Frank Gardner, BBC security correspondent, overcame a near fatal shooting 20 years ago in Saudi Arabia, with an extended recovery period in which he nearly died, to continue his career and travel extensively despite now being confined to a wheelchair.
Born a year before Sebastian Junger, another war-reporting journalist, who has written about his near death experience (see post below) Frank Gardner’s chart has strong similarities. Both have their Chiron opposition Pluto, giving them an attraction for danger and excitement; and both have Neptune in Scorpio on the focal point of a T square (as does Barack Obama). Neptune can have an idealistic side, but is also a dreamer with deep emotional yearnings which ordinary life won’t fulfil. Such a Neptune can be creative – and Gardner is onto his 4th fictional crime thriller; and is certainly inspirational and healing for others.
Gardner was born 31 July 1961, no birth time, with a diplomat father expelled for espionage activities from Czechoslovakia and a mother who worked for the Foreign Office. He started studying Arabic at college and even when he started as an investment banker he travelled constantly in the Middle East. He switched to journalism and became a BBC correspondent.
He has an entertaining Leo Sun opposition an optimistic and humanitarian Jupiter in Aquarius square Neptune; with his Mars in Virgo in a disciplined and gutsy trine to Saturn in Capricorn. Like Junger as well he has his Saturn on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Uranus sextile Venus – not a natural fitter-inner to an ordinary lifestyle. A Saturnine yod does demand maturity and realism to make it work well.
When he was shot on 6 June 2004, his Solar Arc Sun was conjunct his Mars; tr Pluto was conjunct his SA Neptune; and there was a collection of tr Uranus and Solar Arc Saturn all crowding on top of his Pluto opposition Chiron. His companion died instantly. He somehow survived six bullets — and eleven bullet holes — and remained conscious throughout his ordeal.
He started writing fiction since he became bored on long flights to Los Angeles and is now onto his fourth novel, Invasion, featuring Luke Carlton, a latter-day James Bond risking life and limb in Taiwan for king and country.
Charles de Gaulle, leader of the Free French during World War 11 and later president of France, was famously anti-English/British even as Churchill and the Americans fought to free Europe from Hitler. One of de Gaulle’s closest advisors noted that he ‘must constantly be reminded that our main enemy is Germany. If he would follow his own inclination, it would be England.’
An incendiary letter has now surfaced which was never sent from Churchill on the eve of the D-Day landings, the largest seaborne invasion in history, which began the liberation of France, and the rest of Western Europe, and laid the foundations of the Allied victory on the Western Front.
In advance of the Normandy landings De Gaulle proved his usual intractable self about broadcasting a speech ahead of the landings and blocking the dispatch of French liaison officers to accompany the allied troops into France.
In the letter Churchill “the heinous character of [De Gaulle’s] action” and threatens to “make plain to the world that the personality of General de Gaulle is the sole and main obstacle between the great democracies of the west and the people of France”. In the event De Gaulle relented partially and the letter which would have ruined his political career was never sent.
De Gaulle’s relations with Dwight Eisenhower, the US Supreme Commander of the Allied Expeditionary Force in Europe were not much better.
What is fascinating about the WW11 leaders was the pervasive influence of the Neptune Pluto conjunction of the last nineteenth century which has overtones of megalomaniac ambition as well as obsessive and often fantastical beliefs.
De Gaulle, 22 November 1890 4am Lille, France, like Hitler, had Neptune Pluto conjunct in Gemini in the 8th. In De Gaulle’s case this was opposition a final degree Scorpio Sun, making him controlling, obstinate to the nth degree and prone to flights of fancy. His 4th house of roots and national pride had a high-vitality and stubborn Mars Jupiter in Aquarius trine his Neptune Pluto. He would be prone to fixed ideas which were well-nigh impossible to budge.
Not that Churchill was exactly easy, 30 November 1974 1.30am Woodstock, England, with Pluto in Taurus in his 8th and Neptune in late Aries on the 8th house cusp.
His relationship chart with De Gaulle had Pluto in the 8th opposition Saturn Sun and Neptune also in the 8th conjunct the composite North Node – chained together and resenting it. Not much cooperation there.
Dwight Eisenhower had Neptune Pluto in Gemini conjunct his Midheaven in a Mutable T Square opposition Venus square Saturn in Virgo. Joseph Stalin had Neptune and Pluto in Taurus, not conjunct but both opposition Mars in Scorpio which sat on the midpoint. So a resonant influence on his chart.
D-Day launched with a Mars Pluto conjunction in Leo which maybe stirred in De Gaulle the historical antipathy between France and England which also has a stressed Mars Pluto square Sun in the relationship chart. De Gaulle then went on to put obstacles in the way of the UK joining the EEC.
What a strange mindset – ego getting in the way of common sense. It’s a miracle anything was resolved.
A surprise guilty verdict on Trump after a chaotic trial and botched defence is heading for sentence on July 11th. Any sentence, whether jail or fine, is likely to be deferred pending an appeal which could take up to a year. Legal experts are divided about whether a prison sentence is likely for a non-violent offender in his late seventies. Though some think the judge sees him as someone who has little respect for the law. A former federal prosecutor said “at sentencing, the judge always looks for signs of contrition and acceptance of responsibility and Trump will never do that.”
Assuming his birth time of 10.54 am is accurate then tr Uranus conjunct his Midheaven from May 29th to 19 June, repeating late November to mid December and March 2025 is spot on for forcing a radical change of direction in his career and life.
The key influence in the near future is tr Uranus square his Mars in Leo from July 7th to August 4th, again in October and April/May 2025 – this will be disruptive, test his self-esteem to the limit and is likely to provoke a macho response. It can in older people accompany heart strain or an operation. At the very least it will be a significant test of nerve/struggle for survival. It falls across sentencing and also the GOP Convention on July 15/18th when the next candidate is chosen.
His Progressed Moon will square his 12th house Pluto just after the election with his Solar Arc Midheaven moving to conjunct his Pluto possibly in 2025. Both of those are emotionally charged and blocked.
His upbeat, pushily-confident and lucky Jupiter/Pluto midpoint will be cut down throughout this October and December with tr Saturn dampening his enthusiasm.
Tr Saturn square his 10th house Uranus repeats from last month this August and again in February 2025 which will bring high tension, outbursts and plans knocked sideways.
Into 2025 sees Solar Arc Neptune bearing down on his Sagittarius Moon opposition Gemini Sun (and his Sun/Moon midpoint) as well as tr Saturn in hard aspect = undermining physically and mentally. His relationships including marriage will be discontented/separated – and he will be emotionally overwrought from Venus/Pluto, Mercury/Mars midpoint and SA Pluto square his Venus (which is peculiarly susceptible to any sense that he is not loved and respected.)
So mainly not good news, bar the rogue factor of tr Jupiter moving across his Midheaven from early this month (May) till June 2025. This usually accompanies career or community success but Jupiter transits can be mild and on occasion well-nigh invisible, so impossible to say how it will play out. But for sure he has only a sliver of the Jupiterian bounty he had running into 2016.
His Solar Return from June 2024 has Neptune and Saturn straddling the Midheaven and Sun, Venus in the hidden 12th – so less than encouraging.
Add On: Transiting Pluto is now on the cusp of his 6th house of health and work, aiming to stay there for many years to come. It can sometimes start with health challenges or work ones for that matter. Plus tr Saturn Neptune are on the cusp of his financial (business) 8th and moving into directly forward in 2025 which could point up major cash problems and less support in the way of generous loans. He’ll feel deprived.
His relationship with Melania, always a mystery, is being undermined this year with tr Neptune square the composite Venus but more rattled from mid 2025 as it moves into a turbulent year of two with tr Uranus conjunct the composite Sun. Which coincides next year with tr Saturn conjunct his Sun/Moon midpoint for a frosty separation.
See previous post: Trump on trial – not his shining moment 20th April 2024
Actress Nicole Kidman and country singer, songwriter and guitarist Keith Urban are one celebrity match which looked unlikely, hit a major road bump months into their marriage with his drug/drink relapse and did not look likely to stick it out. Yet 18 years later they have weathered the storms, had two children and seem content.
Looking through the charts what is a recurring theme are hard Mars Saturn aspects. She was born 20 June 1967 3.15 pm Honolulu, Hawaii and has a 6th house Saturn opposition a 12th house Mars in Libra. Keith, 27 October 1967, has Mars in Capricorn square Saturn, with unreliable birth time.
Their wedding 25 June 2006 happened on a Mars Saturn conjunction square Jupiter with Sun trine Jupiter so half stressful and half upbeat.
The first child Sunday Rose, 7 July 2008 9.30 am Nashville, has a Sun Venus in Cancer opposition Jupiter in Capricorn and a Mars Saturn conjunction in Virgo on the Ascendant. Faith Kidman Urban, 28 December 2010, born through gestational surrogacy, has a Sun Pluto conjunct in Capricorn and Mars in Capricorn square Saturn in Libra plus a lucky, optimistic Jupiter Uranus in Pisces.
Recurring themes in some families are not unusual but this one seems unusually precise.
Nicole Kidman’s marriage to Tom Cruise, 24 December 1990, had a Mars trine Saturn; and their relationship chart had Saturn inconjunct Mars.
Her relationship chart with Keith Urban has an affectionate composite Sun Venus in Virgo; a showbizzy Mars Neptune conjunction square Jupiter which could have its downside in ego clashes but those will be smoothed out by Jupiter.
Her Sun/Moon midpoint, the marriage signifier, is conjunct her Uranus Pluto, so close partnerships will always occupy a disruptive place in her life as she alternates between possessiveness and the need to be free. A busy career will soak up a good deal of that energy.
Mars Saturn, like most astrological aspects, has several facets – ranging from destructive to courageous. It is associated with endurance and discipline, the capacity to put up with difficult/dangerous situations without flinching, the tendency to become involved in situations requiring immense determination to overcome problems; and can be sado-masochistic.
Individual choices reflect the pattern set by the chart and down through the generations it goes. Though this one does seem marginally odd given it recurs with the children living a seemingly charmed existence.
Another celebrity couple bites the dust as UK tv presenters Eamonn Homes and Ruth Langsford split after fourteen years together, much of it spent sharing a morning show sofa together. Not being a fan or a watcher I am bemused by the fascination shown by the tabloid press but an astrological take on a relationship is always of interest.
He was born 3 December 1959 11.45pm (biography) Belfast, Northern Ireland, and is an outgoing Sun Jupiter in Sagittarius with Mars also in Sagittarius and all square Pluto in Virgo – chatty, adventurous, and do-or-die determined. Plus an Aquarius Moon in his performing 5th house.
It would be a reasonable fit at the start since her Pisces Sn and Mercury fall in his 7th house of relationships and her Jupiter sits in his domestic 4th house. Though she is much more emotional/watery than him with a Scorpio Moon which will make for a couple of opposites with his fiery Sun and Airy Moon. It sometimes works and sometimes doesn’t. Can be complementary or bring a lack of understanding about where the other is coming from. She also has a sparky Mars in Aquarius opposition Uranus which squares his Mercury in Scorpio which would be argumentative at times.
Their relationship chart is tricky with an idealistic but ultimately disappointing composite Sun square Neptune; and a really tough Mars Saturn conjunction trine Pluto. It suggests a one-sided relationship where one partner had to suppress their identity/assertiveness to make it work. And that only lasts for so long. Plus a superficially frivolous and amiable composite Sun Jupiter (Moon) conjunction.
It could drag on for a year or two or three since Mars Saturn Pluto relationships don’t let go easy.
The wedding chart, 26 June 2010, for a splashy Hello affair has a mix of adventurous optimism, plus possessiveness and control issues – with a Sun Mercury opposition Pluto (Moon) square Jupiter Uranus opposition Saturn. It also hints that present pressures will drag on for another three years or so.
American royalty of yesteryear is being highlighted in a biography of Carolyn Bessette Kennedy, wife of John F Kennedy Jnr, who was killed with her husband in a plane crash in July 1999. A review describes it as ‘cloying’ and more hagiography than a balanced view of her life.
John was born in November 1960 three weeks after his father was elected and was only three when his father was shot in Dallas in 1963. His mother took him and his sister out of the USA for safety in her short-lived, unhappy marriage to Greek shipping magnate Ari Onassis. John as an adult was a paparazzi magnet and constantly in the headlines with multiple liaisons with models and other beauties including actress Daryl Hannah, finally settling for Carolyn Bessette who worked in the fashion business.
They married on 21 September 1996 and were killed three years later on 16 July 1999 when a plane he was piloting crashed. Their marriage was troubled mainly it is said because she felt besieged by the constant media attention.
What is astro-interesting is the solar eclipse close to the plane crash had resonance both for the Kennedy family and the USA.
Saros cycle 1 North – USA
The world’s first atomic bomb was dropped by American forces on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, four weeks after the 1 North solar eclipse with an exact conjunction of Saturn squaring onto Neptune. It killed 130,000 people and led to the Japanese surrender.
On the next cycle of this eclipse 18 years on, John and Jackie Kennedy’s premature baby son, Patrick Kennedy, died on 9 August, two weeks after the solar eclipse in 1963. Martin Luther King was delivering his rousing civil rights speech in Washington to 200,000 African-Americans campaigning for black civil rights four weeks after the solar eclipse. Three months later President John F. Kennedy was shot in Dallas. The same cycle repeating in 1981 saw US forces shoot down two Libyan planes, and the US air traffic control strike. Then in July 1999, with tragic and eerie synchronicity, J. F. Kennedy’s son John was killed in a plane crash three weeks before the 1 North solar eclipse.
In previous 1 North eclipses, Charles Lindbergh made the first solo, non-stop transatlantic flight, from New York to Paris, in 33 hours, in 1927; and in 1909 a major earthquake destroyed Acapulco, two weeks after the eclipse. The next eclipse in this series occurred in August 1999, in the midst of the Balkans Kosovar crisis, with NATO forces, at war for the first time since 1945, trying to halt the Serbian ethnic cleansing and genocide of Albanians. One further on in August 2017 was in the midst of Trump turmoil and Charlottesville ‘Unite the Right’ rally including neo-nazis and klansmen which exploded into violence and was not condemned by Trump. North Korea was also on red alert with the USA but backed down.
John F Kennedy Jnr 25 November 1960 12.22am Washington, DC, had a 3rd house Sagittarius Sun square Pluto in his 12th; with an Aquarius Moon opposition a 12th house Uranus and a can-be-destructive Mars opposition Saturn. Not a settled temperament, for sure, feeling trapped and desperate to be free as well as resenting the inherent unfairness of his life.
When he was killed on 16 July 1999 at around 9.39pm Martha’s Vineyard, his Solar Arc Midheaven was exactly conjunct his Mars tugging on his accident-prone opposition to his Saturn; with his Solar Arc Pluto approaching the square to his Mars -very high risk. His Solar Arc Mars was just over the conjunction to his Uranus and exactly opposition his Moon. And tr Pluto was conjunct his IC, arguably tapping into his family’s past. A fraught period.
Carolyn Bessette, 7 January 1966 8.45am White Plains, New York, despite her cool, sophisticated appearance was not an easy temperament either. She had a 12th house Capricorn Sun opposition a 6th house Cancer Moon (a hint of her parents’ split marriage) and her Moon was in a self-protective, private Water Grand Trine to Neptune trine Saturn. That Grand Trine focused onto two Kites with an 8th house Uranus Pluto opposition her Saturn and a 6th house Moon as the other driving planet. Quite a complicated personality with a good deal of inner turmoil. Though all fronted up with an outgoing, confident Jupiter in her 5th and a passionately enthusiastic Venus Mars conjunct her Ascendant.
When she died her Solar Arc Sun was square her Neptune and she had two mixed yods – of Uranus Pluto sextile Moon inconjunct her Solar Arc Sun; and SA Sun sextile SA Saturn inconjunct Uranus Pluto – so she’d be in the midst of a lost phase of her life not knowing what she wanted or what would come next.
On the synastry between them his Mars conjunct her Moon would lead to scratchy domestic arguments. Her Uranus Pluto in his 7th and his Saturn in her 7th would not make for harmonious togetherness. Her Sun conjunct his Saturn in the 5th and opposition his Mars would not improve her self-confidence. His Sun conjunct her Midheaven and South Node and her Jupiter in his 10th hint that status and appearances would be an important part of the attraction between them.
Their relationship chart does not have much going for it either.
What is fascinating – in a grim way – is his Mars opposition Saturn which in traditional astrology was associated with assassination. In modern times it can appear in the charts of those who lose a parent early on (for non-violent reasons, I mean). His Mars Saturn opposition would have drawn to exact by Solar Arc when his father was shot in 1963. And when he died himself in 1999 his Mars was triggered by his Solar Arc Midheaven. His wife was also intimately tied into his Mars Saturn having her Capricorn Sun opposition Moon sitting on top of it. And his Sun/Moon midpoint at 15 degrees Capricorn, his marriage signifier, was in close aspect to his Mars Saturn as well hinting at marital disharmony.
Sebastian Junger, American journalist, war correspondent and author of The Perfect Storm, is no stranger to death or danger. But a near terminal experience in 2020 from an internal medical rupture which evoked an image/hallucination of his father, who had died eight years earlier, sent him into an exploration of near death experiences.
‘As he felt himself hover over a terrifying black pit, “I became aware of something else: my father.” Eight years dead, this physicist and atheist reassured his dying son. “It’s OK, there’s nothing to be scared of,” he seemed to be saying. “Don’t fight it. I’ll take care of you.”
The Times reviewer said: “It is fascinating to read a clear-eyed rationalist’s case for an afterlife.”
“Knowing that oxygen starvation produces euphoric hallucinations still does not explain why so many people see a loved one or even whole family reunions.”
I wondered if there were any clues in his chart about what was going on when he nearly died and why he would have had the reactions he did.
Born 17 January 1962 7.42pm Boston, Massachusetts, he has a 5th house Sun, Venus, Mars in Capricorn so attention-seeking, a performer. His Sun conjunct Saturn in Aquarius is on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Uranus and a Gemini Moon in his 10th. His father would have been a key though not easy influence in his life.
He also has Pluto just below his Ascendant opposition Chiron on his Descendant.
When his pancreatic artery ruptured in June 2020 he was exactly on his Second Saturn Return which is usually a weighty moment of decision-making, a significant marker in life. More so in his case given that his Saturn is loaded being beside the Sun and on the yod apex.
Even more notable than that, his 7th house Chiron (opposition Pluto) was feeling the impact of an exact Progressed Mars conjunct his Chiron. Pluto opposition Chiron natally suggests an individual drawn to danger and excitement, almost to an addictive degree. With the suggestion that it may have emerged out of a lack of containment by the mother – which with Uranus Pluto on the Ascendant indicating a traumatic birth would seem not unlikely.
Melanie Rhinehart also talks of Pluto Chiron aspects bringing a connection to the ancestral line who bring a ‘protective membrane around the living, shielding them from direct exposure to the world of archetypal energies beyond.’ And with it comes a compulsion to study death, and where used constructively to ultimately transform society’s view of it.
On his draconic chart his Uranus, Pluto and North Node all fall in his natal 8th, the house of death and rebirth.
This is a fair amount of special pleading and rambling but intriguing all the same.
Paula Vennells, former boss of the Post Office on the hook for the Horizon debacle was supposed to be the highlight of the inquiry but was somewhat overshadowed by the election announcement. She was in charge when innumerable sub postmaster/mistresses were wrongly on the basis of a malfunctioning computer system. Some went to prison, others died before apologies were wrung out of seemingly shameless managers.
She sniffed into a tissue throughout her questioning by barristers, blamed underlings, said she didn’t know and generally flailed around ducking all responsibility and self-awareness. And this from an Anglican priest no less.
Born 21 February 1959, she has an eye-catching and toe-curling chart with a Pisces Sun Mercury opposition Pluto square Mars opposition Jupiter. A Mutable Grand Cross involving Mars Pluto is a pile-up of control issues, changeability, indecision, poor concentration, desperation and opportunism from Mars Jupiter. And overall a tendency to be swept along by prevailing events. She also has an unyielding Saturn in Capricorn inconjunct Mars (maybe on the focal point of a yod involving a flamboyant, attention seeking Leo Moon) and trine Pluto, sextile Neptune. The yod with Saturn on the focal point sounds more than feasible since it always bring an element of karmic payback for failures of decency and responsibility.
She has already forfeited her CBE for bringing the Honours system into disrepute, lost her health service job (finally) and is facing a highly uncomfortable few years after tr Uranus moves into Gemini in 2025 as it rattles up all her Mutable planets for three years or so.
Syria pushed down the agenda recently because of other Middle Eastern tensions may become a pressing issue again with the EU electorate increasingly resistant to any uptick in immigrant refugees. Tiny Lebanon, which has been overwhelmed with millions of Syrian refugees since the uprising against Assad in 2011, is at the end of its tether and has recently seen an increase in migrant boats heading for Cyprus and Italy.
The best solution to relieve the pressure would be an engagement with Assad in the hopes of settling the internal situation. But that seems a faint hope.
Assad’s Presidency 17 July 2000 has survived brutal challenges in recent years with tr Pluto opposition the Mars, North Node and Sun in Cancer and is heading for a different set of disruptions in the next two or three years. This year there is an uncertain, panicky Solar Arc Neptune square the Saturn. From mid 2025 tr Uranus will conjunct the Saturn for a period of high-tension and eruptions; with an applecart-upsetting Solar Arc Sun opposition the Uranus in 2026. Plus tr Pluto conjunct the Neptune and opposition Venus in 2026/27.
Assad’s personal chart, 11 September 1965, no birth time, is moving through a critical – life-changing – phase with his Solar Arc Sun Pluto Uranus conjunction crossing over his natal Mars Neptune conjunction in Scorpio – which will bring a shed load of problems, aggravations, challenges, and disappointments. This year looks caged, trapped and high-risk; 2025 looks agitated, insecure and undermined and so on till 2028.
On top of his political and geopolitical pressures and risk from understandably disaffected Syrians, he is also coping with his wife’s leukaemia diagnosis following her breast cancer a few years back. Asma Assad was born 11 August 1975 and is looking rattled with tr Uranus conjunct her Mars from this August onwards into 2025. Their relationship chart, which is a stressed at the best of times is on alert right through this year and next from sudden Uranian jolts as well as the late Virgo/Pisces eclipses in late 2024/25 exerting pressure on their joint influence.
Bashar Assad’s relationship chart with Syria 1 January 1944 is in for a severe shake up from this June onwards through till early 2026 with tr Uranus square the Mars and then Pluto. There may be repercussions from the Middle Eastern instability across this summer which extend on.
