American figure skater Alysa Liu won the Olympic gold in both women’s singles and in the team event in show-stopping style.
After missing out on medals in the previous Beijing Winter Olympics in 2022 she retired from the sport citing burnout but returned in better form than ever last year. She was a prodigy who started skating at five and became the youngest U.S. women’s champion at 13.
She was born on 8 August 2005 in Clovis, California, with a lawyer father who fled China having been a student pro-democracy organizer in the Tiananmen Square demonstration in 1989. Alysa along with her four siblings were born via anonymous egg donor and carried by a surrogate. Her father who spent a reputed half a million to a million dollars on her career was her support. His former wife served as a mother figure in the household.
She has a Leo Sun opposition Neptune at 16 degrees Aquarius. A prominent Neptune is often found amongst top notch athletes who also often (for reasons unknown) have a planet at mid degree Aquarius. Her Sun is in a determined trine to Pluto and sextile a lucky, confident Jupiter in Libra. She also has a determined Mars in Taurus square her Saturn Mercury in Leo, giving her the drive and self-discipline to withstand the testing training schedule which would put heavy demands on her. Her Pluto is in a charming and seductive square to Venus in Virgo. She also has a quirky yod of Jupiter in Libra conjunct her South Node sextile Mercury Sun inconjunct Uranus hinting at a potential to walk her own singular road in life. Which includes maverick fashion choices, dying her hair in horizontal bands to represent the rings on a tree as it ages.
Her Moon may be Virgo conjunct Venus and square Pluto or in early Libra sextile Saturn.
After the 2022 Beijing Winter Olympics which would be scary given her father’s persona non grata status with the Chinese government, tr Saturn in Aquarius was conjunct her Neptune and opposition her Sun as she decided to separate out from her arduous training schedule to find a better balanced life. Tr Jupiter was heading to conjunct her Uranus for a sense of relief; and tr Uranus in Taurus was about to square her Sun opposition Neptune as she turned her former life upside down.
The worst Royal crisis since the abdication of King Edward in late 1936 is probably an exaggeration since Andrew is 8th in line to the throne (at present). But there were significant and relatively similar though stronger influences then – both tr Pluto and Solar Arc Pluto were bearing down on the 10th house UK Royal-ruler Moon. There was also a tr Saturn opposition tr Neptune in place and tr Uranus was about to move into the 8th.
Andrew’s astrocartography is pointed.
Kazakhstan where he had good relations with the Kazakh elite, one of them Timur Kulibayev, a billionaire son-in-law of the then resident buying his Sunninghill Park mansion, originally a gift from the Queen, in 2007 for £3m above the £12m asking price. It was revealed in a 2026 BBC investigation revealed that Andrew received millions of pounds originating from a company linked to a criminal corruption/bribery scheme associated with Kulibayev.
Relocating Andrew’s chart to Kazakhstan it puts Jupiter on the IC (= good for domestic success) and Venus Mars in the playboy 5th.
Epstein’s Caribbean island puts Andrew’s Sun in the 10th with his Venus Mars hovering close by in the 9th and his wayward Uranus on the IC. Good for his ego, for fun and indulging his worst tendencies in private. His Moon fell in the 7th there so it would fulfil his need for finding a play partner in Epstein. New York also has his Moon on the Descendant.
Beijing (with uncomfortable questions being asked about associations there) – has Andrew’s evasive Neptune on the Ascendant and Uranus on the Midheaven.
Peter Mandelson who has got off lightly so far and may continue to do so, with little showing on his natal chart (without a birth time) is showing some unrest vis a vis Andrew. Their relationship chart has tr Uranus opposition the composite Pluto through April, for a spot of turbulence, followed by an even bigger upheaval with tr Pluto square the composite Uranus from late this March to late June and on and off till late 2027. Plus emotional upsets from tr Uranus opposition the composite Venus in the second half of this May and again across the New Year.
Mandelson’s relationship with Starmer will be undermined and rattled from April and more in June – though that may also be Starmer’s position as well as Mandelson’s.
I can only imagine it is Mandelson’s Midheaven and Ascendant that are taking the brunt of the present collapse which is not known without a birth time.
Other stray thought to finish – the late Queen Elizabeth 11’s reputation is being dented as more and more horrors financial and otherwise emerge from Andrew’s bad behaviour which she had the sources to keep her informed had she so wanted. Shame – she was a steadying influence – with a glaring blind spot.
Actor Eric Dane, best known for Gray’s Anatomy and recently Euphoria has died aged at 53 from ALS. He was was initially only contracted to appear in one episode of the medical series but starred in a further 138, revolutionising the show along the way. A struggle with prescription drug addiction led to his plane crash-exit from the show and he went on to star elsewhere. His shock diagnosis in 2024 put him into a wheelchair as his condition deteriorated.
He was born November 9 1972 1.42pm San Francisco (birth certificate) with his architect/interior designer father dying when he was 7 of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
He had an unaspected 9th house Scorpio Sun, making him independent, an island-unto-himself personality. A 10th house final degree Sagittarius Moon was widely opposition Saturn in his 4th house of childhood and father, and sextile an 8th house Mars. His father’s death evidently affected him deeply leading to his addiction issues and his full 8th house with Uranus and Venus there as well as Mars do suggest intergenerational troubles being handed down. But for all that he would be confident with Pluto square a friendly 11th house Jupiter and an optimistic Sag Moon. He was separated but kept on good terms with his ex wife and his two children.
As he died his Progressed Moon is sitting on his Midheaven bringing him into the spotlight of attention. There is surprisingly little affecting his 6th house though tr Pluto moving into his 12th house around the time of his diagnosis after having been square his 8th house Mars does suggest major limitations and deep frustrations.
It did seem very rapid onset with a year between diagnosis and his passing. The other two charts I have of sufferers from ALS who both survived a good many years had significant 6th house planets – one had Saturn Pluto plus Mars, the other Moon Neptune.
The UK blinks as the former Prince Andrew is taken into custody with King Charles saying the law must take its course and the police talking about possible misconduct in public office charges, while cautioning about publication of anything that might lead to contempt of court charges.
On the UK chart, the 10th house Cancer Moon is usually associated with the monarchy, which tr Jupiter is heading towards, making the exact conjunction in May. What may be more illuminating is the Solar Arc Moon which is at the moment on the apex of a yod to the UK natal Jupiter sextile Uranus. That may sound obscure but these yods can point to times of critical change, usually involving a degree of paralysis and doubt before setting out on a new path.
The UK Solar Arc Moon will be squared by tr Uranus this year for emotional upsets and then moves to conjunct the UK Pluto (itself on the apex of a natal yod inconjunct Uranus sextile Jupiter) in 2028/29 when there is an indication of turbulence in the senior royals’ charts (see King Charles post below). Incidentally the UK Solar Arc Moon at zero degrees Pisces is exactly conjunct Andrew’s Sun now so it seems apt that he is the instigator of this earth-shaking moment for the Royals.
I have always been drawn to the Hanoverian Monarchy chart of 1 August 1714 which was the start of this run of Royal rulers. It is showing great insecurity and shock this year with the Solar Arc Uranus conjunct the Mars. It has Pluto in Virgo at exactly the same degree as Andrew’s and both will be jolted mightily from August this year onwards. And by 2029 the Solar Arc Saturn will conjunct the Mars for a major setback.
Charles has a 4th house Chiron at 28 degrees Scorpio reasonably close to his Sun which hints at a hidden parent who was also hurtful, which his father was, but also points to a wound around his broader childhood, with his mother not available through pressure of her role and indeed her temperament. His Chiron falling in Scorpio would bring intense feelings of a primitive variety – rage, envy, greed, guilt, depression, a deep sense of unfairness. Tr Uranus opposing his Chiron in March will open up a good many of these scars from his family experiences.
His Solar Arc Chiron is also square his 1st house Pluto at the moment as well, which will be magnifying all the Plutonic/Scorpionic themes. Interestingly Melanie Rhinehart talks of Chiron Pluto contacts as often involving the ‘spirits of the dead’. It is a savage irony that Charles has been landed with this poisoned chalice of an Andrew-debacle by his mother, who mollycoddled and spoiled Andrew to a ludicrous degree and by all accounts did not think much of Charles himself.
On the synastry the late Queen would feel controlled by Andrew with his Pluto falling in her 8th. But it was hardly an easy connection with his wayward Uranus falling in her 7th conjunct her Moon Neptune and opposition her Mars Jupiter. Their relationship chart is soused in delusional Neptune – with a composite Grand Trine of Uranus trine Neptune Moon trine Mars and Neptune Moon opposition Sun, and Mars opposition Pluto. Tr Saturn Neptune is at the moment conjunct the composite Sun and opposing the composite Neptune. Maybe the fog of sentiment will start to clear and reality will break through. That relationship – even from the great beyond – will be under challenging influences for the coming few years.
Andrew’s chart has been gone over but just to recap the Aquarius eclipse opposition his Sun in effect for the next few months is creating a crisis of considerable magnitude. Tr Uranus moving to square his Sun from this April followed by tr Uranus square his Pluto for a year or so will accompany a complete rupture and more instability. His Solar Arc Neptune conjunct his Saturn, exact in five months though in effect now will be bringing great uncertainty. His Progressed Mars is now sextile is Progressed Saturn and both inconjunct his natal Uranus for another of these travelling yods bringing paralysis and change through crisis.
His yod apex Uranus will get the full brunt of the August Leo Solar Eclipse – which is a challenge to change or be landed with more limitations.
His Solar Return for the year ahead has a destabilising, direction-change Uranus conjunct Algol in the 10th; with Sun and Mars in the dependent 7th, hinting at a need for support as well as impatience. Venus, Moon, Neptune Saturn in the hidden 8th points to emotional panic. Eris, planet of discord, which is natally in his 9th house of international travel and legal affairs, is back in his 9th for a legal hotspot conjunct Chiron. The Solar Return Ascendant at 17 degrees Leo is close to his yod apex natal Uranus which is what gives him his defiant, reckless streak. It will also catch the August Leo Solar Eclipse.
His Lunar Return for this month from February 9th – through his forced house move out of Royal Lodge and now into a prison cell, even if only for a night – has Pluto, Mars Sun in the 4th, so angry with the family and his living conditions. Saturn Neptune in the 6th for an energy/health slump. Uranus in the 8th opposition Moon square Venus for an emotional and financial upset.
The synastry between Andrew and Epstein links both their promiscuous Venus Mars conjunctions. Epstein’s in Pisces is conjunct Andrew’s 8th house Mercury; while Andrew’s Venus Mars in late Capricorn is conjunct Epstein’s Sun. Epstein’s Neptune Saturn conjunction sits on Andrew’s IC making him an undermining influence; with Epstein’s Jupiter in Taurus in Andrew’s 10th as he promised not only indulgence but also wealth.
Fire Horse year in Chinese astrology brings dynamic energy and bold change. Experts say it will bring an intense mood with fast-paced change on a personal and global level. But the heightened energy needs to be managed wisely – slowing down before making major decisions, staying grounded, and cultivating emotional steadiness will be vital.
Looking back over previous Fire Horse years, every sixty years, it usually (though not always) has coincided with major events.
1966 – China the Cultural Revolution was in full swing, the Vietnam War was escalating. The Aberfan disaster in Wales killed many children.
1906 – San Francisco major earthquake. Hong Kong typhoon kills 50,000.
1846 – US v Mexico War
1786 – Farmers rebellion in Massachusetts. Dam landslide in China kills 100,00.
1666 – Great Fire of London and Great Plague in London
1606 – Gunpowder plot, Guy Fawkes. First performance of Macbeth.
1546 – Martin Luther dies
Henry VIII died in January 1547 so within the Fire Horse Chinese Year.
1486 – End of War of Roses. England stabilises
1426, 1366 ??
1306 – Robert the Bruce Crowned king of Scotland. Jews expelled from France.
1246, 1186, 1126??
1066 – the Norman Conquest which fundamentally changed England, introducing a new French-speaking aristocracy, establishing the feudal system, and forging closer ties with continental Europe. End of Saxon rule as William the Conqueror of Normandy took over.
English history did have ‘memorable’ moments during Fire Horse years as on occasion did US and China.
Gisele Pelicot, an ordinary housewife, drugged by her husband and raped by an estimated 72 men over a decade, became ‘a figure of astonishing power’ when she insisted on an open trial and has now written an inspiring memoir A Hymn to Life. After her husband was arrested for upskirting, the police having seized his computer found evidence of the assaults on her. She said when faced with the evidence she felt she’d “been struck head-on by a high-speed train”. When it came to the trial the French system would have allowed for a closed hearing but she insisted.
“It was those bastards I wanted in the spotlight, not me.” And she references the title of her book “shame has to change sides.” Her decision enraged the rapists, evoked the fury of their lawyers and drew crowds of supportive women to support her outside the court.
She was born 7 December 1952 1.17pm Villingen-Schwenningen, Germany, and has an upbeat Sagittarius Sun fittingly in the 9th house which rules legal affairs. Her chart is riddled with yods onto Sun, Uranus and Moon Pluto respectively making her a unique individual despite her seemingly ‘ordinary’ life. Her Sun (boosted by Jupiter and Uranus), when the moment came, rose to the challenge and she refused to be suppressed. Her Uranus (boosted by Mars and the Sun) may well prove to be a catalyst for reform. Her Moon Pluto (inconjunct Venus sextile Ascendant) certainly gives her the potential to be an influencer for women’s rights.
She has Saturn Neptune conjunct in her 7th house of marriage hinting at a neurotic partner whom she describes as a ‘weak man.’ Her Mars in Aquarius conjunct the North Node will give her the impetus to promote a cause for the improvement of society and it squares Jupiter giving her confidence.
During the excruciating past few years her Solar Arc Mars has been opposing her Neptune Saturn for a punishing challenge though her Solar Arc Jupiter would help to boost her optimism.
Chariklo in her chart representing the eternal suffering of the wife sits on her Midheaven.
Her Solar Arc Sun on final degree Aquarius is about to change sign as she looks ahead a new future with a new partner.
Dominique Pelicot, 27 November 1952 2.30am Quincy sous Senart, France, is also a Sun Sagittarius with a dependent 7th house Aries Moon. His 10th house wayward, socially defiant Uranus opposes his Venus and squares Neptune Saturn in his 1st house – making him highly-strung, fanatical, autocratic. His Mars in stubborn Aquarius in is 5th plus Jupiter in his 8th suggests a playboy streak. He has one yod of Sun sextile Mars inconjunct his Midheaven, hinting at a direction in life tied into his pleasure-seeking Mars in the 5th.
His midpoints are much more stark than his former wife – in his case with sexually manipulative Venus/Pluto, ruthless Mars/Pluto and copious quantities of Saturn Neptune.
Ebertin describes Saturn Neptune amongst other attributes – as having a dual character, a struggle between the lower and higher nature, connected also to sacrifice and neuroses.
Their relationship chart has experimental, unconventional Uranus in the 8th house of sexuality.
[See previous posts under Pelicot in Search]
Unbelievably grim but she has managed to rise above it.
In the meltdown that is Keir Starmer’s jinxed rule, yet another furore is unfolding. His replacement for the ousted senior civil servants, forced to carry the can for past missteps, turns out to bring baggage of her own to the party. None of which matters a jot in the wider world but Antonia Romeo’s chart is a sight to behold in terms of temperament. Past claims of bullying and expenses misuse in a past position are being thrown around with counter-claims of “misogynist” and sexist whispering campaign from a “pale, stale and male” elite.
She would be the first woman ever to be elevated to the role of Cabinet Secretary and is seen by some as a talented and driven public servant able to use her intellect and emotional intelligence but is reckoned by others to be a self-promoter and disrupter.
Born 20 October 1974 London, she has a Libra Sun (like Maggie Thatcher) though in this case conjunct a passionately enthusiastic and go-ahead Venus Mars in Libra as well as a reforming, rebellious, uncompromising Uranus – all square Saturn in Cancer. That is quite a powerhouse. Her Jupiter in Pisces is in an optimistic square to Neptune, trine Mercury in intense Scorpio and inconjunct Pluto – so not short of confidence.
Libra can be argumentative, tending to be reactive despite its reputation for diplomacy; and ramped up by a high-vitality, volatile Mars Uranus will go for directness even with a sweetener from Venus.
Libra women often are closer to their fathers and she in the past like Maggie Thatcher has paid tribute to the effect her father had on her.
Jesse Jackson, civil rights activist who became the US’s first black presidential candidate has died.
He played a leading role in virtually every campaign for civil rights, sexual and racial equality, and economic and social justice. One of America’s best known public figures, he was called the “conscience of the nation” and “the great unifier”.
He had an astounding talent for publicity and words came easily to him. ‘As an orator he had the power to raise political discourse to lyric narrative and inspire his audiences to tears, cheers and chants. In the style of a Baptist revivalist preacher he would punctuate his text with mantras and rhymes that he would make his audience incant – his favourite being “respect me, protect me, never neglect me. I am somebody.”
Critics often accused him of being little more than a cheerleader of causes, his oratory mere “jive talk”, and of being obsessed with his own self-aggrandisement. But he became a powerful figurehead for the poor and oppressed far beyond the shores of America – in South Africa and Palestine
He was born October 8 1941 at 2.15pm in Greenville, South Carolina, in a South of poverty, segregation and lynching. His mother was an unmarried black teenager; his father, a married cotton worker, who lived next door. Jesse was later adopted by his stepfather.
He won a football scholarship to the University of Illinois but discovered that blacks were only allowed on to the pitch as linesmen. At 22 he achieved his first civil rights success when he organised picket lines and sit-ins at local restaurants, hotels and theatres that banned blacks, persuading many of them to lift the colour bar and went on to work with Martin Luther King. He impressed his colleagues in the movement with his energy as much as he irritated them with his personal publicity seeking.
He had a Libra Sun in the 9th house of faith and spreading-the-word in an argumentative and go-ahead opposition to Mars in Aries in his 3rd house of communication. He had an intense 7th house Pluto in a can-be-dogmatic square to Mercury in Scorpio. Designed as a talker and even more so a promoter of his views, he would make an impact. His persuasive and charming Venus in Scorpio in his 10th was opposition a determined and reforming Moon Saturn Uranus in Taurus which in turn was in an inventive trine to an influential 8th house Neptune, prompting him to work for a better society (Saturn Neptune). His confident Jupiter in chatty Gemini in his performing 5th house meant he was good at garnering an appreciative audience.
He was custom-built as a mover and shaker for the causes he espoused and very effective.
Interesting that his Libra Sun was conjunct the USA country Saturn in Libra, whose essential meaning is of fairness, though it often fell short.
Veteran actor Robert Duvall has died after a long and memorable career where he often played secondary characters but usually was the one remembered for his steely performance. He had notable roles in To Kill a Mockingbird, M*A*S*H, The Conversation and Network but reached his pinnacle as the self-effacing consigliere in The Godfather, alongside Brando and Pacino, and the surf-crazed Lieutenant Colonel Kilgore in Apocalypse Now riding into attack in Vietnam with speakers blaring Wagner’s The Ride of the Valkyries.
He was born 5 January 1931 5.10am San Diego, California, with a rear admiral father, and bore the mark of the standout Great Depression generation though his family was not poor. He had his Sun conjunct Saturn Mercury all in Capricorn opposition Pluto Jupiter in Cancer square Uranus in Aries. So ambitious, a workaholic with a strong Saturn, confident with Jupiter Pluto, innovative with a focal point Uranus. A complex temperament given to self-doubt but buoyed up by robust self-assurance, both conservative and rebellious.
His Cancer Moon was deeply buried in his 8th house and sparsely aspected being only trine a 12th house Venus. His Sun/Moon midpoint, the marriage significator, was conjunct his 10th house Libra South Node and square his Pluto, so relationships would not be easy. He was married four times, with stepchildren but no children of his own.
His Pluto was in the 8th house, which is not uncommon amongst top film stars who are able to project a powerful image. His Moon and Mars in Leo were also in the 8th so he did have subterranean depths which he put to good use in his highly controlled performances.
He appeared in more of the American Film Institute’s Top 100 films than any other actor.
