Month: April 2022

France is holding presidential elections with the first round on April 10^th and a second round on April 24th between the top two.

At present Emmanuel Macron leads the polls with 27.9%; Marine Le Pen 20.2%; Jean Luc Melenchon 15% and Eric Zemmour and Valerie Pecresse around 10%. But polls are notoriously bad gauges for the final vote.

  Whoever wins or loses by far the more interesting question is what is happening in France? The central T square on the 21 September 1792 chart of Pluto in Aquarius opposition Uranus square Mars (Midheaven) in Scorpio is being depressed this year by tr Saturn hard aspects. This is in preparation for the hugely disruptive and jolting tr Uranus hard aspects – conjunct the Pluto, opposition Uranus from mid 2023 onwards into 2024 when it moves on to the ‘shocking’, insecure opposition to the France Mars into 2025. Just to add to the pressures tr Pluto will square the France Saturn in 2023/24, which suggests hardship and a dispiriting slog.

Most countries will be rattled over the next few years but the challenges for change in France will be more severe than most.

  Across this election there will be widespread confusion with tr Pluto square the France Neptune until June (running on and off till late 2023). Over the first round there is a calamitous tr Uranus square the France Mars/Saturn which may be external events/accidents or a sobering result – that may even hint at a repeat of the 2002 first round result when the electorate woke up to the prospect of Marine Le Pen’s father Jean-Marie being within striking distance of the presidency. He was a holocaust denier and far-far-right. In the event Jaques Chirac won on 82 to 18% in the final round.

  Over the second round this time there is a more upbeat tr Uranus opposition the France Mars/Jupiter midpoint. But whoever wins will be faced with a very stressed and turbulent term.

  Emmanuel Macron, 21 December 1977 10.40am Amiens, France, a centrist, won last time against Le Pen (66 to 33%) on a youthful ‘yes we can’ campaign, aided by a scandal which removed one of the other front runners. He’s been boosted recently with the post-pandemic economic recovery and his high profile stance over the Ukraine invasion.

  Tr Pluto is exactly on his Ascendant with tr Saturn moving through his less successful, low profile first quadrant. He will feel an urge to maintain a strong control and have more influence, hence perhaps his chest-beating performance over Ukraine. But tr Saturn does not indicate a fruitful time ahead. It doesn’t mean he won’t win, just that he’ll slide on multiple banana skins and make misjudgements in coming years. But there will be significant upheavals in his life with tr Uranus conjunct his Moon and opposition his Uranus over the second round which might sound like a domestic move.

His wife Brigitte, much involved in his politics, 13 April 1953 3pm Amiens, France, has a car-crash setback (metaphorically speaking) exact now with her Solar Arc Mars square her Saturn.

Marine Le Pen, 5 August 1968 11.20am Neuilly sur Seine, has attempted to detoxify her party’s far-right image and does appeal to a section of working class voters. Her polling has improved in recent weeks. Her Leo Sun is being pressured, first by a tr Uranus square over the first round and also by a blocked Solar Arc Pluto square – the first could change her lifestyle, the second influence bring a setback. She has mildly upbeat midpoints through May and on.

Jean-Luc Melenchon, 19 August 1951 8.20 am Tangier, Morocco, a left-wing veteran is campaigning to lower the retirement age and welcome immigrants which won’t go down well though his polling figures have improved in recent weeks.  He does have one upbeat Jupiter midpoint running till June alongside unsettling and over-stressed midpoints over the first round which will prompt him to adjust to new circumstances; with some uplift through May.

Eric Zemmour, 31 August 1958 6.45 am, Montreuil, France, anti-immigration and recently convicted of hate speech, was second in polling months back but his pro-Putin stance has damaged his chances. He won’t let it stop him since he has tr Pluto square his Jupiter through till June which will power up his confidence though tr Pluto is also square his Sun/Saturn midpoint at the same time which suggests slow to no progress.

 Valerie Pecresse, 14 July 1967 12.10am Neuilly Sur Seine, centre-right, self-described as two-thirds Angela Merkel and one-third Margaret Thatcher, she takes a hard line on immigration, wants to slash public spending and fight sexual harassment. She has recently lost out to Le Pen/Zemmour in the polls. In general she’s having a frustrating less than productive year with tr Pluto square her Mars on and off.

  The usual contradictory hotch potch of influences for the candidates. The only two with Jupiterian luck are Melenchon and Zemmour who don’t look likely. So it may reflect their self-confidence more than the result.

  But France and Macron are the interesting charts – with Uranus sending out shock waves to both – for France the revolutionary Pluto opposition Uranus being on red alert ahead. And Macron’s Moon opposition Uranus being tossed around over the second round.  

A more fragmented international monetary system may emerge from the unprecedented financial sanctions imposed on Russia after the Ukraine invasion which threatens to dilute the dominance of the US dollar, according to an IMF official. The dollar’s share of international reserves had fallen from 70 per cent to 60 per cent over the past two decades and may fall further.

 Mark Annand writes: “Unable to access the Visa payment system, Russian banks have already switched to the Chinese equivalent UnionPay, Saudi Arabia has commenced a parallel oil market benchmarked in Chinese Yuan, India the world’s second largest petroleum importer is dealing direct with Moscow and Iran on semi-opaque hybrid currency trade barter terms.

  Macro-economics is not my area and currency astrology charts are difficult to source, more so to analyze. But it will be one part of the global jigsaw as the tectonic plates shift in 2023 to 2026, with all four outer planets moving sign. Nothing will happen overnight and the dollar is likely to remain the dominant currency for years ahead, though weakened. But it will effectively end an era that has been in place for more than half a century.  Part of the astrological narrative will also be connected to the USA Pluto Return.

 The other factor is the end of the globalisation that has been in place for three decades. Suddenly companies are wakening up to supply chain problems and dangers if, for example, China were to invade Taiwan, which supplies 53 per cent of the global semi-conductors and 92 per cent for advanced chips. Entire industries would grind to a halt if Taiwan collapsed. Suddenly alternatives to all manner of basics such as lithium, nickel and cobalt are being sought, never mind oil and gas, and wheat/fertilisers.

   The US Federal Reserve Bank chart will be a partial guide to the US dollar though having plotted previous dollar highs (Feb 1985, March 2002) and lows (Aug 78, May 95, and May 2011) there wasn’t much that was illuminating – though these were standard currency fluctuations not global trends.

  The Fed Res opened for business on 16 November 1914 9am Washington, DC, and was certainly stressed after the 2008 crash when tr Pluto moved into Capricorn and opposed the Fed Res Saturn Pluto conjunction in Cancer. As tr Pluto moves into Aquarius it will oppose the 8^th house Neptune in 2023/24 which will induce major panics and havoc – much as is flagged up on other central bank charts elsewhere. See previous post 10 September 2021: Pluto in Aquarius sending shock waves through central banks.

  This year the Fed Res chart is beset by tr Saturn square the Scorpio Sun, having moved over the downbeat conjunction to Jupiter. The Eclipses will impact the Sun, Moon, Mercury in Scorpio which will tug on the 8^th house Neptune – so it will be on a bumpy road, heading into more challenges over the next several years.

  I must say when I researched and wrote the previous September 2021 post on shock waves through central banks it wasn’t too clear what black swan event would paddle in to cause it – but the jigsaw is beginning to fall into place, sadly providing a none-too-cheerful a picture in the short term.