Solar Returns are an astrological staple though can be mystifyingly vague at times and spot on at others. With an added layer of complication depending on which location to choose to set the Solar Return – birth or present home.

  Prince Harry poised on his 40^th is a good test case since the birth time is accurate and every last minute detail of his life is on record.

 He was born 15 September 1984 4.20pm London which gives him an intense, secretive, determined 8^th house Virgo Sun in a volatile square to Mars in his 11^th house of friends and square a dreamy, addiction-prone 12^th house Neptune. His Taurus Moon is in the 4^th house of family and roots; and his Ascendant is traditional Capricorn.

 Relocating his birth chart to Montecito, California, puts his Sun in the hidden 12^th and his Moon in the deeply buried 8^th; with his Venus just below a sociable Libra Ascendant. Saturn is in the chart area of finances hinting at a need to be sensible about money. His 3^rd house of siblings is confused and argumentative with Mars, Neptune, Jupiter there and Uranus on the cusp.

  One problem with relocating charts is ‘you take you with you’ wherever you go and while the chart may highlight and improve one area of life it can make another area of life trickier. Eg. Career good, but relationships or health more stressed.

  His Solar Returns in previous years marked his exit from Royal life with a Solar Return that had Uranus in the SR 10^th and Moon in the SR 9^th which indicates a career change and home abroad. The success of his Spare misery memoir was marked with a jubilant Jupiter Uranus in his 10^th.

  Solar Return headlines can be descriptive though it won’t tell the whole story and needs to be added to by other predictive methods to get a rounded picture.

His natal Solar Return for 2024/25 set to London, gives a sociable Libra Ascendant with Venus in the 1^st close to his natal Venus. The Sun is in the withdrawn 12^th trine Pluto in the 4^th for a trapped feeling where family and domestic matters are concerned. Both trine Uranus in the 8^th which may reflect his sudden inheritance from his grandmother the Queen Mother. An Earth Grand Trine will be stabilizing though it is all behind–the-scenes. His Moon in the 5^th suggests nurturing from children. Saturn and Neptune in his 6^th – lacklustre energy and low motivation. Jupiter and Mars in his 9^th house of travel and communication.  There is also an Air Grand Trine of Venus, Jupiter, Moon which will get him in crusading mood to boost his favourite causes.

  A Montecito Solar Return for 2024 puts the Sun in the rooted, home-loving 4^th trine an 8^th house financial though stuck Pluto trine Uranus in the 11^th. Saturn Neptune in the 10^th – hard working but confused about direction. Mars on a Cancer Ascendant will make him assertive if not argumentative.

  In an odd way it strikes me that in landing in California he has shifted certain elements of his life but in certain respects kept similar house emphasis – 8^th/12^th/4^th.

 And the Solar Returns in both locations echo the same preoccupations with money, privacy and decision making about career.

 I would never use Solar Returns as standalone guides. On transits, he has another year plus of tr Saturn moving through the nadir of his low profile 1^st quadrant where money and psychological issues loom large. He won’t really hit his stride in terms of fulfilment about the direction of his life until almost the end of this decade. He’s downbeat at the moment with his Solar Arc Saturn moving to square his Sun exactly in 8 months but in effect throughout the next year. His relationships with friends and intentions as to future plans are in a state of upheaval as his Solar Arc Pluto is conjunct his Uranus now. Late January and March 2025 will be a sobering time though impatient with tr Saturn square his Mars and opposing his Sun.

Laura Loomer, a far-right 9/11 conspiracy theorist, Islamaphobe, racist and  promoter of the Haitian-immigrants-eat-pets controversy has become increasingly close to Trump recently. He said “Laura’s been a supporter of mine. She speaks positively of the campaign. I don’t control Laura. She’s a free spirit.”  Republicans even on the far right are becoming concerned that this “toxic” association is self-defeating for him. “Laura Loomer is a crazy conspiracy theorist who regularly utters disgusting garbage intended to divide Republicans,” Thom Tillis, the Republican senator from North Carolina, wrote on X. “A [Democratic party] plant couldn’t do a better job than she is doing to hurt president Trump’s chances of winning re-election. Enough.” And a Republican strategist said: “[Trump] increasingly just surrounds himself with the most sycophantic people who will tell him anything that he wants to hear, and he’s getting to be further detached from reality.”

  What is intriguing is how similar in certain respects her chart is to his.  Born 21 May 1993, she is a Sun Gemini with Mars in Leo and Jupiter in Libra – all of which he shares.  Her Sun is opposition Pluto and square Saturn, which is hard, controlling, embittered; with her Mercury in Gemini trine Jupiter sextile Mars in flamboyant Leo. But what stands out in her chart is the early 1990s Uranus Neptune conjunction in Capricorn which is known for extreme opinions.

  Despite some similarities between them it is not intuitively a good match with her Mars exactly conjunct his Pluto, her Saturn opposition his Mars and her Uranus Neptune opposition his Saturn Venus in Cancer. An incendiary mix. Hatred directed outwards. If they were locked together in the same room for long they would destroy each other.

  She will be full steam ahead till late this November with a confident tr Pluto square her Jupiter/Pluto midpoint, but looks less vibrant through January with tr Pluto square her Mars/Uranus and Mars/Neptune midpoints.

Ian McKellen is getting rave reviews for his latest film The Critic, out this week. With a sixty year career spanning the heights in Shakespeare on stage to blockbuster success as Lord Gandalf in the Lord of the Rings and the Hobbit he has a career to envy. A recent fall off stage has put paid to his appearance on the boards for another year as he recovers from what could have been an exceptionally nasty accident.

 Born 25 May 1939 9.30pm Burnley, England, he has a tough chart, a testament to his first six years living in war time Britain, but he also had a supportive family, especially his sister, who helped develop his interest in the theatre from an early age. His mother died when he was 12 and his father when he was 25. In recent years he has done much good campaigning for LGBT rights.

  He has a talented Half Grand Sextile from a formidably determined Mars in Aquarius opposition Pluto, sextiling onto a Gemini Sun and Jupiter in Aries – his ability to communicate, sometimes forcefully, comes across in his chart.  He also has a yod from Mars sextile Jupiter (in his 3^rd house of siblings) inconjunct a 9^th house Moon.  A Moon as apex on a yod has a tendency to emotional disorganization early on, and a reluctance about allowing vulnerabilities to be seen. With maturity such a Moon will, if properly handled, prompt him to be nurturing for others.

His Venus in Taurus in his performing 5^th house opposes an intense Scorpio Node squaring onto his Mars – so he may at times be overly assertive. Though his Saturn squaring his  Pluto opposition Mars will clamp down on his spontaneity to a degree as the hardship and fear of his early days has left him with a defensive shell.

 Tr Pluto conjunct his Mars and opposing his Pluto this year may well have contributed to his accident earlier this year.

Putin is issuing threats about being at war with the UK, USA and NATO if Ukraine is allowed to use UK-made Storm Shadow missiles against targets across the border in Russia. Keir Starmer and Joe Biden are holding talks today in the White House with concerns about Moscow escalating the conflict by buying ballistic missiles from Iran. It could be a pivotal moment in the conflict though US analysts have expressed concern that any additional challenges could lead to Russia using tactical nuclear weapons on the battlefield.

  Relations between the UK and Russia do look strained ahead. With the Russia 8 December 1991 chart, there will be insecurity/high anxiety late this November to mid December and again mid March 2025 into April with tr Uranus square the composite Mars. With the composite Sun being squared by both tr Neptune and tr Saturn – exactly now and on and off till early 2026. With the Russia 8 November 1917 chart there will be similarly uncertain relations. But it will be 2026/27/28 which are the peak stress times with the composite yod of Pluto sextile Jupiter Mars inconjunct Mercury being triggered by tr Uranus opposition the focal point Mercury from 2026, tr Pluto square the Pluto also and in 2027 tr Neptune square the Jupiter.

 If Putin’s 1952 birthdate is sound then the Starmer/Putin relationship  will be aggravated now with tr Pluto trine the composite Mars into 2025, in turmoil mid 2025 onwards with tr Uranus square the composite Pluto and in a general muddle with rising suspicion and evasion with tr Pluto square the Neptune Venus now till late 2026. The Lunar Eclipse this month, next March and the Solar Eclipse next September will all impact their composite Sun hinting at an ongoing disagreement.

 The USA/Russia 1991 chart is similarly afflicted through these eclipses ahead with the composite Sun opposition Uranus square Pluto not only being triggered by eclipses but also undermined by tr Neptune Nep[tune in hard aspect. With 2026/27 being high tension times as well with tr Uranus square the composite Venus.

  The NATO/Russia 1991 relationship chart also has a composite Mars in late Virgo, catching all these eclipses across the next eighteen months. With the NATO chart being keyed up by tr Uranus square the Sun from mid 2025 on into 2026.

   This upcoming Lunar Eclipse on 18 September located to Moscow has a successful, confident Jupiter on the Midheaven, though with an evasive Sun Neptune in the 7^th.

 Keir Starmer’s government chart located to Kiev, Ukraine puts Pluto on his IC which is stuck, boxed on and frustrated so not an area where he feels he is winning.  

The UK National Health Service which has been creaking for  years is deemed in a “critical condition” by a new report. A&E is in an “awful state”; the UK has higher cancer mortality rates than other countries and the service has been starved of capital investment, meaning “crumbling buildings”, mental health patients in “Victoria-era cells infested with vermin” and “parts of the NHS operating in decrepit portacabins.”

  Rising levels of illness are risking economic prosperity, with 2.8 million people unable to work because of poor health.  Health Secretary Wes Streeting has pledged to spend a greater proportion of the NHS budget on GPs, social care and “community services” than on hospitals, which he said would help alleviate pressure.

 The NHS founded 5 July 1948 has an empathetic if not realistic Cancer Sun square Neptune which is being rattled up by the approaching Libra Solar eclipse and next March’s Aries Solar eclipse both impacting on the Neptune – which is not altogether reassuring since Neptune tends to avoid direct action even when challenged to change. There is also a Mutable T square of Jupiter opposition Moon, Venus, Uranus, Mercury in Gemini square Mars in Virgo hinting at an essentially scattergun and not well organized approach. It is being undermined from various angles by Neptune – with tr Neptune square Venus, Uranus, Mercury into and throughout 2025; and exactly now by Solar Arc Neptune square the Mars for a sinking feeling of failure, continuing on for the next five years as SA Neptune opposes the Venus, Uranus, Mercury. Plus a downbeat tr Saturn hitting the Mutable T square early and late in 2025 into 2026.

  2025 looks a particularly jolting year with the Solar Arc Sun square Uranus.

 Wes Streeting, the health secretary, 21 January 1983, is tough, which he’ll need to be with an Aquarius Sun square Saturn in Scorpio and Pluto in final degree Libra; with Mars trine Saturn Pluto. But it’ll be an uphill struggle with 2026 looking grim for him as tr Pluto starts to square his Saturn and tr Uranus is conjunct his Mars.

[There is an oddity in that many Labour/Government charts  and Labour relationship charts point to 2026 as a calamitous time – which for a new administration does seem strange.]

  Although the removal of the winter fuel allowance for better-off pensioners has caused an almighty fuss, I wonder whether the change in mindset might in future allow for a shift over a European system of health care where there is a mix of state medicine plus some funded by private insurance. Those who cannot afford it get it all paid for while others chip in a contribution.

A new Vincent Van Gogh exhibition at London’s National Gallery has been described as a “once-in-a-century” show with rave reviews from critics. It opens on 14 September and features more than 60 pieces painted by the Dutch artist, who died in 1890 aged 37.

  Lurid tales of his psychosis, ear cutting off episode, brothels and brawls and suicide by shooting compete for as much attention as his vibrant paintings.  But the Times art critic takes another view. “While madness may be a good story and a better headline, it simply doesn’t tally with the exhilaration of the early Arles letters. Surely, too, it is more psychologically interesting to encounter a man working with such clarity, certainty and unbounded creativity, only to be felled at intervals by doubts, nightmares and melancholy beyond endurance. It makes the breakdowns, the ear-cutting and the gunshot all the more random and cruel.”

 He was born 30 March 1853 11am Zundert, Netherlands, into a middle class family and showed signs of mental instability from his teens onward, suffering from depression and delusions. He had seven planets in his career 10^th – an ambitious and unaspected Aries Sun with an inventive, trailblazing Uranus Pluto conjunction in Taurus plus Saturn in Taurus. His Mercury also in the 10^th was conjunct Pluto giving him dark moods and extreme reactions at times. Most notable was his Jupiter Moon in Sagittarius in his creative 5^th house opposition his North Node square a passionately enthusiastic Mars Venus in Pisces in his 10^th.

 His emphasized Mars Venus in Pisces would give him unbridled enthusiasm and for some reason makes me think of his appreciation of colour.

“He is fantastically receptive to light, the seasons, the “pale orange sunsets making the fields look blue” and “the glorious yellow suns”. Van Gogh found a landscape of “sky blue, pink, orange, vermilion, brilliant yellow, bright green, bright wine red, violet”.

  An unaspected Sun would make him less dependent on outer relationships for validation. His Gemini North Node would also make him a free spirit.

  When he shot himself his Progressed Moon was conjunct his Pluto intensifying his emotional reactions; his Progressed Mars was less than a degree conjunct his Mercury for a surge of anger. His Solar Arc Mars Venus has crossed his Pluto just before and were aiming to his Uranus – so even by his standards it was a high stress time. Perhaps most notable of all his Solar Arc Saturn had moved to conjunct his North Node and trigger his Mutable T Square of Jupiter, Node, Venus, Mars – which would damp his confidence. Tr Jupiter was also within a degree of being square to his Uranus – so maybe for a fleeting moment he wanted the relief of not being subject to dark and turbulent thoughts.

  His posthumous ‘ghost’ chart at the moment for this exhibition has the upcoming Solar Eclipse opposition his Sun, tr Pluto square his Pluto and tr Neptune conjunct his focal point Mars Venus in Pisces.

Justin Trudeau may survive as Canada’s prime minister into next year, political analysts say, despite the withdrawal of support from a small left-wing party. Though he can no longer be sure of surviving confidence votes in the House of Commons chamber, where the Liberals only hold 154 of the 338 seats. In that case his government would fall before its term expires at the end of October 2025, forcing an early general election.

Trudeau, 25 December 1971 9.27 pm Ottawa, Canada, is on a slide of panicky failure with his Mars in last degree Pisces being undermined by the tr Neptune conjunction right through till January 2026. Plus tr Uranus is conjunct his Taurus Midheaven exactly now hinting at a change of career direction, which repeats in May 2025; followed by a high-tension, jolting tr Uranus conjunct his 10^th house Saturn from July 2025. The Saturn Neptune conjunction in Aries is also poised to move into his 8^th house from mid 2025 onwards – financial scandal?

His Mars is also catching the next two Lunar Eclipses this month and next March as well as next September’s Virgo Solar Eclipse. He’ll be on high stress mode right through.

 What may give him minor uplift is tr Jupiter through his 10^th until July 2025 though even that may not be enough to stave off disaster.

 His Term chart from 26 October 2021 has a completely-blocked and frustrated Solar Arc Pluto square the Mars now and not improving ahead.

Who said “All political careers end in failure”?

Focal point planets can be the key to resolving tensions whether on the point of T Squares or the apex of yods or as the driving planet of a Kite from a Grand Trine. They can harness the energy of the planets in aspect to produce a dynamic thrust. Though it can depend on the planet involved and the element (Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable).  And like anything else in a chart can be mishandled and end up accentuating the negative properties of the planet.

 Oppositions in a chart pull in two diametrically opposite directions.  Without a unifying focal point in square to both ends, the individual is left to hop from one end of the opposition to the other seeking and never finding a balance.  James Earl Jones and Edna O’Brien born in the tough early 1930s with Saturn opposition Pluto giving them grit to endure hardship, though with a dollop of Jupiter close to Pluto for luck and confidence, were able to find an outlet for early angst through their Uranus in Aries on the point of a T square in forging an unconventional lifestyle. Rupert Murdoch has similar placings though his road-less-travelled has tended to be divisive as well as trailblazing.

Cardinal T squares are marginally easier to handle since they are driven by initiative and good at self-motivation.

  Actor Jack Nicholson has a charming, creative Venus in Aries on the point of his Pluto opposition Jupiter, softening his go-getting determination.

 Princess Catherine has a surprisingly tough Saturn Pluto on the focal point of a Sun Moon opposition. From early on as a Full Moon baby her heart told her to do one thing and her head another, so she’d be constantly unsatisfied whichever end of the opposition she tried to lean on. She learnt to put duty and submission first (Saturn + Pluto) above all else, moulding her for the Royal life to come.

  Likewise Queen Elizabeth 11 had an adventurous Mars Jupiter in Aquarius opposition (Moon) Neptune in Leo and could have ended up an escapist dreamer but since that opposition squared onto Saturn in Scorpio on her Midheaven, duty became her watchword. Her Saturn channelled a complex mix of Mars Jupiter and Moon Neptune and forged it into a momentous life of sacrifice and commitment. Fixed T squares can be problematic since they tend to be inordinately stubborn – on the upside enduring and steady but not flexible.

Mutable T squares can be scattered and frenzied since too much flexibility/susceptibility to outside influences jacks up the nervous, highly-strung energy – as with Liam Gallagher with his Saturn opposition Jupiter square Mars Sun in Virgo. In his case all that high-tension opposition energy is not balanced but more detonated through his Mars in Virgo.

  Even Mars on the focal point of a Cardinal T Square can be overly aggressive initially. But the tension of the opposition is better with an outlet as long as it is handled in a mature way – and not going off like a scattergun.

Yods also have apex or focal point planets which can be marginally more awkward to get aligned since the inconjuncts pull together by aspect two inherently different and contradictory elements and modalities. For example Aries with Virgo or Scorpio – a Cardinal Fire trying to make friends with a Mutable Earth or a Fixed Water. The two ends basically don’t understand one another and don’t see how to cooperate. Where a square strives to find a solution, there is more difficulty in containing the contradiction of a quincunx so life may be divided to allow different arenas to live out the separate energies. But that way the individual never feels completely whole and is constantly cutting off part of themselves to honour one planet or the other.

  Along the way fate usually intervenes with a surprise and unwilled set of events which channels the focal point planet onto a singular trajectory. Prince William with his Venus on the apex of a yod was an uneasy social mixer initially and emotionally awkward but once he found his calling (or in yod fashion it was found for him), he has an innate capacity for engaging at a feeling level and has the ability to make a difference out in society where children (5^th house) or culture is concerned.

 His uncle Prince Andrew has a prominent yod onto Uranus in his 1^st which managed properly would have made him a trailblazer, both inventive and creative. Instead he has followed the less desirable Uranian route of defiance,  rebellion, lawlessness and ended up as a disruptor.

  The mathematician Alexander Grothendieck has Pluto on the point of a yod and a T square and likewise Bernard Riemann, another leading mathematician has Pluto on the point of a T square. Pluto raised to its highest game gives a penetrating insight, often bringing ideas well ahead of their time.

  Less helpfully Gary Oldman has Pluto on the point of a yod which may give him gravitas in acting but will make his controlling tendencies tricky to live with.

  Grand Trines on their own can bring an easy flow of energy but often they get stuck in a comfortable rut. What is helpful in finding a constructive way of using the Grand Trine is a planet in opposition to one leg of the Grand Trine and sextile the two other legs forming a Kite. The planet at the end of the opposition becomes the driving planet of the Grand Trine’s talented, lucky energy.  Keir Starmer has a Water Grand Trine of Neptune to Mars to Jupiter which on its own might make him inward-looking, a dreamer and unrealistic but it is sprung into gear by Jupiter opposition Sun Pluto. His controlling Sun Pluto drives a good deal of the energy of his chart.

 Actor Richard Burton had similarly a creative Water Grand Trine of Sun Saturn and Uranus and Pluto, with Pluto opposition Jupiter. So Jupiter, planet of luck, confidence and excess became his driving planet.

 King Charles 111 has a Grand Trine of Moon trine Saturn trine Jupiter with Moon opposition a 4^th house South Node – lucky, talented, designed for a public career but his Achilles Heel is his 4^th house South Node hinting at family difficulties.

  Someone once worked out that a birth chart contains 2500 pieces of information which is ways too much to absorb. It is helpful to prioritize – and focal point planets are one stand-out marker.

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James Earl Jones scaled the heights for decades on stage and on screen but what he is most remembered for is his voice.  It was once described as the sound that “Moses heard when addressed by God.” He was the voice of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy, summoning the full power of the mystical ‘Force’. “That great rumbling basso profundo was like a thunderstorm surmounting the horizon, an almost supernatural voice of wisdom and power.” He was also the voice of Mufasa, father of princeling cub Simba in The Lion King.

  What was all the more extraordinary was he had a debilitating stutter as a child, rendering him effectively mute for several years until a teacher encouraged him to read his poetry compositions out loud in class. He discovered his stammer eased when he was speaking from memory.

 He was born 17 January 1931 6.05 am Arkabutia, Mississippi, with his father abandoning the family shortly after his birth, Aged 5 he was sent unwillingly to live with his grandparents where his stammer appeared.

 His Mercury in earthy Capricorn felicitously is conjunct his Ascendant, Moon and Saturn – so his image and his style of communication were inextricably interwoven. His Moon (Mercury) Saturn were opposition Jupiter Pluto square Uranus – giving him supreme confidence and a determination to mark out an unconventional path in life.  His 8^th house of grandparents had a deeply buried and formidable Mars trine Uranus and inconjunct his Saturn; with creative Neptune also in his 8^th trine his Mercury. He came across as surprisingly mellow given his troubled Mars,