chart was being rattled last month by tr Uranus square the Mars, and that returns on and off into spring 2027, bringing high insecurity and anger. 2027 will see an undermining tr Neptune square the Pluto; and the equally devastating tr Pluto opposition the Neptune on and off till late 2028. With worse by the turn of the decade as tr Pluto opposes the Saturn/Neptune midpoint and into the early 2030s is opposition the Saturn for hardship and square the Sun for forced changes.
If the start time is accurate there will be a sharp change of direction in 2027 with tr Uranus conjunct the Midheavan.
[Neptune Pluto is the hallmark of nuclear incidents.]
Putin’s 5th Term chart, 7 May 2024, is not overly descriptive, though 2027 looks like failure year with tr Neptune conjunct the Mars.
His initial Presidency chart, 31 December 1999, is more illustrative – with a de-stabilising Solar Arc Uranus square Pluto now; a meltdown tr Pluto conjunct Neptune on and off till mid December this year. With a blocked in Solar Arc Pluto conjunct the Sun this year until late on; and a confidence-denting 2027 from tr Saturn conjunct the Jupiter.
Putin’s dream of restoring Russia back to its former glory in the golden age of Catherine the Great, who ascended the throne as Pluto entered Capricorn in 1762 and remained at the helm through the Enlightenment until Pluto was nearing the end of its term in Aquarius in 1796.
Born 2 May 1729 2.30 am Stettin, Germany, she was a force to be reckoned with – a Sun Mars in Taurus sextile Saturn in Pisces was inconjunct a yod focal point Pluto. Putin seems a minnow beside her.
Sighs of relief all round as astrologers are presented with a new and improved Ephemeris for 2027, having struggled through 2026 with difficulty. For non-practitioners of the starry arts, the ephemeris is a celestial railway timetable of planetary movements.
In addition to monthly planetary positions by degree and aspect, there are Moon phases and planetary ingresses, with Retrograde phases clearly marked.
This is an invaluable, must-have little book for working astrologers.
A Wessex Astrologer – Astrocal Production, all the more commendable since it was pulled together at speed to fill a gap. Many congratulations to both and long may it continue.
