Roger Casement, a hero of the Irish resistance to the UK or a traitor or a sexual exploiter of young boys many of them African, is the subject of a new biography. In A Rebel and a Traitor, Rory Carroll explores the tortured soul of Roger Casement — the British diplomat turned Irish revolutionary who was hanged at Pentonville in 1916.

  He started as a national hero in Britain, exposing the slave economy and institutionalised savagery in the Belgian Congo while serving as a consular official. And repeated the exercise when consul general in Rio, reporting on Peru where local people laboured in bondage to rubber producers, with shootings, beheadings, and other abuses, all in the cause of foreign shareholders. He briefed US President Taft, inspired a papal encyclical against such wickedness and was knighted. Arthur Conan Doyle wrote of him as “a man of the highest character — truthful, unselfish, one who is deeply respected by all who know him”.

 But in 1914 his lifelong commitment to Irish home rule, the place of his birth, became his obsession. In New York he convinced the fanatical nationalists of Clan Na Gael that he was the right man to persuade the Germans to back an armed uprising against the British. Moving to Berlin, he attempted to raise an “Irish brigade” and sailed to Ireland on a German submarine on the eve of the Easter Rising. He was captured and transferred to London, incarcerated in the Tower and tried at the Old Bailey. During his trial his diaries were uncovered which described by his own account, the systemic sexual exploitation of very young boys, many of them African. On August 3, 1916, was hanged at Pentonville Prison. His remains were exhumed in 1965 and returned to Ireland for reburial, as befitted a hero of the Irish struggle for freedom.

 He was born 1 September 1864 in Dublin and was a Sun (Moon) in Virgo in a determined trine to Pluto, opposition Eris (conflict and catalyst) square a pro-active and communicative Mars in Gemini. His Pluto was in a super-confident, anti-authoritarian opposition to Jupiter; and his Neptune in Libra opposed Saturn and Mercury in Libra giving him a drive to improve society.  With Uranus in final degree Gemini in a can-be-fanatical and rebellious square to his Neptune and Mercury.

It’s a chart that really needs a birth time but there are two wide-ish yods both involving the Noth Node so he would be a central player in the spirit of the times.

 When World War 1 broke out in 1914 tr Pluto was conjunct his Uranus sparking up his revolutionary fervour.

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The cracks are widening on the US domestic front as the Iran foray sinks deeper in the mire with Israel relentlessly knocking out the top Iranian leadership, unpleasant types admittedly, but ones who might well have made a deal to stop the deadly tit-for-tat.

 Joe Kent, the top US counterterrorism official has resigned over the war, urging the president to “reverse course”. He said that Iran posed “no imminent threat” to the US and claimed the administration “started this war due to pressure from Israel and its powerful American lobby”. Kent is a US special forces and CIA veteran whose wife, navy cryptologic technician Shannon Kent, was killed in a suicide bombing in Syria in 2019. He deployed 11 times overseas with the US military, including with the US Army’s special forces in Iraq. He is now being accused of anti-semitism.

  Trump is also facing resistance from some of the loudest voices on the right – Tucker Carlson, Megyn Kelly and Joe Rogan, the podcaster who played a critical role in helping Trump reach voters in the 2024 election.

“This is not a cruise that a lot of folks signed up for,” said Charlie Cook, the veteran political analyst. “These people voted to throw out Biden and Harris. But attacking Iran, Venezuela, attacking vaccines, bulldozing the East Wing? You could put together a long list of things that really weren’t on their priority list.”

  Joe Kent, 11 April 1980, Oregon, is a determined, upfront and flamboyant Sun Aries in a Fire Grand Trine to a dynamic Mars North Node in late Leo (conjunct Jupiter in Virgo) trine Neptune, formed into a Kite by a determined Sun opposition Pluto. Fire Grand Trines rarely doubt their judgement and tend to charge ahead regardless of the consequences. His Mars North Node Jupiter is square Uranus opposition Algol. Interesting that his emphasised and uncompromising Mars North Node Jupiter are conjunct Trump’s Mars in Leo. His Neptune is also on the focal point of a T square to Saturn in Virgo opposition Mercury.

  Since the start of the Iran debacle he has had tr Uranus just off the square to his Mars, square his North Node and moving to square his Jupiter by April – so it will be a critical juncture in his life. He also has one of those obscure but meaningful moving yods – of Solar Arc Saturn sextile Solar Arc Uranus inconjunct his natal Venus – throwing up strain and despair until a decision is reached.

  His relationship chart with Trump has a composite Mars Saturn conjunction square Sun – a bad tempered connection which only works if one side suppresses their individuality. Which was never going to happen with Joe Kent’s chart.

  What is slowly emerging are details of the pre-war Iran negotiations with reports that the UK national security adviser, Jonathan Powell, judged the offer made by Tehran on its nuclear programme was significant enough to prevent a rush to conflict. There was evidently widespread concern about the US technical expertise on the talks represented by Trumps’s son-in-law and real estate developer Jared Kushner and billionaire real-estate developer Steve Witkoff. Nuclear experts would later say that Witkoff’s pronouncements on the Iran nuclear programme were riddled with basic errors.

  Witkoff’s personal chart, 15 March 1957, has alarm bells ringing full volume at the moment with tr Uranus in hard aspect to his Mars in Taurus square Pluto into early April. His relationship with Trump will see a distinct downturn come late May and across the summer.

 Kushner, 10 January 1981, is also teetering with tr Uranus opposition his Uranus now  and a jolting tr Uranus opposition his Sun/Saturn in April – with, typically, a smattering of luck interspersed. His relationship with Trump will hit a speed bump in the second half of May and in early 2027 – with 2027 looking downhill all the way between them.

“He that walketh with wise men shall be wise: but a companion of fools shall be destroyed.” King James Bible

Len Deighton, one of the masters of the spy novel has died aged 97. His Ipcress File later made into a movie with Michael Caine as Harry Palmer became an instant hit coinciding as it did with the troubled zeitgeist – the building of the Berlin Wall, the uncovering of Soviet moles and heightening cold war tensions. It was pitched as “anti-Bond” with a wise-cracking hero, not from the officer class.

  Deighton himself was born 18 February 1929 in London, with parents who were a live-in cook and chauffeur in a house with 15 servants. He was multi-talented starting as a graphic designer and ultimately writing 21 novels, five of them in the spy genre with three made into films, two cookbooks and a comic novel, a television play, two film scripts and became established as a military historian.

 He had a final degree Aquarius Sun opposition Neptune which was trine/sextile a Mars in Gemini opposition Saturn in Sagittarius. His Mercury in Aquarius square Jupiter Chiron in Taurus may account for his prolific output and wide range. His Taurus North Node was conjunct the destructive Fixed star Algol – and that plus his Mars Saturn would be what plugged him into the excitement, violence and fear of spycraft.

 Ian Fleming, 28 May 1908 12.10 am London, the James Bond creator, another Air Sun in his case in Gemini, also had a harsh Mars conjunct North Node square Saturn; and Uranus opposition Neptune.

 And John Le Carre, 19 October 1931, London, of Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy renown was a Libra Sun Mercury with a fearsome Mars in Scorpio opposition Chiron Algol and trine Pluto. He was of the Depression generation with the bleak Saturn opposition Pluto square his Libra Sun Mercury and opposition Uranus in a Cardinal Grand Cross giving him extraordinary resilience and initiative.

All different kinds of writers but with Air Suns, aggressive Mars and emphasised Uranus which last would put them on their own individual path.

Len Deighton Quotes:

“In Mexico an air conditioner is called a politician because it makes a lot of noise but doesn’t work very well.”

“The tragedy of marriage is that while all women marry thinking that their man will change, all men marry believing their wife will never change.”

“Progress is man’s indifference to the lessons of history.”

Cometh the moment, cometh the man. What did we ever do to deserve this? The toddler tyrant flailing in all directions, setting off bushfires without thought of the consequences, used as a patsy by Netanyahu and others, but amped up with his own delusional sense of invincibility.

 After the Donaldonian apocalypse, what next? Secretary of State Marco Rubio, stepping up in this Middle Eastern fiasco, is unlikely to find it a launching pad for the 2028 election. 28 May 1971 Miami Florida. Across the 2028 election and Inauguration, transiting Neptune looms large denting his confidence, assertiveness and hopes for glory, hitting three key midpoints. Before then he’ll be rattled badly this April with tr Uranus starting to oppose his Jupiter and then Neptune hinting at losses, deflating confidence and even scandals – and that continues on with tr Uranus across several midpoints and ultimately in a jolting conjunction to his Gemini Sun right through till early 2028. He’ll have a few strokes of luck along the way but many more negatives.

 This year he’ll find his relationship with Trump undergoing a major upset with tr Uranus square the composite Pluto from mid June onwards; with August to the year end mired in confusion and discouragement.

  J.D. Vance, 2 August 1984 8.11 am Middletown, Ohio, has his Solar Arc Pluto conjunct his Uranus now hinting at a radical change which may partly be his ideological separation from Trump over foreign war-mongering. The midpoints in his relationship chart with Trump have been looking fraught in the extreme over the time that Saturn Neptune moved away from Pisces into Aries this recent January onwards. Tr Uranus joins in now till late April to produce more heat and chill between them. His confidence will deflate and his lucky streak will not be in evidence from late this May to February 2028 with tr Neptune square his Jupiter. 2027 looks like a swamp of uncertainty for him and there is nothing noteworthy ticking any boxes across the election. From late March 2029 after the Inauguration he’s in for a punishing two years with tr Pluto opposition his Sun and square his Saturn.

   Mark Carney, Canadian PM, having delivered an electrifying speech at the World Economic Forum in Davos pointing to the damage Trump was doing in upending the rules-based world order was treated to the usual Trump childish contempt in response, referring to him as the “future Governor of Canada” after he annexes the country.

  In response Carney has circled the world twice, seeking to forge relationships with countries that will make Canada less dependent on the United States, even those with questionable human rights.

Mark Carney, 16 March 1965, 7.56am Fort Smith, NT Canada Ottawa, has his powerhouse, never-say-die Mars Pluto in Virgo square Trump’s 10^th house wayward, erratic Uranus for a major clash of temperaments. Carney’s Neptune is also square Trump’s Mars/Pluto midpoint so he will be adept at using evasive tactics to counter Trump’s bully-boy approach.

   Carney’s Jupiter and Ascendant fall on Trump’s Midheaven which might suggest a successful business partnership but in this instance points rather to Carney’s Jupiter attempting to inculcate a sense of responsibility and ethic in Trump’s his social and political dealings. And Carney’s image getting a boost from the car-crash trajectory of Trump’s direction/career.

 Their antipathy will run on, increasing in aggravation through this year and on. Canada won’t recover from this onslaught in terms of their attitude to all matters USA until into the next decade.

 Jupiter came up with the goods at last night’s Oscars with Michael B Jordan taking Best Actor for Sinners and Paul Thomas Anderson a raft of awards including best movie for One Battle After Another.

Michael B Jordan, 9 February 1987 8.14pm Orange, California, has a Sun Aquarius in his 5^th house and an exact Jupiter in Pisces square Uranus. The transiting Sun was exactly conjunct his Jupiter and square his Uranus and conjunct his Mercury/Node midpoint at the Oscars. Tr Jupiter is moving through his 10^th house of career which is always a peak, and is picking up his Sun/Node and Mercury /Jupiter midpoints this week. And his Solar Arc Midheaven is exactly trine his Jupiter at the moment. Some minor aspects, some major – but all pointing to a boost.

 He’s had a busy career since childhood appearing in The Wire, Fruitvale Station, Creed, Black Panther, with a body of work that which encompasses commercial and critical success. Only five black actors have won the award before – Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Forest Whitaker, Denzel Washington and Sidney Poitier.

  April oddly looks stressful for him with two challenging midpoints being triggered. But he has a good deal of substantial work ahead of him.

  Paul Thomas Anderson won Best Picture for One Battle After Another, a satire about preening Californian radicals getting the upper hand on a brutal and conspiracy-raddled US government. One reviewer described it as “essentially Dr Strangelove for the Maga-versus-wokery era.”

Paul Thomas Anderson 26 June 1970 3.47 am Los Angeles, has a Sun and Mars in Cancer, with is Sun in a rebellious square to Uranus. Tr Jupiter is conjunct his Mars for a morale boost exactly now and is also conjunct his Mercury/MC midpoint, square his Jupiter/Uranus and opposition his Neptune/Node midpoints; with tr Jupiter soon to square his Mercury/MC midpoint so he’ll glow for a while ahead.

 Though it will not all be picnics and roses since he also has a jolting Solar Arc Uranus opposition his Saturn and his SA Sun square his Saturn now; and his Solar Arc Saturn is moving to conjunct his Sun and square his Uranus by 2028 – all of which look challenging for his next venture.

Random thoughts on Trump’s cluster-catastrophe in the Middle East. With transiting Uranus square the Israel Mars until April 5^th it always looked unlikely to be a speedy Venezuelan swan-in, smash n’ grab. Despite cheer-leading from the White House there is a creeping realisation of the weakness of their self-created (why bother to forward plan?) situation which from April 6^th to end of the month shows up on the Inauguration (Trump Term) chart as akin to an epileptic spasm, with sudden upsets and over-stretched nerves. On Trump’s personal chart that same period shows up with the same mix of high irritability, weakness and maybe illness.

  The Inauguration chart will also be spotlighted by the coming (maybe magnified in effect by the recent eclipse) Pisces New Moon next Thursday which will be conjunct the Inauguration Neptune, North Node and Scheat in late Pisces. None of which looks constructive or progressive. Deeper into a swamp.  

 Through April Pete Hegseth has tr Uranus square his Mercury/Pluto midpoint which Ebertin suggests could overtax his strength to the point of breakdown with his fanaticism ramping up. Before then from now till early April, Hegseth has tr Uranus square his Mars/Saturn and Saturn/Uranus midpoints which suggests rising tension, calamity, bad tempered outbursts. Which does not look like a fast glorious finish.  His relationship chart with Trump looks at defcon meltdown now till early April – and if Hegseth survives politically then July may see their bond rupture as tr Uranus squares the composite Mars Uranus.   

 Not only are Republicans becoming increasingly nervous, the MAGA electorate are unhappy about the ‘foreign wars’ broken campaign promises. And now the Pope has added pressure which will leave the religious lobby in two minds about whether Trump is the chosen one after all. Pope Leo said on Sunday “Some even go so far as to invoke the name of God to justify these choices of death, but God cannot be enlisted by darkness. Rather, He always comes to bring light, hope and peace to humanity.”

  He cautioned against ​news reports that risk sliding into propaganda by ‌glorifying conflicts or serving as “a megaphone” to amplify the voices of those in power.

Pope Leo, 14 September 1955 Chicago, with a stellium in Virgo falling in Trump’s First House, has his determined and confident Pluto conjunct Trump’s Mars for a mighty clash as power meets aggression and vainglory. The Pope’s North Node in Sagittarius which aims higher is conjunct Trump’s South Node and Moon, so he will see it as his mission to pull Trump away from under-developed, primitive tendencies.

 The Bishop of Chicago has also been heavily criticising White House videos about the war which include elements of video games and movie clips. He said “The video presentation that the White House posted was deeply offensive, not only to the people who were killed in the war so far, but especially to our American troops.” He is calling on the White House to take the videos down. Cupich says they never should have been released in the first place.

“The object, with regard to a video game, is a hit. But in the case that we have here, it’s not just a hit. It’s a grieving family that has lost children, as we have seen in the bombing of that school.” It is likely an American Tomahawk hit an area near a school, where close to 170 children were killed. Thousands of lives have been lost in a war that is now 10 days old, including those of seven U.S. service members.

WAR QUOTES.

 “War is a defeat for humanity.” Pope John Paul II

“War does not determine who is right – only who is left.” Bertrand Russell

“War: a massacre of people who don’t know each other for the profit of people who know each other but don’t massacre each other.”  Paul Valery

“I hate war as only a soldier who has lived it can, only as one who has seen its brutality, its futility, its stupidity.” Dwight D. Eisenhower

“War is not an adventure. It is a disease. It is like typhus.” Antoine de Saint-Exupery

“War is only a cowardly escape from the problems of peace.” Thomas Mann

“A state of war only serves as an excuse for domestic tyranny.”  Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn

“It is forbidden to kill; therefore all murderers are punished unless they kill in large numbers and to the sound of trumpets.” Voltaire

“The most successful war seldom pays for its losses.” Thomas Jefferson

“An unjust peace is better than a just war.” Marcus Tullius Cicero

Kelly McGillis, once a Hollywood golden girl with top billing in Top Gun, Witness and The Accused, has settled into a contented life away from the glitter after coming to terms with several massively traumatic events in childhood and her adult life. She now works full-time at a drug and alcohol rehabilitation centre ‘It’s just an amazing gift to see people come in hopeless and to be given some hope,’ she said. She also teaches acting in New Jersey and pursues domestic rural pursuits, as well as taking odd acting jobs. Which is a testament to her tenacity, courage and determination to make it through.

 She survived a violent break-in in her twenties with two men forcing their way into her New York apartment and beating her; having been mugged a year before at gunpoint; then later revealed she had been gang raped as a child; and more recently had another home invasion. Not surprisingly she turned to alcohol for relief. Eventually therapy and rehab got her on the road to stability.

 Born 9 July 1957 3.47pm Burbank, California (birth certificate), she has a Cancer Sun in her knowledgeable 9^th house along with Mercury in Cancer, a high-octane Uranus, Venus, Mars conjunct in Leo also in her 9^th – and Pluto in late Leo exactly on her Midheaven. Her Sagittarius Moon is trine Pluto sextile a 12^th house Neptune (which last can be addictive-prone).  She has a friendly, lucky Jupiter in hard-working Virgo on the cusp of her 11^th house square her Moon. Her Saturn in Sagittarius is trine her Uranus, Venus, Mars which would certainly put a harsh-edge on some of her life’s experiences.

 It is not as gothic a chart as I might have imagined. Though when the break in occurred in her 20s when she was nearly killed, her Solar Arc Sun was exactly conjunct her Mars which does often accompany a shocking event. A violent, destructive transiting Mars Saturn conjunction was sitting on her Solar Arc Jupiter and square her Sun which would threaten to crush her spirit. Transiting Pluto was moving into her hidden 12^th house for many years thereafter; and her Solar Arc Uranus was conjunct her Midheaven for a jolting shift in her life’s direction.  

  Both her Mean and True Black Moon Lilith are in her emotional 4^th house close to her IC which may be significant. Nessus is on the cusp of her 7^th house of relationships hints at a need to wise up about risks and dangers from other people.

 I would suspect what pulled her through was her ever-optimistic Sagittarius Moon plus a high-vitality collection of Leo Planets in Sagittarius’s natural home the 9^th. Pluto on her Midheaven would also give her strength and endurance and an urge to transform her career/direction in life to make a difference.

 Her victim/healer 12^th harmonic links Mars to Chiron and Pluto in a yod – Mars Pluto representing a life-and-death struggle. That afflicted Mars motif recurs in her Wheel of Fortune 10^th harmonic = highs and then lows, with a Mercury opposition Mars square Saturn. And in her ‘Master’ 11^th harmonic with a Mars opposition Pluto square Sun.

Jessie Buckley has been hyped as the favourite to win Best Actress in today’s Oscars for her performance as the grief-stricken Agnes Hathaway (Shakespeare’s wife) in Hamnet. But a recent interview in which she said she had insisted her boyfriend get rid of his cats before she moved in has set off a backlash.  

 It echoes the confected social media firestorm over the other favourite Timothee Chalamet’s comments saying he does not want to work in ballet or opera as ‘no one cares about it’.

 Jessie Buckley, 28 December 1989 Killarney, Ireland, no birth time, had mother who was a vocal coach, and started acting early, with a string of successes in Beast, Wild Rose and tv’s The Lost Daughter amongst others.

 She is a redoubtable example of the triple conjunction generation with Uranus, Sun, Moon, Neptune, Saturn and Mercury all in Capricorn – ambitious, inventive, uncompromising, independent, highly strung. Her Uranus Sun Neptune oppose Jupiter in Cancer, with Pluto in sextile – so she’ll be lucky, a risk-taker, determined. Her Mars in outspoken, adventurous Sagittarius is sextile a friendly Venus in Aquarius and both are inconjunct Jupiter forming a yod – doubling up on her fortunate streak and self-confidence. Though a Jupiterian yod can backfire if over-confidence takes a hold.

   Today she has a smattering of Jupiterian boosts to her Saturn and several midpoints so she may emerge smiling. But the coming two or three years look challenging as transiting Neptune (and Saturn) move in square to her Capricorn planets which hints at a few setbacks this year and an extended run of Neptunian droop into the early 2030s. Neptune can be creative but is not usually good for personal glory. 2030 may be a turnaround year for her with a radical change of attitude or direction bringing renewed success and self-assurance.

From December 21 2025 post on Timothee Chalamet:

Despite outer success he is undergoing a fair amount of soul-searching with his Progressed Moon going through his 8th for another ten months; as well as tr Uranus conjunct his Midheaven and Algol at the moment hinting at fairly dramatic changes.

 Saturn Neptune moving through his 8th in the coming years (Saturn two and Neptune many) will also throw him back on himself so he may feel under supported and uncommitted. In 2026 tr Neptune will make an undermining square to his Sun from June 2026 onwards and throughout 2027 at the same time as it is conjunct the composite Saturn in his relationship chart with Kylie.

  His Jupiter in late Sagittarius will stand him in good stead being close to his Sun but his attention demanding and tornado-force 5th house personality may rub a few workmates the wrong way.

 Quite what an actor’s throwaway comments have to do with their thespian talents is unclear. Russell Crowe, who won Best Actor for Gladiator, claimed the awards ceremony is now just a popularity contest. Another indication of a culture corroded by media sound bytes. And a further example of an inability to hold two separate thoughts in mind together. The creatively gifted can be short on brains in other spheres/not nice people.  Both together – or all three. Their personality flaws do not diminish their singular abilities.

The Spring Equinox, a time of rebirth in the northern hemisphere, comes on 20^th March as the Sun enters Aries beginning a new astrological cycle. It coincides with Nowruz, the Iranian New Year.  The four Cardinal Ingresses of the year – Aries, Cancer, Libra and Capricorn – are held to be significant in the quarter year which follows.

 This Spring Solstice sees the Aries Sun close to Neptune Saturn offering an array of possibilities. Neptune, the compassionate healer softening Saturn’s rigid self-reliance and uncaring streak, to offer a hand to the underdogs. Or Neptune’s tendency to fantasy undermining Saturn’s grip on reality, leading to neurotic fears. Often associated with suffering and sacrifice, it can lead to illness. There usually is a struggle between lower and higher motivations, between primitive responses and humanitarian ideals.

 Relocated to Teheran it puts the confused Sun Saturn Neptune on the Descendant, in the chart area of allies and enemies; with a grandstanding Pluto in the 5^th and confident Jupiter in the 10^th.  Relocated to Washington, DC there is an indecisive Sun Saturn Neptune in the 11^th, hinting at a lack of forward planning.

  Eris, the planet of chaos and discord is conjunct the wounded-healer Chiron, a toxic combination well illustrated in the Middle East conflagration.

 The Mars is not prominent, as it was in the recent late December Capricorn Ingress with a disturbing Sun Mars square Neptune Saturn.

  And more so in the 2025 Libra Ingress – Mars square Pluto, and on the apex of a yod inconjunct Saturn Neptune sextile Uranus. With another yod of Mars sextile Venus inconjunct Neptune Saturn. It was a particularly strong chart with an Air Grand Trine of Pluto trine Uranus trine Sun opposition Neptune Saturn. One ancient astrologer believed the Libra Ingress was the key to the year ahead.

  Another point of interest is the New Moon in late Pisces on March 19^th, the day before the solstice. It is the first New Moon after the 17 February Solar Eclipse at 28 Aquarius square Uranus. My impression looking back on past eclipse cycles is that the following New Moon can often be a trigger for events connected to the eclipse.  That eclipse located to Tehran has Eris Chiron (= chaos, conflict and unhealable wounds) conjunct the Midheaven and Pluto conjunct the Descendant, marker for enemies and allies.  

 Roll on the August Solar Eclipse which promises “a time of breaking out of a negative situation which has seemed hopeless into a more positive space with more options available. Worries will clear. Solutions will appear and need to be grasped.” Can’t come a moment too soon.