Month: December 2016

Nigel Farage, the UK politician who made it to the shortlist of Time magazine’s person of the Year for his role in the successful campaign for Britain to leave the EU, is sailing high at the moment. He buddied up with Donald Trump pre-the election and gives every sign of wanting to be part of the US-UK relationship ahead. Written off years ago as one of a bunch of ‘fruitcakes, loonies and closet racists’ as David Cameron once described UKIP, he’s understandably jubilant. Cartoonists always depict him with a cigarette in one hand, a glass of beer in the other and a wayward gleam in his eye, so not one for political correctness.

Born 3 April 1964 4.30pm Farnborough, UK, he has an 8^th house Aries Sun conjunct Mars in the late 7^th; with Jupiter also in Aries in the 8^th conjunct Mercury in Taurus – so intensely driven, impulsive, lucky, pro-active. Saturn in Pisces opposes Uranus Pluto on his Virgo Ascendant so a determined rebel, though with a depressive streak that isn’t always obvious.

He has been very chipper through this autumn with tr Pluto square his Mars/Jupiter and now has tr Uranus conjunct his Sun/Jupiter as he contemplates moving to the US whether he’s made a UK Ambassador or not (NOT according to No 10).

He shares a Sagittarius Moon with Donald Trump; and Trump’s Sun falls in Farage’s 10^th, so a career advantage. Their relationship chart isn’t looking too cheerful in 2018/2019 with some ups and downs through 2017 as well.

With tr Pluto now into Farage’s 5^th for many years ahead he’ll want to be taken as a person of substance, so expect more grandstanding. Tr Uranus will conjunct his 8^th house Jupiter in 2018 which will be good for money/business; though he’ll have some major disruptions when his Solar Arc Sun squares his Uranus in 18 months’ time.

Relocating his chart to New York puts his ambitious Mars Sun and Jupiter all in the 10^th so he’d definitely thrive there.

Lady Gaga, the super-successful American pop star with 42 million Twitter followers, has admitted she has been suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) since being raped at the age of 19. She first spoke publicly about the rape two years ago and has admitted she blamed herself and did not tell anyone about it for seven years.

Born 28 March 1986 10.55pm New York, she has a 4^th house Aries Sun square a showbizzy Neptune Mars in her 2^nd house of money, trine Saturn on her Sagittarius Ascendant and inconjunct Pluto – so she’ll be emotionally self-protective and private, as well as creative, impulsive and assertive. She has Venus in upfront Aries in her performing 5^th in an innovative trine to Uranus; plus a communicative Jupiter in the 3^rd trine Pluto, sextiling onto Mars Neptune so confident about getting her views across. And a hidden 12^th house Scorpio Moon, perhaps a reflection of her mother, who she said worked 8 till 8 most of the time.

At the moment tr Saturn is moving through her 1^st house below her Ascendant so she’ll want a quieter life for a few years ahead. Her Solar Arc Jupiter is conjunct her Sun in 2016 which will boost her confidence; and she is also just through her Saturn Return, so no doubt spending time thinking about how she wants to live in the time ahead.

When she was 19 tr Pluto was conjunct her Uranus turning her life on its head; with a bleak tr Saturn square her Pluto; and tr Uranus square her Saturn and trine her Pluto – so shifting her onto a different track.

John Key, PM of New Zealand has announced he’ll be retiring after eight years in the job. Given that he was born only five days after Barack Obama, it seems fitting they’ll bow out almost in tandem. An ex-Merrill Lyncher, he’s been a popular leader with little controversy sticking to him. He looks stressed and confused at the moment with tr Pluto trine his Mars/Pluto and square his Mars/Neptune; with a couple of Neptunian droops in early 2017. But he’s also facing a positive change of direction with tr Uranus trine his Sun in a few months’ time.

New Zealand is in a worrying time with a major earthquake in mid November and more minor ones still rumbling away; with the fear of worse to come. Plus Obama’s Trans Pacific Partnership is likely collapsing with Trump’s election.

The New Zealand chart always did look in for a very bumpy few years. Tr Uranus in early 2016 finished an emotionally jolting conjunction to the Aries Moon. Tr Pluto now proceeds to square the Moon from Feb 2017 for two years which suggests an angst-ridden population, with outbursts of feeling amongst the public.

There will be also be disruption/upheavals of a considerable size as tr Uranus squares the NZ MC at 23 Cancer in late March 2017; and then squares the NZ Sun at 26 Capricorn from May 2017 on and off until March 2018; and in 2018 tr Uranus will then square the NZ Mars and conjunct the NZ Pluto. So there’s an extended period where there will be changes in the country’s direction, insecurity, a collapse of an old order and some chaos before a new order is put into place.

NZ sailed through the 2008 recession in better order than most and is now experiencing an economic boom. But with low interests rates and property prices having doubled in a decade, there is some concern about the bubble bursting down the line.

Ivanka is the second child of Donald Trump’s first marriage to Czech Ivana Trump. She has a younger and older brother; and two half-siblings from her father’s subsequent marriages; is married to Jared Kushner with three children. She was a model, is now a businesswoman with her own jewellery and fashion line and works for the Trump real estate organization.

Born 30 Oct 1981 in New York (no birth time sadly), she’s a Sun Scorpio with a Sagittarius Moon, which is an out of element mix that seems to run through her siblings and children as well. And a powerhouse Pluto Jupiter Mercury Saturn in Libra, so confident, determined. Plus an ethereal, charming Venus Neptune in Sagittarius. Her Sun’s only aspect is a sextile to a hard-working Mars in Virgo, so she probably doesn’t have a strong sense of identity. Her Moon may be conjunct Uranus and certainly square Mars, so emotionally quite changeable.

Her Venus Neptune are conjunct her father’s Moon and opposition her Sun which will bring a calming connection; and her Sun is square his Pluto so he’ll be fairly controlling. She’s more sensible about money than he is with her Saturn in his 2^nd conjunct his Jupiter. Her Mars is in his first so she’ll put energy towards promoting his image though it could also lead to ego-clashes.

Their relationship chart is decidedly tricky with a composite Sun Mars Saturn Uranus conjunction. Sun Mars can be competitive and argumentative but that will be blocked by Saturn which tends to be repressive, one-sided and unfair. Saturn Uranus gives rise to tension with one side wanting to be free and the other restricts that. Mars Uranus is also quite volatile and defiant.  Exceptional circumstances could soak up a good deal of that in  hard work, innovative ventures etc but it certainly isn’t a cosy, loving, sentimental connection. She may have struck out for some independence in her fashion business.

Born the same year as Jared, they have relatively similar charts, though his Capricorn Sun squares her Jupiter Pluto Saturn; and his Mars in Aquarius squares her Sun – so there will be some jousting with differing personal ambitions. Her relationship chart with him is much less stressed with a steadier composite Sun sextile Jupiter and Saturn; though there is an explosive Mars Uranus as well.

Their three children:

Arabella, 17 July 2011 9am? NY, is a Sun Venus in Cancer with an Aquarius Moon; and a determined T Square of Saturn opposition Uranus square Pluto. If the time is about right, she’ll be attention seeking with Pluto in the 5^th; with a maverick grandparent with Uranus in the 8^th.

Joseph Kushner, 14 Oct 2013 9.54 pm, NY, is a Sun Libra with a Pisces Moon, Also a strong Pluto in the 7^th widely opposition Jupiter square Sun opposition Uranus – so quite a mover and shaker; with Saturn in Scorpio in his 5^th so perhaps an entertainment business mogul, especially film with Neptune Moon in Pisces on his MC.

Theodore, 27 March 2016 5.43pm, NY, is a Sun Aries with a Scorpio Moon, with a T square of Jupiter conjunct Ascendant in Virgo opposition Neptune Venus in Pisces square Saturn Mars in Sagittarius in the 3^rd. He’ll be short tempered and possibly at odds with his siblings. He’s also got the eccentric grandparent Uranus in the 8^th.

Ivanka’s relationship charts with her children have a fair smattering of Jupiter so she’ll cheerlead them along, though at times be a touch pushy. Again they are not exactly awash with emotion.

She’s in for an intense two years ahead with forceful discussions as tr Pluto squares her Mercury; some losses at the moment into January; and some downers from tr Saturn conjunct her Neptune Venus in January, July and October 2017. Plus a great high come April and Dec/Jan 2018 when tr Uranus opposes her Jupiter Pluto – major changes and major benefits.

Donald Trump has stunned Beijing by speaking directly to the Taiwanese leader, which overturns four decades of US protocol on Taiwan. China sees Taiwan as a province, not an independent state. Taiwan does not have a formal mutual defence treaty with the US, and American commitments on the defence of the island are deliberately obscured. But as China’s military might grows, Taiwan relies ultimately on the US security umbrella in East Asia for protection from invasion.

China was always going to be a Trump hot spot/aggression-zone with his Mars on the Descendant located to Beijing, with his Pluto also conjunct the Desc  (see relocated chart above). [US Presidents who went to war usually had a strong Mars line through that geographical zone. GWB’s Mars MC ran through Afghanistan and to the right of the Middle East.]

The China country chart natally has Mars Pluto conjunct in Leo in its 7^th, and both Trump’s Mars and Pluto fall in the China 7^th, so it will be a considerable clash of wills and temper.

The relationship chart between Trump and China has a formidable and unbudgeable Sun Pluto Saturn Mars conjunction.

Trump’s relationship with the Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who is pushing for Taiwan’s unification with China against the wishes of the population, has a power-playing, struggle-for-the-upper-hand composite Jupiter Pluto conjunction. Tr Saturn is in the aftermath of a separating opposition to the composite Sun at 16 Gemini; with a disappointing, distrustful tr Neptune square the composite Venus in 2017, and Sun in later years. And there’s an explosive, argumentative tr Uranus square the composite Mars in April 2017 and Dec/Jan 2018.

His other Mars line, on the MC, runs through Libya and down through central Africa, extending north through eastern Europe – Rumania, Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Ukraine – the countries most worried by Russia’s increasing belligerence on their borders. Not that Trump is likely to declare war on Poland but since his Jupiter MC runs through Russia, he’ll favour Putin over the neighbouring EU countries, which will give NATO a huge headache.

Trump’s relations with the EU, not mutually supportive from square one with a composite Mars Neptune, looks exceptionally stressed this month and throughout 2017 with tr Pluto square the composite Mars; and mired in confusion in 2018/19 with tr Pluto square Neptune. Trump has Pluto on the MC through Brussels so it will spark up his power hungry, controlling streak but that line can also be at high risk of backfiring.

Trump’s relationship with NATO is hostile with a composite Mars Pluto Saturn Mercury; and showing great agitation in 2018/19.

James General James ‘Mad Dog’ Mattis, the nominee for US Secretary of Defence, is highly respected within the armed forces in US and UK. Senator John MCCain said of him: “He is without a doubt of one of finest military officers of his generation and an extraordinary leader who inspires a rare and special admiration of his troops.”

Born 8 September 1950, he is known as the warrior-monk-intellectual, having never married, being extremely bright and well read. The monk-intellectual is certainly reflected in his Sun Saturn in Virgo. The warrior also in his ultra-determined Mars in Scorpio sextile Saturn and square Pluto.

He is certainly more hawkish than the Obama Administration could cope with but for all his rather direct speaking, he does appear to be a careful strategist.

If he gets through his confirmation – and it does look frustratingly stuck for him this December/January – he doesn’t look too cheerful through 2017 with a fairly uphill struggle; and more challenging and pressured in 2018/19 as tr Pluto squares his Mars/Saturn and trines his Saturn. Which, if he is in the job, could be signs of an armed conflict.

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Trying to trace the development of consciousness or cultural trends through astrology is complicated by the fact that what has affected the West in terms of outlook and lifestyle has not been mirrored in other societies. China, Middle East, Africa and Asia have in large part stayed closer to their historical attitudes. They may be changing now because of the incursion of Western media and the internet, but the old family and religious ties still have a strong grip.

What is below is more thinking-in-process than anything too conclusive.

Narcissism has been widely spoken off as the prevailing trend in the US and West in the 20^th Century (Erich Fromm, Christopher Lasch). People have become greedy and vain. Narcissistic traits include self-love and self-indulgence, over-reaction to criticism, prejudice, bigotry, vanity based on an inflated and unrealistic sense of self. Narcissism is the opposite of humanism; narrow self-love blocks out a broader awareness of the interdependency of all mankind. Lasch saw the echo of such qualities in “the fascination with fame and celebrity, the fear of competition, the inability to suspend disbelief, the shallowness and transitory quality of personal relations, the horror of death.” http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/07/books/review/Siegel-t.html?pagewanted=all&_r=0

Donald Trump, in one sense, is the ‘logical’ conclusion to this trend. Though to a greater or lesser degree all leaders are and always have been wildly narcissistic. As indeed are snowflake children and University students so precious they insist on ‘safe spaces’ and ‘trigger warnings’. They should try taking a course in Jacobean drama.

Individualism took hold in the west partly because of the breakdown of the extended family; and a shift away from religious belief, though that’s probably less true of the US than Europe. Freud and the rise of the psychoanalytic culture, which certainly has a firm grip on the US, is also a factor. Not that Freud would have approved of selfies or the Kardashians, but he focussed attention on the individual and pulled apart family dynamics.

In Eastern cultures there is much less focus on the individual. Identity tends to reside in the family or in religious beliefs. There is much wrong with the old patriarchal, enmeshed family set ups, and proscriptive and dictatorial religious beliefs dependent on a guru (alive or dead). But there’s clearly a downside to making personal identity the be all and end all.

Increased wealth and leisure are also a reason in the west for the proliferation of psychological conditions and unease. If you’re facing starvation, you don’t have time or energy to be neurotic. In the old days, the wide extended family with wise elders and the certainty of religious beliefs provided a cushion. Nowadays in the west, people struggle to find meaning and security in anything bar money, and entertainment to fill the empty hours, often living vicariously through the lives of celebrities.

The recent rise of racist and populist ideas is, in one sense, an urge to re-establish identity. It is unpalatable for all manner of reasons, but it also answers a human need for belonging, to be surrounded by those like-us, given that we’ve lost the old connections (a family substitute).

The liberal tendency to be all-inclusive and support minorities, sexual and ethnic, all demanding rights (though not always offering duties), is also contributing to a backlash. In a different sense the EU tried to do the same, tying together all manner of differing national identities in an idealistic hope of creating a new cohesion. The great brotherhood and sisterhood of mankind is a great theory but it runs counter to the human need for roots.

Where does the astrology come in? These are just stray thoughts. The mid 19^th Century triple conjunction in late Aries/Taurus of Saturn Uranus Pluto threw up Marx (religion is the opiate of the masses), a very young Freud, and Nietzsche (God is dead) kicked off one massive change. Neptune Pluto in Gemini late 19^th Century spawned the yellow press, as well as the telephone, and sound and picture recording which revolutionized the leisure industries. Pluto lingering in Cancer for an unconscionable time from 1914 to 1938 certainly destroyed the old family culture in Europe. The triple conjunction in the late 1980s/early 1990s of Saturn Neptune Uranus in Capricorn arguably led to widescale migration in the (very long) aftermath and produced the internet.

Pluto in Capricorn (2008 to 2024) has historically been associated with strong leaders, especially in Russia and the Middle East. Also a flourishing of civilized culture and the arts, which seems to have got lost this time round. We’ve lived recently through Uranus square Pluto, giving rise to rebellions various, a kicking against authority and underdogs demanding recognition. We’re now out of that and heading for Saturn Pluto in Capricorn by 2018/19 which will swing the other way, repressive financially as well as for beliefs away from the mainstream.

Then by 2024 Pluto moves into Aquarius, with Neptune shifting into Aries by 2025 and Uranus into Gemini by 2026, which will see a considerable shift.

History and progress, in my view, goes in pendulum swings rather than a straight line or getting stuck in one rut. So what we’re heading into is a reaction against where we have been and isn’t where we’ll be on the far side.

Donald Trump has tr Saturn opposing his 10^th house Uranus from 25 Nov to 3^rd December (ie. now). It then opposes his North Node in Gemini from Dec 21 to 28^th; is conjunct his Moon from 29^th December to 5^th January 2017; and then opposes his Gemini Sun 6^th to 15^th January.

It’ll be interesting to watch how all that plays out. Saturn demands responsibility, self-discipline, gravitas and maturity.

Media stories: “After meeting the President-elect last week, former Speaker of the House Newt Gingrich told USA Today the billionaire businessman was starting to appreciate the burden of the Oval Office. Mr Gingrich said: “He commented, ‘This is really a bigger job than I thought.’ Which is good. He should think that. As President of the United States you have war and peace, you have enormous powers…and it all comes down to the Oval Office and it all comes down to you.”

“After President Barack Obama met his successor at an official meeting in the Oval Office, sources inside the White House told The Wall Street Journal that Mr Trump “seemed surprised by the scope” of responsibilities the job entails.”

And isn’t that just Saturn for you? Everything comes at a price; and power comes at a heavier cost than most.

His Saturn isn’t that well placed natally – in the 11^th so team relationships and friendships don’t come easily to him. It is in a depressive conjunction to Venus and an unstable square to Jupiter; and quincunx his Moon. Low emotional self-worth which is why he’ll have to parade his ‘I’m the greatest’ act and a good deal of pendulum swinging from high to low.

He’s not a bad man per se, as in ruthless, brutal, sadistic. He’s just crazy chaotic with zero understanding of other people’s sensitivities. He’s absorbed his father’s racism and is stuck in a retro loop as far as women are concerned, which is why he’s acquired trophy wives, who’s only function is to look beautiful and reflect well on him.

He has the narcissist’s extreme fragility when it comes to taking criticism or loss. The narcissistic rage is the psyche’s way of staving off implosion since what is on the underside is a bottomless pit of shame and emptiness, which would eat him if he gained any insight.

His problem on the LGBT front may be an inability to separate out from the attitudes of his parents. Plus he has to see himself as a super-masculine guy. So he projects out and stamps on anything that feels alien or other, either ethnically or in terms of sexual inclination.

He’s a psychological wreck and although I don’t think he’s inherently evil, incompetence married to a personality disorder of his variety in the most powerful job in the world is a thoroughly scary prospect.

Buzz Aldrin, now 86, the second man to walk on the moon, has been evacuated from the South Pole where was on a tourist trip, after falling ill.

Born 20 January 1930 2.17pm Glen Ridge, New Jersey, he has a scientifically-inclined Sun Mercury in Aquarius in the determined 8^th; with a self-sufficient Jupiter in the 12th in an adventuring sextile to an innovative 10^th house Uranus; and square Neptune. What runs across his chart is a gutsy, never-say-die Mars in Capricorn opposition Pluto, so not short of courage but with a fair few demons to contend with.

When he made his historic walk on 21 July 1969, his Solar Arc Jupiter had moved to exactly oppose his Mars, giving him a tremendous lift and being conjunct his Pluto two years later as he bathed in the success of their venture. After he retired he battled against depression and alcoholism.

His constructive, get-it-together 5^th Harmonic is strong as is his ‘obsessive dream’ 11H.

At the moment he has both tr Saturn and his Progressed Moon moving through his 6^th house of health; and his Solar Arc Moon is conjunct his Mars with tr Pluto being conjunct both. So not a great time. But whatever happens, he’s certainly lived life to the full.