Sigmund Freud is deemed the founder of psychoanalysis and catalyst for the century of self and psyche exploration, some might say self-obsession, which followed.  His ideas naturally grew out of the writings of several who went before, however much he discounted their input, but he won the prize for being the standard bearer.  His theories infiltrated everyday culture and language, as well as drama and fiction.

  Not surprisingly he attracted criticism – the Freud bashers, in particular Frederick Crews, Jeffrey Masson, Michel Ornfray etc   – who picked holes in his notion of the oedipal complex (which was overly masculinized and sexualized young infants), penis envy and the death instinct and lambasted the process as not leading to a cure.  But he has withstood the test of time and remains an icon to a highly significant culture shift.

  He was born in 1856 but his psychological work started to bear fruit around the mid 1880s as Pluto moved into Gemini, followed by Neptune; with Uranus moving into Libra.  The Air signs proliferated as a ferment of new thinking got under way.

  Born 6 May 1856 6.30pm Freiberg, Germany, he himself was heavily Taurus with his Sun conjunct an inventive, rebellious Uranus with Mercury and Pluto also in Taurus. He did have his Gemini Moon and Saturn in Gemini in his 8^th which may explain his serious study of sexuality – of interest to his Taurean earthy nature anyway.

   His Chiron in Aquarius places him with others who in Melanie Rhinehart’s words ‘become the vehicle for controversial collective ideas and may suffer for the response they receive.’ With Chiron in Gemini he would be an effective communicator. That plus his leadership/ independent-minded Aries North Node in his 6^th house of work would all contribute to his drive to put  theories of healing out into society.

 Of the Freud bashers only one has a birth time – French philosopher, Michael Ornfray, 1 January 1959 Argentan, France a Capricorn Sun with a Virgo Moon – and perhaps more significantly Mars in Taurus in his 4^th which collides with Freud’s Sun Uranus in Taurus. One might speculate Ornfray’s hostility to his father or father figures in childhood led in part to his tilting at the Freud windmill. I might also argue that his Pluto and Uranus in his 8^th would give him a fear of in depth exploration.

  Jeffrey Masson, 28 March 1941, Chicago, in his The Assault on Truth, argues that Freud may have abandoned his seduction theory because he feared that granting the truth of his female patients’ claims (that they had been sexually abused) would hinder the acceptance of his psychoanalytic methods in the heavily patriarchal society in Vienna of the time.  Masson, a Sun Aries has the Jupiter Saturn conjunction in Taurus and Uranus in Taurus all hitting Freud’s 7th house Sun, Uranus, Mercury.

 Frederick Crews, 20 February 1933, Philadelphia, the author and literary critics evidently became obsessed in his Freud-bashing. He is a Sun Pisces with only his Chiron in Taurus which is conjunct Freud’s Uranus Mercury.

  As the New Yorker writes: “Even as writers were discarding the more patently absurd elements of his [Freud’s] theory — penis envy, or the death drive — they continued to pay homage to Freud’s unblinking insight into the human condition. That persona helped Freud to evolve, in the popular imagination, from a scientist into a kind of poet of the mind.”

https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/08/28/why-freud-survives

Freud’s astrocartography indicates the USA is where his ideas would have most traction on the west and east coasts. His creative, build-a-life 5^th harmonic is powerfully aspected; as is his healer 12^th and breakthrough-genius 13H, leaving-a-legacy 17H and global influencer 22H. As is his wheel of fortune 10^th harmonic hinting at the ups and downs of his reputation.

  From an astrological viewpoint it is significant he came to spread the word in the late 19^th century with Pluto Neptune and Uranus all in Air signs.

  It is also worth remembering Ernest Becker, the Pulitzer prize winning author of The Denial of Death.

” The hostility to psycho-analysis in the past, today and in the future, will always be a hostility against admitting that man lives by lying to himself about himself and about his world. * The individual  has to protect himself against the world, and he can do this only as any other animal would; by narrowing down the world, shutting off experience, developing an obliviousness to the terrors of the world and to his own anxieties…..* We don’t want to admit that we are fundamentally dishonest about  reality, that we do not really control our own lives.” 

ADD ON:

His wife Martha Barnays 16 July 1861 7am Hamburg, grand  daughter of the Chief Rabbi of Hamburg, married the atheist Freud after a tempestuous four year engagement and became a model wife and mother despite the entry of her sister Minna into their home with whom Freud seemingly had an affair. Martha was surprisingly independent-minded with a 10^th house Uranus square her Moon, though her controlled 12^th house Leo Sun square Pluto would no doubt curb some of her more rebellious traits. But she would fit his pattern since he had Uranus in his 7^th and would look for an unconventional wife.

 Their relationship chart is a mix of an affectionate composite Sun Venus square a dreamy (unrealistic) Neptune and a teeth-grindingly difficult Moon Pluto square Saturn, trine Mars. Aggravating below the surface.

  Her sister Minna, maybe 18 June 1865, no birth time, was another unconventional, wilful Sun Uranus conjunction in Gemini which was conjunct Sigmund’s 8^th house Saturn which does not sound encouraging. But she also had a seductive Venus Pluto in Taurus which was conjunct his Sun Uranus which would ignite a spark.

 Daughter Anna Freud, 3 December 1895 3.15pm Vienna, Austria, was a Sun Sagittarius opposition Pluto Neptune in Gemini, trine/sextile Jupiter in the 4^th – so she would be mesmerised by her controlling father. Though they would clash since her Mars Uranus in Scorpio opposed his Sun Uranus and his Saturn was conjunct her Moon. It would be a tense and at times  competitive relationship.

   She was evidently at odds with her mother with a scratchy, uncomfortable composite Sun, Mars, Saturn conjunction in their relationship chart.

Accused of keeping two children in a ‘concentration camp-like setting’, two defendants claimed the abuse they inflicted was necessary to teach the children how to properly repent for “sins” and to cast the evil spirits out of their bodies.

  “Mumfluencer” Ruby Franke with a multi-million fanbase on YouTube and her business partner Jodi Hildebrandt were given 60 years in jail for child cruelty in a case the prosecutor said was the worst he had seen in thirty years.  

  Franke appears to have repented for her actions though Hildebrandt who thinks God communicates directly with her  continues to see herself as the victim. She views the devil, as well as the children, as the perpetrators.

  Franke said she was “led to believe that this world was an evil place filled with cops who control, hospitals that injure, government agencies that brainwash, church leaders who lie and lust, husbands who refuse to protect and children who need abuse.”

  Schizoid delusions apart, what it reminded me off was a comment years ago by Ellen Bass who wrote Courage to Heal about abuse survivors. She had spoken at one point to Ralph Underwager, an American minister and vehement supporter of those accused of child abuse, who co-founded the US False Memory movement. She said she thought one crucial difference between them was she thought of babies as innocents entering the world while he saw them as evil, sin-carriers. How a religion that started with Jesus saying ‘suffer little children to come to me’ ended up with a twisted exorcist mindset is beyond me.

  Ruby Franke, 18 January 1982, is a Sun Capricorn square Saturn Pluto in Libra which suggests a bleak upbringing, leaving her attuned to harsh conditions. She has her North Node in Cancer opposition her Sun which should in time bring about a more caring approach to family – but clearly she is not there yet.

 Jodi Hildebrandt, 15 June 1969, was a “life coach” who claimed to cure her clients of ‘distortion’ and live in Truth. She is a Sun Gemini with a formidably confident square to Pluto, South Node, Jupiter and Uranus in Virgo. Her cold Venus Saturn conjunction in Taurus is inconjunct Mars which has an unpleasant feel to it.

 Their relationship chart does have a controlling composite Sun opposition Pluto and Jupiter i initially good as a power couple but only as long as both stay together on the same track. Franke looks as if she could be cowed into submission. Hildebrandt looks more overly dominant. Both their South Nodes are strongly connected to their Sun and other planets – pulling them backwards into unevolved ways of behaving.

  Franke had six children in all with husband Kevin, 9 October 1978, a Sun Pluto conjunct in Libra.

  The oldest two – Chad, 2 February 2005 (net sources) has a Sun Neptune trine Jupiter and a Mars Pluto conjunction  inconjunct Saturn – a mix of an evasive father and extreme fear/cruelty.

  Shari Franke, 3 March 2003 (net sources) has a Pisces Sun square Pluto and Saturn opposition a wide Pluto Mars conjunction – never given choices, badly treated.

  Mars Pluto runs through the children’s charts and the relationship charts of all including Kevin with mom Ruby.  She may have tried to offload responsibility elsewhere for her warped mindset but she will have to own the personal gratification she got from it at some point.  

Astrology as a Therapeutic Art is the latest offering from Greg Bogart on a mission to prove how valuable a tool astrology can be in solving life and relationship problems in therapy and counselling.

  Lucidly written it has helpful explanations of psychological terms as well as astrological explorations of printed charts.  There are a stream of vignettes explaining the problems thrown up by charts and how the astrologer/therapist and client was able to resolve them. Being a fan of agony aunt columns I found them fascinating though their brevity gave a slightly misleading sense of the ease with which solutions were reached.

 Two points struck me. He refers to derivative houses which was a method first used by the old Greek astrologers. For example taking the 7^th house as referring to a spouse of partner. The 10^th house is the 4^th house from the 7^th and therefore refers to the spouse or partner’s family.  The 12th house is the 6th house from the 7th representing partner’s health and workplace. It takes a while to get used to but might have its uses.

  The other is a general ambivalence. When I first started in this field, I saw astrological clients for therapy and the problem as I found it was they tended to regard me as the Delphic Oracle who had all the answers and in some instances as Merlin who could magic up a solution. So it created an imbalance which was not helpful.  I became the all-knowing one and they were the passive listener. Traditional psychotherapy on the other hand sees the process as a journey of unknowing, helping the client to reach out for their own answers.

   Having said that, classical psychoanalysis has its limitations, being lengthy and expensive and not always producing results. Which is why Tony Ryle set up his CAT (Cognitive Analytic Therapy) programme for time-limited therapy of sixteen sessions with a more pro-active approach from the therapist.

  In my experience astrology can be enormously helpful as a catalyst especially for those who are in therapy elsewhere and may be stuck. It can deliver a considerable (almost electrical) jolt of enlightenment which helps the process along.  

  Liz Greene describes the birth chart as a map which is different from walking the road. I’m just not entirely convinced that astrology will be the magic cure which solves all problems.  

  But for all that the book is well worth reading for its clear descriptions of difficult chart aspects and how to approach them.

 A career triggered by calamities has proved super-successful for “romantasy” author Sarah Janet Maas. Her interest in  fantasy took off after the 9/11 attacks as she leant on her fascination for magical fairy tales and folklore to provide her with an escape from real life. Her first book, Throne of Glass, written when she was sixteen in 2002 is an alternate Cinderella in which the heroine is an assassin not a maid — attending the ball not to meet the prince, but to kill him.

  Her books span themes of authoritarianism, loss and grief, trauma, friendship and happily-ever-after epic romance and her teenage escapism has spawned a juggernaut literary empire in which she created her own JRR Tolkien-esque universe populated by sexually charged fairies. She has released more than a dozen books in the past 12 years giving a further boost to Bloomsbury, JK Rowling’s publisher.

  Where her sales exploded recently was with the pandemic as women readers were looking for escapist fiction and were introduced to her on Tik Tok and Instagram. Her recent release — House of Flame and Shadow — sold more than 360,000 copies in the US in its first week. To date Bloomsbury has sold more than 40mn copies of her books.

  She was born 5 March 1986 in New York and is a Sun in Pisces with Jupiter and Venus also in Pisces. With her Saturn, Mars, Uranus in Sagittarius in a variety of squares to her Pisces planets; plus a confident and successful Jupiter trine Pluto sextile Neptune.

  She sounds a notch above E.L. James with her sensationalist sleazy Fifty Shades of Grey though they both have Sun and Jupiter in creative, imaginative Pisces and have Venus Mars hard aspects which can create a robustly sexual approach. More blatant with EL James since she has Mars in Leo opposition Venus in Aquarius.  

  When 9/11 happened the transiting Saturn opposition Pluto was square Sarah Maas’s Pisces Sun and hitting on her Sagittarius planets giving her life an almighty jolt; with her Solar Arc Uranus Mars in a panicky, highly strung conjunction to her Neptune sending her off into fantasy land.

  When the pandemic struck in 2020 the transiting Saturn Pluto conjunction in Capricorn was conjunct her SA Mars Uranus; her SA Pluto was conjunct her Saturn and tr Uranus was opposition her Pluto.

  Difficult influences don’t always spell disaster.

‘I dedicate this award to every child in care, or who has been in care and who didn’t survive’ was the heart-wrenching declaration of actress Samantha Morton as she was awarded the BAFTA Fellowship at the weekend.  After unlikely beginnings she has had an award-strewn career with recent credits for The Walking Dead, Harlots, Rillington Place and Fantastic Beasts.

  Born 13 May 1977, no birth time, Nottingham, England, she had eight siblings and after her parents split up when she was two, she lived with her violent alcoholic father. Aged eight, she was placed with several foster families, then in a children’s home, where she was abused. She has managed to rise above it all, explaining ‘I had the most magical, feral childhood as well as some of the horrible stuff happening. When I was little… I would do anything for a laugh. The world is tough enough. We have got to smile and invite the light in.’

  She is a Sun Taurus with a Fire Grand Trine of an enthusiastic Mars Venus in Aries trine Saturn in Leo trine Neptune, formed into a talented Kite by Neptune opposition Jupiter in Gemini – making ever-optimistic and lucky Jupiter the leading planet. Her Jupiter sextile Mars Venus also forms a yod inconjunct Uranus in Scorpio – such a Uranian yod suits her for an unconventional path in life allowing her independent-minded high spirits free rein with at times defiant, wilful acting out.  When she first had her epiphany at 13 that acting was her destiny tr Pluto was conjunct her Solar Arc Uranus triggering her yod into gear.

  Clearly life has not been as easy as she makes it sound with her Venus Mars opposition Pluto hinting at brushes with violence. But her confidence and optimism saw her through.

 Skipping down the Times obituaries today I noticed a Burma Road survivor from World War Two, who stayed alive through four gruelling years of torture and starvation as a Japanese POW, coming home weighing six stone. He died at 104 and it always amazes me how people such as him who suffered such health-damaging experiences manage to hang on to a ripe old age. Jack Jennings, 10 March 1919, was a Sun Pisces but he had Mars and Venus in Aries like Samantha Moreton trine Neptune in Leo with Saturn also in Leo; and a Jupiter Pluto conjunction in Pisces square his Aries planets.  Fire plus Jupiter definitely helps.

Years ago giving an astrology lecture on child abuse while the aftermath of the Fred West horrors were still fresh, one astrologer in the audience pointed out that the West children who survived had strong Jupiters and the one who ended up under the patio didn’t. Jupiter can be a life saver.

  I was touched by Samantha Morton’s dedication to those in care who did not survive. It reminded me of a boy I saw during training on a psychiatric emergency intake ward. He looked 12 but was 17, had been in the care system since birth, bounced around several times with the only foster mother he was attached to committing suicide, and ended up at 14 as a child prostitute in Piccadilly. He was mentally retarded (as known then) and had AIDs. Since this was the 1980s he was going to die. Over the years it has stuck in my mind as the worst thing I ever saw – no choices, no chances, a life of misery, disappointment and abuse and dead before he left his teens. Astrology has no real answers to these kinds of stories and certainly neither does religion.

  But all power to Samantha Morton for reminding the world of those who lacked a safety net either internal or external.

Yulia Navalnaya, known as the “first lady” of the Russian opposition, widow of the almost certainly murdered Alexi Navalny, has vowed to take on his struggle. Although avoiding the spotlight for years she was always there. She said in a video address this week “I was by Alexei’s side all these years: elections, protests, house arrest, searches, detention, prison, poisoning, protests again, arrest again and prison again.”

 Born 24 July 1976, no birth time, Moscow, she is a trained economist and mother of two. “She isn’t just married to the man, she’s married to the cause,” said Guy Verhofstadt, a Belgian MEP and former prime minister.

 Hours after learning of the sudden death of her husband, she spoke to world leaders at the Munich Security Conference last Friday and urged them to redouble their efforts against Putin. On Monday, she toured Brussels like a visiting foreign leader, meeting European Council president Charles Michel and Josep Borrell, the EU’s foreign policy chief. In a speech she asked Russians to “share her fury” and not give up the fight to overthrow President Vladimir Putin, who she accused of ordering her husband’s murder.

  She has her Sun, Saturn, Mercury, Venus in Leo square Uranus in Scorpio conjunct North Node opposition Chiron SN in Taurus. Her Leo stellium is also trine Neptune and sextile Pluto. A formidable lady, highly motivated, enduring, driven to push through reforms with persistence. Her Mars in hard working Virgo is in a courageous sextile to Uranus and an attention-seeking square to Neptune. Her Jupiter in late Taurus is sextile her Sun.

 Her Sun is conjunct her confident/lucky Jupiter/Pluto midpoint and her Uranus squares it. But she also has her Pluto conjunct her Saturn/Neptune midpoint leading to depression and a difficult struggle in life. Her Pluto is also conjunct her  Mars/North Node midpoint which is associated with violent separations.

  She is having a tough struggle ahead with tr Pluto opposition her Sun and then Saturn over the next four years. With one lucky blip of triumph and relief from tension in July, October 2024 and May 2025 when tr Uranus will conjunct her Jupiter. Her Progressed Mars, Prog Venus and Prog Pluto are all conjunct now and have been seen Alexei was sent to Siberia last year – passionate in the face of danger and destruction.

    I am always amazed at the courage of people like her and Alexei and other dissidents.   We complain endlessly about our woes in the politically broken west but it is paradise compared to what they face.

Donald Trump has brushed aside a judge’s seering comments about his company’s fraud in inflating the worth of his properties as he was landed with a fine of $350m plus interest. The frauds the judge said “leap off the page and shock the conscience”. “Their (Trumps) complete lack of contrition and remorse borders on pathological.” His two sons face fines of $4m each as well.

  The Trump Organization LLC 27 July 1999 is certainly showing a meltdown over the next two or three years with tr Pluto conjunct the Neptune, opposition the Mercury and then the Sun. With a complete meltdown later in the decade. The chart has an evasive Sun Neptune with a square to Jupiter which perfectly describes the over-hopeful (?), deceptive exaggerations involved – leading to a scandal caused by their own flakiness.

  As Sydney Blumenthal points out the giant fortune Trump was handed by his father Fred still ended up on the rocks due to his hubris.  https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/feb/17/trump-hubris-family-empire-new-york

  Fred Trump’s posthumous chart, 11 October 1905, is showing signs of extreme anxiety over the next three years, so wherever he is he’ll be cursing at his son. Fred’s controlling Pluto is conjunct his son Donald Snr’s Sun – and down the line it goes as Donald Snr’s Pluto is conjunct his son Donald Jnr’s Mars. Fear-based parenting.

  One complication of Trump’s chart which to some extent is a phenomenon that was shared with Maggie Thatcher is the astrology reflects the individual’s experience of the event rather than describing the event itself. Trump is so wrapped up in his pathological arrogance and derealization (= divorced from reality) that he does not react in a normal/sane way. Maggie’s chart on occasion did not record much when she was in danger since she in her own way protected herself against reality by not recognizing she was at risk.

  However Trump at the moment has tr Pluto opposition his Saturn/Pluto midpoint late this month and through March which can refer to loss of fortune and deprivation.  And his SA Pluto is square his Venus/Saturn midpoint this year hitting him where he is most wounded – only loved because successful. Take away the money and he’s nothing.  That rolls on through 2025.  He does have some blips of luck through mid March to early April, but is foully bad tempered through April/May.

 Oldest son Donald, 31 December 1977 5.20 pm West Plam Beach, Florida, has tr Saturn, bringer of chickens coming home to roost, sitting on his Midheaven, so maybe karma is working.  He looks shocked at what has happened exactly now and while he will have some cheer mid March to early April and in May and early 2025, he’s also facing a raft of downers and disappointments in 2025. He won’t be out of the financial woods until well into the 2030s.

  Eric Trump, 6 January 1984 7pm New York, like his brother has a few ups and many more downs and setbacks with a grinding run through till 2027.

  Ivanka appears to have charmed the judge and her fortunes are feather-bedded anyway via Jared’s sweetheart $2 billion deal with MBS of Saudi Arabia. But even she looks aggravated this year and more so with confusion on top through 2027/28.

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Gaza – I have waded through various possible dates for Gaza matching them against subsequent events – the 2008 Gaza War (Operation Cast Lead, also known as the Gaza Massacre) and the Hamas attack last October.

 The 9 November 2017 9am chart. The ceasefire after the Six Day War of 11 June 1967 when Israel took over Gaza amongst other territories. The Oslo Accords 13 September 1993 which had it not collapsed due to Arafat would have given the Palestinians some autonomy. Gaza given to the Palestinian Authority 15 August 2005. Hamas Government Gaza 14 June 2007. [Anyone has different dates do pitch in.]

  The chart which works best is the Gaza 1917 one – with 2008 showing up with disruptive, destructive influences (tr Mars Pluto in Capricorn).  The October 2023 attack had a peculiarly unpleasant yod of SA Mars sextile SA Pluto inconjunct tr Uranus.

 The Gaza 1967 chart shows up the 2008 massacre war clearly with tr Mars Pluto conjunct the SA Neptune and the tr Saturn opposition tr Uranus hitting the Sun square Uranus. But only a tr Uranus opposition Neptune for 2023.

 The 1993 Oslo Accords oddly, in despite of it never holding, does show up both clearly with ominous portents for 2027.

  The 2005 and 2007 charts are not showing much apart from a few tremors.

 Given that this recent debacle has virtually destroyed Gaza I would have expected to see more obvious astrology – but on this basis the 1917 chart is the best that is available so far.

Celebrated as a moderate Palestinian twenty years after his death, Edward Said, the American academic, literary critic and political activist who co-founded with Daniel Barenboim the West-Eastern Orchestra composed of young Israeli, Palestinian, and Arab musicians, has been extensively quoted recently.  ‘His ability to articulate a moral position with a sophisticated historical sensibility’ according to Moustafa Bayoumi, has been a moderating influence on the heated rhetoric since the Hamas attack and throughout the tortuous diplomatic negotiations during his lifetime.

  Said described the Palestinian people as “the victims of the victims”, showing how Palestinians have become inexorably part of Europe’s Jewish history, even if Palestinian “life, culture, and politics have their own dynamic and ultimately their own authenticity”. “I do … understand as profoundly as I can, the fear felt by most Jews that Israel’s security is a genuine protection against future genocidal attempts on the Jewish people.”

 “For Zionism, the Palestinians have now become the equivalent of a past experience reincarnated in the form of a present threat. The result is that the Palestinians’ future as a people is mortgaged to that fear, which is a disaster for them and for Jews.”

  Edward Wadie Said born 1 November 1935 5pm Jerusalem, was a US citizen through his father, who had served in the American Army in World War I. After the 1948 Palestine war, he relocated to Egypt and then to the USA. After Princeton and Harvard he became a professor at Columbia University. He initially supported a two state solution but eventually came to believe that sustainable peace was only possible with one Israeli–Palestinian state.

  He had a Scorpio Sun opposition Uranus in a Half Grand Sextile linking Mars Moon in Capricorn to Saturn in Pisces,  with his Uranus square Pluto on his IC and his Pluto trine Jupiter in Scorpio – a talented outsider, original thinker, adept at balancing complexities. He had a compassionate and creative Neptune Venus in Virgo with his Venus falling midway between Jupiter and Pluto. His 9^th house Moon would send him to live abroad in a country not of his birth and also stimulate his love of books, learning and communication.  His Pluto on the IC hinted at his attachment to his roots and his fear of being trapped.

  An interesting man.

Daniel Barenboim, the pianist conductor, who shared Said’s hopes for the Palestinians and brought music to Gaza and the West Bank, was born to Jewish parents in Buenos Aires on 15 November 1942 11.35am. He is a Sun Scorpio conjunct Venus square an Aquarius Moon and trine Jupiter; with Mars Mercury in Scorpio square Pluto.

 Relocating his chart to Gaza puts his formidably charming Sun Venus on his Descendant his Moon in the 10^th and his Pluto in the 4^th giving him a sensitivity to the occupation.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2024/feb/15/edward-said-palestine-israel-gaza