Month: June 2018

Pedro Sánchez, a former economics professor and rather dishy, has replaced Rajoy as Spanish PM. He’ll have an uphill battle to push through reforms with only 84 MPs out of 350.

Born 29 February 1972, Madrid, he’s a Sun Pisces opposition a Virgo Moon; with his Sun on the focal point of a Mutable T Square (maybe Grand Cross) to a Saturn opposition Neptune – very Mutable, overly adaptable, tends to get pushed around by the prevailing breeze. His more solidly rooted Mars in Taurus is in an enthusiastic trine to Jupiter, sextile his Sun; with Jupiter square Pluto – ego-centric, confident, pushy on occasion.

He’ll have the odd success this year but generally transits to his midpoints are dire through 2018 and possibly worse in 2029. So he may not last long.

He was sworn in at around 11 am (I think, anyone with an accurate time gratefully received). This gives roughly the same chart as Trump Trade Tariffs (see below|) – an unrealistic Water Grand Trine involving Neptune and an explosive Mars Uranus Node T Square. With, if time roughly accurate, Uranus in the 10^th so a roller-coaster ride.

In Egypt Al-Sisi was also sworn in today for a 2^nd Term, so similar aspects. [I do wish twitter would identify which time zone they put on posts since impossible to work out time.] Earlyish morning so maybe 10am.

Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish prime minister has lost a no-confidence vote and is gone with his replacement, Pedro Sanchez, due to be sworn in on Monday.

Rajoy has had two terms in office, the second overseeing an economic recovery and drop in unemployment, but he’s been dogged by the corruption scandals in his party. He was sworn in on 31 October 2016 which has a crisis-ridden and hostile Mars Pluto square Uranus, with tr Pluto now square the Uranus exactly – which is often when administrations tumble or leaders fall off their perch.

He has a formidably bullish and obstinate chart with a Mars (Moon) in Taurus opposition Saturn square Pluto in Leo, which was, I suspect, the reason why he handled the Catalan situation with such unyielding belligerence.  His Aries Sun has had the discouraging tr Saturn square this year, returning exactly within days; and more significantly his control-freaky T Square has moved by Solar Arc to collide with his Neptune square Jupiter Uranus – so throwing him into the worst crisis of his life.

The Spain 22 November 1975 12.45pm chart is labouring through sticky times ahead with a jolting tr Uranus square Saturn picking up from July onwards into 2019 which might suggest ruptured relations with neighbours. With a downbeat series of Saturn transits in 2019 to the Jupiter opposition Venus Pluto square Moon, so not a happy populace, or finances.

Roman Abramovitch, the Russian-Israeli billionaire, close to Putin, has had his UK visa delayed because of the push against Russian money; and is acquiring Israeli citizenship. He is best known in the UK as owner of Chelsea Football Club and his £1bn revamp of Chelsea’s stadium has been put on hold indefinitely which isn’t surprising.

Born 24 October 1966, Saratov, Russia he is a Sun Scorpio which is getting the tr Uranus opposition at the moment, bringing unexpected and unwelcome surprises. He’s also got his Solar Arc Sun around the square to his Uranus, for more of the same, so quite a jolting upheaval. With his Solar Arc Sun square his Saturn in 2019/2020 for a discouraging setback – and a tranche of disappointing, disastrous and loss-making Neptune transits to three Mars and one Jupiter midpoint till late 2019. Plus a ‘collision’ Solar Arc Mars conjunct his Sun in about a year’s time. So his life will be going through considerable turmoil.

Like the UK he has Jupiter in Leo and Neptune in Scorpio, so he wasn’t a bad fit. Though his Mars in Virgo does oppose the UK Pluto for a bitter power struggle. The relationship chart has a business-like composite Sun Mercury Pluto opposition Saturn, which is quite a locked-together connection. Though this year does look bad-tempered, blocked with some light relief from July onwards.

If the UK tosses out all the Russian money in London, it’ll go broke.

Another Trump shock and awe as he levies tariffs on imports of steel and aluminium from the EU, Canada and Mexico, who are all threatening retaliation. Past experience suggests such protectionism, as in Reagan era, costs jobs in US and pushes US prices up, hurting US consumers, never mind setting off an escalating trade war elsewhere. Even GOP stalwarts are alarmed.

Sen. Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) called it “bad news”.

Senate Finance Chairman Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) said there is “mounting evidence that these tariffs will harm Americans.”

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) warned that similar policies 90 years ago sparked the Great Depression. He said: “This is dumb. Europe, Canada, and Mexico are not China, and you don’t treat allies the same way you treat opponents. ‘Make America Great Again’ shouldn’t mean ‘Make America 1929 Again.'”

Sen. Lamar Alexander (R-Tenn.) “This is a big mistake. These tariffs will raise prices and destroy manufacturing jobs, especially auto jobs, which are one-third of all Tennessee manufacturing jobs. Tariffs are “basically higher taxes on American consumers.”

It was signed to start at midnight last night.

This aptly enough produces a self-protective, though usually divorced-from-reality Water Grand Trine of Jupiter in Scorpio trine Venus in Cancer trine Neptune in the 2^nd, formed into a Kite by Venus opposition a 12^th house Pluto (Moon Saturn) in Capricorn. Plus an explosive Mars on the Aquarius Ascendant opposition North Node in the 7^th square Uranus. So an unholy mix of an act of reckless machismo to shore up self-esteem; and some dubious behind-the-scenes-motives. Neptune in the 2^nd tied into the central configuration is not remotely hard-headed on the cash front, and Saturn in the 12^th isn’t practical.

At the moment Pluto is exactly conjunct the Mars/Saturn midpoint, which is destructive; Saturn is square the Sun/Mars and Uranus/Neptune midpoints which indicates setbacks and loses.  Could all be stoking up economic trouble as tr Saturn opposes the US Jupiter Venus this year and the Sun in 2019 at the same time as a fairly devastating tr Pluto trine the US Neptune picking up.

It’ll also have a damaging effect on steel jobs in the EU, UK and elsewhere.