Month: July 2019

Boris Johnson was announced as new Tory Party leader at 12.05 today though he technically does not become Prime Minister until he has seen the Queen tomorrow after Theresa May’s exit. He won by a 2 to 1 majority though it wasn’t quite as much of a wipe-out for Hunt as had been anticipated.

Johnson inherits a considerable mess, much of it his own making, having flannelled and lied his way through the Brexit referendum and more recently has been making all manner of promises which have little hope of being delivered – on Irish backstop, leaving come hell or high water on October 31^st, easy-peasy trade deals etc. And he has even less of a slender majority than Theresa May with ministers resigning over his NO-Deal strategy and coups being planned left, right and centre.

Rachel Sylvester in the Times says what will undo him is his need to be loved. She quotes an MP who says he seems terrified at the thought of having to take responsibility for the consequences of his own actions. “Through his whole life Boris has had somebody who makes things OK. He’s always had a fixer but Brexit is unfixable. He knows he’s in trouble. I saw it in his eyes. He’s scared of failure and of being found out. He sold something that he knows he can’t deliver and now the facts are going to catch up with him. He can see the train coming down the track that’s going to destroy him.”

That pretty much sums up most of the comments about his elevation. He does have charm as well as a ferocious temper and a vengeful streak, but is bad with detail and invents facts to suit himself. He’ll be very exposed in Downing Street.

The chart of his election will be superseded tomorrow by his acceptance as PM by HM Queen, which will be the more significant, but for what it’s worth – there’s an unsettled, divisive Sun square Uranus with Uranus also in a volatile, argumentative square to Mars in flashy Leo. A vulnerable, dependent-on-support 7^th house Aries Moon does trine Mars and Jupiter in the 3^rd which could be inspirational, will certainly foster a strong sense of self-belief, is vitality plus, attention demanding, not humble, adventurous. There’s also a head-in-the-clouds, over-hopeful, over-promising Jupiter square Neptune. What will pull away from all the enthusiasm and general charm being sprayed around by a 10^th house Venus, is Saturn on the IC conjunct Pluto and opposition the North Node. Domestic hardship and mutinous, resentful natives will take the shine off the hot air. And the Sun square the Mars/Saturn midpoint and conjunct Mars/Node does suggest major setbacks and running arguments.

His own chart, birth time of 2pm being accurate or thereabouts, does have his Solar Arc Midheaven moving to oppose his Saturn this year and then conjunct his Uranus (conjunct Pluto) which will be very stop-start and prone to sudden jolts and changes of direction. There’s nothing too secure or stable from that career-wise. And he’s got a considerable emotional shock coming next year with his Solar Arc Uranus conjunct his Moon.

On transits to midpoints he does look marginally unnerved at the moment as well as trapped until late August; really tossed around mid September to mid October; and in a meltdown of panic mid November to mid December.

Best wait for tomorrow for the new Johnson Government chart.

The trail of damage left behind by ‘fantasist’ Carl Beech’s lies about sexual abuse is considerable, not just for those who were falsely accused, but also for those struggling to get their genuine stories heard and believed. He claimed various high level political and military individuals in a paedophile ring were guilty of heinous abuse, which stories were swallowed hook, line and sinker by a gullible police force, over-reacting against their earlier wilful blindness of abuse cases – and Deputy Labour Leader Tom Watson stirring up a media storm.

Certain of Beech’s stories involved physical torture which could have quickly been disproven by the simple remedy of a medical examination as could other details of his stories. That there will be abusers amongst the highest and mightiest in the land is hardly a stretch of the imagination, given Cyril Smith, Jimmy Savile etc. Pinning down solid evidence is something else even when stories are common currency amongst the gin-drinking classes and regularly appear lightly-fictionalised in crime novels.

Beech, 23 January 1968, Wrexham (cps.gov) grew up overly attached to his mother, with his father disappearing earlier on and being replaced by an alcoholic, violent military stepfather. Beech learnt he could gain his mother’s sympathy by lying; and went on in adult life to have a middle-class career as an NHS manager, was a school governor and assisted the NSPCC, all of which helped give him credibility when he decided to exploit the post-Savile hysteria. He received financial compensation for his alleged abuse; and was found to have a stash of child porn when he was arrested.

Beech is a Sun Aquarius on one leg of a Yod, sextile Saturn in Aries inconjunct a self-aggrandising Jupiter in Virgo which in turn is in an opportunistic, chancer’s opposition to Mars in Pisces. His Venus in Sagittarius squares Uranus Pluto making him emotionally erratic and unpredictable. His intense Scorpio Moon is possibly trine Mars adding another scratchy edge to his emotional responses. His Neptune is on the focal point of a mini-Grand Trine to Sun trine Uranus, giving him a fanatical streak. His Sun is conjunct the neurotic/hysterical Saturn/Neptune midpoint and is also in aspect to his ruthless Mars/Pluto.

His Solar Arc Mars squares his Sun exactly this year for a considerable shock.

Tom Watson, 8 January 1967, a Sun Capricorn square Mars in Libra with Saturn opposition Uranus Pluto square a Sagittarius Moon does have some cross overs with Beech since Beech’s Sun is conjunct Watson’s Venus; and Beech’s Venus is conjunct Watson’s Moon. Though their relationship chart is highly stressed with a composite Saturn opposition Uranus Pluto square Mars; and prone to illusion/delusion with an emphasised Neptune.

There are times one despairs of the police – either they look the other way or they run with the wrong story which isn’t checked out for too long.

A reluctant Robert Mueller has been dragged by subpoena to appear before two Congress committees on Wednesday. Judiciary Committee Chairman Jerrold Nadler said this week: “The report presents very substantial evidence that the president is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors.” But Mueller ducked when he could have made a real difference speaking out against AG William Barr’s misleading obfuscations at the time of publishing and the expectation is he‘ll not make a resounding difference at these hearings.

Jerry Nadler’s personal chart looks seriously blocked, aggravated and discouraged until late this month. And his relationship chart with Mueller shows signs of extreme irritation and separation with tr Saturn opposition the composite Mars exactly now and moving into oppose the composite Sun later in the year; with an uphill-struggle tr Pluto opposition the composite Saturn also now. Not productive, that’s for sure.

Mueller’s relationship with Adam Schiff, Chairman of the Intelligence Committee, if anything is even worse in essence with a composite Saturn opposition Neptune square Mars Uranus – and all of that as well as the composite Sun Venus is catching hard aspects from this month’s Solar and Lunar Eclipse and tr Saturn in opposition and square throughout this year and early next. So they’re not exactly singing off the same hymn sheet.

Not that Mueller is supposed to be partisan. But he was expected to sift through the evidence and publicise an unbiased conclusion, not leave it to Trump’s hand picked Attorney General to flannel round. The UK experience of getting senior lawyers to chair political inquiries isn’t encouraging. It usually turned out to be a damp squib. Either they whitewashed the truth or delivered their conclusions in such obtuse legalese it took six months to be understood – by which time the moment had passed.

There’s not much happening on Mueller’s chart apart from mild irritation at the moment though there’s disappointment and failure writ large over the next two years.

Trump looks on edge about Mueller this month and next with tr Uranus trine their composite Mars;  and more concerned November/December this year; with major hiccups in 2020 – so Trump will continue to feel the ripple effects of the Mueller Investigation fairly strongly throughout this term.

https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/07/22/congress-robert-mueller-hearing-227415

The seizure of a British-flagged tanker in the Gulf has ramped up tensions between Iran, the UK and USA. It is possibly in retaliation for an Iranian tanker being detained off Gibraltar by Royal Marines which was thought to be carrying oil for Syria in breach of EU sanctions. The USA have tightened sanctions after unilaterally withdrawing from the nuclear deal, which the UK and EU still support.

The indications from both Iran charts suggest a degree of panic, delusion, disappointment or failure in the near future. The 7 October 1906 chart had the recent Cancer Solar Eclipse conjunct its over-hopeful, head-in-the-clouds Jupiter Neptune conjunction in Cancer; with tr Neptune moving to oppose the Mars which can be paralysing as plans fail mid November to mid December this year.

The Republic chart of 1 February 1979 9am chart has the Solar Arc Mars exactly square Neptune at the moment for the same effect. So whatever the future brings, this phase looks swampy for Iran. But countries in desperate straits which Iran is economically – can do desperate things.

The UK relationship charts with both Iran charts are in a tug of war for the upper hand on one chart – now and for the next three years. And considerably troubled with heightened reactions on the other again for several years ahead.

Getting the UK dragged into Trump’s wild foreign policy gestures just to keep him sweet for a trade deal is going to bring considerable risks. It will also presumably affect the price of oil if the Gulf of Hormuz becomes hazardous.  See also post May 8 2019.

The death of Mary Jo Kopechne at Chappaquiddick fifty years ago in 1969 was yet another dark chapter in the Kennedy family melodrama and an enduring mystery. The story told by Senator Edward Kennedy was that he was driving Mary Jo to the ferry after a party and had run off a bridge into a river. He swam free but didn’t report the incident for 10 hours, during which time she drowned after staying alive for several hours in an air pocket. There was no autopsy done.

The tragedy and scandal ruined his chances of the presidency but he stayed a senator until his death four decades later. A more recent story suggests he was driving another girl and didn’t know Mary Jo was asleep and drunk in the backseat, and only discovered that next morning. It would make more sense of the 10 hour silence but not why he claimed what was a more incriminating story.

He was born 22 February 1932 3.58 am Brookline, Massachusetts and had a see-saw chart with his Pisces Sun opposition an 8^th house Neptune and Moon in Virgo, his Mars Mercury in Aquarius were also on the opposite side of his chart from his Moon Neptune and Jupiter in Leo; and his Saturn opposed a 7^th house Pluto – his emotional responses would always be erratic, veering from one extreme to another. He also had an excitable Venus Uranus in Aries in his 3^rd – his ‘romantic life’ would always be fast-changing and unpredictable.

When the event occurred his Solar Arc Pluto was exactly opposition his Mars with tr Neptune square both which fairly describes a brutal and devastating situation surrounded by a smokescreen.

Mary Jo, 26 July 1940 1pm (unverified) Forty Fort, Pennsylvania, was a determined Sun Pluto in Leo with Mars also in Leo square Jupiter Saturn in Taurus with Uranus also in Taurus – very fixed and stubborn. She had an upfront Aries Moon in an intense square to Pluto Sun and a social-butterfly Venus in Gemini square a romantic Neptune. She’d be a strong personality.

On the night in question tr Neptune was exactly opposition her Uranus which Ebertin describes as loss of consciousness; tr Pluto was exactly conjunct her Neptune which is associated with disasters and considerable confusion; and tr Saturn was in an accident-prone and high-risk square to her Mars/Pluto midpoint.

Their relationship chart did have a passionate and fun-loving composite Mars Venus Sun conjunction. When the accident happened the transiting Sun was exactly conjunct the composite Pluto which is rather spooky – a fated moment – with watery, alcoholic tr Neptune exactly trine both. Tr Pluto was opposition the transiting North Node and sitting on top of the composite Saturn.

1969 was one year after his brother Robert Kennedy’s assassination and six years after JFK’s – so it was one rolling catastrophe after another for him. I never had much time for him but a political friend said his great skill was in cross-party negotiation and deal-making which was why it was such a loss when he died early in Obama’s presidency. So perhaps the see-saw chart had its uses since the urge is to pull too opposites together or at least into balance.

Philip Hammond, for the time being still Chancellor, has hinted that along with other rebels he would do “everything in my power to make sure that Parliament blocks a Brexit without agreement”. Even to the extent of bringing down the next government in the “interest of the country”. Boris Johnson hasn’t left himself any wiggle room at all in his blustering, blundering campaign rhetoric about exiting on October 31^st no matter what.

Hammond, 4 December 1955, nicknamed ‘Spreadsheet Phil’ and not renowned for his exuberance may be about to let his explosive Mars in Scorpio square Uranus out to play. His super-confident Jupiter in Virgo conjunct Pluto does square Boris’s focal point Mars in Gemini – so it’s always been a simmering competition between them with Hammond being the more heavyweight of the pair. His Sagittarius Sun Mercury are also at cross purposes with Boris’s Saturn Uranus Pluto – not a match made in heaven. And last but not least Hammond’s unforgiving Mars in Scorpio is conjunct Boris’s Scorpio Moon with Hammond’s Uranus in square – which will lead to heated emotional reactions.

Their relationship chart has a volcanic composite Mars Uranus with a see-saw, up-and-down Jupiter opposition Saturn. It’s sagging badly with tr Neptune opposition the composite Mercury in November/December when Boris’s own chart is in a flat panic of paralysis. (See previous post July 10 2019). And worse in 2020/21 as tr Neptune undermines the composite Sun by opposition.

Hammond looks fired up with confidence now till late August; will sag from then till late September; and be back on battling form from mid November and more so in 2020/21. It looks a bumpy ride for him with tr Uranus opposition his Mars and square his Uranus from mid November to early March 2020. That looks like high insecurity with radical forced changes. Not that finding another lucrative job will be a problem for him – better paid probably in the City and elsewhere.

Pic: Chris McAndrew

Joaquin ‘El Chapo’ Guzman has been whipped off to a supermax high-security prison within hours of being sentenced to life for drug offences after an escape plan was allegedly uncovered. A former drug cartel boss he’s already escaped twice from Mexican prisons where he was serving long sentences for murder and drug trafficking. He exported more drugs to the US than any other trafficker in history; and descriptions of his killing chamber at home and other tales are stomach-churning.

Born 4 April 1957, he’s a Sun Venus in pro-active Aries sextile/trine a hard-edged Mars opposition Saturn, which latter was the old astrological signature for an assassin.

His get-it-together and can-be-dominating 5^th Harmonic is strong with a fanatical T Square onto Neptune fittingly enough. His ‘serial-killer’ 18H is marked by a stressed Yod.

Although the Mexican President is unbelievably calling his sentence ‘inhumane’ and he complained his solitary confinement during the trial was ‘torture’, he looks in reasonable form ahead. Confused a touch this year and next and stalled, he also has moments of high confidence with more picking up in 2020/21. He’s been ordered to forfeit nearly $13 billion. If he tucked some of that into the wrong pocket he might well be breathing fresh air at some point down the line.

Rory McIlroy, the golf professional, had the all-time horror start to the British Open in Northern Ireland, his home territory, with an “inexcusable” eight over par. Born 4 May 1989 he had won three majors before the age of 25 and was world number one for 95 weeks; though he was off in 2017 with a rib injury.

He’s a Sun in Taurus opposition Pluto so should be steady though he’s known for having erratic first rounds. He’s also got the triple conjunction in Capricorn of Uranus, Neptune, Saturn opposition Mars in Cancer. And it’s that latter opposition which was badly rattled by the recent Cancer Solar Eclipse. He’s got a sticky two or so years ahead with his Solar Arc Saturn and then Neptune squaring his Sun and Pluto but should find his mojo again by 2022/23.

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Nazanin Zhagari-Ratcliffe, the Iranian-British prisoner in Teheran, on trumped up charges of spying, has been moved to a psychiatric hospital after going on hunger strike. Initially it was thought this might be positive but she appears to be held by the Revolutionary Guard and is out of touch with her lawyer which is not good news.

Her husband believes her release is dependent on the interest on a £450 million debt the UK has owed to Iran since the 1970s for a cancelled arms deal. The UK Ministry of Defence is reportedly unwilling to release settlement funds because it believes the Iranian Government would use the money to extend Iran’s military activities in Yemen, Syria and Lebanon.

Boris Johnson when Foreign Secretary instead of helping made her situation worse by suggesting she was training Iranian journalists, when in reality she was there with her daughter on holiday visiting her parents.

Born 26 December 1978 (wiki), she looks uncertain and worried now until late August with tr Neptune opposition her Saturn/Node midpoint; but in better spirits from late August to mid November. The one really bright spot is tr Uranus square her Jupiter from early May 2020, on and off into 2021, which could suggest a hope of release – so there is a sliver of hope.

The Eclipses this year are bouncing off her Mars in Capricorn now and her Capricorn Sun in December so it will be a critical turning point.