Paul Gauguin, the French artist renowned for his Tahitian paintings has had his image restored in a new book, based on recently discovered material. Condemned until recently as a French colonialist who spread syphilis to underage girls in the South Seas, it now emerges he never suffered from the disease and was much revered in Polynesia both by the girls he married and the local community for his fight against the corrupt French authorities.

 He was born 7 June 1848 10 am Paris, amidst the tumult of Europe’s revolutionary year but was brought up in Peru where his journalist father (later imprisoned for the attempted murder of his mother) took the family.  Back in France Gauguin began his career in banking and started painting in his spare time, mentored by Pissarro. When he was in his thirties he moved to Tahiti, then a French colony. During his time there he controversially married three adolescent Tahitian girls with whom he later fathered children.

 Doctors have concluded his health problems did not stem from syphilis, but from eczema and erysipelas, aggravated by infected bites of the Simulium buissoni fly.

  He had a strong belief in equality between the sexes, much influenced by a grandmother who was a fierce fighter for women’s rights and much admired by Karl Marx. Gauguin cherished her writings and actively encouraged the women in his circle, including his wife, to find fulfilment through independence.

  He fell foul of the French authorities after he exposed the corruption and injustice of local French officials and pleaded for fairer taxation and treatment for the Indigenous people. He was sentenced to three months in prison on a charge which on re-examination proved his accusations to be correct but only a few months after his death.

 He had a 10^th house Gemini Sun square Saturn in Pisces on the cusp of his 8^th  – perhaps a hint of a strong grandmother. His 10^th house creative Venus in Gemini was square a Virgo Moon (on his late Leo Ascendant) opposition Neptune in his 7^th. His relationship to women/mother was idealized, confused and the choice of younger partners/brides though normal for the times would also be driven by his Moon Venus = the sexualized mother. The revolutionary year of his birth with its Uranus Pluto in Aries was square Mars in Leo and Jupiter in Cancer – so he would be inclined to fight against authority figures. It also describes an explosive father.

 Relocating his chart to Polynesia puts the Sun on his IC, so very much where he felt at home; though a 6^th house Moon hinted that it might be less helpful on the health front.

Grayson Perry, the transvestite potter, whose ceramic vases and tapestries have earned him acclaim and prizes has an extensive exhibition about to open in London. He is well known for cross-dressing, as well as his observations of the contemporary arts scene, and for dissecting British “prejudices, fashions and foibles”. There is a strong autobiographical element in his work, in which images of Perry as “Claire”, his female alter-ego, and “Alan Measles”, his childhood teddy bear, often appear.

  He was born into a working-class family, his father leaving when he was four after discovering his mother was having an affair with a milkman, whom she later married and who Perry has claimed was violent. During an unhappy childhood moving between his parents he created a fantasy world based around his teddy in order to cope with his sense of anxiety. He became estranged from his mother and stepfather in his adult life. He is married to author and psychotherapist Philippa Perry and they have one daughter.

 Being provocative, breaking taboos and setting out to shock appears to be one of his driving delights. He was recently ennobled by the Prince of Wales wearing a taffeta dress. He has a 12^th house Aries Sun on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Neptune sextile Pluto, with his Sun square Jupiter – a curious mix of under confident about his identity and over-the-top. His Aquarius Moon which will love to shock is conjunct a forceful, stubborn Mars in Aquarius opposition Uranus in his creative 5^th house so he will have an explosive desire to stir up startled reactions.

   His Pluto is also in his attention-demanding 5^th house in an Earth Grand Trine to a Taurus Ascendant trine Jupiter, with Pluto opposition Venus in Pisces.

  Last but not least he has Saturn in Capricorn in his 10^th giving him a work ethic and the discipline to hold his wilder tendencies in check.

Eternally optimistic, luck-bringing Jupiter is given a forensic makeover in Liz Greene’s latest book  – By Jove! The Meaning of the Astrological Jupiter.  

  She emphasizes Jupiter is a good deal more enigmatic and less predictable than usually portrayed. At best it brings a connection to a meaningful and greater pattern, faith in the future, the courage to pursue a vision and can foster humour and joy.  

 But a natal Jupiter can also bring a reluctance to take responsibility for personal choices or honouring long term commitments and can lean towards self-aggrandisement and hubris, lack of empathy, gluttony, intolerance and dogmatism.

  There is an extensive trawl through the background mythology surrounding Zeus and his many lovers which throw light on the multi-faceted nature of a planet often given a simplistically positive slant – promiscuous, a chancer, unpredictable, unreliable, not stable, refuses to be bound by rules.

 Jupiter rules both Sagittarius and Pisces, both signs which thrive on connections, one mental and the other emotional. But both are also ‘innately subversive’ and ‘can put vision before reality, belief before logic,  perceived truth before facts.’

  It plays a part not only in religious belief but also in identity politics where individuals come together in a search for a meaningful connection and an identity.

 This is a comprehensive overview of Jupiter in all its manifestations, appearing at death as well as moments of good fortune, with chart interpretations of house positions, its operation in synastry and composite charts. With a final sweep through Jupiter cycles in relation to the other outer planets – Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto.

  One thought I will take with me is that when Jupiter transits a natal planet it ‘is given an almighty kick’ which can at times be painful but ultimately can produce a constructive result.

 The other – which may be pertinent at the moment with Trump in full flight and a Jupiter Saturn square in orb and coming exact in mid June – is the necessity to keep a balance or find a middle way between hubris and nemesis.  Jupiter flies high while Saturn its opposite cuts down to earth. The old Roman trope of ‘memento mori’ = remember you are human, is warning which the overly Jupiterian type ignores at their peril.

Published by The Wessex Astrologer: 14 April 2025

By Jove! The Meaning of the Astrological Jupiter

Electrical carmaker Tesla’s share price has dropped 40% since the start of the year, mainly due to a drop in sales over the past year though founder Elon Musk’s close alliance with Trump is hurting the brand and worries about tariffs affecting supply chains are also part of the problem.

  Tesla, 1 July 2003,  with Saturn, Mercury, Sun all in Cancer, catching the undermining tr Neptune Saturn in Aries square from 2026 through till 2030 does not look successful. Plus tr Uranus square the Uranus Mars in early Pisces in 2026/27 will bring high insecurity. With the Solar Arc Neptune in a high anxiety conjunction to the Mars/Uranus midpoint in 2026 and then in a panicky failure SA Neptune conjunct Mars in 2027. Nothing cheerful ahead, quite the reverse.

 The Tesla IPO 29 June 2010, another Sun Mercury in Cancer opposition Pluto square Uranus Jupiter in Aries is similarly afflicted by tr Neptune conjunct the Uranus and Jupiter from almost now onwards and then square Pluto and finally square the Sun Mercury – making all of the rest of this decade a slide downhill.

  Elon Musk, 28 June 1971 7.30am Pretoria, South Africa, will also be shaken up and discouraged by tr Saturn Neptune in Aries square his Cancer Sun in 2026/27. Even before then tr Uranus will rattle up his Neptune in Sagittarius opposition Saturn from this July onwards for high anxiety and jolting changes. His Pluto is also catching yesterday’s Virgo Lunar Eclipse and the September Solar Eclipse – for a change-or-disintegrate hint. He does have some Jupiterian blips ahead for luck but in general will not look back on this period of his life with much pleasure.

 His relationship chart with Trump is odd (assuming birth data is sound). There is a businesslike composite Sun Saturn conjunction being undermined all year by tr Neptune in square. That was in effect late last year, across the Inauguration and beyond, and repeats November to late January 2026.  This month to early July sees tr Pluto square the composite Neptune for maximum confusion about their association (maybe plans not working) – and that repeats on and off till late 2026. From mid 2026, assuming togetherness still holds, tr Uranus will square the composite Pluto for a significant upheaval and that runs into 2027.

 Neptune is doing very odd things both with Trump who is swimming in it this year but showing no signs of sinking yet.

Add On: Spacex, partially owned and founded by Elon Musk on 14 March 2002, is the world’s dominant space launch provider. With Jupiter in early Cancer square Venus (Moon) in early Aries it will be undermined by transiting Saturn Neptune in Aries. With Mercury in Pisces square Saturn in Gemini also taking a fair battering from tr Uranus in Gemini in 2026 and beyond.

 The Spacex/Elon Musk relationship chart also looks less than upbeat from now onwards for two or three years.

  Ditto his relationship with Tesla which is being badly shaken this year, more so in 2026 to 2028.

   The magic mirror of Snow White has been obscured by a box-office denting series of missteps, plunging the children’s favourite into bumpy terrain with controversies over feminism, racism, dwarfism and unbelievably the Israel-Palestine conflict.

  Much appears due to lead actress Rachel Zegler, Golden Globe winner for West Side Story. Admittedly she had to fend off offensive criticism about Snow White being played by a Latina actress, but she did not help herself by launching out onto comments about the story of Snow White and her Prince needing to be brought up to date and made more feminist. And being outspoken in her comments against Trump and pro-Palestine, with Gal Gadot who played the Evil Queen being an Israeli.

The seven dwarfs were also reimagined for the movie, with one actor with dwarfism along with six other non-dwarf actors. That strategy was criticised as being overly politically correct, as well as potentially taking away acting opportunities from the dwarfism community.

  And all this fuss over a children’s fairy tale.  See previous post Grimms fairytales. 1st January 2025.

 Principal Photography for the movie started on 7 March 2022 having been delayed by the pandemic, with a fire damaging the set soon after. Not surprisingly the start chart has an accident-prone, hostile and argumentative Pluto conjunct Mars Venus – so it was always going to be an aggravated production. There is also a Taurus Moon and Uranus square Saturn in Aquarius which also hints at tensions and rifts. 

 Rachel Zegler, 3 May 2001 9.30 am Hackensack, New Jersey (rectified), is a Sun Taurus sextile a Cancer Ascendant inconjunct Pluto on the focal point of the yod – so not a slouch when it comes to throwing her influence around, with a tendency to go to extremes and be overly forceful (coercive) in putting her views across.  Her Mars in outspoken Sagittarius is inconjunct Saturn and square her Moon so she will be inflammatory.

 Tr Neptune and Saturn squaring her Mars through this May and on and off into early 2026 will dent her confidence and bring a few failed plans.  Tr Pluto heading for her 8^th and tr Jupiter moving through her 12^th will hint that taking a backseat for a while might be sensible.

 Her relationship with Disney films, 16 October 1923, who will not be mightily pleased at having their entertainment investment dragged into screeching arguments, is fraught and will be so for a while.

 Gal Gadot, 30 April 1985, is another determined Sun Taurus, even more so with her Sun opposition Pluto and square Jupiter; and her Mars in Gemini on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Pluto sextile Neptune. Her overly-assertive Mars is conjunct Zegler’s Saturn for an undertone of dislike and a definite clash. Their relationship chart has an unbudgeable composite Pluto square Saturn which is being jangled by tr Uranus in hard aspect across the launch publicity and through the year.

  It’s not that the issues are not important. But loading down what should be escapist entertainment from global and political horrors with luvvies demanding a platform is a bit much. Never mind Zegler biting the hand that feeds.

Rodrigo Duterte, former Philippines president, is now under arrest in the Hague by the International Criminal Court (ICC) charged over his indiscriminate killings without trial during his “war in drugs” while in power.  The official toll stands at 6,000, though activists believe the real figure could run into the tens of thousands. He is the first Asian former head of state to be indicted by the ICC and the first suspect to be flown to The Hague in three years.

 It is a pivotal moment for the ICC given recent high profile arrest warrants for Putin and Netanyahu which are unlikely to be enforced. Non-member states include the United States, Russia, and China.

 Rodrigo Duterte, 28 March 1945, Maasin, Philippines, has an Aries Sun in the line of fire of the approaching Aries Eclipse and this coming October’s Libra Eclipse. So a critical turning point for him. His Sun is opposition Neptune square Saturn and trine Pluto, sextile Uranus – so is the key planet in his chart. Along with his Mars in Pisces which is square Uranus, trine Saturn and on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Pluto sextile Neptune. A super-ambitious, overly-assertive and determined individual.

 Tr Neptune Saturn in Aries will undermine and block his Cardinal T square of Sun. Neptune, Saturn from 2026 for a couple of years. And tr Uranus will cause a flurry of insecurity and concern when it is square his Mars also in 2026.

 His Presidency chart, 30 June 2016, has planets in all three Water signs with  Cancer Sun, Venus and Mercury trine Neptune, South Node and Chiron in Pisces and Mars in Scorpio – with two central oppositions from Sun Venus opposition Pluto and Neptune opposition Jupiter. Plus Jupiter opposition Neptune square Saturn; and Venus opposition Pluto square Uranus. It is a weirdly interconnected chart – hinting at a lack of reality, vengefulness, over hopefulness, over control and a reckless need to upset the status quo.  Tr Uranus was just finishing the opposition to the Mars in Scorpio – hinting at chickens coming home to roost for his bull-headed all-or-nothing approach.

 The ICC itself, founded 1 July 2002 in Rome, has a Cancer Sun close to the Sun on Duterte’s presidency chart – so fitting it has stepped in. It has a robust, enduring Saturn opposition Pluto so well designed to stand up to challenges from countries which object to being held to international standards of justice. Though it will be facing a turning point this year with tr Uranus square the ICC its natal Uranus which is always a staging post for a rethink about future direction. And it will be jolted and jangled in 2026 when the Solar Arc Uranus squares the Saturn.

 The ICC’s relationship with Netanyahu is in turmoil and increasingly stressed through this year and worse in 2026/27.

  The ICC rift with Putin will widen after events of late April, into May this year.

 Tr Neptune Saturn into Aries will further erode an already chilly relationship with Trump from this May onwards and not improving in 2026/27.

A major reversal of an unpopular 2013 shake-up of the UK National Health Service carried out by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition is aimed to “cut bureaucracy” and bring management of the health service “back into democratic control”. Keir Starmer said “abolishing the biggest quango in the world” by getting rid of NHS England  would free up cash for doctors, nurses and frontline services, and speed up improvements in the NHS. The merger is expected to take two years.

 The NHS, 5 July 1948 12 am, has a caring Cancer Sun square a healing (though not always practical) Neptune in Libra. The Solar Eclipse this year will rattle up the Neptune which doesn’t sound overly dynamic but (being wildly optimistic) may waken up the helping/healing raison d’etre of the organization.

  The NHS Mutable T Square onto a focal point Mars in hard-working Virgo will have a tendency to go off in several directions at once so finding focus and managing anxiety will always be a priority. That T square is being activated by the Solar Arc Sun square Solar Arc Neptune – since 2021 and on through a major jolt in 2026 and more into 2028.  So very much a game-changing phase in the NHS’s destiny.

  Whether so much Neptune will lead to a new vision being effected or a period of confusion isn’t clear.

 Health Minister Wes Streeting, 21 January 1983, is certainly tough enough to push ahead with major changes with his dogged Saturn in Scorpio conjunct Pluto Sun square his Aquarius Sun and trine His Mars in Pisces which in turn is in a risk-taking and lucky square to Jupiter Uranus.  He will be under maximum pressure in 2026 with tr Pluto square his Saturn and tr Uranus square his Mars.

  His relationship chart with the NHS has a friendly undertone but is also extremely fluid and fast-changing.

 The Starmer Government chart 5 July 2024, 12.19pm London does have Saturn in the 6^th house of health trine a 10^th house Cancer Sun so health was always going to be a key issue.

 Throughout all of the charts there is a great deal of Neptune plus an excess of scattergun Mutable which does not necessarily suggest a straightforward road ahead. The NHS is an unwieldy beast, loaded with impossible expectations.   

  Nigel Farage in a classic shoot-in-the-foot manoeuvre has managed to stir up a fight that could wreck his Reform Party’s chances of making inroads into the Tory vote and providing a viable alternative. Rupert Lowe MP is the latest of his cronies to fall foul of his anger with a spectacular hissy fit being thrown, police called over hurtful words by Lowe, who appears to have been cancelled without due process. All of Lowe’s staff apparently deny the allegations of bullying made against him and say he is a decent man.  

  Farage is an oddity, with an ability to trigger momentous changes such as Brexit yet seemingly incapable of holding to a steady course to maximise his triumphs.

 Born 3 April 1964 4.30pm Farnborough, England, he has an 8^th house Aries Sun conjunct Mars in Aries in his late 7^th house; plus Jupiter in Aries conjunct Mercury in Taurus also in his 8^th.  Certainly intense though also with a hint of the Aries’ hash and crash approach which tends to lack endurance and the capacity to stay the course.

 What makes him both an instigator of significant change and an agent for constant change rather than stability is Uranus Pluto in Virgo conjunct on his Ascendant.

 Political columnist Daniel Finkelstein has a delightfully savage description of Farage: “One of Farage’s deepest beliefs is that he is surrounded by idiots –. He notes that one particularly dangerous form this idiocy takes is for some party rando to start believing that they, rather than he, should be leader. — And he invariably acts against such people, however messy it gets.”

  Rupert Lowe, 31 October 1957, Oxford, a Sun, Neptune, Mercury in Scorpio is hardly a good fit with an Aries even an 8^th house one. Their relationship chart has an afflicted composite Mars conjunct Saturn and trine Pluto so was never going to make for a cooperative duo.

  Farage anyway has Chiron in his 7^th hinting at an unhealable woundedness in close relationships and his Sun/Moon midpoint is conjunct his evasive Neptune so harmonious togetherness is not exactly his forte.

 His relationship with Elon Musk is a bubbling cauldron of dislike with a composite Mars opposition Pluto plus an argumentative composite Mars square Mercury and a distrustful composite Sun opposition Neptune. Their interface will be more than usually upset from now until early April.

   His relationship with Trump will hiccup late April into May.

  His personal chart will be rattled this year by the Solar Eclipses catching his Aries Sun and his volatile Sun/Mars midpoint. Disappointments, failed plans and panic in 2026 about dashed hopes won’t improve his spirits. He’ll have a few lucky breaks but more of the other variety.

The Reform Party chart, 23 November 2018 looks badly undermined in 2027.

Portugal is facing its third snap election in three years after the prime minister lost a confidence vote after being accused of corruption. Concerns about immigration and a steep rise in the cost of living have helped boost the chances of the far-Right Chega party. This despite the fact that new arrivals have helped to deliver the hoped-for economic bounce.

  Portugal is the poorest country among Western European nations on a GDP per head basis despite recent increases. Along with Spain it is seeing improvements that are notably lacking in Germany and France.

  The Portugal 25 April 1974 5.15pm Lisbon, chart is facing a sticky few years ahead with tr Neptune and Saturn square the Portugal Saturn Mars in Cancer square Pluto between now and 2027. There will also be significant pressure for a radical change with tr Pluto square the Portugal Taurus Sun on the focal point of a yod in 2026/27. That won’t be easy but it could set the country on a different track for the future. Especially since by that time tr Pluto in Aquarius and tr Uranus in Gemini will also be in aspect to the Portugal Pluto on one leg of that yod. So opportunities for a game-changing phase.

 The Portugal/EU relationship chart, always fractious at the best of times, will be even more unsettled by 2026 and beyond, with signs of a serious rift come 2027/28.

  The Bank of Portugal chart, 15 November 1975 Lisbon, will be stressed, uncertain and panicky over 2025/26 with 2027 not looking too upbeat either. 2028 will see a confidence surge.

 What always strikes me as worth contemplating in terms of global history is that Portugal was the maritime global superpower in the 15^th and 16^th Centuries and maintained its dominance until overtaken by other European powers.

 It does not quite fit with Pluto Returns coinciding with a rise and fall in power, sometimes two cycles later. But the early 12th century Portugal charts have Pluto in mid to late Taurus which roughly coincides with a rise in the late 14th Century to continuing influence through the next Pluto Return in the early 17^th century and a decline from the late 19^th Century Pluto Return onwards.

 Empires rise and empires crumble, no one country stays top dog for ever.

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