Can you sidestep fate? Is the course of events in our life predetermined? The imponderable question for astrologers.

   In Greek mythology, the Moirai or  Fates, were three sisters – the spinner, the allotter and the inevitable. Freewill was not an ancient concept. But the modern mind rejects a pre-ordained ‘destiny’ as a concept. In so far as it is considered at all, the general view is that individuals make their own choices.

  Below is a collection of random thoughts.

  Modern astrology takes an intermediate position. The birth chart, for reasons that are not understood, lays down the temperament, talents, family dynamics and the likely path that lies ahead. Following Carl Jung’s theory – that of which we are unconscious meets us on the outside as if it were fate – psychological astrology says that with more self-awareness, there is greater freedom of decision and the ability to direct events (or avoid troublesome ones.)  

 Though this raises other unanswerable questions. Can anyone become so enlightened they only live out the positive aspects of their chart, thereby ducking fate/negative events  altogether? Nope. Some have inter-generational family issues that can take several lifetimes to work out.

  Why are some individuals temperamentally inclined (or elbowed by events) into becoming more conscious, while others live a life stubbornly unaware that there are choices – and remain blown around by the celestial winds of their deeper unconscious.  

 Is it fair to blame people for attracting negative events? What could have been done differently?

  Astrologers do have tools at their disposal to suss out in advance what is likely to happen within limits since predictions are about possibilities and not set in concrete.

 As an example:

 Years ago I was invited onto a cruise starting in Greece and heading for Turkey, Israel, Egypt. Since my (can-be-ominous) Pluto Midheaven line runs through Greece I was marginally anxious but on checking my transits nothing potentially dangerous  flagged up. In the event we were in Egypt two days before the Luxor Massacre in the Valley of the Kings in Egypt which killed 62 tourists. The Tel Aviv visit was overshadowed by heavy security presence since it was the anniversary of Rabin’s death. I returned unscathed though blinking slightly. The risk was there but did not affect me directly. Had my transits indicated accidents and danger as well as the astrocartography I would probably not have gone.

 But most people do not have the tools or the time – and anyway I have always insisted that astrology should not be the sole decision maker otherwise you end up a neurotic wreck double checking every minutiae.

 A more tragic example is the actress Natasha Richardson, killed in March 2009 after falling when skiing in Canada and banging her head.  She was born 11 May 1963 5pm London and had an 8^th house Taurus Sun on the focal point of a T square to a can-be accident prone Mars in Leo opposition Saturn – with Saturn in her sporting 5^th house. Relocated to Mont Tromblant, Quebec to where the accident happened her Mars opposition Saturn was brought into sharp relief, with Mars sitting on the Ascendant opposition Saturn on her Descendant in the 7^th. That might have flagged up a worry especially since it was magnified up by a destructive tr Pluto square her Solar Arc Mars. Plus a jolting SA MC conjunct her Uranus and an explosive (though minor) tr Mars opposition her Uranus. So tricky place and tricky aspects proved calamitous.

  Tragedies happen and it is ghoulish as well as distasteful to suggest they could have been avoided. And yet and yet, there are indicators.

 The other approach is to say that a lifestyle has to be chosen to fit the chart. A high-pressure, high-risk chart needs to walk a path that lives out the individual’s temperament. Marie Colvin, the war correspondent, and Christine Lagarde, of the IMF/EU Central Bank, both with Mars Saturn in Scorpio square Pluto chose to live out those truly difficult energies. Admittedly Marie Colvin was assassinated in her late fifties in Syria. But had either of them attempted to stay a suburban housewife existence their lives would have been riven throughout with disputes and hostility.

 Bruno Bettelheim, the child psychiatrist, worked at one point with a violent boy patient, who after a good deal of therapy did moderate his behaviour. As an adult he worked in the New York stock market. Bettelheim said he regretted that his former patient had chosen such a conflict-ridden job. Yet it suited his temperament. His Mars may have been turned in more constructive directions but it still existed at an elevated level. He was never going to turn into a nine-to-five  automaton or a softie. He needed thrills, excitement and adrenaline-rushes.

 Jung again:  Freewill is the ability to choose to do what we must – puts it a different way. You are who you are. Accept it and get on with it.

  Another personal story. When I left London to live in France in October 2001, it was an insane leap if I look back on it. Furniture, cats and me. Only later did I reflect it had happened on transiting Saturn in Gemini opposition Pluto = bleak, deprived, hardship, war – which was colliding with my Gemini Moon Uranus and squared my Virgo Sun. The astrology in advance would have seemed scary and deeply depressing. In the event it turned into a great and crazy adventure.  Reflecting on the  astrology what seems important to ask was what would have happened if I had stayed.  Then I suspect the full discouraging weight of Saturn Pluto would have landed on me.

   It indicates that the choices you make even with difficult influences can turn positive. Well I say choices but I am not sure everyone (most) would have made that ’choice’ and I can hardly claim credit for it. Having a super-charged Uranus was handed to me at birth with all its concomitant problems but it made the move possible.

 Fate and freewill – a riddle within a riddle. Choices matter. But is freedom of choice (or self-awareness) a given to all temperaments, never mind to individuals born into certain environments?  My experience would say not.

  No great conclusions except that life ain’t fair. Some are luckier than others. Comments welcome.

Carlos Alcaraz, ranked No 1 in men’s tennis single, has astonished the sporting world by splitting from his coach Juan Carlos Ferrero who has nurtured him since 2018 through all six of his Grand Slam titles. There are no clear reasons given and Ferrero clearly did not want the separation.

 Alcaraz, born 5 May 2003 3am Murcia, Spain, comes from a tennis playing family, with some suggestions his father may have been behind the split. Alcaraz has a quick witted 3^rd house Taurus Sun and Mercury square a publicity-attracting Mars Neptune in Aquarius on his Ascendant opposition Jupiter so fairly ego-centred and confident; as well as enduring and stubborn. With so much Fixed energy he will not appreciate too much change.

  He also has a cool, hard-working Moon Saturn in Gemini in his sporting 5^th house opposition Pluto, so there will be an element of family control/possessiveness in his life.

 At the moment tr Uranus is moving across his IC in late Taurus which completes an entire Uranus cycle with Ferrero which started in 2018 with Uranus in late Aries. Uranus moving into his 4^th does suggest a pull away from the past and an emotional upheaval. Tr Saturn was also recently square his Saturn Moon which again suggests a shift in his emotional and competitive outlook. Plus next year sees his tr Uranus square Uranus which is also often a rebellious time of pulling away from childhood. And he has his Solar Arc Uranus square his Moon two years back and then square his Saturn by 2027 – so yet more pressure to step back from restrictive relationships.

  I cannot find his father’s birthdate but I would not have been surprised if he had (and might ahead) pull away from certain family ties. Though with his Moon tied into a Saturn opposition Pluto he will be fairly chained in.  

  Ferrero, 12 February 1980, Spain, has his Aquarius Sun in Alcaraz’s 1^st house giving his image a boost. His enthusiastic Mars Jupiter in Virgo is trine Alcaraz’s Taurus Sun for an uplifting and motivating link. He also has his Uranus conjunct Alcaraz’s Midheaven so would change the course of Alcaraz’s life. But perhaps the connection being Uranian would not have been expected to last for ever.

  His relationship chart with Alcaraz is super-intense and high-powered with a determined composite Mars Pluto square Jupiter; plus a friendly and serious Sun Venus trine Saturn; and a highly-strung Mercury square Uranus Neptune. Not always easy but it clearly worked.

  Alcaraz ahead has tr Jupiter moving through his 6^th in the immediate future = good for health and work, then tr Jupiter rises above his Descendant until it reaches a successful 2030 – and before then in 2028/29 tr Pluto square his Mars/Jupiter midpoint should bring positive results. But this coming year in 2026 looks a touch confused, uncertain and not productive. The transition may be tricky to handle and bring results. 

The Winter Solstice marking the ingress of the Sun into Capricorn on December 21^st in the northern hemisphere is the shortest day and longest night. Since prehistoric times it has been a significant time of year in many cultures, marked by festivals and rites. Ancient monuments such as Newgrange, Stonehenge, and Cahokia Woodhenge are aligned with the sunrise or sunset on the winter solstice.

 Capricorn associated with Janus, the Roman god, is two faced – not duplicitous, but looking back to the old year and facing up to the new. Which mirrors the astrological glyph for Capricorn, combining two opposites – the goat able to climb mountains and the fish swimming in the ocean.

 Days may be short and the temperature low, but in olden times livestock were often slaughtered so they would not have to be fed during the winter, so it was almost the only time of year when a plentiful supply of fresh meat was available. Less light, more food.

 Whether or not the ingress chart for the Winter Solstice or other Cardinal Ingresses are enlightening is questionable.

 This one has Pluto trine Uranus in late Taurus sextile Neptune (Saturn) and Jupiter trine Neptune Saturn, sextile Uranus which is much the same information as can be gleaned from eclipse charts. Plus a Sun Mars conjunction; and Venus square Neptune Saturn.

This ingress does have the warlike Mars MC through Venezuela which may be significant.

Susie Wiles, Trump’s chief of staff, has been wrong-footed when her bizarrely outspoken comments about senior members of the administration were published in Vanity Fair. Her lame excuse was she thought her conversations were for a book, and didn’t expect the writer to quote her so extensively. Despite rapid denials and the usual obfuscations from the White House, the conversations appear to be on the record. Vance she dubbed a conspiracy theorist whose conversion to MAGA was politically self-serving. Musk was odd and addicted to ketamine; Pam Bondi messed up over the Epstein saga. And Trump had ‘an alcoholic’s personality’ with a penchant for vengeance.

 Born 14 May 1957, she is a long-time political consultant and lobbyist, who led Trump’s fundraising apparatus, since 2021 and was a co-campaign manager for the 2024 election.

  A determined, stubborn and controlling Sun Taurus square Pluto, she has a wide-ish yod of Mercury in Taurus sextile Mars inconjunct Saturn in Sagittarius. Such a Saturnine yod can be self-defeating if not well handled. Her Uranus is square Mercury, square Neptune and trine Saturn. What is curious is the juxtaposition of Fixed Pluto contrasting with a wayward Uranus. All personalities have contradictory traits but hers seem more marked.

 Her Taurus Sun falls on Trump’s Midheaven so she is well suited to furthering his career, but her Pluto on his Ascendant and conjunct his Mars contains the seeds of problems with her trying to control his image and getting resentful (however discreetly) with his bombastic attention-seeking. Her Mars in Cancer is conjunct his Mercury for arguments; and her Uranus is conjunct his 12^th house Pluto for a potentially destabilising effect – or arguably for letting his dark secrets emerge from hiding.

 Her Sun is also exactly conjunct the Inauguration (Trump Second Term) Uranus hinting she may not be entirely behind his wayward, upset-the-applecart and delete-the-past initiatives.

 Her chart is badly rattled at the moment with a panicky Solar Arc Neptune conjunct her Mars and a turbulent SA Pluto square her Uranus also now; plus a catastrophic tr Pluto opposition her Mars/Pluto midpoint this month till early January 2026. It won’t get easily swept under the carpet.

 Her relationship chart with Trump has a hint of froideur in late January 2026 but it will be June 2026 onwards when the real upsets take place.

 Needless to say J.D. Vance and Marco Rubio are distancing themselves from her; ditto Bondi.

  How naïve can she/they be? I did not expect to be quoted! Really??

  Renowned and popular director and actor Rob Reiner has been killed along with his wife, mother of his four children, in a suspected double homicide in Hollywood. He came to prominence as Mike “Meathead” on the CBS sitcom All in the Family in the 1970s, and appeared in Sleepless in Seattle, The First Wives Club, Primary Colors and The Wolf of Wall Street amongst others. He also directed When Harry Met Sally, A Few Good Men and The Shawshank Redemption amongst many others.

 Born 6 March 1947 10pm New York, with a well-known actor father and mother, he had a filmic Pisces Sun and Mercury in his entertaining 5^th house opposition a Virgo Moon and square an 8^th house Uranus, making him inspired and innovative in directing and writing, as well as a talented performer. He had an influential and controlling Pluto on his Midheaven conjunct Saturn opposition Venus in Aquarius. 

  A communicative though hidden Air Grand Trine of a 12^th house Neptune trine Venus trine an 8^th house North Node, was formed into a Kite by Venus opposition Saturn, making Saturn his driving planet.

 His Saturn was being massively assaulted astrologically around now with tr Pluto in opposition (conjunct Venus), with his Progressed Mars being square his Saturn exactly and his Progressed Moon was conjunct his Saturn. Any one of those would be challenging but all together it would be over whelming. Tr Pluto opposition Saturn is depressing and heavy going. Progressed Mars square Saturn is high-risk and destructive, accident-prone and short tempered; with his Progressed Moon adding another layer of woe.

  His 5^th house Pisces Sun and Virgo Moon were also bring triggered by the September Lunar Eclipse at exactly the same degrees. The 5^th house rules children as well as creativity and entertainment.

  According to press reports his son Nick has been taken into custody and charged. Though nothing has been proved so comments should be reserved until there is a legal verdict.

Ten years ago there was a drama which documented Nick’s long struggle with addiction. Nick co-wrote the script with a friend from rehab, inspired by their experiences, while Rob directed the movie, drawing from what he went through as a father. In it the son resents the harsh way his father and mother are treating his addiction, with mandatory stints in rehab. At the end the  father issues an apology for the sometimes-unsympathetic way he treated his son.

https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/movies/movie-news/rob-reiner-nick-reiner-being-charlie-movie-1236450528

 Nick Reiner, 14 September 1993 is a Sun Virgo in an excitable trine to Uranus Neptune in Capricorn, sextile a determined Pluto in Scorpio. His Pluto is also on the focal point of a Fixed T square to Venus in Leo opposition Saturn in Aquarius – so an overloaded Pluto in Scorpio. His highly strung Uranus Neptune are also square a volatile and overly-impulsive Mars Jupiter conjunction in Libra. It is a chart that is spilling over with exuberant energy and immensely intense, battened down and repressed at the same time.

 His Solar Arc Mars is conjunct his Pluto exactly now which pulls together his two central configurations by Solar Arc which usually points to a life-changing moment – and Mars Pluto certainly indicates anger, frustration, high-risk. Whether or not he was involved the brutal slaying of his parents, it would have a enormous effect.

  But nothing is proved until it is proved in court.

 The Hollywood chart is also showing shock and fear from this tragedy with the Solar Arc Mars conjunct Saturn now and the Solar Arc Uranus conjunct the South Node for a shocking event on home territory.

ADD ON: Astrologically speaking Rob Reiner and Trump were always going to be at cross purposes with RR’s Full Moon square Trump’s wayward Uranus in the 10^th. RR’s Mars was close to Trump’s Descendant for arguments and a fiery chemistry. RR’s Midheaven Pluto was conjunct Trump’s Pluto for a tug of war.

 That translated in the relationship chart into a struggle-for-the-upper-hand composite Sun opposition Jupiter square Pluto.

 Psychologically speaking it is Trump’s narcissism arguably inflating towards dementia. The narcissist can’t bear not being centre of attention – so inserts themselves into whatever scenario is ongoing – and in Trump’s case that embraces all headline news stories. He also harbours a cauldron of spite and hatred for anyone who stands against him. So sympathy for a murdered Rob Reiner is beyond his capability.

Odd thoughts from psychoanalytic literature on delusional narcissism.  

London psychoanalyst Christopher Bollas talks simultaneously of the pervert and the fascist as if they were interchangeable. He speaks of the “empty heart of the pervert”  – “On the verge of a moral vacuum, the mind splits off [its] dead core self and projects it into a victim” who then becomes “a disposable nonentity.”  The profoundly destructive processes are then denied by a form of delusional narcissism. There is a false idealization of the self, a delusional grandiosity in the perpetrator.

     The pervert/fascist mind purges itself of what it has contained. “The cleansing of the self suggests the possible birth of a new, forever empty self to be born …. with no past (which is severed) and with a future entirely of its own creation.”

Janine Chasseguet-Smirgel, the French analyst, writes eloquently both about perversion and group delusion. “He who does not think “she writes” as the group does is excluded, harassed, killed or declared insane.”

     The same process of denigration, character assassination, caricaturing is further described by Christopher Bollas, talking about The Fascist State of Mind –  one which he says “entertains no doubt or uncertainty”. Distortion of the views of opponents to render them less intelligible and credible is the first move. They have to be discredited because no separation of view is possible from the accepted one.

At least 15 are dead from a shooting on Bondi beach, Australia when 1000 people were in attendance to mark the start of Hanukkah.

 The shooting occurred around 6.40 pm December 14^th with explosive Uranus and destructive Algol in the 12^th house  and Mars in excitable Sagittarius on the cusp of the subterranean 8^th.  

** The asteroid Centaur Nessus was exactly on the Midheaven. According to Ben Belinsky while it is usually associated with deceit it also has a positive role, making us better equipped to deal with the risks and dangers we inevitably face. Nessus runs in an elliptical orbit between Saturn and Pluto, so carries a dark energy.

  Other thoughts on Nessus point to ancestral and collective trauma, the unaddressed pain and unresolved issues passed down through family lines or cultural groups. It points to shadow material that needs to be brought to light.

 The “Shirt of Nessus” story is a powerful symbol for something that slowly poisons or wounds a person, often stemming from a misguided hope or expectation. Despite all this, Nessus also presents the potential for profound healing in breaking the Cycle:. It encourages individuals to stand up against injustice and toxic patterns to ensure the past does not repeat itself, demanding that these hidden wounds be given voice and visibility.**  

On the shooting chart the Mars in Sagittarius square the publicity-attracting Mars in Sagittarius square Neptune in Pisces was activating the recent late Virgo Solar Eclipse. That September Eclipse set for Bondi had the New Moon on the Ascendant opposition Neptune on the Descendant so marking it up as a key location. It was an eclipse hinting at risk and jeopardy ahead with Mars on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Neptune sextile Uranus; and Mars square Pluto.  

  At the moment tr Saturn is exactly square the Australia country chart’s Jupiter for a confidence-denting event with an uncertain tr Saturn square Neptune approaching fast. The Australia Solar Arc Pluto is exactly conjunct the Descendant on the country chart for an intense reaction. The Australians will not take kindly to an event such as this and are likely to respond forcefully.

  The Israel chart was always due a significant shock and jolt with tr Uranus square their Mars exactly this month, repeating next March. The Israel chart also looks deflated with tr Saturn moving to square their Jupiter in Sagittarius in January 2026 and sitting on the Jupiter/Uranus midpoint at the moment. Emotions will heighten through 2026/27 with tr Pluto opposition the Israel Moon.

 With no end in sight to the endless Israel/Palestine bloody stalemate, attacks on Jewish communities elsewhere globally are feeling the effects of hostility towards Israeli government policies.

  Everything has been said before endlessly about successive Israeli government policies towards the Palestinians which does raise legitimate criticism. Sympathy towards the October 7 Israeli hostages and their appalling treatment at the hands of Hamas is to a degree tempered by allegations about torture of Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails. Not to mention the constant encroachment on Palestinian land in the West Bank by increasingly violent settlers.

  The US bears some responsibility for not putting the brakes on sooner, indeed from the start. In recent times Clinton tried, Biden didn’t and Trump is aiming for a lucrative real estate deal for Gaza which is beyond parody.  

  Is there an answer? At the moment it seems not. See previous post: Israel – the roots of ‘a sick and sorrowful conflict’ 10th October 2023. Journalist and world affairs commentator James Cameron wrote in 1976 “The introduction of the Jewish State into the Arab heartland exalted many hearts and broke many more. More than anything in this century it was a triumph and a desolation. Full of high hopes it produced the most intractable conflict of our times.”

   I dug out an old piece I pulled together in 2009 about a previous clash for anyone interested in the historical background of what seems to be an interminable and insoluble problem.

“This is a potted Jewish and Israel/Palestine history partly for my benefit as I try to wrestle with a horribly complex situation where there’s right and wrong on both sides, conflicting sympathies and no obvious solution.

   
The Jews have had a terrible and a tragic history. For centuries and centuries before the Holocaust they were subjected to persecution and forced exile from the countries in which they had settled – England, Spain, Russia, Poland, the Middle East etc etc.

  The astrology of the Jewish diaspora seems to resonate both to Saturn Uranus aspects and to Uranus Pluto. Plus of course Saturn Pluto under which Israel was born and which was the significator on the chart of Theodor Hertzl, who was the first to push for a Zionist state.

 
The first Jewish diaspora occurred under a Uranus Pluto conjunction in 70 AD when their revolt against the Romans failed and they were dispersed away from their homeland. In 691 AD on another Uranus Pluto the great mosque was built in Jerusalem. The first of the European Crusades to take back Jerusalem for the Christians was launched on a Uranus Pluto in 1095; as was the fourth failed Crusade in 1204. There were two significant Jewish massacres on Uranus Pluto conjunctions – the first in Rhineland 1095; the other in 1348 when Jews were blamed for the 25 million deaths from the Black Death plague. The Six Day War against Israel in 1967 was also a Uranus Pluto event.
Saturn Uranus oversaw the persecution and expulsion of the Jews in France in 1206; and was in place when Hitler decided on the ‘Final Solution’ in 1942.

 
 It is not surprising given their history that the Jewish people wanted a homeland of their own where they would be free of persecution. Since they had always regarded Judea as their historic homeland that seemed the place to be. The Russian pogroms of the late 19th century stepped up Jewish immigration to what is now Palestine. The First Zionist Conference in 1897 was under a Saturn Uranus conjunction in Scorpio. After the Balfour Declaration of 1917 (Saturn Uranus opposition) and under the British mandate in Palestine (Saturn Uranus opposition) there were increasing Arab attacks on Jewish settlers – and the British failed to protect them. The original Haganah (defence) party under Ben Gurion did not believe in retaliation. So the more militant Irgun split away in order to defend themselves more pro-actively.
Jewish immigration stepped up in the 1930s and 40s because of Fascist persecution of the Jews in Europe. The Arabs become more incensed leading to the Arab Revolt of 1936 (tail end of a Uranus Pluto square) in which 5000 Arabs were killed. The Jewish militia aided the British in quelling the revolt in which the Arab leaders were killed and their weaponry depleted.

  A UK policy of partition of Palestine was in place by 1939, followed by a similar UN mandate in 1947 which would have led to a Jewish State and a separate Palestinian state.
  There was a Palestine Civil War between the Jews and Palestinians in 1947 when the British were still nominally in charge – this was after Irgun bombed the British Military Command HQ the King David Hotel in Jerusalem in 1946 killing 91, many of them British secretariat staff (Uranus trine Jupiter sextile Pluto, Sun Saturn in Cancer). There was then a further Israel versus Arab war in 1948 with the Arabs at a disadvantage having been de-weaponised in the late 1930s. Because of indiscriminate and violent Jewish attacks pursuing a policy of expulsion on the Arab population between 1947 and 49 many Palestinian Arabs fled believing they would be able to return at some point.
  And it’s been pretty much downhill all the way since then. There have been Jewish atrocities – the massacre at Deir Yassin in April 1948 in which over 100 neutral Palestinian villagers were murdered by Jewish militia (New Moon in Aries trine Mars, Saturn Pluto in Leo sextile Uranus); the Sabra Chatila Palestinian refugee Camp Massacre in Beirut in 1982 for which direct personal responsibility was laid on Ariel Sharon (Saturn Pluto conjunction, Sun square Neptune); the Qana massacre in 1996 in Lebanon.

  As one journalist remarked Israel is like an organ transplant into a body whose immune system is determined to reject the intruders. He compared Israel to the Crusader Kingdom which lasted for 100 years in the Middle East before being destroyed by the Arabs.

What could have been done differently? The international community having decided to interfere in the region should then have policed its decisions – reined in the Jewish violence and the Arab anger – and found a humane, workable formula for a viable Palestinian State with adequate water supplies for agriculture. Instead of which the victimised Jewish nation, boosted and funded by USA sympathy for its tragic history, turned into the aggressor, playing decades-long dirty tricks games which only worsen with time. In 2009 they rained white phosphorus on Gaza. And the international community stumbled along doing not very much about constant Israeli breaches of UN Resolutions, their building of illegal settlements and the massively restrictive barrier, trying to starve the Palestinians into submission etc etc.

   All that is clear at the moment is that neither side is winning. The Jewish people do deserve a home and freedom from persecution but they knew by insisting on their historic homeland that they were picking a fight as they deliberately and knowingly displaced the Palestinians. They of all people should have known better.

  And here we are 16 years on from the above piece and fifty years on from James Cameron – with no viable solution any nearer.

Stanley Baxter, the comic actor whose female impersonations in his lavish TV spectaculars attracted vast audiences, has died at 99. ‘His breadth of talent was unmatched – satirist, stand-up comedian, singer, dancer, impressionist, wit, poet, panto dame, dramatic actor, writer and choreographer.’ His shows at their height were watch by 14 million viewers and involved often up to 45 costume changes as he mimicked Shirley Bassey, Marlene Dietrich, Judy Garland and others. Made with meticulous care and high production values, they were among the most expensive productions in the field of light entertainment.

 For all his success he was a troubled soul. He said in an interview “I’m still not quite sure who I really am, which makes it easier to play other people, but a lot harder to be convincing as Stanley Baxter.” He also struggled with his lifelong homosexuality, telling his biographer “I never wanted to be gay.”

   He was born 24 May 1926 2.15 am Glasgow, Scotland, with a timid insurance actuary father and a flamboyant mother who fostered his interest in the entertainment business from an early age and encouraged him to do Mae West impressions. After WW11 he did his National Service in the Far East, serving with fellow comedian Kenneth Williams who remained a close friend. He married an actress when he was 26 and remained married for nearly fifty years. She had mental health problems and died eventually of suicide. He spent the past 25 years as a virtual recluse in his first floor apartment in a Highgate Village art deco mansion. ‘He dreaded going out – believing himself to be decrepit, he feared being recognised and, worse, pitied.’

He was born a few days after after Robert Lifton, the psychiatrist who shed light on the darkest corners of human behaviour (see post 18 November 2025) three weeks after David Attenborough and a month after Queen Elizabeth 11, so he shared their stalwartly enduring Fixed chart. In his case he was Gemini rather than Taurus which fitted his communicative and quixotic temperament. But he did have the Fixed T Square of Jupiter in Aquarius in his 1^st opposition an uncommitted-about-relationships Neptune in his 7^th square an overly conscientious Saturn in his 9^th.

  Possibly most significant was his 5^th house Pluto in his chart area of entertainment conjunct Sirius, the brightest star in the sky which confers honours. It may be one reason for the number of eminent personalities from that year. (And Margaret Thatcher and Peter Sellers from 1925).

  Baxter’s deeply buried, intense 8^th house Moon in Libra opposed Venus (and Nessus) squaring Pluto pointed not only to a possessive mother – but might also be a clue to his talent for female impersonation with Nessus Venus = deceit about women at its crudest.  He also had a creative though unhappy Water Grand Trine of Mars in Pisces trine North Node (Pluto) in Cancer trine Saturn with Uranus in Pisces trine Saturn as an outlier.

 His Sun is virtually unaspected bar an out-of-element sextile to Uranus which would not bolster a strong sense of personal identity.

 A wonderful entertainer and a staple of my childhood visits to Christmas pantomimes in Glasgow with his double act along with Jimmy Logan.

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Football fans are up in arms about the “scandalous” ticket prices for the 2026 FIFA World Cup tournament in the USA, Canada and Mexico which are seven times more expensive than in the previous one in Qatar for the final. It will cost about £5,225 for a supporter to follow their team through to the final if they were to attend all eight matches in the cheapest ticket category. That rises to about £8,850 in the mid-price range, or £12,357 for the top tier.

FIFA, 21 May 1904, has three planets in Taurus, including the last degree Sun which is being triggered by tr Uranus conjunct across till next April – so there may well be ructions before the event. The first match kicks off in Mexico City on 11^th June when tr Uranus will conjunct the FIFA Mars so the federation will be on high alert.

 Gianni Infantino, the president of FIFA since Sepp Blatter’s ignominious exit in 2015, 23 March 1970, is a Sun, Mercury, Venus in Aries opposition Uranus in Libra and Sun Mercury trine Neptune; with a hard-edged Mars Saturn conjunct in Taurus in an opportunistic opposition to Jupiter which won’t always give him good judgement.

 His Pluto in Virgo which opposes his Sun Mercury, is conjunct the FIFA North Node so he does have a strong, controlling impact on the organisation’s direction. He’s facing a few ups and downs ahead with an undermining Neptune (and Saturn) conjunct his Sun in early 2026 and later; and a nerve-stretched tr Uranus opposition his Neptune.

  His relationship chart with FIFA hints at feelings running high at the moment, with uncertainty running into January and pressures continuing on in 2027.

  Infantino has been accused of breaching his organisation’s rules on political neutrality in presenting Trump with a bizarre inaugural Fifa peace prize at the World Cup draw in Washington recently.  He is a Trump supporter though they are not natural allies with Infantino’s Mars Saturn in Taurus square DT’s Pluto; and GI’s Pluto square DT’s Sun and Moon – so there must be ulterior motives which are not clear at the moment.  The relationship chart has a needs-space, differing-agendas composite Sun square Uranus. By the time of the tournament in June tr Neptune will be square their composite Mars which suggests their mutual backslapping will be massively undermined.  

Trump rampages on like a bull on the loose threatening to break up the EU, stop bolstering Europe’s defences, cosy up to Russia and withdraw from NATO. As with many of his wild demands there is a nugget of sense in a sliver of them. Europe does need to step up on the defence front. But there are indications he is not carrying the support of senior Republican lawmakers with him. The Republican-led House and Senate Armed Services Committees weighed confirmed a defense policy bill reaffirming U.S. support for Ukraine and NATO and restricting the Pentagon’s ability to reduce U.S. troop levels in Europe.

 A former US ambassador said: “A large majority of Republicans … in the Senate and the House believe Russians are adversaries of the United States, that Moscow’s war on Ukraine is a Russian aggression that must not succeed.”

 The relationship charts between the USA and the two Russia charts of 1917 and 1991 also suggest the US as a country is mistrustful of Russia with anxiety and setbacks across this winter. More so than with the EU – the USA/EU chart is fairly locked together.

  The USA/NATO chart is more problematic with indications of growing challenges and tensions through 2026, more so in 2027 – though that also could involve other factors such as outside aggressors. One of Trump’s supporters politician  Thomas Massie recently said: ‘NATO is a Cold War relic. We should withdraw from NATO and use that money to defend our own country, not socialist countries.’

 Massie, 13 January 1971, a Sun Capricorn trine Saturn in Taurus on one side and trine Pluto on the other looks blocked in February 2026 and upbeat though over hopeful by April. His relationship chart with Trump is locked together by a composite yod and heading for confusing, disappointing times in 2026/27.

 The EU is under extreme pressure now and on for a few months with Solar Arc Pluto opposition the Moon and square Uranus but that should ease off through 2026; with a muddled-about-direction tr Neptune Saturn in late Pisces square the Midheaven till February 2026 and conjunct the Descendant causing havoc in neighbourly relations ahead.  There’ll be some discouragement in a face-reality 2026 with the Solar Arc Sun square Saturn and financial disappointment with tr Pluto square the Neptune; good news and a lucky break in 2028 with SA Jupiter conjunct the Sun but more significant challenges as tr Pluto squares the Moon and opposes the Uranus in 2029/30 hinting at forced changes of future plans. Ups and downs.

 Trump will continue to hammer away at the EU through 2026/27 pushing for a split but it looks more confused than terminal.

 Putin’s birth date is not confirmed but on the October 1952 date his relationship with Trump would seem to be powering ahead through 2026 with tr Pluto opposition the composite Jupiter – though that could also hint at a power play, as Putin pulls DT’s strings. With mayhem and tensions breaking out in May and after July 2026.

  I am not sure how well they work but having sifted through a few earlier political global partnerships, the relationship chart between Trump’s Admin chart and Putin’s 5^th Term look both overly confident as a pair and mired in confusion, evasion, deceit and excessive expectations. That chart will jolt and jangle through the winter and April 2026 looks fairly explosive.   

See previous post: UN, WHO, NATO, ICC – upending the global order 26th February 2025