The historical solemnity and substance of the coronation fast approaching is likely to be subverted by public interest in who is glaring daggers at whom amongst the Royals. Harry on his own, out of the Royal procession and off the balcony,  relegated to the ‘cheap seats’, how will he react to the ceremonial which encapsulates all his grinding resentment over the accident of being born second. Especially since his grievance-ranting has distanced him even further from the centre of the action.

  The day itself on a Scorpio Lunar Eclipse might hint at rifts especially as the Sun is close to rebellious Uranus never mind opposition the Moon. And it follows on from the Solar Eclipse two weeks previously in a Saros cycle in which  passions usually run high.

All eyes at the moment are on Pluto sitting at zero degrees Aquarius. This is exactly square Charles’ 10^th house Taurus Moon as his career and life come under tremendous pressure and change. 

  And Pluto in Aquarius pops up notably in three Royal relationship charts.

  Harry’s relationship with his father has a zero Aquarius Midheaven so this will be a make-or-break phase of almost two years till early 2025 where they try valiantly to find a new direction. Though there will be jostling for control and the upper hand. Bitterness may win out with no real indications of a truce for some years ahead.

  Meghan’s relationship with the Princess of Wales has a composite Sun at zero degree Scorpio – so their already stressed connection will be peaking over the coronation and be going through the grinder over the next two years. Hilary Rose in the Times who has been doing an acidly funny series on Meghan since the podcasts write today: “And you thought Meghan was going to pitch up for a two-hour ceremony starring someone else? In a badly lit church, with no control over camera angles and no copyright? Where she wears a hat and Kate wears a tiara? Duh, sucker.”

  Their relationship is likely to blow sky high when tr Uranus squares the composite Mars, Moon and opposes the Venus Uranus from June 2024 onwards through 2025.

  The other is Prince William with Prince Andrew with Will harbouring a deep dislike of his errant uncle with a composite Saturn, Neptune Mars catching the tr Saturn hard aspects at the moment.  Their relationship chart has a composite Sun at zero Taurus. Like Kate and Meghan, the tensions between them will not lift for a couple of years ahead.

   All of the cross currents have been endlessly chewed over in the past but odd thoughts.  Poor Harry has tr Saturn opposition his 8^th house Mercury on the day so he won’t be laughing and dancing.  Both Andrew and Sarah Ferguson have a blocked tr Saturn opposition their respective Plutos which doesn’t suggest they regard Charles’ elevation as in their interests. And even more significantly, Andrew has tr Uranus square his natal Yod focal point Uranus jolting his life onto a totally new track. A destiny-changing moment in his life he’d prefer to have avoided.

  Sophie Wessex, now Duchess of Edinburgh, has a zero Aquarius Sun which will put her under considerable pressure over the next two years. Despite the belated gift of the Edinburgh title promised to Edward by Prince Philip, there is an uneasy mood between them and Charles. The Edward/Charles relationship has Neptune at zero Scorpio square Mars opposition Uranus so it was always a confusing and combustible connection which will muddle through this year and could blow a fuse in 2025/26. Sophie and Charles don’t look too sympatico either.  

  To paraphrase Jane Austen from Pride and prejudice – “For what do we live, but to make sport out of our Royals.”  A soap opera in ermine as a distraction from real life.

Add On: Meghan is not surprisingly showing signs of stress and discouragement with her SA Sun square her Neptune almost exactly to the minute of a degree over the coronation. With two difficult Pluto aspects to midpoints as well – overcoming a difficult situation through extraordinary effort and feeling truculent with it; over strained nerves.

  And there may well have been differences with Harry over the decision with tr Saturn opposition the composite Sun and square the Uranus in their relationship chart late March and early April. And that separating influence repeats on and off later this year in September and late December. Tr Pluto is trine the composite Venus this year and next which can bring renewed passion or possessiveness.

  Their relationship chart is ploughing through stormy seas with tr Pluto conjunct the Midheaven this year and next, which not only affects joint direction in life but can also damage reputation and status. Tr Pluto continues to stoke up family tensions (both Windsor and Markle, as well as domestic) as it opposes the composite Moon, till late this year.  Tr Neptune opposes the Mars from May 2024 into early 2025 which will undermine their confidence, either about external failures or about the relationship.

  In both cases Saturn in Pisces is moving through one of their financial house – Meghan 8^th and Harry 2^nd – so cash shortages may be biting. They live a very very expensive lifestyle with considerable staff overheads and expensive security running into several millions a year.

  Meghan is moving into her mid life crisis of Uranus opposition Uranus in 2024 when she’ll want to kick over the traces and suit herself. And with tr Saturn opposing her Sun/Moon midpoint in 2024 she will be pulling away from cosy togetherness. Though it may be 2026/27 before it comes to a final crunch point. It’s a very chained together relationship but is taking a terrible pounding through this phase.

The USA dollar is not the only one under pressure in the next three or four years. The Bank of Russia, 13 July 1990, is disappearing into a swamp over the coming eight months and after with the Solar Arc Neptune square the Mars and a trapped, scary, meltdown tr Pluto square the Mars exactly now and returning throughout 2024. With high tension extending through 2025.

  The Bank of China will start to feel the pain 2024, mounting to scary levels in 2025/26 with the worst being Solar Arc Neptune conjunct the Mars Jupiter in Capricorn badly. There is no currency chart for the Chinese yuan/remnimbi.

  The EU chart also looks to be heading towards a financial crunch, picking up in 2024 and worsening through to 2026 and beyond. Tr Pluto will hit the deflating, confidence-busting Jupiter/Neptune midpoint in the EU 2^nd house come 2024/25; with a considerable setback in 2026 from SA Sun square the Saturn and the devastating/confused tr Pluto conjunct the 2^nd house Neptune in 2026/27.  This is mirrored in the EURO I January 1999 chart. And the ECB 1994 chart which will be thrown into forced change in 2024/25, losing its direction and being trapped through till 2026.

See Post: Pluto into Aquarius – shock waves through central banks. 10th September 2021.  See also EU December 22 2022.

Also post 24 March 2023 European banks.  And 17 and 11 March 2023.

ADD ON: The Bank for International Settlements, 17 May 1930, an international financial institution owned by 60 central banks “fosters international monetary and financial cooperation and serves as a bank for central banks. Established in 1930 by an agreement between Germany, Belgium, France, the UK, Italy, Japan, the USA and Switzerland, it nowadays excludes the EU which forfeited the right to conduct monetary policy in order to implement the euro (wiki).

  The chart did show up the 2008 crash clearly with tr Pluto opposition the Solar Arc Uranus and square SA Saturn; the SA North Node conjunct Pluto; and tr Neptune heading to square the Taurus Sun. So it obviously works well.

This time round there are indications of discouraging events this year, starting with the SVP collapse and repeating later plus further indecision and uncertainty late this year; with more confusion as well as a major catastrophe mid to late 2024 from Solar Arc Mars conjunct the Pluto, running on into a high-tension, disrupted 2026. So much the same timeline as the other banks.  

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There’s a furore amongst the pin-stripe suits and the Westminster and Whitehall politicos as the CBI, (Confederation of British Industry), the UK’s main business lobby group, representing 190,000 businesses, is rocked by numerous allegations of sexual misconduct within its ranks. It has now sacked its boss Tony Danker for conduct that “fell short of that expected of the director-general”.  The Treasury has elected to “temporarily pause” all engagement with it which hints at the gravity of the scandal(s).

  What is intriguing is Tony Danker’s chart, born 30 December 1971 in Belfast, five days after Canadian PM Justin Trudeau. He has an ultra-determined, never-say-die and controlling Mars in Aries opposition Pluto squaring onto a Capricorn Sun – fitting for a super-ambitious business maestro. His Pluto is also in a tough-minded Air Grand Trine to Saturn in a cool trine to Venus and North Node in Aquarius; formed into a Kite with his Saturn opposition Neptune, making Neptune the driving planet.

  He also has a restless Gemini Moon opposition Jupiter.  

  That is some chart – emotionally detached from the Air Grand Trine especially with Saturn Pluto there – ruthlessly driven to succeed and get his own way, super-controlling from Mars Pluto Capricorn Sun – ego-centric from a focal point Sun – with a dash of Neptunian slipperiness.

 The CBI was given a Royal Charter 30 July 1965, the day before J.K. Rowling was born, which gives it a Leo Sun and a lucky Jupiter in Gemini squaring Uranus Pluto in Virgo opposition Saturn. At the moment the Solar Arc Mars is exactly conjunct the CBI South Node for a collision with its more primitive shadow; and tr Uranus is in a high-anxiety opposition to the CBI Neptune.

  Danker’s South Node is conjunct the CBI Sun so it would not bring out the best in him. And the relationship chart between them has a power-couple (over the top, rules-don’t-apply) Jupiter Pluto composite conjunction sextile a charming through slippery Venus Neptune inconjunct a yod focal point Saturn – arrogance plus inappropriate behaviour meets a hard task master in karma-magnet Saturn. The composite Uranus is catching the upending tr Pluto trine at the moment.

  Pluto in Capricorn  tying up a few loose ends before it finally exits for good late 2024.

 As technology hurtles on regardless even Elon Musk is raising red flags about artificial intelligence with the introduction of ChatGPT, which for the first time provides an AI user interface accessible to most. Bill Gates is less concerned but Musk draws the analogy with the discovery of nuclear physics which produced nuclear energy but also the nuclear bomb. He said “it has great promise, great capability but also, with that comes great danger.”

  ChatGPT, the AI-powered chatbot has gained massive exposure recently for its ability to generate high-quality humanlike responses to user prompts and has been banned in Italy.

   The initial release was on 30 November 2022 but the first stable release was on March 23^rd, the day Pluto moved into Aquarius which seems apposite. And Musk’s analogy may not be far out since the discovery of nuclear fission which led to the bomb and all else came about in 1938 as Pluto just stuck a toe into Leo, half a zodiac cycle away.

   The initial release November 2022 chart has Uranus conjunct the North Node square Saturn in Aquarius which highlights high-tech though with a hint of arguments between the old guard and the new. There is also a visionary though not altogether reliable Jupiter Neptune conjunction in Pisces squaring an argumentative Mercury opposition Mars.

  The stable release March 23 2023 chart in addition to Pluto at zero Aquarius has Jupiter conjunct Chiron hinting at the potential for greater understanding, wisdom, awareness and healing. The medical field already use AI to further research.

  Like most of the just-about-coping generation who are still amazed at GPS in cars, plant identifying apps on iphones, and even creepier, barcodes on Sky TV screens which connect to Iphone cameras to register, I have not the foggiest idea what the fuss is about or the dangers are likely to be. Dinosaurs led by cyborgs. But it does feel in tune with Pluto in Aquarius – tremendous power merged with scientific advance. For good or for ill.

ADD ON: James Lovelock, the scientist, environmentalist and futurist, who died last year on his 103 birthday, postulated the notion of cyborgs as self-sufficient, self-aware descendants of today’s robots and artificial intelligence systems. He called the coming era of their dominance the Novacene (the “new new”) age where they would reign supreme perhaps for a billion years. Homo sapiens could vanish from Earth entirely or become the underdogs. He did not regard this as a grim prophecy. “We’re engaged in one of the noblest things we could do: We are now preparing to hand the gift of knowing on to new forms of intelligent beings.”

  He was born 26 July 1919 2pm Letchworth, England and was a visionary Sun Neptune in Leo with his Sun inconjunct Uranus. In turn his Uranus was in an opposition to Saturn Mercury in Leo in his 10^th house of career. He would be self-willed, a good organizer but fairly dictatorial. He also had a do-or-die Mars Pluto conjunction in Cancer allowing him to forge ahead with seemingly ludicrous theories against hostile opposition.

  His post-mortem influences point to tr Pluto in Aquarius opposing his Sun in 2024/25; and then moving to oppose his Neptune – he may be in the spotlight but – stretching a point – it may be a while before AI manages to evolve an entity of such capabilities as he envisaged.

 His global influencer 22^nd harmonic was exceptionally powerful; as was his leaving-a-legacy-for-history 17th and his break through-genius/trailblazer 13H. 

Sarah Bernhardt, nicknamed “La Divine”, is a name that has gone into theatrical legend , a Hollywood-style celebrity before Hollywood even existed, the unmatchable actress who remains forever at the top despite the 100 years that have passed since her death. A Paris exhibition this year will celebrate her talents and extraordinary life as the daughter of a courtesan, who once contemplated becoming a nun but followed instead in her mother’s footstep.

  There is some doubt as to her birthdate. ADB has 23 October 1844 8 pm while Astrotheme (also on the basis of a birth certificate) says 22 October at 2am. Both are below and you can take your pick.

 The young Sarah appeared in the Paris police register (Vice squad). Their Book of Courtesans was a detailed record of high-class sex workers, often actors and dancers, who were the mistresses of princes, aristocrats and the wealthy. Then in her teens she was noted as being popular with “old men and especially members of parliament”.

  After a slow start in acting she eventually performed her most celebrated roles at the prestigious Comedie Francaise, then set up her own company and toured the UK and USA.

Mark Twain wrote: “There are five kinds of actresses: bad actresses, fair actresses, good actresses, great actresses … and then there is Sarah Bernhardt.” DH Lawrence saw her in La Dame Aux Camelias and wrote: “Sarah was wonderful and terrible … she is not pretty, her voice is not sweet, but there is the incarnation of wild emotion that we share with all living things.”

  ‘She was hot-headed, rebellious and frequently mired in scandal. Her stage style was often melodramatic and self-promoting.’ She became an influencer of fashion, an artist and a sculptor, a writer and an activist. During WW1 she entertained troops at Verdun and Argonne despite having had a leg amputated after an injury led to gangrene. She died in 1923 of kidney disease.

 She had a Sun opposition Pluto which makes sense of an intense, dramatic life – with that opposition squaring onto Saturn in Aquarius for a personality, hardened by tough experiences in childhood with no father and abandoned by mother for a year. She certainly had endurance and stamina. The 22^nd October birth date gave her a late Libra Sun opposition an 8^th house Pluto which makes sense of the mark she made on the culture; with a well-organised Saturn in her 5^th house of entertainment, giving her the impetus to run her own business. Her buoyant Uranus Jupiter conjunction opposition Mars would give her a risk-taking, wild streak.

  But you could equally well make a case for the 23^rd birth date with a Scorpio Sun in her performing 5th house; and a 10^th house Aries Moon conjunct Uranus opposition Mars – with an 8^th house Saturn making intimate relationships tricky.

  The 23 October has a marginally more descriptive 22^nd harmonic for an undoubted global super-star.

  Whichever is the right date, that Sun Pluto Saturn T square alongside an exuberant and reckless Mars Jupiter opposition Uranus certainly made for a high-octane personality.

Patricia Highsmith was not in the top rank of writers but two of her psychological thriller novels left their mark on 20^th Century culture when they were turned into memorable films – Minghella’s The Talented Mr Ripley and Hitchcock’s Strangers on a Train. A new biopic takes a glance at her racy life with prolific lesbian liaisons but skips over her misanthropy, racism and alcoholism. She frequently wielded a switchblade at one lover, had gin and orange for breakfast, and was massively prejudiced against  “Jews, Arabs and Blacks”. The Price of Salt, the only lesbian novel she wrote, was the only one without a murder and was published anonymously out of deference to her mother, only being claimed forty years later.

  She was born 19 January 1921 3.30am Fort Worth, Texas into an artistic family with her parents divorcing just before she was born and suggestions that her mother may have wished to abort her.  Not surprisingly she had a love-hate relationship with her rejecting and indifferent mother which was never resolved.

  Her chart is complicated with an Earth Grand Trine of a Capricorn Sun (conjunct Mercury in Aquarius) trine a Taurus Moon trine Saturn (Jupiter) in Virgo in her 10^th house, which would give her a tendency to physical sexual encounters. She also had a creative Water Grand Trine of a volatile Uranus Mars in Pisces trine an 8^th house Pluto trine a Scorpio North Node – lost in her own bubble of reality, she’d be driven by intense compulsions and feel constantly trapped. She also had her Mars conjunct Venus in Pisces trine Pluto which would contribute to her promiscuous tendencies.

  Her Neptune in the publishing 9^th house was unaspected giving her a tendency to be reclusive and to have unattainable dreams.

   Her creative writer’s 21^st harmonic was reasonably aspected, as was her creative 5^th.  Her other creative harmonic, the 7^th, was heavily aspected with an afflicted Mars, hinting at the violence and warped morality of her novels. Seven at the negative end can be cold, self-centred, attracted to alcohol/ drugs and occultism.

  She also interestingly had a notable 13^th harmonic which can indicate a trailblazing personality. But one astrologer pointed out it was strong in Peter Sellers and he associated it with Sellers not knowing who he was.  So identity problems may come with it.   Despite the biopic title, she was not an easy women to warm to let alone admire.

Is the US dollar in trouble?  The Federal Reserve chart and the known dollar charts certainly indicate a devastating three or four years ahead.

  The FedRes 16 November 1914 9am Washington, DC, has tr Pluto in Aquarius opposition the 8^th house Neptune now till mid June and returning throughout 2024 as well – that would point to massive confusion of the variety that accompanies earthquakes, not necessarily literal in this instance but financial. Tr Neptune is also heading (plus tr Saturn) to square the FedRes Saturn Pluto at 1 degree Cancer in 2025/26 into early 2027 which will ratchet up the levels of uncertainty to extreme levels.

  What is significant about Neptune in late Mutable in the next two years is that it mirrors the Wall Street crash of 1929 when tr Saturn was in late Sagittarius, and the Lehman collapse of 2008 when tr Pluto was also in late Sagittarius – both of them moving in to oppose the FedRes Saturn Pluto.

 There are various dates for the start of the dollar.

  The First Dollar coin – 15 October 1794 (see URL below).  That has Jupiter in late Sagittarius conjunct Mars at zero Capricorn. Its buoyancy, courtesy of that sensitive Mars Jupiter marker, was rattled by the astrological pressures of 1929 and 2008. Tr Neptune is aiming to square the Jupiter (= bubble bursting) by 2024 and then undermine the Mars in 2025 along with tr Saturn also in Aries. 2025/6 also sees tr Pluto square the Neptune – no solid ground ahead for several years.

USA Paper Dollar, 10 August 1861 8.30am Washington. Over the Wall Street crash, tr Neptune in early Virgo was conjunct the Jupiter which is a classic confidence-deflating influence. Tr Saturn in late Sagittarius was heading to square the Neptune. By 2008 tr Pluto in late Sagittarius was heading to square the Neptune. Tr Neptune was square the Mars. It will be seriously rattled by tr Neptune Saturn heading into Aries – 2024 to 2027.

The USA Petrodollar, 8 June 1974, was less obviously affected by the 2008 Lehman collapse though by 2010 tr Pluto was putting heavy pressure on the Saturn square Pluto which would cause pain. Tr Pluto is opposing the Mars on this chart this year and next, which is trapped and powerless.

  On these charts, the years between now and circa 2028 look exceptionally discouraging but whether this extends on into the 2030s??

https://astrologicalinvesting.blogspot.com/2009/09/birth-chart-for-usa-dollar.html

Does the progress of civilization depend on erasing history?  The wokerati are at it again hinting that cancelling Pablo Picasso might be on their wish-list because he was a misogynist and cultural appropriator (of African tribal masks).

He married twice, had four children by three women and several mistresses. One mistress and his second wife committed suicide and his first wife plus another mistress had nervous breakdowns. He once said “For me there are only two kinds of women: goddesses and doormats.”  His son developed fatal alcoholism and his grandson committed suicide.

  A decent human being? Certainly not. But he is recognized as the 20^th Century’s most influential artist who shifted the course of painting.

  He was born 25 October 1881 11.15pm Malaga, Spain and had a 4^th house Scorpio Sun opposition a rigid but well-organized Saturn in Taurus in his 10^th.  He had a Taurus stellium in his 10^th of Saturn conjunct a creative creative Neptune and an indulgent pushily confident Jupiter Pluto conjunction opposition Mercury in Scorpio. Stubborn to the nth degree, he did not think rules applied to him, but was designed for great success.

  His Moon aspects were troublesome with his Sagittarius Moon in his performing 5^th house on the focal point of a Yod to a hard-edged Mars sextile Saturn – emotionally disorganized, overly-defensive, not adaptable, self-defeating because of lack of trust. A Yod Moon often seeks public approval since a large audience of admirers is easier to handle than one-to-one intimacy. His Moon was conjunct a Sagittarius North Node which would connect him to the public/zeitgeist. His Moon was also square Uranus making his emotional responses erratic and giving him a fear of commitment as does his Sagittarius North Node.

   His Venus was also stressed, being in a square to Mars which can go alongside an insensitivity to the needs of partners; and was on one leg of a challenging Yod sextile Moon inconjunct Saturn.

  His global super-star 22^nd harmonic was notable as was his leaving-a-legacy-for-history 17H and his creative 5H.

  However monstrous he was, there is no doubting his talent or the mark he left on culture.

  It may be beyond the comprehension of the sanctimonious firebrands but precisely those psychological quirks which made him toxic in relationships were precisely those which drove his creative inspiration. Artists tend to be damaged human beings who plunder the turmoil of their unconscious to produce their art. Picasso’s no doubt excruciatingly irritating narcissistic over-confidence allowed him to step outside the conventional bounds of art as it had been, and plough his own furrow to become a trailblazer. Who he was and his creativity are irrevocably interlinked and yet paradoxically his art stands separate from the flawed man who wielded the brush.

  On a personal note I was never a great fan of Picasso, but I am getting thoroughly sick of the mindless screeching that goes on as revisionism becomes the coming thing. It reminds me of a thought from psycho-analysis about the fascist state of mind (delusional narcissism) which purges out the past and, having emptied itself, looks forward to a future entirely of its own creation. A future without history is a scary thought.

  Picasso’s chart does have his the Solar Arc North Node exactly opposition his Sun this year as his reputation comes under attack.

A new world order is the hope that the BRICS alliance of nations offer as an alternative to the West. Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa are pinning their hopes on a New Development Bank seen as a substitute for the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. It is open to new members with Egypt, UAE,  Uruguay and Bangladesh taking up shares and interest being expressed by Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Argentina, Mexico and Nigeria.

 Originally started as a Goldman Sachs investor ploy for developing economies that were booming, it has switched tack  since with only China achieving sustained growth. The alliance is now offering a diplomatic forum and development financing, outside of the Western mainstream. As such it stands against the G7 – Germany, France, UK, Italy, Japan, Canada, US and EU.

  On the political front since the start of the Ukraine invasion, the BRICS countries have distanced themselves from the West and are not taking part in sanctions against Russia. There is near-historic levels of trade between India and Russia and Brazil is heavily dependent on Russian fertilizer.

  A political analyst commented: “ some European and US policymakers worry that the BRICS may become less an economic club of rising powers seeking to influence global growth and development, and more a political one defined by their authoritarian nationalism.”

  BRICS held its first summit on 16 June 2009 in Yekaterinburg, Russia which gives a Gemini Sun opposition Pluto square Uranus in Pisces – such a Uranus is status-quo-upsetting and a trailblazer but erratic and perhaps inclined to be contrarian. There is a high-finance and hopeful Jupiter Neptune conjunction; plus a passionately enthusiastic Venus Mars in materialistic Taurus trine Saturn on one side and Pluto widely on the other.

  The North Node is at zero Aquarius which may give a sense of a moment in destiny having arrived. But there will be failed plans for two or three years ahead as tr Neptune wends its way round the central BRICS T square; and heavy pressures across the turn of the decade as tr Pluto squares the Venus and Mars. Where it may come into its own would be the early 2040s as tr Pluto is conjunct the Jupiter and the Solar Arc Jupiter connects with Uranus and squares the Pluto.

  The G7 group is difficult to date since it has evolved in stages from an original informal foursome. But one start-up meeting occurred on 25 March 1973 in Washington. That gives an Aries Sun and Venus in a controlling opposition to Pluto and a successful sextile/trine to a weighty and influential Jupiter Mars. If the chart is sound then the next few years will see major problems with a trapped, frustrated tr Pluto conjunct Mars in 2023/24 and tr Neptune Saturn in Aries blocking the Aries Sun and financial Venus and Pluto between 2025 and 2027. It could rise again thereafter and across the turn of this decade into the 2030s. But it could be an iffy chart.

  Looking at the IMF chart, 27 December 1945, it reflects a fairly calamitous three to five years ahead so the G7 chart may be accurate enough.

  The only thing you can guarantee is that China will use BRICS to its own maximum advantage.