Benjamin Netanyahu – unpopular choice leaning right

Benjamin Netanyahu 2nd TermBenjamin NetanyahuIsrael

 

There are shivers of horror within Israel, never mind on the international scene, at PM Netanyahu’s decision to offer the Defence Ministry to extreme right-winger Avigdor Lieberman, who seems keen to bring back the death penalty and has hard-line views on the Palestinians.

Benjamin Netanyahu’s 2nd Term chart, 18 March 2013 7.54pm, looks very precarious this year with tr Saturn still on the opposition to Jupiter through August and tr Neptune square Jupiter till the New Year. So confidence at an all-time low; with the even more unstable Solar Arc Uranus square Pluto exact in four months’ time.

His personal chart looks no better with tr Saturn square tr Neptune hitting on the 10 degree Virgo MC all year as well as his Venus in Sagittarius making him uncertain, indecisive and unpopular as well as suffering setbacks. With tr Saturn now moving through his 1st house into his lower-profile, less successful, first quadrant for several years to come he’s likely to make major misjudgements.

His relationship chart with Israel is filled with disappointment this year. And his relationship chart with Avigdor Lieberman, looks set to sag badly from late this June onwards, so whatever benefits he thought the appointment would bring, won’t happen.

Lieberman, 5 June 1958 Moldova, looks upbeat at the moment with tr Uranus opposition his Jupiter; but tr Saturn is opposing his Gemini Sun through this year; with tr Neptune square Sun in 2017; as well as a failure-ridden Solar Arc Neptune square Mars in 2017 – so slipping and sliding badly.  His relationship chart with Israel similarly looks under aggravated influences this year and disappointing ones in 2017.

Israel, 14 May 1948 4pm Tel Aviv, has tr Saturn square tr Neptune hitting on the 8th house Mercury in Gemini all year, so much confusion and uncertainty. With an escalation of problems in 2017 with tr Saturn conjunct Jupiter and opposition Uranus dampening enthusiasm and causing tensions. Plus Solar Arc Mars square Moon and Solar Arc Moon conjunct Neptune suggesting an aggravated and unhappy population. With tr Uranus square MC bringing an abrupt change of direction. And after mid 2017 tr Uranus trine Mars which could be explosive and will certainly be insecure.

Egypt – another deadly blow

EgyptAirbus CrashEgyptPresident Al-Sisi Term

 

The EgyptAir plane which crashed off the Egyptian coast today took off from Paris on 18 May 2016 11.09pm local time and is being pointed up as most likely a terrorist attack.

This gives a 10th house Libra Moon opposition a 4th hour Uranus squaring onto Pluto. There’s also a Jupiter opposition Neptune square Saturn in Sagittarius T Square. So Saturn and Pluto highlighted plus the Earth Grand Trine, focussed onto Neptune. It’s not that stark a chart except for Moon and Uranus both being = Mars/Saturn and Mars being semi-square Pluto – both of which suggest accident/brutality.

There are some numerical degree similarities to the Russia crash from Sharm El Sheik airport on 31 October 2015 5.51am – 3 Sagittarius, 25/26 Libra, 13 Earth, 17 Cardinal – but it’s a bit of a stretch.

What is more obvious are the accompanying aspects on the Egypt country chart, 14 March 1922 10.43pm, Cairo, as it faces yet another and perhaps terminal, blow to the tourist economy which is already badly damaged.

Tr Neptune is square the Egypt Mars in Sagittarius exact now which is panicky. Tr Saturn and tr Neptune have both been zig-zagging cross that Egypt Mars square Uranus in Pisces this year and that runs on into early 2017.  Plus a final hit of tr Pluto square the 10th house Moon in Sept/Oct.  The March Pisces Eclipse was conjunct the Egypt Sun. The tricky upcoming September Virgo Eclipse (New Moon opposition Neptune square a Mars Saturn conjunction in Sagittarius) will hit on the Egypt Uranus; and the September Lunar Eclipse in Pisces catches the Sun again.

And it won’t get better into 2017 with a bleak/deprived Arc Saturn opposition Pluto

President Al-Sisi’s term chart, 8 June 2014 11.18am was always going to throw up recurring, persistent and high-risk crises since it started on the Cardinal Grand Cross of Uranus opposition Moon Mars in Libra square Pluto opposition Jupiter. There’s a great deal of strain in this chart with a Yod of Sun sextile Uranus inconjunct Saturn in Scorpio; and Mars inconjunct Venus. And again there’s an Earth Grand Trine, focussing via a Kite onto Neptune – so nothing clear-cut and straightforward. This chart is even more stressed in coming months with tr Pluto square Moon, then square Uranus right through till the New Year and beyond. With even more instability in 2017 as the Pluto square Uranus comes exact by Solar Arc.

Austria New centrist Chancellor – battling the far-right

Christian Kern ChancellorAustria

 

 

Austria has a new Social Democrat Chancellor, Christian Kern, who replaced the retiring head. He could stay in power till 2018 but the rise of the far right anti-immigration party, expected to win this weekend’s Presidential election (a largely ceremonial role), may make that impossible. Neither two major parties made it through to the final of the Presidential election which is unheard of.

He was born 4 Jan 1966 so is a Sun Capricorn trine Uranus Pluto in Virgo and sextile Saturn.  It’s a very Mutable chart (seems to be a week for them!) with that opposition widely square Mercury in Sagittarius and Jupiter in Gemini.

He has tr Neptune conjunct his Saturn from this June onwards which is confused and uncertain; with an extremely challenging and risky Solar Arc Pluto square Mars this year; and an undermining Solar Arc Neptune conjunct Sun in 2017.

This mirrors the Austria chart, 12 Nov 1918 4pm Vienna, which also has Solar Arc Neptune conjunct its Sun in 2017; and a sharp-change-of-direction tr Uranus square MC this year; followed from 2018 with a meltdown tr Pluto conjunct MC.

His swearing in chart, 17 May 2016 5pm, has an intense, hidden Taurus Sun conjunct the destructive fixed star Algol and conjunct Venus Mercury. Mercury is trine Jupiter trine Pluto in the Earth Grand Trine so there will be a confident push but that forms onto a Kite with the Jupiter opposition Neptune which isn’t great.  Plus there’s a divisive Uranus in the 7th so co-operation with other parties will be difficult to accomplish.

The Bank of Austria is certainly having a nervy and discouraging year with the tr Saturn square tr Neptune hitting on the Gemini Sun opposition Uranus into early 2017.

France ahead – an image makeover under pressure

France

 

 

France born out of a bloody revolution – 21 September 1792 3.30pm Paris – has an intense and rebellious chart with an 8th house Sun, North Node, Mercury in Virgo and Venus in Libra also 8th. Plus most noticeably Uranus in Leo in the 7th opposition Pluto squaring onto Mars MC in Scorpio. The 8th house makes them secretive and self-protective; the Virgo emphasis gives them a love of small dogs and their vastly expensive but excellent Health service; and the Fixed T Square makes them revolutionaries at heart but bizarrely resistant to change.   Hence the present troubles as Hollande attempts to force much needed labour reforms on pitch-fork wielding workers.

They’ve been through the mill post-the 2008 crash with the economically stressed tr Saturn opposition tr Uranus hitting on the Sun and then the tr Uranus square tr Pluto in hard aspect to the 8th house Venus – so financially all bad news. But that is now over and with tr Uranus moving out of the 2nd house they might just have turned a corner.  Plus this year tr Uranus is trine the France Uranus and sextile Pluto – so there will be some steps towards positive change, albeit against mighty reluctance. Plus tr Jupiter is now going through the 8th till 2017 which should produce some good news for business.

The tr Saturn square tr Neptune caused some upset to the 10th house Sagittarius Moon last year but that’s finished.

The tr Saturn Pluto conjunction of 2019 will fall in their 12th house so will cause concern but may not manifest in any obvious way.  Then tr Saturn moves across the Ascendant as tr Jupiter catches up with tr Pluto in 2020 and both move into the France 1st thereafter which will does suggest a complete revisioning of France’s image in the world. Tr Jupiter Saturn and Pluto will all sextile Mars and the MC around this time which could suggest constructive changes under great pressure.  Tr Pluto moving across the Ascendant from 2021 will bring to an end a long, rather draggy phase since 2009 when the country felt trapped.

Tr Saturn through the France 1st from 2020 onwards is normally a lower profile on the world stage, internal-get-it-together phase for several years.

They will catch a flicker of the tr Uranus in Taurus problem come 2018 when it is conjunct their Saturn, but it then moves on to oppose their Jupiter – so bad news, followed by relief. And they are then untrammelled by tr Uranus until late on, around 2023/24 when it opposes Mars MC and squares Pluto and Uranus. That will cause a major shake-up which may be long overdue as well as some risk and insecurity.

So a good deal going on but some of it very domestic and if the time is accurate perhaps not as financially unsettled as the EU/UK.

Bryan Cranston – turning bad to good

Bryan Cranston

 

 

Award-winning actor actor Bryan Cranston, who became a global hit playing Walter White, the chemistry teacher turned meth manufacturer in the stratospherically successful long running TV series Breaking Bad, was born 7 March 1956 10.52am Los Angeles, California (AstroDataBlog).

His parents were both actors and described by him as ‘broken people’ who should never have been parents. He was raised partly by his grandparents.

He has a 10th house Pisces Sun, fitting him for the creative film business and for a career which brings him public attention. His Moon aspects, not surprisingly, are stressed with an 8th house (grandparent nurture) Capricorn Moon opposition Uranus square Neptune opposition Venus in late Aries.  So a disrupted childhood with Uranus and highly strung Neptune in there.

Luckily he also has a confident Jupiter Pluto in Leo opposition his MC Mercury in Aquarius squaring onto a 6th house Saturn in Sagittarius. So very hard working, conscientious, suited to a career with a good deal of variety. A focal point Saturn also often brings success later in life.

He was 53 when Breaking Bad launched on 20 January 2008 with a reasonably solid though not totally hot career behind him. At that point tr Uranus was moving through his 10th conjunct his Pisces Sun.  Uranus is a wild card bringing jolting and unwanted changes of direction for some, and clearly in his case a game-changing role. His Solar Arc Mars was also opposition his Pluto which would be challenging with the pressure of work; but whose criminal intent he turned to good use in the role of good guy gone rogue.

He’s got a well aspected actor’s 15th Harmonic.

He’s got a long way to go career-wise with tr Saturn now moving above his Descendant, peaking in the 2020s.

Sinead O’Connor – an anguished life

Sinead O'Connor

 

 

Troubled Irish singer Sinead O’Connor appears to be having a major mental meltdown, after disappearing for a day and thought to be suicidal and then letting off a rant on facebook about her first husband.

She was born 8 December 1966 in Dublin with an unattributed birth time of 7.37 am (astrotheme).   This gives her a highly Mutable chart of Uranus Pluto in Virgo opposition Saturn in Pisces square Venus Sun in Sagittarius. An excess of Mutable can make for a highly strung, disorganized temperament. Sun Venus Pluto will make her emotionally intense and possessive.  Sun Venus Uranus will make her feel abandoned as will Saturn, and she’ll also be erratic and unpredictable in her moods.

That opposition is also sextile/trine Neptune Mercury in Scorpio in the 12th – wedges are tricky to balance so the focal point planet(s), in this case Neptune Mercury, will tend to act in a lop-sided way.

Her late Libra Moon (if BT accurate) is unaspected apart from a sextile to Venus and a quincunx to Saturn so she’ll find it difficult to express her feelings in an integrated way.

Her Mars in Libra is conjunct her MC and conjunct her Uranus giving her an ambitious streak but also a tendency to flare up angrily when she feels insecure.

Not surprisingly she’s had a chequered emotional life with four marriages (I think) and four children with different fathers, none of whom live with her, the youngest is in care with an Irish family agency.

At the moment tr Saturn is moving below her Sagittarius Ascendant through her first quadrant which is often when public figures go into a lower profile phase; and is also a time when unresolved psychological issues emerge to be addressed.

She does have her Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct her Uranus, almost exact now, which should bring luck and relief but it may be Jupiter’s amplifying effect that has sent her Mutable T Square into hyper-mode.  In addition she has the undermining Solar Arc Mars conjunct her 12th house Neptune, exact in a few weeks’ time, which could be exacerbating her mental problems.

A sad life and sad for her kids.

Ben Affleck – a buoyant Leo sensitive to criticism

Ben Affleck

 

 

Ben Affleck was evidently distressed by the less than wonderful reviews which Superman vs Batman got and Warner Bros deemed it ‘a disappointment’ since it only pulled in $850–$900 million worldwide. That still left someone(s) with a profit of nearly $600 million so their idea of a let-down is bizarre.

It started Principal Photography of 19 May 2014 when the Cardinal Grand Cross was in place of Mars opposition Uranus Venus square Jupiter opposition Pluto – so it had confidence aplenty and an aggressive bite. Though admittedly the Sun was opposition Saturn in Scorpio which is more downbeat.

The Premiere in Mexico on 19 March 2016 had the wobbly Neptune Venus in Pisces opposition Jupiter square Saturn in Sagittarius – so again uncertain, attracting criticism; with an unaspected Sun which isn’t helpful.

Ben Affleck, born 15 August 1972 2.35am Berkeley, California, has a confident and entertaining Sun Leo trine Jupiter in Sagittarius; with Jupiter opposition Saturn in Gemini, making him more sensitive about failure than most. And a Scorpio Moon so he will certainly take hurts to heart.

His midpoints did look squashed around the launch time but he’s in constant work as an actor and a film maker, so will no doubt swallow his angst and keep going. With tr Saturn now moving through his 6th house he’ll be working hard in the next three years, when another Batman may appear; and has a long career ahead of him.

China’s Cultural Revolution – a psychotic decade

ChinaMao Tse Tung

 

 

 

Today is the 50th anniversary of the start of Mao’s Cultural Revolution in China. It was launched to purge his rivals and ended up nearly destroying China in a decade of unthinkable brutality and chaos. Millions were persecuted, beaten to death or driven to suicide, schools and libraries were destroyed, children turned against their parents. It only ended with Mao’s death when the personality cult he had built around himself collapsed.

It started with an edict on 16 May 1966 when the transiting revolutionary Uranus Pluto in Virgo was exact and just into the 8th house of the China national chart, 1 October 1949 3.15pm Beijing. That properly describes the state of national psychosis which gripped China in the years following. Uranus Pluto was also conjunct the 8th house Saturn in Virgo so a bleak, hugely unsettled time.

It came to an end in May 1976 with Mao’s death, when tr Pluto was conjunct the China 8th house Libra Sun and the Solar Arc Saturn, forcing through another transformation under great difficulty. In the years following new economic reforms were put in place though with tr Pluto moving on to conjunct Neptune in the two years thereafter, there was considerable confusion and a great deal of devastation to repair, much of it psychological damage as well as  destruction of the social fabric.

Tr Uranus was also conjunct the China Solar Arc Sun in 1976, freeing the country of a madman.

Mao Tse Tung, born 26 Dec 1893 7.30am Siangtan, China, had the delusional, megalomaniac Pluto Neptune conjunction in Gemini (like Hitler). In Mao’s case it was in the showy 5th house opposition Mercury in Sagittarius – and that opposition was being triggered by tr Uranus Pluto moving through his 8th, when the Cultural Revolution started.

USA ahead – deep emotional transformation

USA 1776 11amUSA 1776 SibleyUSA First President

 

 

 

The USA is awkward since there’s no accepted start time for the 4 July 1776 chart. I did once plot historical events against all the possible charts and came up with 11am as the most accurate except it has a Virgo Ascendant. The Sagittarius rising chart (Sibley 5.10pm) seems more descriptive of the stereotypical American personality.

I’ll skip house transits and do them later for the USA First President chart which at least has a set time. [But for those interested the 11am chart has houses similar to the EU and the UK’s. The Sibley Sag rising has tr Pluto moving through the 2nd from 2013 to 2030, which is a long period of deconstructing and reconstructing the financial system, against a fair amount of resistance given Pluto’s natal place in the 2nd. Tr Saturn is crossing the Ascendant this year, dampening enthusiasm and confidence and starting a lower-profile seven or eight year phase of finding a new identity. Tr Uranus through the 5th from 2016 for seven years – rebellious children, original entertainment, could be fun.]

On the 1776 chart, the tr Uranus square tr Pluto is almost over hard aspects to the USA Cancer Sun square Saturn in Libra, with only one final tr Pluto square Saturn to come mid this September to mid October. That latter is always a discouraging drag.

Tr Uranus will square the Mercury in Cancer from late this June throwing up a few surprises, strong opinions, vehement outbursts;  and tr Uranus will square the USA Pluto from mid 2017 which does suggest a need for a major change, with rebellious elements surfacing. Entrenched attitudes will be challenged.

There’ll be a lucky break with much relief in 2020 with Solar Arc Jupiter square Uranus; followed by a downer with a panicky-failure tr Neptune square Mars in 2021.

The USA First President chart, 30 April 1789 12.45pm New York, did work well against 9/11 with a shocking-collision Solar Arc Mars opposition the Taurus Sun; losses and mourning from Solar Arc Saturn square the Cancer Moon; with tr Uranus conjunct the Pluto and the tr Saturn opposition tr Pluto aiming for the Solar Arc MC. Solar Arc Uranus was within a degree of the Descendant, altering the US’s relationships considerably in the years following.

On that chart the 16 degree Cancer Sun square Mars opposition a 21 degree Neptune in Libra is still labouring under tr Uranus square tr Pluto for several more years till 2020. But does get a lift this year from tr Uranus square Jupiter, extending into early 2017.  Tr Pluto opposition the Moon in 2016/17 does describe an intensely conflicted population with bitter feelings emerging.

There’ll be a financial downer in 2017 with Solar Arc Saturn opposition Venus. Though that may be mitigated to some extent by tr Jupiter moving through the 2nd for a year from this September. Tr Uranus also moves out of the 8th this year where it has been from 2009, which has been very bumpy business-wise and financially. So that should make life marginally easier.

Tr Neptune has been in the 7th since 2010, early in Obama’s reign, staying till the mid 2020s, which makes for uncommitted relations with neighbouring countries.

2018/2019 will be a slog with tr Pluto sextile Saturn; but there’ll be a more positive direction and more influence as tr Pluto trines the MC in 2019/20 and opposes Jupiter.

There is a sense from this chart which has a highly emotional, self-protective, inward-looking Water Grand Trine of Jupiter (Moon) trine Saturn trine North Node in Scorpio, formed into a Kite with North Node opposition MC – that the USA will be pushed out of an all-too-comfortable rut to move onto a different track in the 2020s.  By 2023 tr Uranus will conjunct the MC indicating a change of direction and more independent mood.

Although tr Uranus in Taurus will conjunct Venus Sun and then square Pluto in 2018, 2020 and 2024 respectively, it’s unlikely to have as dramatic or drastic effect as on the UK/EU’s chart. Especially since it isn’t affecting the financial houses.