Rudy Guiliani, former New York Mayor over 9/11, is in hospital recovering from pneumonia. Sad though it is for those close to him, his interest here is because he fits an astrological pattern which has been pervasive in personalities in the news recently. What he exemplifies is Mars Pluto in three of its ways of working.
He was born on May 28, 1944 2.31pm New York, with a Sun conjunct Uranus in Gemini and more notably a Mars Pluto conjunction in Leo which latter is under strain from tr Pluto in opposition now until 2028. His father was convicted of felony assault and robbery and served prison time in Sing Sing. Once released, he worked as an enforcer for his brother-in-law Leo D’Avanzo, who operated an organized crime-affiliated loan sharking and gambling ring in Brooklyn.
Mars Pluto = a criminal, violent father. Ruthlessness personified. So young Rudi grew up in a scary atmosphere which toughened him. When 9/11 came, he was in his moment of glory since Mars Pluto is custom-built to display courage in a crisis. Even before then, having switched from Democrat to Republican in the 1980s as US Attorney General he indicted organized crime families and had a Mafia hit put out on him. He was later accused of prosecuting cases to further his political ambitions. Mars Pluto = fearless and ruthless.
Latterly he has gone full Trump and lost his license to practice law because of his efforts to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election.
Others in the Trump circle with strong Mars Pluto aspects are: Curtis Yrvin – Mars opposition Pluto. He spouts extreme views applauding authoritarianism and elitism; wants to replace American democracy with a techno-monarchy since he sees liberalism as creating a Matrix-like totalitarian system. He has defended the institution of slavery and has suggested that certain races may be more naturally inclined toward servitude than others; argues that whites have inherently higher IQs than black people and opposes U.S. civil rights programs. He is a notable figure in American conservatism, having influenced people like Steve Bannon, JD Vance, Michael Anton and Peter Thiel. Pluto is about power and control and needs to heap contempt on others especially those who are unlike them.
Leonard Leo – Pluto (Uranus) square Mars. Until recently a pro-Trumper who played a key role to shape the conservative Supreme Court (until they fell out over tariffs).
Steve Witkoff – Mars square Pluto. Envoy to the Middle East. Alex Karp and Peter Thiel: Mars square Pluto Uranus.
There is no doubt that Mars Pluto can ratchet up will-power to an extraordinary degree, giving energy and power. A willingness to face danger and take risks, the do-or-die determination can bring rewards. Though in negative mode it leads to a bullying, no scruples approach, with greed and egotism to the fore which can be destructive.
Other notables with the mid sixties Mars square Pluto Uranus conjunction are Gavin Newsom, tv loudmouth presenter Piers Morgan and artist Tracy Ermin. Tracy Ermin shows another face of Mars Pluto in her screams of agony and rage paintings. Princess Diana had a Mars conjunct Pluto which was highlighted by the prevailing eclipse when she was killed. She had power but always felt herself to be a tortured victim.
Women often get the flip side of the coin with the submit-or-die side of Mars Pluto. Audrey Hepburn being one example with horrific war time experiences; and even more so Edith Eiger who has just died, who was sent to Auschwitz in 1944, lost her entire family in the Holocaust and emerged barely alive. Empowering herself in middle age she became a specialist in trauma recovery and was still writing in her late 90s.
Maggie Thatcher who idolised her father was no one’s idea of a helpless victim and she used her Mars square Pluto to power ahead and become the first woman prime minister.
Amanda Knox and Louise Woodward both with Mars square Pluto (see recent post) attracted the hostility that Mars Pluto can engender.
Ronan Farrow with a Mars conjunct Pluto in Scorpio was fearless and determined in breaking the Harvey Weinstein story.
Reid Wiseman, commander of the recent Artemis space mission has Mars square Pluto = cool head in high risk (life or death) situation.
Unsurprisingly Mars Pluto occurs as violent, dangerous conflicts erupt – the killing J.F.K; Gulf War 1; the October 2023 Hamas Attack.
It is there when organisations are set up like the USA Supreme Court, the Iran Revolutionary Guard, and the Meta Rebrand. Disparate entities but all with the same underlying unshakeable determination – and the potential for using collective power for selfish ends.
In a personal relationship chart strong Mars Pluto aspects are a no-no, pointing to an imbalance of power and simmering anger if not outright violence.
What always intrigued me was the Mars Pluto theme running through Queen Elizabeth 11’s relationships with close family. Her dedication to the institution of the monarchy rather than her temperament gave her the ultimate power.
In less edifying circumstances Suzanne Blum, the French lawyer who oversaw the Duchess of Windsor’s final days had a coercive Mars Pluto relationship with her. She financially abused and isolated the Duchess who was suffering from dementia in the waning years of her life, keeping her away from those close, selling her heirlooms for her own profit and assuming power of attorney over her estate. Mars Pluto = absolute power and control.
Thank you, Marjorie. It’s almost always a marker for the dark side of human nature, though it sometimes occurs in the charts of surgeons, police and military. Unsurprisingly, the square crops up in the chart of the Wannsee Conference, the meeting called by the director of the Reich Security Main Office, SS-Obergruppenführer Reinhard Heydrich, which ensured the co-operation of leaders of various government departments in carrying out the ‘Final Solution to the Jewish Question’, whereby most of the Jews of German-occupied Europe would be deported to occupied Poland and killed. Mars at 4 degrees of Taurus square Pluto at 4 degrees of Leo. No wonder the awful Yarvin bears the same astrological signature.
Tracy Emin shares Mars/Pluto with Francis Bacon – interesting for the fact that both artists express in their work ‘screams of agony and rage paintings’. Bacon’s work reflects his dysfunctional relationship with his father, a cruel, intolerant ex miltary man who threw his 16 year old son out of the family home when he was caught wearing his mother’s clothing. The ‘screaming Popes’ and the silent screaming mouth, the butcher/father motifs were recurring themes in his work. He had Pluto right at the top of his chart on the midheaven in Gemini square Mars in Pisces conjunct the Descendant – his relationships were characterised by sado-masochism and his famous muse, George Dyer committed suicide in a Parisian hotel.
Wherever there is darkness, you will find these two energies in combination. But it can give quite extraordinary stamina too and the grit needed to withstand and survive unimaginable trauma.
These are largely all the negative influences of square and conjunct angles for Pluto and Mars.
Can you compare/contrast to say trines or sextiles in other politicos and celebrities?