The culture clash that was inevitable after Qatar was handed the 2022 World Cup has turned into a smash with one of the country’s ambassadors describing homosexuality as “a damage in the mind”. Sepp Blatter, former FIFA head, also admitted publicly that it had been a bad decision with murmurs of political pressure from the French and allegations of corruption in the voting process.

Qatar is an absolute monarchy with an appalling record for human and women’s rights, for mistreating migrant workers, more than 6500 of whom have died since Qatar was granted the World Cup. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar under Islamic Sharia law and is punished by imprisonment.

  Western ambassadors such as David Beckham have been heavily criticised for taking large sums of money to give a veneer of respectability to the event. See previous post David Beckham: 25 October 2021.

  It kicks off at 7pm on 20 November and runs until 18 December. The start chart is a curious mix of confident and successful with a Scorpio Sun trine Jupiter sextile Pluto – though with an over hopeful, scandal-prone Neptune thrown in for good measure.

  Though there’s also a high-tension Saturn square Uranus as well. And more problematic, a volatile Mars in Gemini on the focal point of a strained Yod to Pluto sextile Sun. There’s no real chance of major unrest since the authorities will no doubt deal firmly with any who step out of line. But resentment will simmer.

  The ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, 3 June 1980, is a Sun Gemini square Mars Saturn in Virgo and trine Pluto so fairly rigid and austere in his attitude. He took over on 25 June 2013 when there was an insular and controlling Water Grand Trine/Kite of Saturn in Scorpio trine Neptune trine Sun opposition Pluto. That chart looks emotionally ramped up until early December with perhaps a restive population and disappointments in January 2023. 2024/25 through till 2027 look to be more on a downhill slide with tr Neptune square the Jupiter then the Sun on one leg of the central Grand Trine.

  Qatar itself, 1 September 1971, has an inward looking 4^th house Sun Venus and controlling Pluto with a dogmatic-beliefs Mars in Aquarius in the 9^th.  It looks upbeat through 2023 with tr Pluto sextile the Jupiter and trine Pluto.  

Sport and money – bad combination.

Princess Martha Louise, eldest daughter of the King of Norway though only fourth in line, has relinquished her royal duties to focus on her alternative medicine business with her fiance, Durek Verrett, an American  shaman who has claimed to be able to cure cancer/covid and reverse ageing and is bisexual. The palace said that once the princess and Verrett were wed he would become a member of the royal family but would not have a title or represent the monarchy. They have agreed to refrain from any association with the royal family in their social media channels, media productions and commercial activities.

  Her first husband, an author and artist, died in 2019 by suicide. He had struggled with alcoholism and mental health problems.

  She was born 22 September 1971 at 5.07 pm in Oslo, Norway and has a chart where her ancestral legacy looms large with an 8^th house Virgo Sun conjunct Pluto and Venus in Libra with Uranus and a Scorpio Moon also in her 8^th. Intense, secretive, driven by unconscious forces she doesn’t understand and indeed by circumstances outwith her control, she herself claims to be clairvoyant.

  She has a determined, defiant Mars in Aquarius on her Ascendant; and a head-in-the-clouds Jupiter Neptune in Sagittarius in her 9th in a creative though also neurotic opposition to Saturn in Gemini.

  Her unaspected Moon will make her vulnerable, feeling under-supported and can be traumatizing. She was not handed an easy hand of cards to play in life.

  Durek Verrett, 17 November 1974, is an intense and charming Sun Venus in Scorpio with an ultra-determined Mars Mercury also in Scorpio. He will resonate with her heavy 8^th house chart, though their relationship chart is horrifyingly difficult. There is a needs-space Sun Uranus conjunction square an adventurous Jupiter – that latter often pops up in unlikely romances that seemed a good idea initially but don’t stand the test of time. More difficult by  a multiple of a hundred is a one-sided, controlling, can be unkind/cruel composite Saturn opposition Mars square Pluto. That is nasty.

Unless his birth date is way out – this one is unlikely to survive as a happy-ever-after union.

  Her first husband Ari Behn, had a Libra Sun, Pluto and Mars in late Virgo conjunction falling in her 8^th as well as his Mercury Uranus so another tricky match.  

Pic: Twitter

Mastodon is being talked up as a replacement for twitter users upset by Elon Musk’s arrival. It is an open-sourced, decentralized federated social network platform with “stringent anti-abuse and anti-discrimination policies”. It was started in 2016 by a young German software developer, Eugen Rochko (born 1993) who had become disappointed with Twitter. ‘Toots’ as opposed to tweets allow for twice the length at 500 characters.

  Despite an upsurge in users it will have a long way to go to match Twitter’s 300 million or thereabout foot traffic.

  Mastodon was launched on 16 March 2016 and in stable version on 26 May 2016 – with both charts being highly mutable. The original launch chart which is probably the best guide has no enduring Fixed planets in contrast to Twitter’s four and has a Pisces Sun plus three other Pisces planets with Jupiter in Virgo and Mars and Saturn in Sagittarius – such a scattered chart does fit with a federated set up and although Pluto trine Jupiter will be successful it might not have the staying power.

  It will have to contend with tr Neptune conjunct the Pisces Sun in 2023/24 which will be lacklustre plus discouraging tr Saturn in Pisces in hard aspect to the other Mutable planets through 2023 and 2024.

  Twitter will sag also through 2023 with tr Neptune square the Pluto, pulling away its influence; and will be hardest hit by tr Neptune Saturn conjunct the Sun by 2025. It isn’t heading into a successful rebirth under Musk.   It’s a brave new world ahead waiting on completely new outlets for venting.

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Guaranteed to light up the tabloids the ‘theatre of cruelty’ that is I’m a Celebrity in the jungle is back watched by millions and sneered at by the critics.

  Early notables are Mike Tindall, the ex-rugby international husband of Zara, Princess Anne’s daughter, and the not-yet-appeared Matt Hancock, another laughing stock Tory MP, whose TV appearance has led to his ejection from the Parliamentary party.

  Tindall, 18 October 1978, is reckoned to be in with a shout to win. He is a stalwart and personable Sun Pluto in Libra with a heavyweight collection of Venus, Mars, Uranus and Mercury in Scorpio, a Taurus Moon and a sensible Saturn in Virgo. On the upside he has a fortunate tr Pluto trine his Jupiter/Uranus midpoint all month and tr Jupiter opposition his Mars/Jupiter at the exit – though that latter may also be relief at having escaped more or less in one piece. His temper will start to fray from mid month onwards with tr Saturn square his Mars which will also be accident prone.

   Word from viewers is he looks likely to cross swords with soap opera actor Owen Warner, 8 June 1999, which seems not unlikely with Owen’s Mars conjunct Mike’s Sun and their Saturn and Pluto at odds. Their relationship chart has a hostile Mars Pluto conjunction  and a suspicious Saturn opposition Saturn.  

Matt Hancock, 2 October 1978, only two weeks older than Tindall, is another Libra with his Sun, Mercury, Moon and Pluto there; and three volatile Scorpio planets with an impulsive Mars square Jupiter. He looks emotionally on edge and feeling less than loved and appreciated with the tr Saturn square tr Uranus hitting on his Venus and Venus/Uranus midpoint and will be generally nerve-stretched and off balance.

  Singer Boy George, 14 June 1961, has also taken his life and dignity in his hands to be a camp inmate. He is a Sun Gemini sextile a lively, uncompromising Mars Uranus in Leo with an emphasised Jupiter in Aquarius on the focal point of a Fixed T Square to Venus in Taurus opposition Neptune. He’s in the mood for an adventure with his Solar Arc Sun conjunct his Mars Uranus around now but may wonder if he’s bitten off more than he can chew. Tr Neptune is square his Sun exactly this month which can be debilitating though he’ll have some(admittedly minor) upbeat moments later this month.

  His Mars Uranus in Leo may clash somewhat with Tindall and Hancock’s heavy Scorpio planets though their Airy Suns will chime.   

Gavin Williamson, the Tory cabinet minister, regularly lampooned by commentators as a bad joke, has used up his nine lives and more. He has over the years made repeated gaffes, two of which saw him ousted from May and Johnson’s cabinets and he now looks to be going the same way from Sunak’s round table. The astonishment is he was ever there in the first place. He has a reputation as an inveterate plotter and knows where the  bodies are buried from his time as Chief Whip. But the bullying allegations he now faces show no signs of going away.

  Born 25 June 1976 in Scarborough, he has a Sun Venus in Cancer square Pluto and trine Uranus – charming, controlling and defiant with his Uranus also in a can-be-autocratic Saturn in wannabe important Leo. His Mars in flamboyant Leo is in an opportunistic and risk-taking square to Jupiter.

  This coming January looks like his downfall with tr Saturn throwing a significant setback in his way as it opposes his Mars plus a trapped, enraged tr Pluto opposition his Sun/Mars midpoint. He will recover to  push ahead with full brass-neck polished by late March but from April runs into career losses, one and off into 2024.

  His relationship chart with Rishi Sunak isn’t great at the best of times with a bad-tempered/mutual dislike Mars Saturn conjunction and a oneupmanship Jupiter square Pluto. It runs into the buffers come February 2023.

  He’ll no doubt bounce back in his usual brazen way but will crash into an obstacle even he can’t climb over easily by 2024 when his Solar Arc Mars is conjunct his Pluto.

Leslie Phillips, the comic actor, has died after an eight decade career during which he starred in 200 films. Known for Carry On and Doctor in the House films and the long-running BBC radio The Navy Lark. He latterly provided the voice of the Sorting Hat in the Harry Potter films and had a sterling career in classical theatre though he never shook off the leering roles of his popular successes.

  Born 20 April 1924 he lost his father when he was 10 to illness and his mother then sent him to a drama, dance and elocution academy. His first stage appearance aged 12 was playing a wolf in Peter Pan at the London Palladium with Anna Neagle. From the age of 14, he was the family’s main breadwinner, and on tour more or less permanently. Actors such as John Gielgud, Laurence Olivier and Rex Harrison became his surrogate uncles. “They were my family. Very kind. They encouraged me to read books and educate myself.”

 He was married five times, the last at 89 and had a tragedy- ridden life with his mother dying after being mugged at 93, and his first two wives dying in unfortunate circumstances.

  He was a Sun Taurus or last degree Aries opposition Saturn in Libra square Mars in Capricorn – like most comedians he had a difficult temperament and background. Mars Saturn makes for a short temper and is often seen with a parent dying early. He also probably has a creative Water Grand Trine of Uranus trine Pluto trine a Scorpio Moon. His Venus in social-butterfly Gemini was in a charming and indulgent opposition to Jupiter square Uranus and trine Neptune so he would be outgoing and fairly changeable emotionally.

  Recep Erdogan, Turkey’s president is smirking publicly about his success in persuading Putin not to pull out of a deal to allow Ukraine’s grain exports through the Black Sea. Erdogan’s approach may appear to dent the west’s united front against the war in Ukraine but he could prove useful in maintaining a dialogue between the two sides. It is an alliance born out of desperation since international isolation has left Russia increasingly reliant on Turkey which stepped into the breach created by the withdrawal of western companies and the impact of sanctions. And for its part, Turkey has this year received billions of dollars of Russian cash helping it to manage a ballooning current account deficit. Both leaders need each other.

 Turkey’s inflation rate has reached eye-watering proportions with official figures putting it at 85.5%, while outsiders point to around 200% – largely a result of Erdogan’s mismanagement.

  The Turkey chart, 29 October 1923 8.30 pm Ankara, has the tr Saturn square tr Uranus hitting on the country’s indulgent/expansionist Venus Jupiter in Scorpio over the next 18 months. There will be some luck rolled up in that but it won’t last with Solar Arc Pluto conjunct the Saturn for hardship and deprivation in 2024. And if the start time is right a financially restrictive tr Pluto is moving into the 8^th house of economic prospects for many years to come from mid 2023 onwards.

  Erdogan’s 4^th Term chart shows a similar trajectory of luck followed by a major shock in late 2024. Erdogan may think he has a tiger by the tail but it may prove a short lived triumph.

A fresh faced 27 year old is the unlikely successor to Marine Le Pen as President of France’s far-right National Rally party. Jordan Bardella was elected by 85% at the party conference, after Le Pen said it was time for her to stand down to concentrate on directing its actions in the national assembly, where the party has a record 89 seats, which robbed Macron of his parliamentary majority. She is widely expected to make another presidential bid in 2027.

  Born 13 September 1995 3.42pm Drancy, France, he has a good-at-PR Sun Venus in Virgo opposition Saturn in Pisces and sextile Pluto trine the generational, highly-strung Neptune Uranus in Capricorn. He’s certainly got the makings of a successful player. His Virgo Sun and Venus fit well with France’s Virgo Sun and he shares France’s do-or-die-determined and vengeful Mars in Scorpio in his career 10^th.

  Tr Pluto conjunct his Uranus at the moment will be upending his life and tr Uranus opposing his Pluto will do the same in 2025 and there’s certainly a great deal ahead for him in career terms though he’ll hit a setback or two in 2026/27 as tr Pluto squares his Mars.

  He is said to be Marine Le Pen’s protégé though his Uranus Neptune opposition her Mars and square her afflicted Saturn will make for a few outbursts and awkward moments. Her Pluto is conjunct his Sun so as long as she holds the power it may be OK but that may not be the case for ever.

  Their relationship chart has a power-couple Jupiter Pluto conjunction which again can be successful as long as they direct their joint energies to an outside goal but there’s also an ego-clashing Neptune square Mars so it could go wrong and will be damped down by tr Saturn through Pisces in 2023/24 and then tr Uranus square the composite Sun after mid 2025.

  The party chart looks very deflated around the next presidential election in 2025 with tr Neptune Saturn opposition the Mars Pluto. And she is looking trapped and frustrated in 2023/24 with tr Pluto opposition her Mars.

Greenwashing and sportswashing have their downside as Qatar has been learning recently. Egypt is now the target of unwanted publicity about its dire human rights record on the eve of the COP27 climate change conference.    Thousands of political prisoners have been detained since Al-Sisi took over in a military coup in 2013 and although 800 have been released this year because of outside pressure that is a small number relative to the overall population of political prisoners and there is no indication of new arrests slowing down.

  Despite his human rights record, Al-Sisi has enjoyed sound relations with western capitals who regard him as vital to regional stability.

 Abdel Al-Sisi, a Sun, Venus, Saturn (and Mercury) in Scorpio square Mars in Aquarius which is opposition Pluto  has a dominating and ruthless autocrat’s chart. He has been rattled by the Eclipses this year though, with a fixed and extremely controlling temperament, change is not in his lexicon. However tr Saturn square tr Uranus is also hammering away  at his Mars, Venus, Pluto Sun over the next two years so even he will find it a challenge to hang onto the tiller through a stormy passage ahead.

  Egypt, 14 March 1922 10.43pm Cairo, has tr Neptune undermining its Pisces Sun until early 2023 but then has a high-confidence Solar Arc Pluto conjunct its Jupiter exact in late 2023. This is echoed in both Al-Sisi’s personal chart and his Presidency chart so a major push of one sort or another is to be expected. The combination of Pluto and Jupiter leads to a might-makes-right attitude and a sense that even wildly ambitious plans can succeed, so it can boomerang.

  His birth chart, 19 November 1954, has tr Pluto square his Jupiter in 2023/24 and his Presidency chart 8 June 2014, has his Solar Arc Pluto opposition Jupiter exact in late 2023; followed in 2024 by Solar Arc Neptune square the Sun. Whatever forceful steps he takes are likely to end with him in quicksand.

  Astrology doesn’t do climate predictions. But as an interesting thought: ‘about a quarter of all greenhouse gas pollution produced by humans comes from the United States. More than 80 percent of planet-warming emissions comes from the world’s 20 largest economies.’ By contrast, Pakistan is the source of less than 0.4 percent of historic carbon pollution and after the blistering heat wave this summer — an event made 30 times more likely by climate change, according to scientists — there were dozens of deaths, huge crop losses and a massive flood from a melting glacier in Pakistan. The country suffered again after record rainfall during monsoon season caused catastrophic flooding. At least 1,700 people were killed and 2 million homes were demolished by the floodwaters. A scientific analysis of the disaster found the rainfall was made 50 to 75 percent more intense by human-caused climate change.

  There is pressure from the most affected countries for the climate polluters in the north to pay for damage. Which given the present economic and energy crunch is likely to lead to fractious and ultimately unwinnable arguments.