Liz Truss, Foreign Secretary, has been named as Frost’s replacement as UK’s Brexit negotiator, on top of her other duties. This either consolidates her power-base or hands her the poisoned chalice of a no-win wrangle ahead along with such a punishing workload that she’ll be less of a threat to Boris’s leadership.

  A former employee talked of her ‘unashamed ambition’ and described her as a ‘rottweiler.’ A friends joked “The only difference between Liz when she gets an issue between her teeth and a rottweiler is that the rottweiler will eventually let go.” She reportedly has the methodical mindset of a mathematician, would study data and come up with logical, pragmatic solutions. She was a Remainer but her free-market, small state, libertarian post- Brexit view has made her a favourite with the party grassroots.

She is credited with the £10 billion trade deal signed with Australia last week though questions are being asked about how much its impact has been puffed up.

  Born 26 July 1975 Oxford, no birth time, she went to a comprehensive school, then Oxford University, worked as an accountant though was aiming for politics out of university. She was the youngest woman ever to be appointed to cabinet, the first female lord chancellor and justice secretary and now UK’s first female Tory foreign secretary.

  She has an attention-seeking Leo Sun trine Neptune and sextile Pluto giving her stratospheric ambitions. It is backed up by an executive-ability focal point Saturn Mercury in Cancer square a lucky and risk-taking Jupiter in Aries opposition Uranus. Such a Saturn is a good organizer though can be domineering and doubles up on the driving determination to succeed. She also has Mars in doggedly stubborn Taurus. Her Moon is Pisces probably opposition Venus in hard-working Virgo square Neptune. Such a Neptune can be disorganized, absent-minded and escapist which will pull against her ramrod-rigid Saturn.

   For someone who has just been handed a starring role she’s not looking too happy. Admittedly she has a ‘lucky break’ tr Uranus square her Jupiter/Node midpoint this month but she’s also got a catastrophic tr Neptune square Mars/Saturn now till mid January. Plus a panicky Solar Arc Neptune opposition her Saturn around now – and that brings together the two major configurations in her chart which usually points to a longish phase of crises. 2022 has some ups in January followed by calamitous downs.

  She is facing another Sun Leo in Maros Sefcovic, the EU negotiator, 24 July 1966. It will be an easier relationship for him than Frost whose rambunctious Mars opposed his Saturn but that isn’t saying much and there will be a good deal of suspicion and uncertainty ahead.

 Her relationship with Boris is uneasy at the best of time since their ambitions are at cross purposes so ego-clashes are inevitable. They may muddle through an edgy February and it is mid April onwards when the real downward slide starts – though that may be because the government ship is listing badly or Boris is in even more trouble.  

  Her decidedly regal Christmas card is so very Leo.

The UK is blundering into 2022 hoping for the best but not quite grasping that life-as-we-knew-it won’t return for a while – and not all of it will be the pandemic. With such a fixed chart the country is designed for endurance and continuing along the same track. Uranus, bringer of thunderbolts and lightning, planet of sudden change and disruptor of the status quo, was always going to toss stability and sameness up in the air for several years as it jolted its way round the UK’s Taurus, Aquarius, Scorpio, Leo planets from 2021 to mid 2024.

  Uranus started its white-knuckle ride in spring 2021 and has intensified this month with the key UK 8^th house Mars being battered and bruised by tr Uranus conjunct all month; with the tr Saturn square in the final week of this month raising the tensions further.  The 8^th house rules financial matters, so economic glitches of considerable proportions will be part of the result. It is also emotional and points to a hidden, slow-burning anger, so the depths of the UK’s psyche are being shaken up.

  Tr Uranus will return for a final conjunction to Mars through February to mid March.

  But this is only for starters since the UK 5^th house investment-ruling 5^th house financial Venus and Neptune in the UK 2^nd house of personal money are also in for the dampening, deflating effect of tr Saturn in hard aspect from late January to early February, late February to early March and October to mid November 2022. Tr Uranus will square the UK Venus through May, again in December 2022; and oppose the UK Neptune July to mid October.  Both of these Uranus hard aspects linger into early 2023 and it will be spring 2024 before it clears the UK Saturn in Leo, which latter could bring changes to the legislature as well as future prospects. This coming October will be anxiety-provoking and uncertain economically.

   All of these influences are part and parcel of tr Uranus moving through the UK’s 8^th house until 2027 which will bring  a roller coaster economic ride but will also trigger a deeper transformation in the country’s sense of self.

  Which isn’t to herald the end of times since Uranus comes round every 84 years so the UK has lived through it twice before and survived. It doesn’t necessarily suggest the pandemic will last for ever but the economic fall out of the lockdowns and the Brexit hit have yet to be fully recognised.

  The late April 2022 Taurus Solar Eclipse will also impact the UK Mars which could trigger a flurry of arguments, protests and may accompany major accidents.

  What’s to be cheerful about?  The empowering, morale-boosting Jupiter/Pluto midpoint will get a lift from tr Uranus mid June to early July, mid October to mid November and April 2023 – which may be sporting triumphs.

  The pervasive sense of moving away from a past that is no longer relevant is partly the result of tr Pluto moving through the UK 4^th house since 2012 which is when the seeds of Brexit were sown by the EU’s intransigence in the face of David Cameron’s pleas. It rolls on for the rest of this decade, bringing a slow transformation of internal identity and the foundations on which the UK rests.

   Tr Saturn is moving through the UK 5^th house until February 2024 which won’t make for a light-hearted, party mood; though Jupiter from early 2023 through the UK 7^th may help; and better news on the financial front, at least in small ways, will come courtesy of Jupiter through the UK 8^th from June 2023 for a year.

  Although the Bank of England chart hints at a truly difficult economic patch in 2023/24 with a trapped, scary tr Pluto trine Mars in 2023/24; an uncertain, worrisome tr Neptune square Saturn in 2024 along with a discouraging slog from Solar Arc Pluto opposition the Saturn; and a jolting Solar Arc Uranus square its Sun.  This may well be the knock on from a global hiccup since other central banks look agitated as well. See previous post 10 September 2021.

  There is a risk in the present climate of confused panic to catastrophise and imagine the worst. It won’t be comfortable but it won’t be terminal. Change is never easy for individuals with heavy concentrations of Fixed planets and it is even more so for a country. This is the breaking-eggs stage of making the new omelette which will take several years but a new day will dawn down the road. Transitions always involve a step backwards before progress comes. Worth remembering in personal turnarounds.    

The surprise departure of David Frost, the UK Brexit negotiator won’t cause any tears in the EU given his truculent rhetoric and bullying tactics. Though it will add to Boris Johnson’s woes as his ship lists badly with one calamity after another. A right-winger, Frost has gone he said because he was concerned about covid curbs and high taxation policies. He leaves the intractable Northern Ireland protocol issue unresolved.

  His relationship with Johnson has been under pressure for some time with tr Pluto square the Mercury Venus. What was always noteworthy was the approaching tr Pluto opposition their composite Mars from March 2022 onwards, on and off till late 2023. This suggests the mood between them will worsen considerably with rancour and bitterness surfacing in public.

  Frost, 21 February 1965, was another of Boris’s odd choices for best buddy with a Pisces Sun Saturn Mercury clashing badly with Boris’s Mutable T Square of Uranus, Pluto, Saturn, Mars. And Frost also has a volatile Mars Pluto Uranus in Virgo, leading him to be dubbed ‘the nightclub bouncer.’

  Frost looks dismayed in 2022 with the tr Neptune opposing his Mars from mid April onwards bringing a sense of failure so clearly what he hopes for isn’t coming anytime soon.

  There’s an uncomfortable sense in the UK of similarities with the USA with the ultra-right wing being more visible and holding more sway than was usual in the past – and often running against the views of the great silent majority.

   A recent report found that the British public do not share the government’s appetite for perpetual conflict with the EU and more people see the bloc as a key future partner than the US.

The United States poised on the brink of a momentous Pluto Return is stumbling through a discombobulating transition from the wild west of the Trump years into Biden dullsville. What Jon Sopel, the BBC correspondent, described as four years of ‘a Bacchanalian orgy of stories, backbiting, sackings, leaks, fury and indignation, and chaos’; into ‘order, discipline, process and a chain of command.’ From ‘a daily fix of crack cocaine to a half of lemonade shandy once a week.’ For those who view politics as entertainment it has proved a never-to-be-admitted disappointment.

  The Biden Inauguration chart did not appear that bland with an explosive Mars Uranus square Sun Saturn. Though the full potential of that volatile mix may be to come. The pandemic has thrown a smokescreen over many political sinkholes though the low ratings of Biden and VP may be an indication of woes to come.

  On the USA chart tr Neptune will continue to square the US Mars for the final time mid January to mid February 2022 which usually brings a panicky sense of failure. Neptune will continue to oppose the US Neptune on and off all year, which will tug on the USA Mars, as well as a Jupiter midpoint, so the sinking feeling of all not being well will roll on.

  The Pluto Return kicks in from early February and runs on and off till late 2023. There can be events around the exact return – for example Stalin died on ancient Russia’s Pluto Return; and Spain saw the dictator Franco relinquish power on a Pluto Return; in Scotland the Jacobite rebellion was ruthlessly crushed on a Pluto Return in 1745. But on the whole it is a sign of a historic shift, part of a long process; and can bring either a surge to greatness or the opposite as an old superpower fades.

   What will help keep American spirits upbeat is Jupiter moving through Pisces trine the USA Venus, Jupiter in Cancer in January and then trine the Sun late February into March. These are mild influences but will boost morale en passant.

 Relations with Russia and Iran will be stressed, especially coincidentally during the exact Pluto Returns – February to mid March, late June to early August and mid December across the New Year into 2023. The relationship chart with Russia has a composite Mars at 27 Cancer and with Iran a composite Sun at 27 Aries – so there will be a considerable amount of aggravation and tension.  China less so which is reflected on Biden’s astrocartography which puts his assertive/aggressive Mars Descendant line through Moscow and Iran; with dither and indecision through China. (His birth time being sound that is.)

The chart of Biden’s Administration will be ruffled by the Taurus/Scorpio Eclipses hitting on the Mars Uranus and there’ll be a few disappointments along the way. But it is  2023/2024 when the real problems blow up with the Solar Arc Saturn moving to square the Mars Uranus to exact; plus a punishing Saturn/Pluto midpoint.

  Biden’s personal chart will be mightily affected by the 2022 eclipses with his Mars in Scorpio catching the opposition from the late April Solar Eclipse; and his Sun, Venus, Mercury in Scorpio getting the same from the May Lunar Eclipse. Arguments will flare and he’ll be faced with rolling crises and mistakes. Indeed 2022 will start with setbacks as tr Saturn squares his Mars and in March there’s an insecure, jolting tr Uranus opposition his Mars. It’ll be a stress-testing time as he moves towards his 80^th birthday in November 2022.

  His Solar Return from November 2021 for a year has a disruptive Mars opposition Uranus square Saturn which falls (birth time being accurate) in his 9^th/3^rd/1^st which could point to foreign affairs arguments causing upset. I don’t put too much store on Solar Returns but his Returns covering 2023/24 look critical for health and career matters which will put questionmarks over whether he’ll stand again.

 The US Federal Reserve chart will also be rattled by the Eclipses hitting on its Mercury Moon and Sun in Scorpio through 2022. But it will be 2023/24 when it faces its greatest test with a devastating confidence meltdown as tr Pluto squares its Neptune.

  [For examples of other country’s previous Pluto Returns see  post October 16 2020.]

Romy Iris Charlotte Johnson, the Boris and Carrie number two baby, arrived at 9.02am on 9 December 2021. This gives her a 12^th house Sun Mercury in Sagittarius square a 3^rd house Neptune, which could sound shy and retiring and a behind-the-scenes type. But there’ll be nothing wishy washy about her temperament with Mars in ultra-determined Scorpio trine Neptune, sextile a sublimely seductively charming and manipulative Venus Pluto in her 1^st.

  She’ll be a mover and shaker out in society with an 11^th house Mars, keen on making money with Jupiter Saturn and an Aquarius Moon in her 2^nd. Uranus in the 4^th suggests an unsettled and constantly shifting childhood with no secure sense of base or roots (and ditto father.)

  She’ll be a dreamer with her Gemini Node in the 5^th and escapist; a free-spirited wild child and headstrong.

  Carrie will be the controlling influence in her life with her Pluto falling in Romy’s 10^th but her indulgent Venus in Taurus also falls in Romy’s 4^th which will help provide a comfortable home life.

  Her chart is better put together than older brother Wilfred, 29 April 2020 9am London, who has a 10^th house Neptune square Venus, a rebellious Sun Uranus square an 8^th house Saturn; and a super-confident Jupiter Pluto opposition his Cancer Moon. In his chart mother, comes across as a drama queen and possessive, father as an erratic presence. Carrie’s Pluto opposes Wilf’s Sun Uranus which will be a battle of wills.

  The siblings will have a robust relationship since Romy’s Venus Pluto in Capricorn are conjunct Wilfred’s Jupiter Pluto so there will be  clash of personalities.

  What is intriguing is that in both of the children’s relationship charts with their father there is a resentful, chained-together-and-resenting-it composite Saturn square Pluto – on both sides. It does slightly suggest a railroaded Boris landed with yet more sproglings, he hadn’t reckoned on.  He’s certainly an unstable presence in both their lives with his Uranus Pluto on Wilf’s IC and Romy having Uranus in her 4^th.  

The cleaned-up woke sequel to the iconic Sex and the City series has launched to less than rapturous reviews. The three main female characters have moved on since 1998 to gain a new social and cultural awareness which means the old quips flavoured with racism, transphobia and white privilege are gone.

  Kim Catrall is also missing, one of the original stars, whose off-screen feud with lead Sarah Jessica Parker spanned a decade.  All good water cooler buzz.

   In one way what is astonishing is the entire top cast didn’t end up at each others’ throats.  Kim Catrall, 21 August 1956, is a determined and controlling Sun Pluto in Leo square Saturn in Scorpio so she doesn’t budge.

 Sarah P, 25 March 1965 9am Nelsonville, Ohio, is a Sun Aries with a formidable and volatile collection of Pluto, Mars and Uranus in Virgo opposition Saturn.

  Kristin Davis, 24 February 1965, also has the Mars Pluto  and Uranus in Virgo with a Pisces Sun Saturn. And Cynthia Nixon, 9 April 1966, is a feisty, upfront Sun Mars in Aries and Saturn Mercury in Pisces opposition Uranus Pluto in Virgo.

  All highly strung and unpredictable and argumentative.

 Chris Noth, 13 November 1954 12.59am Madison Wisconsin, who was bumped off in the first episode of the sequel, had his life rocked this week with two sexual assault allegations reported in a celebrity magazine. The LAPD said it was not yet investigating him for same, presumably since police reports had not yet been made.

  He has a powerfully Fixed chart with his Scorpio Sun conjunct Saturn on one side and Venus on the other, all in a hard-edged square to Mars in Aquarius which is in turn in an ultra-wide opposition to Pluto. His Gemini Moon is also trine Neptune, sextile Pluto – he will be enduring as well as controlling and very private.

  He looks edgy and jangled over the coming year with his Saturn in Scorpio square Mars being shaken up by the tr Saturn square tr Uranus.  But he’ll also have luck and relief on his side – so he won’t be down and out.

  The original Sex and the City launched on 6 June 1998 with a ruthlessly determined Pluto opposition Mars; a wide, expansive Sun square Jupiter and an sexy Scorpio Moon.

  This sequel And Just Like that, 9 December 2021, launched on a lacklustre Sun square Neptune which won’t have helped.

  Sarah JP is at a peak career-wise so a dud in this won’t bother her too much, She has had her own production company for years and a raft of award winning roles on her cv so she’ll survive.  

Jazz Jennings, the 21 year old transgender reality star who has been in the public eye since she was five and underwent gender affirmation surgery in 2018, has been struggling with a binge eating disorder. She has put on 100 pounds in the past two years and talked of her family fat-shaming her in their efforts to support a healthier lifestyle.

  She first appeared as a seven year old on Barbara Walters Show talking about the challenges of growing up transgender and subsequently appeared in other major TV shows and articles, has her own TV show with her family and appeared in commercials and in films.   

She was born 6 October 2000 in South Florida (no birth time sadly) and is a Sun Libra in an Air Grand Trine to Jupiter trine Uranus – communicative, a thinker and talker, emotionally detached, adventurous. She also has a quirky and charming Mercury Venus in Scorpio square Uranus. Most notably she has a powerhouse T Square of a super-confident Pluto opposition Jupiter square Mars in Virgo.

A Mutable focal point Mars will give her high levels of dynamic and nervy energy and a tendency to scatter in a disorganized fashion.  She won’t find it easy to wind down and recentre in a calm space. The Mars square Pluto will give her an underlying edge of desperation which she pours into overwork or at the moment into binge eating.

  Her Moon is either Capricorn or early Aquarius conjunct Neptune.

  When she had her gender surgery, which evidently had complications, in 2018 tr Pluto was opposition her Cancer North Node; and tr Uranus just dipping a toe into Taurus was opposition her Solar Arc Sun.

   She’ll go through considerable changes and upheavals in coming years with her Solar Arc Uranus in hard aspect to her Pluto, Jupiter and then Mars between 2023/2025.

  Carrying the burden of being a child star can’t be easy and making the transition into an adult career will be doubly difficult for her since she carries her family with her as well as the weight of too many people’s expectations.

Voters delivered a sharp message to the government that sleaze and incompetence in running the NHS and the country won’t be tolerated with the loss of a safe Tory seat. Bye-elections are not always a good indicator but with a major rebellion by backbenchers this week as well, the clock may be ticking down for Boris.

  The Conservative Party 10 May 1912 chart is showing a sharp loss of confidence and power at the moment with tr Neptune opposition the Jupiter/Pluto midpoint with worse to come from mid January 2022 as the calamitous tr Neptune square the Mars/Saturn midpoint kicks in for a few weeks with more banana skins through the year. Late year there is a disruptive Solar Arc Uranus conjunct the Sun and a sense of disempowerment in 2023 with tr Neptune square the Pluto.

   May 2022 onwards is when Boris Johnson’s unpopularity with the party become critical with tr Neptune square the composite Mars. And 2022 always did look like crunch time on his Term chart with the blocked Solar Arc Saturn drawing the conjunction with Pluto to exact.

  The Liberal Democrats, 3 March 1988, look to be riding high in 2022/23 with tr Pluto in a bullishly confident square to their Jupiter. But their surge may be short-lived as they run into a dead-halt Solar Arc Mars square Pluto around late 2023/into 2024.

 Keir Starmer’s Leadership chart, 4 April 2020 10.45 am London, is a mixed bag ahead with a hard, at times discouraging slog through 2022/23 running alongside one upbeat and successful Mars/Jupiter midpoint. And he has the cataclysmic Solar Arc Saturn conjunct Mars to survive which comes exact in eight months, around autumn 2022 though may trigger early.

 The Labour Party, 27 February 1900 chart is not looking remotely chipper ahead through 2022/23. The LP 19 February 1906, is marginally more cheerful though only just – with ups and downs in 2022/23. There is a super-confident tr Pluto square Mars/Jupiter in 2023/24 alongside some major disruptions and changes.

  Political party charts aren’t always the most illuminating. But that’s what they show at the moment. Term charts are sound and accurate.

 See previous post Boris Johnson – 8 December 2021.

bell hooks, the groundbreaking feminist critic and poet has died after a prolific career as a writer on love, feminism, patriarchy, white supremacy, forgiveness and the power of art. In particular, she wrote about how a person’s race, gender and social class were interconnected. She adopted her maternal great-grandmother’s name as a pen name, but used lowercase letters to distinguish herself from her family member.

  She was born on 25 September 1952 at 8.57 pm Hopkinsville, Kentucky, one of six children born to a janitor father and a housemaid mother. She started her education in a segregated school and only latterly in an integrated one, got a college doctorate with a dissertation on Toni Morrison and became a teaching academic. Her Ain’t I a Woman? Black Women and Feminism became a best seller in her thirties and she went on to write another 30 books.

  She had her Sun and Mercury in Libra is the entertaining 5^th house so she’d appreciate an audience; though with Saturn and Neptune also in her 5^th she’d always have a serious purpose and be keen on creating a better society. She was not short of courage or confidence with her Mars Moon in a determined trine to Pluto and her Pluto square Jupiter. She also had a Yod focal point Uranus inconjunct Mars Moon sextile North Node Midheaven in Aquarius which marked her out as a trailblazer, unconventional and a catalyst for change. She would be wilful, at times with a rebellious urge to break rules and regulations and would have a divisive effect.  Her Aquarius North Node would give her a humanitarian cause to dedicate her life to.

  An extraordinary woman. Her leaving-a-legacy-for-history 17^th harmonic chart was exceptionally strong so she’ll be remembered.

Pic: Alex Lozupone  

Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest man and all round genius and whackjob has been elevated to Time magazine’s Person of the Year. It has attracted a raft of criticism, given his attitude to paying tax, opposition to unions and playing down the dangers of Covid. He was described as a “clown, genius, edgelord, visionary, industrialist, showman” which covers all bases and hedged with the caveat that his influence was bad as well as good. His businesses are undoubtedly leading edge and super-successful ranging from Tesla cars, to the space exploration SpaceX and the alternative energy company SolarCity.

  Born 28 June 1971, he had a much-married South African father, whom he describes in vitriolic terms and a fashion model mother.

  He arrived on planet earth only a few days before Julian Assange and has the same rebellious Cancer Sun square inventive Uranus; a creative though neurotic, paranoid and head-in-the-clouds Saturn opposition Neptune Jupiter; and Mars in determined, scientific Aquarius conjunct his North Node.

   His mother, Maye Musk, 19 April 1948, has the formidable Mars, Saturn, Pluto in Leo conjunct Elon’s South Node and opposition his Mars which arguably suggests his flight into scientific-fantasies-made-real came from a desire to escape her dark energies. After his parents’ divorce aged 10 Elon opted to live with his father which he later said was a terrible mistake.

  There’s no solid birth data for Errol Musk, though one site has 25 May 1946, which would out his Gemini Sun conjunct Elon’s Saturn opposition his Neptune for a confusing crossover; and Errol’s Mars is exactly conjunct Elon’s South Node with his Pluto nearby.

  Intriguing to speculate that it was the negative effect of both parents in different ways which ran so much against Elon’s grain that it motivated him to become a phenomenon in his own right. The demons that drive him could have destroyed him but instead he went the other way.  Though at some cost to his mental stability it would have to be admitted.

Pic Maye: Luan Luu