Month: July 2024

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As a highlight of the Tories swansong, one of the UK national treasures the Royal Mail has been allowed to fall into private hands for the first time in its 508-year history. Even more ominous is that the deal by Czech Daniel Kretinsky has been financed on loans so the future of Royal Mail is set to be hamstrung by surging interest payments. The worry is that the Royal Mail modernisation and investment plans will be jeopardised by its ballooning debt burden, and that its service obligations could be affected as well.

  Who thought this was a good idea??

  Daniel Kretinsky, 9 July 1975, born in Brno, Czechoslovakia, known as the ‘Czech sphinx’ with an estimated $7.2bn (£5.8bn) fortune, is notoriously private. He trained as a lawyer before turning to finance, and grew his business, EP Group, by snapping up unfashionable fossil fuel assets from companies looking to retreat from oil and gas, which paid off handsomely after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. More recently he has branched out into everything from newspapers, football clubs and groceries – Sparta Prague football club, a stake in West Ham United as well as investment in Sainsbury’s, French supermarket chain Casino and Dutch delivery service PostNL and until last year a stake in Le Monde.

 He has a New Moon and Saturn in Cancer square a Jupiter in pro-active Aries opposition Uranus – a risk-taker from Jupiter Uranus, with executive ability from a focal point Saturn and an overdose of initiative from so much Cardinal – with a nose for public trends. He will dislike sharing the driving seat – and with his Mars in determined Taurus on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Pluto sextile Neptune he will be super-aggressive in his approach.

 He’s heading into  muddles and mayhem with his Solar Arc Saturn square his Neptune late this year/into 2025; and hitting major, infuriating, blocked setbacks when tr Pluto squares his Mars in 2026/27. Also in 2026/27 the tr Neptune Saturn in Aries will oppose his Pluto which will produce obstacles from a different angle.  All of which will throw him completely off track as his yod is given an almighty shove sideways.

  There are various charts for the Royal Mail, the earliest being 31 July 1635 JC which makes it a Sun Jupiter in Leo with Pluto conjunct Algol in Taurus inconjunct Saturn in Sagittarius. Tr Uranus is conjunct the Pluto for an almighty upheaval at the moment with an uncertain tr Neptune square the Saturn.  

  The relationship chart with Kretinsky looks jangled this year with tr Uranus opposition the composite Neptune and exceedingly stressed over the next four years with tr Pluto opposition the composite Sun, Pluto, Mercury, Venus

  The reorganized Royal Mail, 25 July 1969 and 26 March 2001 both have planets connecting to Algol with Neptune in Scorpio in the first and Saturn in Taurus in the second. They also both look strained vis a vis Kretinsky for some years ahead.

  Going the way of water. Sigh.

It seems appropriate that Andy Murray’s competitive tennis career should come to a sad and agonising end as the transiting Mars Uranus Algol crosses over his Taurus Sun and natal Algol.

 From an unlikely background, he won three Grand Slam titles and two Olympic gold medals, pushing himself to the limit; and in recent years against constant injuries.  One sports commentator described his career as “a triumph against the odds. The perseverance, the determination, the white-hot raging against the dying of the light.”

  Having withdrawn from the Wimbledon singles he hopes to play alongside Emma Raducanu in the mixed doubles and with his brother Jamie in the men’s doubles; and maybe make it to the Paris Olympics.

  Born 15 May 1987 2.10pm Glasgow, Scotland,  his Taurus Sun and Algol are in the much-travelled 9^th house in a strained inconjunct to a 4^th house Uranus Moon (Saturn) in Sagittarius. He never looked a man comfortable in his own skin which is partly the result of that quincunx causing him to constantly be making internal adjustments to find a sense of emotional balance.  He also has a volatile, uncompromising and highly ambitious 10^th house Mars in Gemini opposition Uranus, Moon and Saturn.   He would constantly be pushing himself in pursuit of risk, excitement, his competitive streak and as a way of channelling his anger.

  His Pluto is also on the focal point of a yod inconjunct his North Node sextile Midheaven – which is obscure but would add to his exceedingly will-driven approach. His saving grace in terms of uplift and optimism is Jupiter in his 8^th which will give him sustenance both financially and spiritually/emotionally.

  He does not have the easiest chart in terms of relationships with such a scratchy Moon Saturn Uranus opposition Mars and a 7^th house North Node. But he seems to have found a good match in Kim Sears, 10 December 1987, who is not unlike him with a Sagittarius Sun conjunct Saturn and Uranus. Her Leo Moon may be square a staggeringly determined Mars Pluto conjunction in Scorpio which is also sextile her Venus – so she’s used to a high-pressure emotional life and relationships.

 Their relationship chart is affectionate, sparky and close with a composite Sun, Venus, Mercury trine Pluto and opposition Mars. It will be a high-octane bond but seems to work.

 When he was nine he was present along with his brother at the Dunblane school massacre when Thomas Hamilton shot 16 children and a teacher before killing himself. It occurred when tr Pluto was opposition Andy Murray’s Mercury and his Solar Arc Sun so would leave a mark on his temperament and development.

 Hamilton, 10 May 1952 8.50am Glasgow, Scotland, had a Scorpio Moon opposition Algol and Taurus Sun square Pluto. All of which ties into Murray’s Sun and Algol. So facing up to suffering and the least pleasant side of life has been part of Andy Murray’s journey.

  Looking ahead he does have Jupiter moving through his 10^th house until September 2025 so sad though his retirement may be he will be in the headlines and getting a boost. With an additional stroke of luck and success from his Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct his Sun in late 2025/26. It won’t be an easy transition since it never is but with his Progressed Moon about to exit his 8^th he will feel a weight has been lifted off his shoulders.

Hurricane Beryl hit land on Monday as a category four hurricane, with sustained winds of 150mph (240km/h). It reduced Union Island in the St Vincent group to rubble with hardly any buildings left standing and almost all residents left homeless.

  St Vincent & Grenadines, 27 October 1979, Kingstown, Saint Vincent, has startlingly clear astro-indicators. The Solar Arc Sun is conjunct the St Vincent Neptune and SA Neptune is square the St Vincent Sun as the monster from the sea landed. Plus SA Pluto is square the St Vincent Jupiter and SA Jupiter conjunct the St Vincent Pluto to magnify the force.

  The St Vincent Pluto also caught an exact conjunction from the April Aries Solar Eclipse New Moon and Chiron, which was ominous.  And the 8 April Eclipse chart set for St Vincent had a disruptive Uranus on the Midheaven.

  It is not often the astrology is so precise – in this case tragically so.

Marine Le Pen’s far-right RN is on course to win 33.2% of the vote in the first round of the snap French election, with a left-wing alliance behind on 28.1%, and the Macron alliance on 21%. What she wants from round two this coming weekend is an absolute majority of 289 seats in the 577-seat National Assembly but projections suggest they may fall short. If Macron fails in his hope that the electorate will come to their senses and vote for centre-ground candidates he will be left as lame duck for the next three years alongside the first hard-Right government since the Second World War.

 Much of this was covered in the previous post, copied below, apart from the leftist Jean Luc Melanchon, 19 August 1951 8.20 am Tangier, Morocco.  He has a determined Sun Pluto conjunction in Leo with a rebellious Uranus in his 10^th square an over-hopeful Neptune opposition Jupiter. He does have his Solar Arc Jupiter almost conjunct his Midheaven and transiting Jupiter aiming to cross into his 10^th from May 2025 for a year thereafter which looks successful if not now then soon. He looks deflated now and stuck from July 17^th onwards.  But he is in better shape from mid 2025 onwards with a lucky break coming his way.

  Although Le Pen and her protégé Jordan Bardella have glimmerings of cheer this year alongside admittedly huge frustrations and a few disasters, nothing that follows looks anything but catastrophic for several years ahead.  Macron may be proved right if his assumption was to allow them a seat in the power circle if only to prove what a failure they would be.  

Post June 10 2024.

France was always due for an almighty upheaval this year running alongside panic and disappointment as Emmanuel Macron calls a surprise election in the face of considerable losses in the French sector to the far-right in the EU election (overall the centre-right was the winner). All of which coincides with high-stress turbulence on Macron’s Presidency charts – with the astrology being satisfyingly precise, even if all else looks like chaos.

 Neptune is opposing France’s final degree Virgo Sun and square Emmanuel Macron’s final degree Sagittarius Sun from May 3^rd to early this September, then on and off until January 2026 – leading to a sinking feeling and a fair amount of confusion. In addition France’s revolutionary Uranus opposition Pluto square Mars in Scorpio is taking a fair pounding from tr Uranus opposition the France Mars running into and over the 30 June/7 July election; with the Solar Arc Sun square the Pluto and Uranus over coming months into early 2025.

  It will be a roller coaster ride for France and elsewhere. Early July is already on red alert for the Trump trial sentence and the GOP Convention with the approaching Uranus Mars Algol conjunction on the 15^th. And the Paris Olympics opening on July 26^th.

  Macron’s initial Presidency chart, 14 May 2017, has a destabilising Solar Arc Pluto exactly square the Uranus to within four minutes of a degree as he made his shock decision. And his 2^nd Term chart, 13 May 2022 has tr Uranus conjunct the Sun and square Saturn now for another massive jolt.

 He will remain president until 2027 but lost his party’s parliamentary majority in the 2022 elections. His dramatic move is seen as a huge gamble, which could result in more losses and potentially hand right-wing Marine Le Pen and Jordan Bardella more power. The president has presented it as an existential choice for French voters: do you really want to be governed by the far right? Most analysts predict that the far-right party may emerge with more MPs, but will probably not win enough seats to give it a majority, meaning the next parliament may be even more ineffective than the current one.

 One analysts suggested “It could be that he is looking at a neutralising “cohabitation effect”. If – for example, Bardella were offered the job of prime minister, two and a half years in government may be just enough time to render the far right unpopular too.”

  Macron never did look the right man at the right time for the last election with tr Saturn heading downwards through his lower-profile, less successful First Quadrant – and presently sitting at the nadir. Plus tr Neptune square his Sun and Mercury now into early 2026 will be confused, indecisive, not winning.

 Marine Le Pen, 5 August 1968 11.20am Neuilly Sur Seine, who has cleaned up her party’s image in recent years, pulling away from its former racist, anti-Semitic slant, looks seriously rattled at the moment and jubilant from 8^th July onwards with tr Uranus square her Sun/Jupiter midpoint into early August, repeating success in October and disaster in November and both pluses and minuses in spring 2025. September to late November she has the trapped, frustrating tr Pluto opposition her Mars – so not everything going her way. She has a hard, challenging chart with a Keo Sun and a Saturnine yod inconjunct Pluto Uranus in Virgo sextile Neptune and her Saturn square Mars in final degree Cancer. Her 2026/27 look like disruptive, nerve-stretching, grind-to-a-halt years.

France does not look overly enamoured with her this year through till February 2025 with tr Neptune opposition the composite Mars.

  Her young protege Jordan Bardella, 13 September 1995 3.42pm Drancy, France, a Sun Venus in late Virgo opposition Saturn, sextile Pluto and trine Uranus Neptune in Capricorn is rapidly rising in prominence despite being 28.  He has the same mix of positive and negative as Le Pen this year with extreme frustration mid July to early September with tr Puto square his Mars/Node midpoint; and both successful and tripping over setbacks September to late November this year.

 Much has been made of the supposed alliance between Le Pen and Italy’s Giorgia Meloni, 15 January 1977 6.30pm Rome. But Meloni’s Capricorn Sun clashes badly with Le Pen’s yod apex Saturn and her Mars in Cancer; and Meloni’s Saturn is conjunct Le Pen’s Sun. 2026/27 look splitting apart years.

 Le Pen’s relationship with Bardella has a super-successful (when pulling together) composite Jupiter Pluto conjunction. But their togetherness will hit a few bumps on the road ahead from July 8^th on and off into early 2025; with moments of chill as tr Saturn opposes the composite Sun on and off into January 2025 – with considerable upheavals and maybe a parting of the ways come 2026/27.