A celebrity break up memorialised in an album of songs about betrayal, heartbreak, public humiliation and bitterness has sent the gossip media into a flutter. Lily Allen, a super-successful singer, talk show host, record label owner and a Laurence Olivier Award nomination actress, has had a riotous life.

 I confess I had never heard of her but her wiki entry is astonishing with admissions of an early abortion, followed by a still birth, then post-natal depression following two live children, an affair with Liam Gallagher and her hiring female prostitutes.  David Harbour, her second, now ex-husband, is well known for Stranger Things and Marvel blockbusters.  In the version that comes across in her songs he appears to have been upset by her success. She has been diagnosed bi-polar and ADHD.

Born 2 May 1985 in London, she has a Taurus Sun opposition Pluto in Scorpio which will make her defensive, stubborn and inclined to over control. She also has Saturn in Scorpio, North Node in Taurus and Jupiter in Aquarius which will give her endurance but not much in the way of flexibility. What gives her a ‘no-filter’ approach will be her yod of Pluto sextile Neptune inconjunct Mars in Gemini so she will be erratic in the way she handles her assertion and self-will.

 David Harbour, 10 April 1975, New York has his Sun, Mercury, Moon and Jupiter in Aries which does chime with her Venus Mercury in Aries and his Venus in Taurus will fit with her Taurus Sun; and his Pluto opposes her Venus for a passionate undercurrent. But His Uranus conjunct her controlling Pluto is a red flag since he’d constantly try to loosen her grip. And his Mars in stubborn and contrary Aquarius square her Saturn and trine her Pluto is an absolute no-no, sparking off aggravation and resentment.

 That translates in their relationship chart to a brutal struggle for the upper hand Mars opposition Pluto and an irritable Mars inconjunct Saturn  with admittedly a little icing sugar sprinkled om top from an affectionate composite Sun Venus.

   They married in La Vegas on 7 September 2020, the wedding officiated by an Elvis Impersonator, which date echoes the relationship itself. A head-in the-clouds, delusional Sun opposition Neptune; Venus opposition a super-aggravated Saturn Pluto square Mars. Plus an impulsive, seemed-like-a-good-idea-at-the-time Sun trine Jupiter trine Uranus.

   Nothing in hindsight that looks like a good idea.

ADD ON: Her father Keith Allen, Welsh actor, pantomime star, comedian, musician and television presenter has had a chequered life himself, admitting to having produced six children by four women. He had an unsettled childhood with a naval father, was expelled from school, ended up in borstal and a detention centre, and was later expelled from the Welsh College of Music and drama.

 In his 30s he served a 21-day jail sentence after being found guilty of criminal damage at in Covent Garden club.

He once remarked “I have a history of having suspicions about the establishment and the government”.

More than quite a character and may explain a good deal about Lily’s choice of partners and fractured emotional life.

 Keith Allen, 2 September 1953, is a Sun Virgo but what dominates his chart is an angry, fired-up Mars Pluto conjunction in Leo on the midpoint of a Saturn Neptune in Libra trine Jupiter in Gemini.

 His Sun is square her yod focal point Mars so it would be a relationship that sparked off her impatience.

 Their relationship chart has a competitive and explosive composite Sun Mars square Uranus with Sun Mars in a fractious trine to Saturn. Not an easy combo together.

 And she seems to have followed on by picking equally tricky partners. Her first wedding on 11 June 2011 was on a Uranus opposition Saturn square Pluto, hinting at considerable strains and power struggles ahead.

 Pulling asway from old childhood patterns is a lifelong challenge. But repeating the same old same old should eventually get the message home.

Prunella Scales, best known for Faulty Towers, has died at 93, a year after her husband of sixty years, Timothy West. She worked constantly on stage, screen and radio from her late teens onwards until dementia halted her ten years ago. In recent times she appeared in Mapp and Lucia, as Queen Elizabeth in Alan Bennett’s A Question of Attribution, in Breaking the Code, about the Bletchley Park wartime codebreakers; and as Queen Victoria in a one-woman show that she performed 400 times. She also starred for nine years as Dotty Turnbull in a TV adverts for supermarket giant Tesco which was cited as the biggest factor in propelling it to market leadership in the mid 1990s. As her memory began to fade she made 10 series of Great Canal Journeys with her husband.

 She was born 22 June 1932 10pm (unverified) Abinger, England, with an actress mother and won a scholarship to the Old Vic Theatre School to the consternation of her school headmistress who wanted her to go to Cambridge. Two years later, she secured a position as an assistant stage manager at Bristol Old Vic.

Fawlty Towers, the landmark series which propelled her to iconic status in the late 1970s oddly had only 12 episodes but has stood the test of time since. She later remembered that John Cleese was a hard taskmaster. “John, quite rightly, was extremely rigorous about learning the script, and if you didn’t, he could get quite cross, which was fair enough.”

   Away from acting, she was a committed campaigner, serving  as president of the Campaign to Protect Rural England and a lifelong Labour Party supporter

She is survived by two sons and one stepdaughter, seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.

 She had a hard-working and creative 6^th house Sun and Venus Mercury in Cancer with an Aquarius Moon opposition an 8^th house Jupiter. She was an odd mix of Water from her Cancer planets including Pluto in Cancer in her 7^th and Air with her Moon plus Saturn in Aquarius and Mars in Gemini so she would wobble between feeling and thinking. She was part of the Uranus square Pluto generation who lived through turbulent times growing up which would leave her politically rebellious. Her Uranus was also in an adventurous trine to Jupiter. But what marks her chart is a yod of Neptune sextile Sun inconjunct Saturn which would put her on a singular path in life requiring self-discipline and maturity to make it work well.

  Oddly John Cleese, 27 October 1939 3.15 am Weston-Super-Mare, England, also has a Saturnine yod inconjunct Neptune sextile Mercury. And like Prunella his intense Scorpio Sun sits awkwardly with his Aries Moon. She was Water Air and he is Water Fire. His Pluto sat almost exactly opposite her focal point Saturn so he would be a challenging partner.  His Moon was conjunct her Uranus and square her Pluto which would also cause a few emotional cross currents. Though his can-be-charming Venus sat on her Midheaven with his Mercury in her 10^th so it was a good career combination for a while.

 When Fawlty Towers first aired in September 1975 tr Jupiter  was conjunct her Uranus, trine her Jupiter and square her Pluto for success and a surge of confidence. 

For Timothy West see previous post November 13 2024.

Hurricane Melissa now a Category 5 hurricane heading for Jamaica has the ‘ingredients to be a catastrophic storm’, meteorological experts warn. There are likely to be a devastating storm-surge, extreme winds and high rainfall.

It is likely that no part of Jamaica will be ‘spared from the effects of the monster hurricane, whose deadly combination of rapid intensification and snail-paced advancement is a recipe for a catastrophic, record-breaking natural disaster.’ Maximum impact is likely to be tomorrow with this reckoned to be the strongest hurricane ever to hit Jamaica.

 Jamaica, 6 August 1962 12am Kingston, had its late Virgo Venus in line with the recent Solar Eclipse which usually accompanies an emotionally upsetting series of events. Plus a devastating Solar Arc Pluto conjunct the Neptune exact at the moment creating confusion and staying in effect for several months,

  The September Lunar Eclipse set for Kingston, Jamaica has a swampy Neptune on the IC. And the September Solar Eclipse had powerful, possibly-destructive Pluto on the Ascendant. Eclipse effects last for several months after and regions with planets on the axis – Midheaven, IC, Asc and Desc – are usually in line for significant effects.

  Cuba, Haiti and the Dominican Republic are also likely to be affected.

 Cuba with its 29 degree Scorpio Midheaven and 28 degree Taurus Sun will be in for a turbulent few months through till spring 2026 with tr Uranus in hard aspect.

Add On: The 1692 Jamaica earthquake struck Port Royal, Jamaica, on 7 June. A stopped pocket watch found in the harbour during a 1959 excavation indicated that it occurred around 11:43 AM local time. (The problem is whether it was still running on Spanish GC calendar or having come under the English in recent years had reverted to the JC calendar which makes a difference of about 10 degrees to the Sun.) But it did have Uranus in early Gemini, Neptune in mid Pisces and Pluto in late Cancer – so there are some similarities. JC calendar version above.

The 1692 earthquake caused most of the city to sink below sea level. About 2,000 people died as a result of the earthquake and the following tsunami, and another 3,000 people died in the following days due to injuries and disease. 

ADD ON 2: Christopher Columbus stumbled on Jamaica on 5 May 1494 which is another earlier chart. At the 1692 earthquake the Solar Arc Pluto was conjunct the Mars which does suggest a massively destructive event. The Solar Arc Mars was square Jupiter adding a layer of magnification with tr Saturn being around the conjunction to Mars and square Jupiter.

Usually for major natural disasters like earthquakes Pluto Neptune contacts are ones to look for. Or Uranus Neptune. Mars Saturn adds a layer of destructive energy. .Jupiter as ever tricky just exaggerates the negative and well as the positive.

ADD ON 3: On 1 November 1755 the Great Lisbon earthquake, hit Portugal. In combination with subsequent fires and a tsunami, the earthquake almost completely destroyed Lisbon and adjoining areas. Killing an estimated 30,000–40,000.

There are two charts for early Portugal – 24 June 1128 and 5 October 1143.  At the 1755 quake on the earlier 1128 chart tr Neptune was square Pluto for devastation and confusion; and tr Pluto was square Uranus for turbulence.

 On the 1143 chart tr Pluto was conjunct the Solar Arc Saturn for hardship and deprivation; tr Neptune was square Neptune for confusion; tr Saturn was heading to hard aspect the SA Pluto opposition Mars for destruction and fear. The Solar Arc Uranus opposition Pluto was also impacting on the natal Jupiter inflating the inherent instability.

The transformative story of young Tony Hudgell, so badly abused by his biological parents he nearly died as a baby and later had to have both legs amputated, has hit a sad turn. With extensive and superlative hospital care and a new adoptive family he has grown into a cheerful and determined young boy, learning to walk on prosthetic legs and winning a Pride of Britain award. He decided to raise money for the people who were caring for him and walked twelve kilometres on his new legs, bringing in £1.8 million. In 2024, he became the youngest ever person to be recognised in the New Year Honours List. At just nine-years old, he received a British Empire Medal for his services to the prevention of child abuse.

  Now his adoptive mother, a former nurse who has campaigned for tougher sentences for child abusers and successfully brought in Tony’s Law in 2022 and who created a safe and happy home for him, has announced she has terminal cancer.

  He was born 8 October 2014 in Maidstone, England, and has a strong, determined and upbeat chart with his Libra Sun, Venus and North Node opposition Uranus Moon in Aries square an influential Pluto. He is designed to make a difference. His Sun is further highlighted being the driving planet from a Kite formed from an inspirational Fire Grand Trine of Uranus (Moon) trine Mars in Sagittarius trine Jupiter in Leo. Fire Grand Trines tend to be adventurous and have strong self-belief and although not always realistic it will be his saving grace since it will give him an inherent sense of luck and self-belief.

  The one hint of his early experiences – though houses may add more – is his Mars conjunct his Saturn/Pluto midpoint which Ebertin describes as ‘brutality, acts of violence, the necessity to fight for one’s life or existence, maltreatment.’

  His victim/healer 12^th harmonic is strong with perhaps a New Moon and a tough, motivational Fire Grand Trine of Saturn trine Mercury trine Pluto.

 What a tragedy he faces another loss.  

Kamala Harris has teased that she may run for president in 2028 in a BBC interview on her international promotional book tour. She dismissed polls that place her as an outsider ranking behind even Hollywood actor Dwayne “the Rock” Johnson. She reinforced her criticism of Joe Biden’s late decision to withdraw which resulted in her abbreviated 2024 presidential run, saying she wishes she had spoken up earlier.  

  She has already mounted two campaigns for the White House. In 2020, the then-California senator ran in a crowded field for the Democratic nomination but dropped out before the first primary vote in Iowa. Biden later selected her as his running mate.

 Born 20 October 1964 9.28pm Oakland, California, she has a late Libra Sun conjunct Mercury in Scorpio with a later degree Neptune in Scorpio all in her performing 5^th house. With her Sun opposition an Aries Moon; and a politician’s blowhard Mars in Leo in her communication 3^rd opposition Saturn in late Aquarius square Jupiter in Taurus – hard edged, over-confident (from Jupiter) and unlucky (Mars Saturn) at the same time. Her Neptune opposes Jupiter for a further layer of super-optimism in a publicity-attracting squaring to Mars as well.  Plus a turbulent Uranus Pluto Venus in Virgo in her domestic 4^th house. Plus a North Node on her Gemini Ascendant giving her problems with establishing a strong sense of identity for all her flamboyant and seemingly self-assured approach.  It is not an easy chart to warm to.

  Jupiter moving through her 2^nd will bring money her way over coming months though it is less likely to be campaign donations than from other sources. What will be interesting to watch is her Solar Arc Jupiter square her Sun and Moon by 2027 which will send her confidence soaring. Tr Saturn moving through her upper quadrant for some years ahead will boost her ambitions as she strives for reputation and achievements. But tr Pluto through her 8^th until 2030 and square her Solar Arc Midheaven by 2028 looks log jammed – with tr Pluto square her Saturn/MC midpoint from March 2026 on and off till late 2027 which will make for slow progress and setbacks galore.

 By the 2032 election she has tr Saturn dipping below her Ascendant which makes that unlikely for success as well.

  Her relationship with Joe Biden always was sticky with his Sun Venus in Scorpio colliding with her Mars opposition Saturn; and her evasive Neptune conjunct his Mars in Scorpio.

 Their relationship chart had a distrustful, cool, slipping-and-sliding composite Saturn opposition Venus Neptune – and a somewhat more solid and upbeat composite Saturn Moon trine Pluto sextile Jupiter.  The unaspected and unintegrated composite Mars is being opposed by tr Neptune Saturn at the moment and through till January 2027 which will spark aggravation. It first showed stress when her book was first published in May as she said it was his personal ego and ambition that got in the way of stepping down.

  She’s a no-hoper for 2028 and this may just be a way of attracting publicity for her book, so matters little. But she is much of a muchness of what is wrong with many/most politicians at the moment. All hot air, overblown egos and a stubborn refusal (or inability) to face facts or get a grip of fixing what has gone wrong.

  The simmering sense of unease in the world at large at the moment can partly be ascribed to the neurotic combination of Saturn Neptune criss-crossing over the Fixed star Scheat, known for misfortune and bad judgement; but also to Uranus sitting on the midpoint of Neptune and Pluto which tends to bring hyper-sensitive nerves and sometimes supernatural experiences.

  It is timely therefore that a supernatural classic in Frankenstein has hit the cinemas and soon Netflix. Probably one of the best known works of English literature, it was written by young Mary Shelley as she travelled through Germany with her lover Percy Shelley and Lord Byron stopping near Frankenstein Castle, where a century earlier, an alchemist had conducted experiments. When she was 19, the travelling party had a competition to see who would write the best horror story. Neptune in Sagittarius was then square Pluto in Pisces infusing the atmosphere with magical, paranormal vibes. Tr Uranus in Sagittarius was rapidly catching up to produce much the same atmosphere as now.

Frankenstein is a large and grotesque humanoid creature, produced by an alchemist from human spare parts, who terrorises his inventor and escapes. He is associated with Prometheus, the mythological god, who brought the secret of fire to mankind and facilitated civilization and knowledge of science. Though Frankenstein in the novel leaves a trail of havoc behind him.

 Mary Shelley’s novel published in 1818 when she was 20 was ‘infused with elements of the Gothic novel and the Romantic movement and had a considerable influence on literature and on popular culture, spawning a complete genre of horror stories, films, and plays.’

 She was born 30 August 1797 11.20pm London with an anarchist philosopher father, and her mother dying at her birth. Her 4^th house Virgo Sun sat midway between an adventurous and explosive Mars and Uranus, with Mercury also in writerly Virgo.  Her Mars and Sun were also opposition Pluto on her Midheaven – so she would be attracted to dark, dangerous topics. Her Venus in Libra was square her Neptune/Pluto midpoint giving her a love of the supernatural.

 When Frankenstein was published on 1 January 1818, anonymously at the start , Uranus Neptune Venus and Jupiter in Sagittarius were square Pluto giving it wings. At that point tr Pluto was moving through her 10^th house giving her influence and Neptune through her 6^th house of work. Tr Jupiter through her 5^th would boost her confidence.

Guillermo del Toro, a Mexican filmmaker and writer/producer, with a love for  fairy tales, gothicism and horror, known for pioneering dark fantasy in films, and auteur of this version, says he wanted a version of Frankenstein in which the creature had “a Miltonian quality, like Satan in Paradise Lost, of having the nerve to question his creator.”

Born 9 October 1964, Mexico, he is a Sun Libra but with three Virgo planets to match Mary Shelley’s and probably a Sagittarius Moon like her. His Sun tellingly sits midway between Neptune and Pluto on the midpoint which would attract him to the supernatural. His Saturn in Aquarius is also conjunct Mary Shelley’s Pluto Midheaven – so he could be the one to add gravitas to a creation which has been debased in popular culture.

 Reading through Mary Shelley’s wiki entry, she has three children die early by the time she was twenty with only one surviving to adulthood out of five pregnancies. Percy Shelley died in a violent lake storm when she was 23, a month after she had a severe miscarriage. She died of a brain tumour aged 53.

 Those were not days for the fainthearted and it would also reflect her afflicted Mars Pluto Uranus.

ADD ON: Percy Shelley, 4 August 1792 10 pm Horsham, England, was one of the major English Romantic poets, who did not become famous in his lifetime but recognition of his achievements in poetry grew steadily following his death, partly due to the devoted work of his widow Mary – which given the way he treated her shows remarkable loyalty on her part. He was an important influence on later poets, like Robert Browning, Algernon Charles Swinburne, Thomas Hardy, and W. B. Yeats.

 He was bullied at boarding school and responded with violent rage, suffering from the nightmares, hallucinations and sleep walking that affected him throughout his life. He developed an interest in science and the occult, terrifying his sisters with his experiments with gunpowder, acids and electricity. His peculiarities earned him the nickname “Mad Shelley”. He developed radical and anti-Christian views, which were dangerous in the reactionary political climate prevailing.

  At 19 he married a 16 year old and in the following 11 years before his death he had multiple affairs, a second marriage to Mary, produced seven children only one of whom survived to adulthood, and was constantly arguing with his father about his debts.

 He had the revolutionary Uranus opposition Pluto in Aquarius of the time with wayward Uranus in his 5^th house conjunct Sun and Venus so would be a player where his romantic life was concerned. He also had his North Node as well as a Mars, Jupiter, Neptune conjunction in Libra in his 7^th house of one-to-one relationships which would make him enthusiastic about finding partners but uncommitted Neptune meant none lasted. His sensitive Pisces Moon on the cusp of his 12^th was inconjunct his Uranus – so emotionally on edge and hyper-reactive.

  His 9^th harmonic was his strongest which can be humanitarian, fitting in with his ‘enlightenment’ ideals, but can also be overly inclined towards pleasure.

 Percy’s 7^th house ‘partnership’ Mars Jupiter Neptune fell in Mary’s romantic 5^th house where her head-in-the-clouds Neptune sat; and his charming, enthusiastic Sun Venus Uranus sat in her communicative 3^rd so she would respond well to his views and writing.

 But their relationship chart hinted at a union that would never be stable with a turbulent, needs-space and controlling composite Sun Uranus opposition Pluto. It would be a push-and-pull scenario.  Plus a chilly Venus square Saturn – and a stressed, dominating Mars inconjunct Pluto.

 His Saturn in Taurus opposed her Sun/Moon midpoint. And her Pluto Midheaven squared his Sun/Moon midpoint.

 When he died in 1822 tr Saturn was opposition her romantic 5^th house Neptune; and the tr Uranus Neptune conjunction in Capricorn was on her Descendant moving into her 7^th house of close relationships. She spent the rest of her life raising her son and promoting Percy Shelley’s writings.

   What an unhappy tangle. At one point Shelley wrote to friends that Mary was depressed, suicidal and hostile towards him. Hardly surprising. And so Frankenstein walked the face of the earth.

A by-election calamity for all three main parties as the Welsh dragon let fly may not be an accurate barometer for a UK-wide general election. But it will have shaken nerves considerably with Labour losing this particular seat for the first time in 100 years and only collecting 11% of the vote to come third; with the Tories on 2%. Even Reform which was the bookies’ favourite, under-achieved to come in second with 36%.

  The Labour Party, 12 February 1906 chart registered the defeat clearly with a seriously stuck Solar Arc Sun conjunct Pluto this year. There will be some relief early in 2026 with tr Uranus conjunct the Jupiter but from mid 2026 onwards a tension-erupting phase with tr Uranus square the Saturn could see a split between the old guard and progressives running into 2027. Then a run of panicky failure aspects picks up in 2027 running to 2028 as tr Neptune undermines the Cardinal T square of Uranus opposition Neptune square Mars.

 Keir Starmer’s relationship chart with the Labour Party will be into an even more turbulent phase with tr Pluto square the composite Uranus from early February 2026 and then rocking further on its axis from May 2026 if not parting company altogether with tr Uranus opposition the composite Sun.  

 The Tory Party, 9 May 1912, has a jolting, high tension Solar Arc Uranus conjunct the Taurus Sun this year, followed by upheavals and angst through 2026 with tr Pluto square Venus and conjunct Uranus. It faces a dead halt by 2028 as the Solar Arc Pluto squares Mars. Kemi Badenoch’s relationship with the party (minus birth times) will be under stress over this winter with tr Neptune Saturn square the composite Uranus.

 The Reform Party, 23 November 2018, is on an unstable high for two years ahead with tr Uranus opposition the Sun Jupiter and then square the Mars – probably letting over confidence trip them up. With a panicky-failure Solar Arc Mars conjunct Neptune in 2027.

 Nigel Farage, 3 April 1964 4.30pm Farnham, England, has a high-tension tr Uranus square his Saturn in 2026 plus a sinking-failure tr Neptune conjunct his Mars from June 2026 into 2027. Farage’s relationship chart with the UK has a composite yod of Uranus sextile Neptune inconjunct Mars and Chariklo which  has the feel of an angry hornet in a jar.

  A dog’s dinner as the old fault lines dissolve into a political mess.

ADD ON:  Lucy Powell has been elected Deputy Leader of the Labour Party, 10 October 1974, who like Jess Phillips is heavily Libran, with her Sun conjunct Mars, Venus conjunct Pluto and Uranus all in Maggie Thatcher/Edwina Currie’s Sun sign. Her Mars may not be in Leo like Philips but it does square Saturn – so she will have a short-fuse.

  She was the only Cabinet Minister ousted in Starmer’s September reshuffle. After this victory she said she felt that the government was not being “bold enough” in delivering the change it had promised. She though the government was too fixated in immigration as a problem. In May 2025, she described discussion of rape gangs as a “dog whistle”, which was condemned by survivors of the abuse.

 Her relationship with Starmer will hit several bumps across the winter with tr Neptune and Saturn opposition their differing-agendas composite Sun Uranus conjunction now till February 2026; with explosive arguments January to mid March 2026. Not a recipe for cooperation.

 Her own chart and midpoints are equally beleaguered over the winter with tr Saturn Neptune denting her self-confidence and raising her anxiety levels – and worse through 2026, across the May elections with calamities following in June/July 2026 and onwards.

Ben Stiller, the actor, comedian, and filmmaker, known for his blend of slapstick humour and sharp wit, leader of the ‘Frat Pack’, has produced a memento to his parents, actor-comedians Jerry Stiller and Anna Meara and a showbusiness childhood – “ a lot of traveling, a lot of late nights — not what you’d call traditional.” He reflects on the problem left by his parents sometimes not being there for him because of career pressures and regrets that he himself was not around for his own children because of being away on film sets. He and his wife Christine Taylor separated for three years but reunited in 2020.

 Ben rose to fame through comedies such as Zoolander and is known for Meet the Parents, the Royal Tenebaums, the Madagascar franchise amongst many others, with his films grossing more than $2.6 billion and earning multiple awards. As a child he was taken on to film sets and started performing when young as well as making Super 8 movies. For the past 10 years Ben Stiller has primarily worked as a television director and showrunner on Escape at Dannemora and Severance.

 He was born 30 November 1965 5.35 pm New York (from memory) with a hard-working 6th house Sagittarius Sun conjunct Antares, one of the four “royal stars”. His Sun is square a Pisces Moon conjunct Saturn in his 10^th house. Both Sun and Moon tied into Saturn suggests both parents put work first and indulgence second which would give him self-discipline in later life but was not exactly nurturing. A 10^th house Moon is suited to a public career and Saturn in the 10^th is a good executive and organiser which will be why he has transitioned over to the directorial side of the business. Plus he has the restless, chaotic and in constant-upheaval Uranus Pluto in Virgo in his domestic 4^th house of childhood and beyond.

 His generally upbeat persona comes from Jupiter in Gemini on his Ascendant plus his Sagittarius Sun, which latter is often a comedian’s sign.

 The write ups on the astrological meaning of Antares are somewhat dramatic but it does appear to make individuals  tough, belligerent and pugnacious, giving mental alertness, strategic ability and courage. Other Sun Antares types – Mark Twain, Pablo Escobar, Zoë Kravitz, Woody Allen, Winston Churchill, Gianni Versace, William Blake, Britney Spears, Andrew Tate, Marina Abramović.

His father, Jerry Stiller, 8 June 1922, was a Sun Gemini with a Fire Grand Trine of Venus Mars in Leo trine Uranus Jupiter in Aries trine Saturn in Sagittarius – Air Fire, enthusiastic but not always realistic.

His mother, Anna Meara, 20 September 1929 a Sun Virgo square Saturn with an Aries Moon perhaps conjunct Uranus and a super-determined Pluto square Mars Mercury in Libra with her Mars trine Jupiter. She would be a full-on personality, possibly the more difficult parent.

 Ben’s relationship with his father would be high vitality and better balanced. With his father’s adventurous Jupiter Uranus falling in Ben’s career 10^th and his Saturn in Ben’s 6^th giving him a work ethic.

His bond with his mother looks cooler and a touch aggravated with a composite Sun Venus square Saturn and a strained yod of Mars sextile Saturn inconjunct Uranus. Her Sun fell in Ben’s 4^th and her Saturn sat on his Descendant, not making for easy togetherness.

 It’s a tricky paradox to accept – that success comes out of dysfunctional childhoods. And the lacks which hurt early on turn out to build strengths for later use in career terms if not in bringing up the next generation of children.

Another botched-up UK child abuse inquiry is in disarray with several survivors of ‘grooming gangs’ backing out demanding the resignation of Jess Phillips, the UK Safeguarding Minister. Three potential chairs have retreated as well.

 The previous CSA Inquiry was launched in 2014 and went through three chairpersons, one of whom the NZ Judge Lowell Goddard baled after a Times story about her three month absence in the past year on a £500k a year salary. The estimable Alexis Jay finally took over but only five of her 2022 recommendations have been implemented out of 20. It cost £186 million.

This present probe is looking into whether state agencies failed to do more to protect largely white girls from the grooming gangs — disproportionately comprising men of Asian or Pakistani heritage — for fear of being accused of racism.  A Home Office spokesperson said: “The grooming gang scandal was one of the darkest moments in this country’s history. “That is why this government is committed to a full, statutory, national inquiry to uncover the truth. It is the very least that the victims of these hideous crimes deserve.”

The survivors’ concerns at present seem in part to be about the inquiry being widened to avoid upsetting sections of immigrant communities.

  The 7 July 2014 Inquiry started on an explosive Cardinal Grand Square of a Cancer Sun opposition Pluto square Uranus opposition Mars so rolling crises were to be expected. Plus a Water Grand Trine of Sun trine Neptune trine on Saturn in Scorpio which had potentially healing properties but also too blinkered an approach.

 This Inquiry announced 14 June 2025 might be expected to have more going for it – with the healing, helping-the-underdog Saturn Neptune conjunction sextile Pluto and sextile Uranus. But Mars in bombastic Leo is in an explosive square to Uranus  sitting close to Algol, all of which will be triggered by tr Uranus hard aspects across the winter. That does not look like a recipe for a well-managed inquiry.  Made worse by Mars being on the focal point of a yod to Pluto sextile Saturn Neptune suggesting that heated arguments are inevitable.

 Oddly enough Jess Phillips, the Safeguarding Minister, 9 October 1981, Birmingham, also has Mars in outspoken, attention-seeking Leo square Uranus in Scorpio plus a stellium in Libra including a serious Sun Saturn and a pushily confident Jupiter Pluto. Reading her wiki entry she seems to be a rampant feminist though prone to shooting off her mouth and having to apologise.

  She’s not looking remotely settled over the winter with Solar Arc Saturn conjunct her Uranus and tr Uranus opposition her Uranus as well. Her relationship with Keir Starmer is also sinking badly across coming months with tr Saturn opposition the composite Sun, square Jupiter and then opposition Pluto in early 2026.  Though that may also be coinciding with his continued slide downhill.

 It has been a long haul since Jimmy Savile’s rampant child abuse emerged in late 2012 which triggered much of what came after – when the Solar Arc Pluto was conjunct the UK Uranus and tr Neptune was approaching the conjunction to the UK Pluto with tr Pluto heading for the UK Sun.

  More gear changes are ongoing at present with tr Pluto trine the UK Uranus with tr Saturn Neptune in opposition and tr Uranus square the UK Pluto next year. Not all of this will be to do with child abuse horrors surfacing though it can only inflame the anti-immigrant protestors so will feed into a wider concern.

 Astrologically it will also be connected to the Solar Arc Uranus conjunct the 8^th house Mars detonating murky secrets out into the open – with tr Uranus doing the same in milder form through till 2027. And on it goes.

See previous post for further thoughts:

Child Sexual Abuse – too terrible to face ++ ultra-liberal fascism ++ ‘social and state failure’ ++ foreign males commit more sex crimes 4th January 2025

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