Alexei Navalny, Putin’s most prominent political opponent has died in a Siberian prison colony to which he was sent on what are described as trumped up charges. For many years he has been a lawyer and an anti-corruption activist, with six million YouTube subscribers in 2021. He has described Russia’s ruling party, United Russia, as a “party of crooks and thieves. He was poisoned a few years ago by it is thought Russian security agents and went to Germany for treatment. Unbelievably he returned and was imprisoned for breaking his parole and recently sent to an Arctic penal colony nicknamed “Polar Wolf”, where the temperature at the moment is minus 22C.

  Born 4 June 1976 1.30 pm Moscow, Russia,  he has a 9^th house (legal affairs) Gemini Sun Venus opposition Neptune and trine Pluto – a communicator and supremely ambitious. He has his Mars in flamboyant Leo in an uncompromising and excitement-seeking square to Uranus. His Mars is also square an 8^th house Jupiter in Taurus and South Node. No one could doubt his courage but in these circumstances one wonders about his recklessness.

  His Chiron in the 8^th and his Scorpio North Node both point to an urge towards and an obsession with transformation even if it means the ultimate sacrifice. Losing everything to gain?? –  martyrdom perhaps.  He certainly has a strongly marked 17^th harmonic – leaving a legacy behind – which links  Saturn to Mars, Neptune and Pluto indicating extreme hardship and brutality as his way through to immortality.

  He certainly represented an inspiring example for Russia with his Sun Venus conjunct the Jupiter in the 10^th in the Russia 8 November 1917 chart 2.12am Leningrad; and his Jupiter in Taurus in the Russia 9^th house square the Uranus opposition Saturn. On the Russia 8 December 1991 7.45pm chart his Pluto and Uranus falls in the Russia 4^th as he posed a mutinous threat to the new regime’s stability.

  As he dies his Solar Arc Sun is exactly conjunct his Saturn, both at 29 degrees Cancer with tr Pluto opposition both which is a massive amount of pressure. Whether he was poisoned again or succumbed to the brutal Siberian conditions will probably never be known. His last poisoning was only confirmed by the German medical authorities.

“The tyrant dies and his rule is over, the martyr dies and his rule begins.” Soren Kierkegaard.

ADD ON: Another prominent Putin critic in prison in Siberia is Vladimir Kara-Murza, 7 September 1981, a political activist, journalist, author, filmmaker, and political prisoner. He was a protégé of Boris Nemtsov who was assassinated in 2015. Kara-Murza suffers permanent nerve damage as a result of two poisoning attempts which left him in a coma in 2015 and 2017. Late last month it was revealed he had gone missing from the prison in the Omsk region where he was being held in solitary confinement.

 Despite the risk his wife Evgenia, 2 November 1980, has been outspoken in her reaction to Navalny’s death. She said she was ‘horrified, but not surprised’. ‘The use of political assassination as a method of dealing with opponents has been there for the entire rule of Vladimir Putin. ‘[Navalny’s death] was a murder for which Vladimir Putin is responsible.’

  Vladimir Kara-Murza is a Sun Virgo in an idealistic square to Neptune; with a leadership Leo North Node conjunct Mars. Tr Pluto is opposition his North Node now and will be opposing his Node/Mars midpoint and then Mars till late 2026, none of which looks good. If he survives his does have a chink of luck and relief come 2026 with his SA Jupiter conjunct his Uranus. But in the circumstances that is probably over hopeful and he has a good deal of jeopardy and confusion between now and then.

  He has Jupiter and Saturn conjunct in Libra as does his wife = fair-minded, idealistic.  She is a stalwart Sun Scorpio and her two years ahead also look fraught.

  Their relationship chart has a composite Sun, Venus, Mars, Saturn, Jupiter conjunction which describes a relationship in which love, affection and mutual support also involve sacrifice in high risk situations. There is also a yod of composite Pluto sextile Neptune inconjunct Chiron – binding them together in a mission to right wrongs and injustice.

ADD ON: Putin came to power as president on the Uranus return of the Russia 8 November 1917 chart. Stalin died on the Uranus Return of the Russia 20 September 862 JC chart.  Nothing similar at present.  But all three Russia charts including the 8 December 1991 one are showing tremors of disquiet through this April and on into 2025/26 as Pluto moves through the early degrees of Aquarius and Uranus moves into Gemini. The 1991 chart indicates 2027 as a year of cataclysmic change with a major setback at the moment and increasing gloom and hardship in 2025/26.

 Putin’s initially Presidency chart from 31 December 1999 might be an indicator. It will receive a shocking jolt leading to over reactions come this August and on and off into early 2026 with tr Uranus square the Mars.  It already has a panicky-failure SA Neptune conjunct Mars at the moment and is facing devastation/confusion and worse judgement calls through 2025/26 with tr Pluto conjunct the Neptune.  

  The mess he will leave behind when he goes will be considerable.   

Add On (from comments):

You may have a point about Saros cycle 128 being particularly pertinent to the rulers of Russia.

1881, 1899, 1917, 1935, 1953, 1971, 1989, 2007, 2025

1881 – Assassination of Alexander II and accession of Alexander III
1917 – No intro or explanation needed
1936 – Great Purge by Stalin
1953 – Death of Stalin (movie definitely worth watching)
1971 – This may not be relevant. While Khrushchev was removed from power in 1964, he died in 1971
1989 – Fall of the Berlin Wall, as you mentioned. And also a turning point in the life of a KGB officer based in Dresden, who went on to greater power in modern-day Russia.
2007 – Death of former Russian president Yeltsin (he had resigned in 1999/2000).

Every alternate occurrence seems to be either a (violet and chaotic) change of government (1881, 1917, 1953, 1989t, 2025?) or the death of a former head of state/government (1936-given how many people Stalin had executed, not impossible-, 1971, 2007, etc). Based on the trend, I would guess that somebody formerly in power died in 1899, but can’t find anything on Wikipedia.

Keir Starmer, the UK Opposition leader, who should be rights be delirious with joy, benefitting from government stumbles and Tory divisions, has tripped into yet another sinkhole over Israel-Palestine and anti-Semitism. Labour polls are dropping and his policies are no clearer than they were, apart from some abrupt U-turns on green hopes. Backroom Svengalis, Blair and Mandelson, have been tarnished in the Post Office Fujitsu scandal.

  His personal chart, 2 September 1962 has tr Saturn squashing his confidence as it is conjunct his Jupiter and opposition his Sun Pluto at the moment. He will lurch through more tensions in coming months with only one phase of better luck in the second half of May and again late December to late March 2025. Though he has an ominous, undermining SA Sun Pluto conjunct his Neptune in that late year early 2025 period as well depending on his birth time and worse in 2026 with a dead-halt SA Mars conjunct his Sun Pluto.

  His Leadership chart, 4 April 2020 10.45am is facing grinding difficulties and impossible challenges with tr Pluto conjunct the Saturn and then Mars/Saturn midpoint and then Mars over the next three years – which looks like a meltdown.

  The Labour Party, 12 February 1906 chart, will be jangled by tr Uranus square the Sun Venus in late April/early May; with some luck from tr Uranus conjunct the Jupiter in August/September 2024 and May 2025.

  The LP 27 February 1900 chart is doused in Saturnine glooms through this year and next.

  A pity – I had high hopes for him when he came in. Maybe he doesn’t have the charisma to be a political leader or has just got stuck in an impossible situation.

 ADD ON: A quick skip some of the front bench and others (without birth times).

  Rachel Reeves, a Sun Mars in Aquarius square Uranus, is in for a turbulent phase of change from now onwards into early 2025 with tr Uranus shaking up her life. Tr Pluot opposition her Jupiter this year and next could suggest changes in her favour and she’ll certainly be lucky and successful – with a hint of more in 2025 when her SA Jupiter is conjunct her North Node (= a favourable moment in her destiny).

 Andy Burnham is also boosted by tr Pluto square his Jupiter in Scorpio in 2025/26. Though he’ll need to push against resistance in 2025.

Angela Raynor is very up and down this year and has some lucky breaks in 2025 – her moment of real triumph comes in 2030.

Jeremy Corbyn is not giving up with tr Pluto conjunct his Jupiter in Aquarius in 2024/25 but not looking hopeful on other fronts especially into 2025/26.

 John McDonnell ditto – a blip of a triumph this August and in spring of 2025 but generally not in a progressive phase.

George Galloway – one opportunistic push in 2025 but on the whole going nowhere for several years.

ADD ON:  The enigma that is Keir Starmer is explored in a biography by Tom Baldwin. He had a traumatic childhood with a mother in debilitating pain from an auto-immune disorder, a cold, distant, judgemental, fanatical father, described as having oppressive eccentricities; and a hospitalised brother with learning difficulties.

  ‘It is striking that Baldwin opens his account with an admission that he still finds Starmer difficult to fathom.’ When selected as a parliamentary candidate Starmer says: “I felt I was self-promoting and I find that really uncomfortable.”

  His father ignored his children in his devotion to his wife but after his death Keir found a scrapbook of every newspaper story about his career as human rights lawyer and Director of Public Prosecutions then politician.

 “When he finishes for the day, he goes home to his family or see his old friends,” Chris Ward, Starmer’s former chief of staff, tells Baldwin. “He’s just not a normal politician.” Angela Rayner, Labour’s deputy leader, likens him to a health and safety inspector — motivated less by ego than by an almost self-defeating seriousness.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/keir-starmer-by-tom-baldwin-review-this-biography-should-be-called-nightmares-from-my-father-087q7xpp3

Robert Badinter has died, the former French justice minister, who went up against considerable public opposition to ban capital punishment in 1981, which was then still carried out by guillotine. Emmanuel Macron said he had been the “moral conscience” of the nation. He also scrapped a law that discriminated against same-sex relationships on the age of consent; and fought for prison reform.

  He was born 30 March 1928 6am Paris, France with immigrant parents from Moldova, with his Jewish father deported from Lyon in 1943 and killed in the gas chambers in Poland, along with many of his other relatives. He and his mother sheltered in the French Alps for the rest of the war. In 1983, he succeeded in making Bolivia extradite to France Klaus Barbie, “the butcher of Lyon”,  a former Gestapo chief, the Nazis’ secret police. He was put on trial for crimes against humanity and sentenced to life imprisonment in a landmark case during which Holocaust survivors took the stand for the first time in France.

 Robert Badinter had a 12^th house Aries Sun conjunct Jupiter and Uranus; with his Sun Jupiter in a confident square to Pluto in his 4^th. His Jupiter and widely his Sun were trine a knowledgeable Saturn in Sagittarius in the 9^th house ruling legal affairs. He also had a notable Mars in Aquarius opposition Neptune which can be inspirational and sat across the France chart’s revolutionary (and bloodthirsty) Pluto in Leo opposition Uranus in Aquarius square Mars in Scorpio. He would have a softening effect on France’s more murderous tendencies.

 His ban-the-guillotine legislation came in as the tr Jupiter Saturn conjunction in Libra was in place.

 What motivated him apart from his difficult and suppressed childhood with Pluto in his 4^th would be his Chiron in his 1st in Taurus. Melanie Rhinehart is eloquent about Chiron in the 1^st – making for a sense of not quite having the right to exist, knowing what it is to be powerless, inducing self-sufficiency and a pioneering quality (like Albert Schweitzer). His childhood experiences were his springboard.

 His 17^th harmonic – leaving a legacy for future generations – was notable with Jupiter opposition Mercury square Sun opposition Neptune Pluto. He left his mark.

A quick look at others who tried to shine a light on the darkness of the human condition.

Robert Jay Lifton, May 16, 1926, New York, an American psychiatrist and author of studies of the psychological causes and effects of wars and political violence. Death in Life: Survivors of Hiroshima ; Home from the War: Vietnam Veterans—Neither Victims nor Executioners; and The Nazi Doctors: Medical Killing and the Psychology of Genocide.

 He has a Taurus Sun conjunct Algol opposition Saturn in Scorpio square Jupiter in Aquarius opposition Neptune. A Fixed Grand Square gives him endurance. Saturn Neptune – hope for a better society. Saturn in Scorpio – obsessive. Jupiter in Aquarius – broadminded. He had his Chiron in last degree Aries, somewhat similar to Badinter’s 1^st house Chiron.

M Scott Peck, 22 May 1936 New York author of People of the Lie about evil, who started life as an army psychiatrist is a Sun, Mars Mercury in Gemini with Neptune in Virgo opposition Saturn in Pisces; with his Jupiter on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Pluto sextile Venus in Taurus. Such a Jupiter can bring about positive social change though need to watch a tendency to over confidence.

  One of his views was that people who are evil attack others rather than face their own failures.  His best known book The Road Less Travelled sold 10 million copies.

 Simon Weisenthal, 31 December 1908 11.30pm Bucas, Ukraine, a Jewish Austrian Holocaust survivor, Nazi hunter, and writer who survived in various concentration camps for four years and after the war, dedicated his life to tracking down fugitive Nazi war criminals so that they could be brought to trial.

 He had a 4^th house Capricorn Sun, Mercury, Uranus trine Jupiter (slightly similar to Badinter) opposition Neptune in Virgo and his Sun square Saturn. He had an influential Pluto on his Midheaven inconjunct Mars in Scorpio which was opposition Algol.  His Chiron in Aquarius would make him seek out likeminded others to fight for his people (his soul tribe) and his collective ideal would be strong.

  What stands out for me about these disparate charts is that they are all strong in idealistic Neptune and optimistic Jupiter. Not that Neptune is always saintly, it can go the other way. Ditto Jupiter. But they clearly hooked into the better end of both.

   Aiming to light a path into the heart of darkness, while admirable at one level can be perilous since the darkness is corrosive.  The siren call of evil can eventually contaminate and corrupt if it doesn’t drown the individual.  

Add on:  Scott Peck for all his wise words had a chaotic personal life, conducting multiple affairs and estranged from two of his three children. He had a stellium in Gemini including his Sun and maybe Moon, a sign notorious for its wandering habits amongst the male of the species. He also had Neptune in Virgo opposition Saturn in Pisces square Jupiter in Sagittarius perhaps in opposition to his Moon – so he had an overdose of Mutable signs. This makes for extreme restlessness, a tendency to scatter his attention and interests and be uncertain of his commitments in close relationships. His Venus in indulgent Taurus was also on the midpoint of Saturn trine Pluto which arguably gave him a cold streak when it came to affection. His Venus was also sextile Pluto inconjunct Jupiter which would allow him to have a considerable social impact but also gives a tendency to arrogance/over confidence. A good/great mind but not always a brilliant human being.

The unexpected death of hugely successful BBC radio personality and DJ Steve Wright has brought an outpouring of accolades about his talent and warmth.  He won huge audiences with his ‘zoo-crew’ and a gallery of characters played by Wright himself, notably Mr Angry, ranting on the phone from Purley. He was zany, mischievous and highly entertaining. Yet despite it all his friend Jeremy Vine writes: ‘The great mystery of Steve was that the three hours of radio was the only time when he showed off. You would never pick him out of a bus queue. He avoided showbiz parties. He was humble, even shy. He undercut all his own achievements. I wonder if, as a colleague has recently offered, he had made it his mission to spread joy to others because he had known sadness himself.’ Even his close friends knew little about how he spent his time outside his studio.

 He was certainly obsessive about his work, flying to New York, before the internet, to spend the weekend in his hotel room listening to US radio shows. His preparation and work ethic meant he would arrive at 9am for an on-air start at three.

  After his wife suddenly left him he became known as an eccentric loner, sleeping during the week in a small flat round the corner from Broadcasting House and living meagrely, despite a reported salary in excess of £500,000, on a diet of microwave TV dinners, mini bottles of white wine, crisps and chocolates. Over the years he struggled to control his weight, which at times ballooned to 18 stone.

  He was born 26 August 1954 Greenwich, England, no birth time, and was a quiet, unacademic child who always wanted to go into entertainment, had a show while still at school, and joined the BBC in the gramophone library in the early 1970s. He moved around between the BBC and other outlets settling in two decades ago to Radio 2’s afternoon slot where he remained until moved in 2022.

  He had a chart divided into two halves. His workaholic, perfectionist and communicative Virgo Sun and Mercury were trine Mars in Capricorn and sextile an obsessively conscientious Saturn in Scorpio. That would make him determined but not exactly light-hearted. His mischievous, oddball streak came from a lucky Jupiter Uranus in Cancer in a square to a creative, musical and kindly Neptune Venus in Libra. His emotional life would be troubled with Venus Neptune Uranus and his Leo Moon probably square Saturn.

  His Sun and Pluto fell in the BBC’s 4^th house with his Sun opposition the BBC’s 10^th house Uranus so it would be a strong though not always easy connection and his musical Venus Neptune and Saturn fell in the BBC’s entertaining 5^th house.

 The relationship chart has a successful Grand Trine/Kite of Uranus trine Neptune Jupiter trine Mars, with Uranus opposition Venus.

  When Steve Wright’s afternoon show was summarily moved by the BBC, which according to friends devastated him, tr Saturn in Aquarius was square his Pluto, and tr Pluto was opposition his Uranus so it would represent a considerable upheaval. His Solar Arc Neptune was also conjunct his Mars bringing a sense of failure. Plus tr Pluto square his Mars/Pluto midpoint which would feel like a catastrophic blow.  With his entire workaholic life focused on his show he was always going to be in trouble when events moved him on.

  Like many a zany comedian his quirkiness hid a good deal of inner desolation.   

The Space Shuttle That Fell to Earth is a three part documentary that marks the anniversary of the Columbia disaster, when the US space shuttle disintegrated on the return journey of its 28th mission, killing all seven astronauts on board. There are interviews with family and friends of the lost cosmonauts and an examination of what went wrong, unpicking the failures of Nasa.

 The shuttle took off on 16 January 2003 at 9.39am Orlando, Florida and disintegrated on 1 February 2003 at 8.59am EST over Texas and Louisiana.  Both take off and descent took place under the unyielding, can-be-destructive Saturn opposition Pluto which for take off and disintegration was square the Pisces Ascendant. This Saturn Pluto opposition was around for 9/11, the Afghanistan and Iraq wars. On the take off chart there was also an ominous Mars in last degree Scorpio square Uranus and Sun conjunct the fixed star Procyon (= can raise to great heights and bring crashing down). When the crash occurred the Sun had moved to conjunct the Neptune and was moving to oppose the overly optimistic Jupiter in Leo.

  As to be expected the Columbia Disaster chart has a high-risk/destructive 16^th harmonic with the Sun linked to Mars and Pluto; and both Mars and Pluto on the focal points of yods. The 18^th harmonic was also notably super-stressed and dangerous with Mars opposition Pluto.

 The take off chart had similarly Mars, Pluto heavy aspects on its 16^th and 32^nd harmonic.  

  The Challenger disaster of 28 January 1986 when a shuttle exploded on take off killing all on board occurred at 11.38am off Cape Canaveral, Florida. Mars in late Scorpio was opposition Algol and the Sun was square Pluto. Again the 16^th and 32^nd Harmonic were marked. Even more so was the 18^th harmonic with a fearsome Mars Pluto opposition Saturn which has associations with ‘fires and explosion’ in numerology.  

  Looking at other disasters: Both 9/11 and the Hiroshima bomb had marked 16H, 18H and 32H harmonic charts.

 The Titanic sinking is interesting – from a ghoulish point of view. In that the hull-laying chart is almost the most  indicative of what is to come, 31 March 1909. It had a Mars Uranus conjunction which had moved to exact by Solar Arc direction over the sinking. With a catastrophe and accident prone 16^th harmonic with Mars linked to Saturn, Pluto.  The chart of the sinking itself 14 April 1912 11.40pm is also indicative of being at risk of sudden violent calamities. At that point tr Neptune had moved to cross over the Mars Uranus conjunction which suggests panic and failure.

 Both charts had marked 16H, 18H, and 32H charts. And what is a fascinating sidelight they both had strong 10^th harmonics  = rise and fall, hinting at over-confidence and too much stress being put on appearances.

  After-the-event accidents are interesting from an astrological viewpoint; but only the Titanic disaster had a hope of being prevented if the astrology had been understood. Space Shuttles tend not to have hull-laying moments so only the take off is available.  

Bill Roache, the Coronation Street TV soap star still going strong at 91 after more than six decades in the role, has been declared bankrupt for the second time in his life owing a whopping £550k in back taxes. It follows an HMRC win over a Cayman Islands scheme aimed at minimizing taxes which was declared tax avoidance.

 The previous bankruptcy stemmed from a 1991 libel action he brought, which despite winning, landed him with huge costs at which point he sued his lawyers leading two years later to his creditors estimating he had £600,000 in unpaid debts.

  This year’s contract with Coronation Street is reckoned to be worth a rumoured £250,000.  Nothing by half measures.

  I wondered what in his chart led to such a devil-may-care (or unlucky) approach to his finances.

  He was born 25 April 1932 7.30am Ilkeston into a well-to-do family with a violent alcoholic grandfather and grandmother who was a successful businesswoman.  He has an Earth Grand Trine of a Taurus Sun trine an 8^th house Capricorn Moon trine Neptune in his 4^th with his Sun square Saturn in Aquarius conjunct his Midheaven. Taurus is acquisitive and so is a Capricorn Moon especially in the 8^th – and Neptune is impractical and unrealistic.

  Plus he has an excitable, over impulsive Mercury, Mars, Uranus in Aries square Pluto with Mars trine Jupiter in Leo – so he will leap first and think second. Mars Pluto will make it difficult for him to let go of hurts/grudges which may explain suing his lawyers, not always an advisable course of action whatever the rights or wrongs.

  His North Node in his 11^th according to Schulman makes him “his own worst enemy” with the hint that ‘he must never allow the fires of passion to cloud his vision.’   The North Node in Pisces demands at some point he move away from earthly matters towards a more spiritual outlook.

  His first bankruptcy was around his Second Saturn Return and this third tax dust up around his Third Saturn Return. His First Saturn Return saw him break into the TV big time with his Coronation Street permanent residency starting then.

  Somehow I don’t think he ever quite got Saturn’s message.

Born on the same day but with differing temperaments and separate paths in life. The planets and aspects can be identical but if the birth time is different and thus the planets sit in different houses there can be a world of distinction.

  Pakistan split from India but celebrated its independence  at 9.30am the day before on 14 August 1947 where India waited till midnight to begin their new journey. Both have fixed, enduring charts with a flamboyant Leo Sun square Jupiter in Scorpio but with an undertow from a can-be-self-destructive Saturn Pluto conjunct Venus hinting at hardship, deprivation and a tilt towards war-mongering.

 Pakistan has the volatile, eruptive Mars conjunct Uranus on their Midheaven suggesting a hair-trigger fuse, a tendency to be overly-reactive and defiant, with a warrior ideal. Their 11^th house Mercury, Pluto, Saturn, Venus, Sun hints at their tendency to have military or hybrid military/political governing classes. Neptune in their 1^st house may hint at an evasiveness or even an image linked to narcotics.

  India has its can-be-destructive, unyielding Saturn Pluto closer to the IC and Sun Venus in the 4^th so their focus is internal, wrestling with domestic hardship and inspired by  an affection for the homeland. The volatile Mars Uranus falls in the India 2^nd house and Jupiter in the 6^th so money and employment will be areas of primary interest and attention.  In many ways India is a more insular country. Pakistan is outward looking (11^th house) and keen on its independence (left hand chart).

  House transits which show the broad context of changes will also differ with another axis and Midheaven/Ascendant. Pakistan has tr Neptune square the MC in 2025 for a directionless drift and disappointment with neighbours as tr Neptune enters the 7th. Where India will be less undermined by Neptune except where money is concerned but will be rebellious and independent come 2025 with Uranus moving across its Ascendant.

 Another example is TV presenter and property expert Jonnie Irwin, who has just died, and former racing driver, Red Bull Formula 1 principal Christian Horner were born on the same day 18 November 1973. Jonnie Irwin seemed mild mannered in contrast to Horner who has been accused of controlling behaviour, though to date has not been found guilty.   Neither has a birth time so to illustrate the difference houses can make the following is entirely speculative.

 Both have an intensely determined Scorpio Sun; with a volatile, excitement-junkie Mars in Aries opposition Uranus and inconjunct Sun; and an emphasized Saturn on the focal point of a yod to Jupiter sextile Neptune and square Pluto.

  Jonnie Irwin dealt in property so giving him a 2am birth time puts his creative Venus in his 4^th; with a communicative Sun, Neptune in his 3^rd, good for presenting work. Pluto would sit in his 1^st giving him a controlled image with a well-organised, businesslike Saturn in his 10^th. His Jupiter in his entertaining 5^th would help him on TV. His volcanic Mars would be buried in his 8^th so less visible. So he would come across as reasonably battened down as well as chatty and good at performing.

  If Christian Horner, being sportingly inclined, has Mars in his 5^th house, his adrenaline-junkie tendencies will be more obvious and more significantly, on this scenario, his Pluto will be in his career 10^th making him influential, controlling and can-be-dominating.

 A different birth time can alter the trajectory of the planets and what gets highlighted and what suppressed.  The strong similarities will always be there but distinct variations as well.

  Mind you I have known twins born close together in time who picked up different strands of the same energy and acted them out in different ways. Two Scorpios, I recollect, whose mother said one lived all the positive traits and the other the negative.

  There is an X factor which the chart won’t show which can be explained by those who believe in young souls and old souls. The more evolved will be more self-aware and able to get the best out of their chart, maximise its potential. Where the unevolved will stumble along blindly and not make the most of the hand of cards they were dealt. It always sounds elitist so makes me cringe slightly but there may be a mite of truth in it.

I’m sure everyone will have examples to illustrate. Feel free to pitch in.

ADD ON: Most useful piece on dwads with easy to read chart from Mel Priestley below. URL won’t load so have put in quotation marks.

‘https://www.melpriestley.ca/how-to-use-twelfth-parts-dwads-in-astrology/’

The Mountain Astrology piece backs up the notion of twins dividing up the planetary traits, some shared, some different.

Duad Charts describe the differences in Twins

Some thoughts on the astrology of twins

 Against growing international criticism but with the backing of most Israelis, Netanyahu is pushing ahead with an attack on Rafah, where half of Gaza’s population is trapped, promising never to stop until Hamas is completely destroyed. Now in its fifth month with a third of the Hamas personnel killed and circa 25,000 Palestinians, the violence on both sides continues.

 Although most Israelis would not vote for Netanyahu and believe him to be motivated by personal interests( ie. avoiding jail for corruption) they regard this “as a no-choice war.” The trauma of 1200 dead on October 7 last year and the 130 hostages still held have shaken their sense of security. “This is a matter of survival. The October 7 hangover will be with Israelis for years, if not generations to come,” said Dahlia Scheindlin, a political analyst. “This is what trauma is. It crowds everything else out.”

   The suffering in Gaza has barely featured in the Israeli media.   

     Israel’s military leaders have made clear they expect fighting to continue throughout the year.

  The Hamas Attack on 7 October 2023 with its brutal, destructive Pluto square Mars flags up a ‘hot spot’ when the Progressed Moon squares the Mars exactly, moving on to oppose the Pluto. I initially had a start time of 2am for the attack which would put the flash point this July 2024 amplifying and triggering the Mars Pluto with more in August. Though I see wiki has 6.30am start which will bring the trigger earlier to April/May.  And there will anyway be a shift in late April/early May when tr Uranus returns to its initial degree.

 Netanyahu’s chart, 21 October 1949 10.15 am Tel Aviv, also flags up those two timelines. Through March he has tr Neptune opposition his Sun/Mars midpoint inducing a sense of panicky failure. Then a calamitous tr Uranus square his Mars/Pluto midpoint in late April/early May; and tr Uranus Mars Algol square his Mars in Leo in July. His relationship chart with Israel flags up August as high tension.

 The Israel country chart, 14 May 1948 4pm Tel Aviv, looks disappointed and battered through March with tr Neptune square the Jupiter and tr Uranus square the Mars/Pluto midpoint; confused and devastated in April with tr Pluto opposition the Sun/Neptune midpoint, at crisis pitch in May when tr Uranus squares the destructive Mars/Saturn and then will conjunct the Sun at 23 Taurus.  Tensions are unlikely to recede.

  The one faint hope of a solution comes with the demand for Israel to release Marwan Barghouti, a man some Palestinians see as their Nelson Mandela who is a prime candidate to take over from the hopeless Mahmoud Abbas and could be a unifier between Fatah and Hamas. He has been in prison for two decades. Israelis see him as an arch-terrorist and his triumphal return  would undercut Netanyahu’s long held strategy of supporting Hamas as a way of splitting the Palestinians and making a two state solution less likely.

Barghouti, a leader in the West Bank during the second Palestinian uprising in the early 2000s, is serving five life terms for his role in several deadly attacks; and is one of 9,000 security prisoners Israel holds. In recent years Barghouti has renounced violence and strongly supported a two-state solution.

  His date of birth is iffy with wiki having 6 June 1959. It looks feasible with his New Moon and Mercury in Gemini being trapped by the tr Saturn in Gemini opposition Pluto of 2002 when he was captured; plus tr Neptune in Aquarius opposition his Uranus.

  He has one ‘lucky break’ through late May to mid June which also shows up as a significant timeline on his relationship chart with Netanyahu as a phase of change (and disruption). So it might be possible. That influence repeats late November to mid December and spring 2025. Though on this chart he also looks at high risk and struggling through 2025.

  It’s difficult (impossible) to see where this ends either on the astrology or politically. Hamas cannot be destroyed totally and the Israeli right-wingers are violently opposed to a two-state solution with a strong Palestinian leader. And so it goes on.

The Royal Society of Literature is the latest to fall prey to the modern phenomenon of ‘progressives’ versus the old guard. The new president, Booker-winner Bernardine Evaristo has insisted the society cannot take sides in controversies and must remain impartial when she was criticised for not supporting Salman Rushdie when he was nearly killed in 2022 at a literary festival. This prompted Rushdie to ask her on X/Twitter: “Just wondering if the Royal Society of Literature is ‘impartial’ about attempted murder? (Asking for a friend.)”

 The “wokification” of organisations and hyper-sensitivity about causing offence to a few while in reality offending the great silent majority seems to be widespread. Forced diversity and inclusiveness appears to lead to an end result which supercedes the essential purpose of the society. The National Trust in recent years has got tangled up in controversies totally unrelated to historic buildings and land; The English Premier League banned a female football fan from matches over social media posts that were deemed transphobic. The Civil Service, Universities etc etc – all seem to be infected or invaded by activists punting their own particular obsession and grievance.

  The Royal Society of Literature was founded 30 November 1820 in London with a stellium in knowledgeable, communicative Sagittarius which makes sense. The Sun and Mars Mercury are square Jupiter in Pisces; and Uranus Neptune in Sagittarius are square Pluto in Pisces and Saturn in Aries.

   Their highly strung Uranus Neptune has been assaulted in recent times by the Solar Arc Sun in opposition and tr Neptune in square and conjunct the Pluto – all of which runs on for another year or two. 

  Trying to spot a trend I wonder whether it is the Uranus Neptune signature in general which is problematic. Bernardine Evaristo herself, 28 May 1959, a Sun Gemini square Pluto has a Uranus square Neptune. The younger thirty year old generation born in the 1990s has a Uranus Neptune conjunction. It can make for a wilful, nervy, opinionated temperament holding rigid attitudes and in certain cases can be confused, tending to cause turmoil.

   The Royal Soc Lit is a niche organisation but its present problems are symptomatic of a bizarre social phenomenon which is becoming widespread of activists infiltrating organisations in an attempt to impose their world view on others. Almost fascist in certain cases – think as I do, speak as I do or I will silence you.

  I never liked Rushdie but he should be robustly defended  against fatwas and actual assassination attempts especially by writers.    

Add On: The National Trust founded on 12 January 1895 has not surprisingly a traditional, conservative Capricorn Sun with the signature Neptune Pluto in Gemini of that time; and a harsh Saturn in Scorpio opposition Mars in Taurus square Venus in Aquarius opposition a Leo Moon which will put a veneer of charm over a less pleasant underside. Being a Fixed Grand Cross it will be endowed with endurance and the ability to last over time but won’t find change easy. The years from 2024 through till late this decade will be ones of massive and stressful change as tr Pluto wends its way round those Fixed planets.

The EPL, 27 May 1992, is a Gemini Sun Venus Mercury square Jupiter with a highly strung Mars in Aries square Uranus Neptune in Capricorn.  It certainly has the wilful/confused, stubbornly opinionated Uranus Neptune traits of the above. It will be undergoing considerable changes as tr Pluto trines the Gemini planets and then tr Uranus is conjunct in the years after 2025.  Plus the SA Uranus Neptune will be colliding with its unyielding Saturn square Pluto at the same time. Which will be pressures not connected to the above issue – but there will be huge organizational challenges and changes across a few august bodies.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/02/11/grant-shapps-army-resources-squandered-political-agenda/

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/02/11/ministry-of-defence-93-diversity-networks-gender-lgbtq/

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