Month: May 2025

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 Actor Tom Hanks is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide and ranked as the fourth-highest-grossing American film actor. But not everything in his back story is sweetness and light.

 Born July 9, 1956 11.17 am Concord, California, with a Portuguese mother and an itinerant cook father, who took the three eldest children with him and by aged ten young Tom had lived in ten different houses. He started acting in school and never looked back.

 His daughter Elizabeth Ann from his first nine-year marriage has written a book about her similarly disjointed, abusive and neglectful childhood, spent from age five with a mother who struggled with addiction, mental health (possibly bi-polar) and caring responsibilities which at times left her without food or clean clothes. She and her older brother spent some weekends and school holidays with her father who did not have custody which was a startling change ‘in a house full of love and structure.’

  Her mother, she says, had an upside since she introduced her to classical music, films and books. But the switch between good times and bad was unsettling.

  Tom Hanks has a 10^th house career-oriented Cancer Sun square Neptune; with Mercury also in Cancer and a charming Venus in Gemini conjunct his Midheaven. He also has a Water Grand Trine of his Sun trine Mars in Pisces trine Saturn in Scorpio; with Saturn in a tough square to Pluto conjunct Jupiter. His Water Grand Trine plus Neptune gives him creative talent though a tendency to live in his own bubble of reality.

 His daughter Elizabeth, has a Sun Taurus opposition Uranus with her Sun on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Pluto sextile Neptune. Her Pisces Moon may be square Neptune which sounds possible but otherwise her issues look more centred around her father than her mother.  Not only does a Sun opposition Uranus hint at the breach in childhood but her Sun is also conjunct Chiron giving her problems with self-esteem with a hint about a father who is weak or wounded in some way.

 Her Taurus Sun Chiron is opposition her father’s Saturn and square his Pluto – so she would sense his defensiveness and find it difficult to break through the hard shell he erected in childhood.

  Their relationship chart is hugely stressed with a composite Sun Mercury opposition Mars square Pluto. It must have been enormously difficult for a child, already thrown around by her mother’s erratic mood swings, to intermittently drop into her father’s comfortable lifestyle and then be sent back.

Warren Buffett, the mega-successful investor referred to as the “Oracle” or “Sage” of Omaha and “the single most influential investor of all time – ” the Isaac Newton of investing” is retiring at 94. He has accumulated a massive fortune reckoned at US $168.2 billion, making him the sixth-richest individual in the world and is noted for his frugality, pledging to give away 99 percent of his fortune to philanthropic causes. The man tasked with the impossible job of replacing him is Greg Abel and commentators say it will take investors years to know whether he has the same talent and can come close to matching Buffett’s returns.

 Buffett born 30 August 1930, a few days after Sean Connery, has a creative Sun Neptune in Virgo and probably a Sagittarius Moon. That apart his chart is awash with Cardinal planets giving him an overdose of initiative and restlessness. He has a confident and lucky Jupiter Pluto in Cancer  square Uranus North Node in Aries opposition a financial Venus; with a disciplined, unsentimental Saturn in Capricorn opposition Mars in Cancer square Mercury.

 With tr Neptune Saturn starting to move in hard aspect to his Mars Saturn Mercury T square his decision to give up may be partly age and partly a sense that the times are a changing  radically. He will also want to step back as tr Uranus also is aiming to square his Neptune and Sun in the next two/three years. His Solar Arc Pluto is exactly conjunct his South Node at the moment which may be another prompt to put the brakes on his forward gear.

Greg Abel, 1 June 1962, a Sun, maybe Moon in Gemini has only one Cardinal planet and the rest are Fixed and Mutable so the exact opposite of Buffett. Abel does have a confident, lucky Jupiter opposition Pluto square his Sun (Moon) with a Fixed Grand Cross of Neptune opposition Mars square Saturn opposition North Node – both flexible and enduring. He looks unsettled at the moment with tr Uranus square his Uranus with a challenging tr Pluto square his Mars through this year; his Solar Arc Saturn square Neptune hitting his financial Venus now; plus his Solar Arc Sun conjunct his North Node for his moment of destiny.

 Abel takes over at an unstable time which will not make it easier ahead with some panics and disappointments cropping up on his midpoints in 2026/27 and worse in 2029 with his Solar Arc Pluto conjunct his Neptune and square his Saturn.

The extraordinary David Attenborough will be 99 this week and is still preoccupied with saving the planet, fronting a hard-hitting new film Ocean. There is he says nowhere more vital for our survival, more full of life, wonder, or surprise, than the  ocean and its health is vital for keeping the entire planet stable and flourishing.

 When his Blue Planet II documentary aired eight years ago, its impact was so strong it was credited with bringing about a revolution in the way people use plastics. Now his target is the industrial fishing method of bottom trawling. He says these vessels tear the seabed with such force “the trails of destruction can be seen from space”. Industrial fishing has killed “two-thirds of all large predator fish”. In Antarctica, trawlers may be “removing the foundation of an entire ecosystem” and “draining the life from our oceans”.

  He was born 8 May 1926 three weeks after Queen Elizabeth 11 and Starkman has rectified a birth time to 2.58am which looks feasible.

  He has a nature-loving, earthy, practical Taurus Sun on the cusp of the communicative 3^rd house. His Sun is in a Fixed Grand Cross opposition Saturn in Scorpio square Jupiter opposition Neptune so he has all the late Queen’s formidable endurance and ability to plough the same furrow for decades. On this birth time Jupiter would be on his Aquarius Ascendant which makes sense of his enthusiastic and laid back approach. He also has planets in all three nurturing, emotional Water Signs – Saturn trine Moon Uranus in Pisces trine North Node (Pluto) in Cancer. His Pluto in Cancer on this birth time will be in the performing 5th house.

 His Mercury in upfront Aries trine Neptune and his Sagittarius Midheaven on a Fire Grand Trine with a Mercury sextile Jupiter gives him his enthusiastic and inspiring way of talking.

 His Mars in Pisces is unaspected producing an uncompromising streak and a strong focus on what interests him which he will pursue with boundless energy.  His Mars is conjunct Juno, the asteroid symbolizing committed partnerships and signifies ’a powerful blend of passion and commitment within relationships – with a desire for deep connection and shared goals.’ In this case arguably his bond is with the earth.

  His Neptune sits close to Ceres, the nurturing and nourishing archetype, giving him empathy and intuition. His ‘deep understanding of interconnectedness – allows him to tap into the collective unconscious and attune to the needs of others, bringing healing and compassion to those around him.

 His global influencer 22^nd harmonic chart is strong as is his leaving-a-legacy 17H; his humanitarian 9H and his creative 5H and 7H charts are also notable.

The glitz, glamour and conspicuous wealth of David and Victoria Beckham, worth a reputed half billion pounds, goes hand in hand with a loss-making fashion business, a splashy Netflix doc, a less than complimentary Tom Bower biography “Thin and Thick” and a running family fall-out.

  Son Brooklyn and wife actress Nicola Peltz, daughter of a New York financier/billionaire,  ducked out of David Beckham’s 50 birthday celebrations to hand the tabloid gossip columns yards of excited speculation.

 The ill feeling apparently extended back to the over-the-top wedding on 9 April 2022 when there was fittingly enough a high-finance and overly hopeful Jupiter Neptune conjunction in Pisces; plus a bad-tempered Mars Saturn conjunction; plus an intense and fraught Moon opposition Pluto square Mercury. No surprises the mood on the day saw the emotional temperature gauge move into the red where it has seemingly stayed ever since.

 Nicola, 9 January  1995 New York, has a highly-strung and independent-minded as well as chaotic Capricorn Sun conjunct Neptune Uranus. Her Saturn in Pisces opposition Mars in Virgo square Pluto, Venus and Jupiter hints at a hard-edged, uber-determined temperament covered over by a veneer of charm.

 Victoria, 17 April 1974, maybe 2pm, is not that dissimilar with a Mars Saturn conjunction in Gemini and a keeping-up-appearances Venus Jupiter. But Nicola’s Saturn squelches Victoria’s confident Jupiter Venus and Nicola’s controlling Pluto falls in Victoria’s family 4^th and is inconjunct V’s Mars Saturn.

 Their relationship chart understandably is impossibly bad with a composite Saturn opposition Pluto square Mars pointing to serious dislike; and a needs-space composite Sun Mercury square Uranus.

 Nicola’s relationship with father-in-law David is not as bad though not great with an explosive composite Mars opposition Uranus square Venus – neither will compromise.

  Mind you Nicola’s relationship with husband Brooklyn is not much better with a composite Saturn opposition Mars linked into Uranus Jupiter; and Mercury square Pluto – all of which adds up to a one-sided relationship with unfairness looming large, some adventure running alongside bitter arguments. Which mirrors the wedding chart.  It won’t last. Indeed the cracks are probably deepening at the moment.

Kelsey Grammer, best known as his iconic role for two decades as Dr Frasier Crane in Cheers and Frasier is no stranger to tragedy with his beloved sister murdered when he was 20 and his absent father also murdered in an apparently racially motivated killing in the Virgin Islands.

  For years he knew little about the detail of his sister’s death until recently he decided to write a book about her and insisted on reading the original police report which described repeated rapes and then her throat being cut. At the time of her disappearance he took to drink and abusing drugs as a way of coping with the grief of her loss.

   He was born 21 February 1955 in St Thomas, Virgin Isles, no birth time (rectified by Starkman to 9.16pm – though I’d be inclined to think he would have 8th house planets) and his sister Karen on 15 July 1956, New Jersey. They were raised by their mother and her parents.

Kelsey has a Pisces Sun opposition Pluto – a hint of the father outwith his control; with initiative and restlessness in quantity from a Cardinal Grand Cross of Mars in a publicity attracting opposition to Neptune square an adventurous Jupiter Uranus in Cancer opposition Venus. His determined Saturn in Scorpio is square Pluto and trine Uranus Jupiter would give him hardship and luck in equal measure. His Aquarius Moon is probably opposition Pluto and square Saturn for bleak emotional experiences.

 His sister Karen had a trickier chart with a Water Grand Trine of a Cancer Sun trine Mars in Pisces trine Saturn in Scorpio. Her Sun was square Neptune which may have been conjunct a Libra/Scorpio Moon. And she had a confident Jupiter conjunct Pluto which had just moved by Solar Arc directions to oppose her Mars and trigger her Water Grand Trine when she was abducted and killed.

 Kelsey’s Uranus Jupiter were conjunct her Sun and his Sun was opposition her Jupiter for a lively connection.   Their relationship chart had a passionately enthusiastic and fun-loving composite Venus Mars trine Jupiter. Tr Pluto was opposition the Venus Mars when she was killed.

 As he was researching and writing the book about her over the past three years tr Pluto was square his Mars and Neptune and opposition his Uranus – so it would be an exceptionally demanding time. With tr Uranus heading to square his Pisces Sun in 2026 the hope is he may finally be able to put some of his grief and anguish behind him though it may be an unsettling process.  

Prince Harry.  Sigh. Again. What’s to say?  An intense and nervy 8^th house Virgo Sun square an outspoken, irascible Mars in Sagittarius with Mercury square a speak-before-think Uranus. A head-in the-clouds, overly hopeful, unrealistic Neptune Jupiter in the 12^th. A fixated Pluto Saturn in Scorpio.  And at 41 he still hasn’t managed to find a way of pulling it all together and take responsibility for living his own life.

  He must represent a part of the national UK psyche with his Capricorn Ascendant closely conjunct the UK Sun and IC; and his Taurus Moon in the UK 8^th opposition his Midheaven plugging into the UK’s Fixed Grand Cross.

 The Harry/UK relationship chart does have a ‘chained-together and resenting it’ composite Saturn square Pluto; with an argumentative Mars trine Mercury. There’s nothing to suggest the mood on either side will calm down anytime soon with more flare-ups come this June and on into 2026 with tr Uranus square the composite Mars; and tr Neptune Saturn undermining the Saturn square Pluto  for the next two years.

  Three points of astro-interest: The tr Saturn Neptune will square his Neptune Jupiter now till late 2026 which could, maybe let some reality into his dream world or leave him more confused than ever.

Tr Saturn is aiming to leave his 2^nd house, the nadir of his First Quadrant, so he will/should be turning his mind to the life he needs to build when tr Saturn crosses his IC by 2030.

His 4^th house North Node in Taurus suggests he needs to get off his skyscraper and delusions of grandeur to start building a proper emotional foundation for himself – tr Uranus conjunct his North Node this year into early 2026 will be another prompt. Though whether he takes it on board or not is questionable.  His midpoints ahead for three or four years ahead look tough. By 2027 he will be questioning his marriage with tr Saturn square his Sun/Moon midpoint at the same time Meghan is doing the same with tr Uranus square her Sun/Moon.

  Relations with his father will trail on in a ragged fashion with only odd blips of cheer but mainly not.

  His obsession with his mother Princess Diana continues to rule his mindset – and that intensely emotional and idealized bond will subtly alter from 2026  to 2029. Their relationship chart had composite Moon trine Venus trine Neptune with Moon opposition Pluto – affectionate, illusory, possessive. Tr Saturn Neptune in Aries will soften the control her memory has over him and perhaps allow a more reasoned, mature approach as it moves round that composite Kite. Maybe.

Diana’s Mars Pluto in Virgo and Uranus all fell in Harry’s 8^th and her Venus in Taurus was conjunct his Moon – so it was a deep, disturbing and affectionate connection.

 In some ways he is like his father with a Taurus Moon, Venus in Libra, Scorpio planets and both have Mars in Sagittarius. But there’s not much sign that is bringing them together. Tr Uranus will cross the composite Ascendant on their relationship chart in 2026 but whether trickster Uranus  brings a turning point or blasts them further apart is not clear. Tr Neptune Saturn square the composite Jupiter in 2025/26 hints at disappointment between them.

 The never ending saga and such a waste. He was a great asset for wounded soldiers with Invictus and could have made a huge difference being involved in Africa and the Commonwealth. Manicured California is hardly his scene.

Add On: Harry’s chart relocated to Montecito may put a charming Venus on the Ascendant but the rest of it is not what any astrologer would recommend. A hidden 12^th house Sun might give him a chance to take a breather in a quiet backwater; but his Taurus Moon and North Node in the 8^th will exacerbate all his intense over-reactions where money and relationships are concerned. He needs, needs, needs without limit and will be constantly demanding – he wants it all.

  The lesson of the 8^th house NN is to learn self-discipline and self-control. He needs to learn to walk lightly and above all else not to look back. Tugs of war over money are likely. A NN in Taurus is anyway overly defensive and does not understand moderation; and has a tendency to assume everyone is plotting and planning with ulterior motives.  ‘He will make much growth when he is able to see the actions of others as reflections of his own subconscious.’

  Ways to go methinks.

ADD ON:

Meghan vis a vis the UK is interesting: Her Mars sits on the UK Midheaven opposition the UK Capricorn Sun and her Leo Sun is exactly square the UK 8^th house Mars. That is one competitive association. Her Saturn Jupiter in Libra also sits on the UK Ascendant conjunct the UK Uranus – high tension with Saturn hitting the UK Uranus, critical of the UK and denting its image from her Saturn on the UK Ascendant – and her delusions of hubris/grandeur from Jupiter Saturn drawn to finding a spotlight on the UK’s stage.

 The Meghan/UK relationship chart has a composite Mars opposition Neptune for an ego-clash – if one wins the other loses. Square Saturn Jupiter – fractious, divisive, suspicious. Plus Moon trine Pluto sextile Sun Uranus – a contradictory mix of control/possessiveness and a defiant need for freedom. An overly emotional and wounded composite Moon opposition Chiron square Venus which is being rattled by tr Uranus in hard aspect this year.

  Not designed to end happily for sure.    

A huge swing to Reform at the expense of the Tories and Labour candidates is not unexpected though the scale of it might be. Whether or not Farage and Reform have the endurance to maintain their lead is a question.

Farage, 3 April 1964 4.30 pm Farnborough, England, is in for a roller coaster ride ahead with tr Uranus square his Saturn in July and moving on in 2026 to conjunct his Midheaven for a sharp change of direction and square his Uranus thereafter – with tr Saturn Neptune undermining his Mars in Aries in 2026/27. So he may be pursuing his usual rackety jack-in-the-box course – here today, gone tomorrow, only to pop back up.

 The Reform Party chart, 23 November 2018, is equally here and there. There’s an upbeat, confidence-boosting Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct the Mercury around now; tr Uranus opposition the Sun in August and the Jupiter for more luck in 2026. But 2026 also sees tr Uranus square the Mars for insecurity, perhaps through an over confident step too far. And by 2027 there is a definite whiff of failure in the air with Solar Arc Mars conjunct the Neptune.

Kemi Badenoch, 2 January 1980, never had a feel of anything other than a caretaker leader, when she was elected on 2 November 2024. Her leadership chart is excessively difficult with a prominent and frustratingly stuck Mars opposition Pluto which will be one reason she has been unable to gain any traction. There will be a few upsetting arguments this June and into early 2026 but nothing too obvious about an exit on that chart.

 Her personal chart does show Solar Arc Uranus conjunct her Capricorn Sun soon which may be a hint of a change.

 Keir Starmer’s Government chart, 5 July 2024 12.19 pm is showing continuing bitter arguments through this year but it will be next year when the tr Saturn Neptune conjunction square the Midheaven for a more obvious downhill slide.

 His own birth chart similarly 2 September 1962 is flagging up 2026/7 as his years of greatest trial with growing discouragement, muddled thinking and outright failure.

Add On: The Conservative Party, 9 May 1912, chart is in turmoil with the explosive Solar Arc Uranus, having moved across the Taurus Sun in recent years, still to conjunct the Saturn in late 2026 for a phase of high-tension, instability and forced change from what went before. If that was not enough tr Pluto is conjunct the Uranus in 2025/26 for more turmoil and upheavals, as the party heads for a calamitous dead-halt by 2028 as the Solar Arc Pluto squares its Mars.

 The Labour Party, 12 February 1906, chart is equally adrift with a panicky-failure phase starting in 2026 and running through to 2028 – as tr Uranus squares the Saturn in 2026/27 and tr Neptune Saturn are conjunct the Mars in 2026/26, moving on to square the Uranus Neptune.

The Lib Dems, 3 March 1988, are similarly afflicted with the tr Saturn Neptune square their Capricorn triple conjunction of Uranus, Neptune, Saturn plus Mars through till late decade.

 The Green Party, 13 June 1985, will not regard 2025/2026 as years of progress with tr Neptune Saturn square the Mars opposition Neptune – and tr Pluto extending on.

The UK chart has seen its 11^th house Saturn in Leo ruling the legislature rattled recently by tr Uranus in Taurus square and the Solar Arc North Node in Scorpio being exactly square at the moment. By 2028 the Solar Arc Sun will conjunct that Saturn which might hint at a radical revisioning of the political landscape in Westminster.

A Broadway tribute to singer Bobby Darin – in the 1960s a world-wise success with “Splish Splash“, “Dream Lover“, “Mack the Knife” and “Beyond the Sea” – throws a spotlight on his short, tragedy-tinged life.

 He was born 14 May 1936 5.28 am Manhattan, New York and brought up by his grandmother, ‘an effervescent ex-showgirl with a morphine addiction’, though he only discovered in his thirties that his sister was actually his mother which sent him into a long period of seclusion. His childhood was further blighted by bouts of rheumatic fever which weakened his heart. He started out as a songwriter for Connie Francis before branching out on his own, along the way contracting a marriage with the blonde, former child model and teenage star Sandra Dee. It did not last and as her career failed she sank into alcoholism.

   He became politically active supporting Robert F Kennedy and being present in the hotel when he was assassinated. Darin’s career sagged latterly and he became a nightclub nostalgia act, with a late successful comeback (in television) in the early 1970s, before he died in 1973 at the age of 37 after open heart surgery.

  He had an upfront Taurus Sun on his Ascendant sextile Pluto (conjunct his IC) both inconjunct a yod focal point Jupiter in the 8^th. His Pluto in the 4^th hints at unsettling undercurrents in his childhood which would make him overly controlling in his adult domestic life. Jupiter in the 8^th points to a supportive grandmother and luck coming from beyond. Though with his Jupiter also emphasized being square Saturn opposition Neptune there may have been more Jupiterian highs than could be sustained over time.

 His 10th house Aquarius Moon was sextile his Jupiter inconjunct his Pluto which would tend to make him manipulative or overly forceful in his emotional life in particular. Plus Venus conjunct Uranus which would give him a need for freedom as well as control.

 His musical Neptune in his performing 5^th house was well placed and in a creative opposition to Saturn square Mercury Chiron.

 Sandra Dee, 23 April 1942 5.35am Bayonne, New Jersey, had an obsessively controlling mother and a stepfather who abused her sexually from a young age so had her own childhood trauma to bear.

She was also a Sun Mercury Taurus in her case square a controlling Pluto and a late Cancer Moon. Neither parent did her much good.

  Her Saturn Uranus in the latter end of Taurus were conjunct Bobby’s Sun and square his Moon for a scratchy, cool, high-tension interface – her under-contract career got in the way of togetherness so Saturn’s dutiful streak would damp their bond, never mind their damaged childhoods getting in the way. His Saturn was square her Jupiter so he would squelch her confidence at times. And his controlling Pluto was conjunct her Moon – a complicated mix for the IT couple of their generation. Their relationship chart had a composite New Moon conjunct Uranus – which is a contradictory indication of meant-to-be-together and needs-space. Kindred spirits through damage but it was the damage which drove them apart.

 Their wedding chart of 1 December 1960 3 am Camden, New Jersey, was hardly a good omen with a destructive, angry Mars opposition Saturn Venus; a controlling Sun square Pluto; and Moon opposition Mercury square Uranus.

When he died on 20 December 1973 tr Uranus moving through his 6^th house was square his Midheaven and his 4^th house Pluto as well as being opposition his SA Saturn.

 Sandra Dee’s chart has more indications of health problems with a 6^th house Neptune than his does – but his difficult emotional start in life seems to have taken its toll.

A woman USA Chief of Staff and a woman White House Press Secretary – who’d have thought it? 

  Susie Wiles, nicknamed the ‘ice maiden’ by Trump for her calm and effective management was involved in Republican politics way back to Reagan and stepped up for Trump and de Santis in 2016 in Florida and more helpfully in 2024. She was effectively Trump’s “chief of staff” in the run-up to the 2022 midterm election and his 2024 presidential campaign

  Born May 14, 1957, she is a steady Taurus (like Melania) with her Sun in a controlling square to Pluto, suggesting she is well-used to control freak men. Her Neptune in Scorpio is in a highly-strung square to Uranus and trine Mars in Cancer; with her Jupiter widely square her Saturn giving her erratic judgement.  She looks rattled through this May, with deep frustrations running all year and more disappointments/failures in 2026.

 Her relationship with Trump is fraught this year and sagging badly next year as the tr Saturn Neptune oppose the composite Saturn Jupiter.

  The other female first is Karoline Leavitt, born August 24, 1997, in as White House press secretary. She studied politics at college and interned in the White House Office of Presidential Correspondence. Aged 23 she was named as a White House press secretary in 2020 but had to defer her promotion for four years after Trump’s loss. She campaigned for New Hampshire’s first congressional district as a pro-Trump candidate in 2021 and lost. She then served as a spokeswoman for MAGA Inc., Trump’s super PAC, and became the press secretary for his 2024 presidential campaign.

  She is a Sun Virgo square Pluto, sextile Mars in Scorpio and inconjunct Uranus – so a determined, sharp tongued personality. Her Mercury in Virgo is conjunct her North Node and inconjunct Jupiter.

 She’s certainly articulate and gives as good as she gets which with a Sun Pluto, a hard-edged, unsentimental Saturn in Aries, plus Mars in Scorpio and an opinionated Uranus Neptune conjunction, is not surprising.

 She will get a few jolts and jangles as tr Uranus squares her Sun this August and moves on to oppose her Pluto in 2026  – for quite an upheaval with the celestial ‘new kids on the block’ Saturn Neptune in Aries and Pluto in Aquarius also denting her morale this year, more so in 2026/27.

 Her relationship with Trump is sagging already with tr Neptune opposing the composite Mars and that moves on in company with tr Saturn to chip away at their happy-togetherness into 2026 and beyond.

  Mind you these jobs at the top, tend to have a short shelf life so that may be just as expected.