Month: July 2019

Compromise candidates have been nominated for the top EU jobs, who will require ratification by the EU Parliament on July 15^th. None are from eastern Europe which may prove a problem.

Ursula von der Leyen, a staunch Merkel ally, stepped out of the shadows to be aimed for the Juncker role as Commission President. If agreed she would be the first woman to take on the role, with responsibilities for proposing new EU laws, enforcing the bloc’s rules and handling trade deals.

Born 8 October 1958, she studied economics and medicine, has seven children, has been German Minister for Defence recently and is a staunch integrationist, backing closer military co-operation in the EU. Her nomination has raised eyebrows in her home country. The FT writes: ‘ Mistrusted by her fellow Christian Democrats, pilloried by the opposition and disliked by many of the generals under her command, she cuts a lonely figure in Berlin. Few ministries have generated as many negative headlines as hers over the years.’

She is a Sun, Mercury and Venus in Libra with her Sun Mercury on the focal point of a mini-Grand Trine to a can-be-constructive Uranus trine Saturn; plus a ferociously determined and ruthless Mars in Gemini square Pluto; and a head-in-the-clouds Jupiter Neptune.

Although she might seem a good fit with the EU since her Libra planets sit in the EU 1^st house and many of her planets are the same being born 9 months after it was founded, she’s probably an even worse match than Juncker. On the relationship chart there’s a control-freaky and hostility-inducing composite Mars opposition Pluto square Venus which is trine/sextile a slippery, ambitious and scandal-attracting Jupiter Neptune.

Her own chart looks upbeat at the moment till late this September with tr Uranus in a ‘surprise lucky break’ opposition to her Jupiter, and again in early 2020. But there’s also a build up of Neptune first in a highly-strung and confused opposition to her Sun/Uranus late this year; and more of the same tripled from tr Pluto square her Sun/Neptune in 2020/2021 at the same time as a highly uncertain tr Neptune square her dogmatic Saturn in Sagittarius. Sinkholes galore.

Christine Lagarde, 1 January 1956 1.40 pm Paris, France, the present head of the IMF, is proposed to replace Draghi at the European Central Bank (ECB). She’s an ambitious Capricorn with a formidably determined and tough Mars Saturn in Scorpio square Pluto Jupiter. She will have her sagging moments but is in better fettle with a confident tr Pluto square her Jupiter/Node midpoint in 2020/2021. And she also has the hard-driving and can-be-influential tr Saturn Pluto moving across her midheaven and her 10^th followed in late 2020 by tr Jupiter for a successful year.

Background on Lagarde isn’t overly cheerful (URL below) so maybe I might rethink that tr Saturn Pluto through her 10th, given that the EU chart itself has a seriously unstable three years 2020 to 2023 especially on the financial front with tr Uranus bouncing off the 8th house Moon, Uranus and Venus. She’s sailed through disasters before and emerged unscathed personally though leaving a trail of wreckage behind

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2019/07/03/putting-lagarde-charge-will-lead-eurozone-catastrophe/

Charles Michel, 21 December 1975, Belgian PM, is nominated as a replacement for European Council President Donald Tusk. Born 21 December 1975 he’s a late Sun Sagittarius in a lively and argumentative opposition to Mars in Gemini. He’s looking unnerved this year and paralysed in 2020/21 though will pick up thereafter.

His relationship with the EU is friendly but fractious with a composite Sun Mercury Venus trine Mars and square Saturn; and an enthusiastic though explosive Mars Uranus Pluto trine Jupiter. He’ll be living through a rolling series of changes in the EU fairly unhappily over the next several years.

The new President of the European Parliament (and no I haven’t the foggiest why there are so many presidents and distinctions without difference all tangled up in the Brussels bureaucracy) is Italian centre-left, former journalist David-Maria Sassoli, 30 May 1956. He’s a Sun Gemini with a megaton heavyweight Mars in Aquarius opposition Jupiter Pluto in Leo square Saturn in Scorpio – super-confident and very stubborn. It’ll be a white-knuckle ride until he gets to 2021 with his Solar Arc Mars and Saturn colliding with his Neptune and Uranus. He is a key figure for the EU with a composite New Moon in the relationship chart – so a complementary fit. But he’ll be increasingly disillusioned through 2022 to 2024 with the direction it is taking.

Facebook’s work-in-progress cryptocurrency due for launch next year may be called Libra, which may or may not symbolically be helpful given Libras propensity for chucking money around extravagantly. Or maybe that’s the hope.

It could unlock a new era of commerce offering low or no-fee payments between friends or remittance of earnings to families from migrant workers abroad who are often gouged by money transfer services. If it sidestepped credit card transaction fees it would be a cheaper way to pay merchants for traditional ecommerce, or facilitate microtransactions for a la carte news articles or tipping of content creators.

Not everyone is enamoured of the idea. US economist Joseph Stiglitz writing in the Guardian today says: “Only a fool would trust Facebook with their financial wellbeing.” And he says it could prove problematic over money laundering.

The Facebook IPO chart, 18 May 2012 11.31am New York, does look on buoyant form in 2020/2021 with tr Pluto trine the Jupiter, moving on to trine the Sun/Jupiter midpoint the two years after that. Though it won’t be an easy run-up with Neptune and Pluto in transit blocking progress on several fronts this year till late 2020.

The original Facebook chart, 4 February 2004, is in a curious phase – stuck at the moment with Solar Arc Pluto opposition the Saturn; in the start of a long run of Neptunian high-hopes not all of which will pay dividends as it moves round the T Square of Jupiter opposition Venus square Pluto from 2019 till late 2023. With a major upheaval in 2020 from Solar Arc Sun conjunct Uranus; and a disruptive, total turnaround Solar Arc Uranus square Pluto in 2023.

Mark Zuckerburg, 14 May 1984 (time unverified) is a stalwartly determined Sun Venus in Taurus opposition Mars (Moon) and Saturn in Scorpio. He’s also moving into an oddly unsettled phase with tr Neptune square his Mars/Jupiter midpoint and conjunct his Sun/Jupiter midpoint this year and next – both of which suggest dented enthusiasm and dashed hopes. With a catastrophic tr Uranus opposition his Mars/Pluto midpoint from mid 2020 into 2021 when he picks up a longish run of jangled tr Uranus hard aspects first in opposition to his Saturn, then conjunct his Venus, opposition Mars and finally conjunct his Sun all before Uranus moves into Gemini in late 2025. In 2022 as well he has his Solar Arc Sun opposition his Neptune which will make him untypically confused or distracted.

Charts as fixed as his don’t appreciate Uranian transits on the whole since they require adaptation to change, though they do favour IT and high technology.

Whatever happens Facebook and Zuckerburg look to be having their existence turned upside down in the first half of the 2020s.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2019/jul/02/why-facebook-libra-currency-gets-the-thumbs-down

A virulent spat has blown up in the higher echelons of the pop music business with Taylor Swift erupting on social media about her back catalogue being bought over by pop power-broker Scooter Braun. She accused him of ‘incessant manipulative bullying’ over years. He is a publicity-loving Svengali who plucked Justin Bieber from YouTube obscurity, masterminded the rise of Ariana Grande and served as a confidante to Kanye West, all of whom are supporting him. Chart titans have been taking sides with Harry Styles, Rihanna, Billie Eilish, Britney Spears, Miley Cyrus and others all “unfollowing” Braun on Instagram. Quelle horreur.

She was born 13 December 1989 (birth times vary) and he 18 June 1981.

She’s a Sun Sagittarius with the unpredictable, can-be-chaotic triple conjunction of Uranus, Saturn, Neptune in Capricorn conjunct Mercury opposition Jupiter in Cancer; and both Pluto and Mars in unforgiving Scorpio.

Brain is a stratospherically ambitious Sun Gemini opposition a musical Neptune trine Pluto; with a hard edged and adventurous Mars in Gemini trine Saturn and Jupiter in Libra. His Saturn trines her Venus in Aquarius and his Venus in Cancer opposes her Saturn – both of which are fine for a working relationship. The major problem (without birth times) is her Mars in Scorpio exactly conjunct his Uranus which is a fairly volcanic trigger point.

Their relationship chart has two stressed Yods, suggesting a relationship that is transformative for both of them, for good or ill. There’s a simmering-rage Mars sextile Pluto inconjunct Mercury (Moon) and a chilly Sun sextile Saturn inconjunct Venus. There’s also an inspirational Fire Grand Trine of Jupiter trine Uranus trine Venus – which if it could be made to work might provide the basis for some co-operation. But there’s probably too much aggravation and strain from the Yods to make that possible.

Evidently it is standard in the music business for artists not to own their back catalogue.

Another set of nuptials this weekend with Big Little Lies star Zoe Kravitz marrying actor Karl Glusman at her father musician Lenny Kravitz’s Paris home.

She was born 1 December 1988 in California and is a fiery Sun Mercury in Sagittarius trine Mars in Aries; with an intensely passionate Venus Pluto in Scorpio and a Virgo Moon.

Karl, 3 January 1988, is a Sun Neptune and Mercury in Capricorn with a Cancer Moon and Venus in Aquarius square Pluto and an ultra-determined Mars in Scorpio.

His Venus squares her Venus Pluto and his Mars in Scorpio opposes her Jupiter in Taurus – so it’ll be a lively, emotionally high-pitched match. Her Mars squares his Sun which will be argumentative.

Their relationship chart has an affectionate composite Sun Venus conjunction but that’s also conjunct Uranus Saturn Mercury – so there will be too much work and barriers from that at times; and tensions which erupt into the open from Saturn Uranus. There’s also composite Jupiter opposition Pluto which initially brings great confidence and mutual support but can turn into a struggle for the upper hand.

This one will be a high-wire act.

Two Capricorns with diametrically different backgrounds got hitched in Vegas on Friday. Rachel Riley, an Oxford maths whizz with an interest in popularising the sciences, 11 January 1986, who’s also a television personality who co-presents the daytime puzzle show Countdown married Pasha Kovalev, 19 January 1980, a professional Russian dancer born in Siberia. They met when she competed on Strictly Come Dancing in 2014.

She’s a Sun Venus in Capricorn with (probably) an Aquarius Moon; while he’s a determined and controlling Sun Capricorn sextile Uranus and square Pluto with an Aquarius Moon and Venus in Pisces. His Pluto is trine her Jupiter for high enthusiasm; and square her Venus for passion; but his indulgent Venus opposition Jupiter squares her Saturn so she may criticise his extravagant habits. His Saturn in Virgo is trine her Sun which is good for practicalities but square her Uranus which will bring some rough edges.

Their relationship chart has possessive composite Sun square Pluto and an argumentative Sun Mercury square Mars, so it will get noisy at times. The composite Venus may be conjunct the Moon and is certainly sextile Uranus for fun. It won’t all be sweetness and light with Sun Pluto Mars but that will bring an intense closeness initially though I suspect problems later when it turns into a power struggle.

She is expecting a baby in December which may put a strain on them since tr Pluto will conjunct the composite Sun from early 2020 for two years.