Rewards for past efforts and reality checks for mistakes are the two hallmarks of Saturn. From today it will strive to adhere to its stick-to-the-straight-and-narrow policy as it negotiates its way through oceanic Pisces until May 2025.  Saturn is ramrod rigid, a fan of limits and structures, rules, regulations and pragmatic solutions. At the polar opposite is Pisces which abhors boundaries, dissolves and undermines reality to allow for visions and fantasies to take flight.  

   At best Saturn can give shape to Pisces’s dreams and make them come true – the ideal of a better society, with help for the underdog and the suffering. Self-sacrifice for a greater good is a key element. At a negative end the combination can induce obsessive worry and paranoia as rational thinking functions are undermined.

  A combination of Earth (Saturn) and Water (Pisces) tends to be serious and self-protective, with an emphasis on survival needs and security. It can be a strong partnership with the power to endure through calamities and great inner strength and determination. On the downside it can be cold, manipulative and frustrating. What appears to be crucial for best results is not to wallow in old regrets or live in the past but to march stalwartly on.

  Saturn in Pisces was around before 21 May 1993 to 7 March 1996; 24 March 1964 to 3 March 1967; and 14 February 1935 to 25 April 1937.

  When Saturn moves through a chart house – established by the Ascendant/Rising sign – it brings a need to be responsible, hard-headed and better organized in that area. Similarly for the Solar houses.

For Aries, Saturn moving into the sign before will bring an unfamiliar urge to be introspective, to review the past and consider which ambitions are no longer viable or firing your enthusiasm. Nothing need happen instantly since this is a preparatory phase before Saturn moves into Aries in 2025. But at some point there will be a need to clear the decks, chuck out whatever has passed its sell-by date, whether old attitudes and opinions which no long work well, or goals that are not feasible or even friendships which have had their day.

For Taurus, Saturn moving the 11^th house of friends and future plans, hints that making long term plans for the future will bring peace of mind. Friends may be fewer than in the past but the old, tried and trusted buddies who are loyal will stick around. Making team relationships work will take effort, more so than in the past and the same goes for keeping in touch with old buddies. Saturn always brings lessons about acting responsibly.

For Gemini, Saturn moving across the 10^th house is a spine-straightener where work, career and reputation are concerned since self-discipline and hard work will bring results. Whereas cutting corners and going for quick fixes will backfire. Old mistakes may surface to be faced and fixed, but past preparations done well will bring rewards in respect and recognition.

Cancer will be pleased to see the back of Saturn in Aquarius which has made the past two years less than generous financially and emotionally. As Saturn moves through the 9^th house, you will be rethinking your outlook and philosophy of life, jettisoning old beliefs that belonged to the past. You will also be serious about educating yourself and becoming better informed. Travel can be serious, delayed or for work purposes.

Leo will review Saturn moving into the 8^th house with mixed feelings since it will require a rethink and re-organisation of joint finances. It can be a time of taking heavier responsibilities for a partner and being thrown back on your own resources. But in bring forced to cope, it will promote resilience and resourcefulness so there will be strength and experience for effective strategies in future.

Virgo facing Saturn across the zodiac in your opposite sign will either retreat into self-sufficiency and pull up your defences; or you will take your responsibilities to partners with renewed determination. Warmth may be lacking in emotional relationships with more criticism, but loyalty will be valued more than passion, and practicality more than romance. It can also be a time of progress at work so duty will eat into relaxation time – success that comes at a price.

Libra despite unkind slurs about laziness can be extraordinarily hard working as you move through your middle years. Saturn moving through your 6^th house of work and health ensures that chores will pile up and require conscientious effort. There may be less appreciation and rewards for hard labour but this is a foundation-laying time with success coming later on. What is key to Saturn in the 6^th is learning about limits. Not overworking for one thing since your stamina will run out if you keep going endlessly without paying practical attention to your body’s needs.

Scorpio may have to put duty before indulgence and playing, with Saturn moving through your 5^th house of entertainment, enjoyment, games and children. This brings lessons about the ‘true meaning of love’ which means being responsible and unconditional in offering support while not expecting much in return for the time being. Children can be a weighty matter.

Sagittarius likewise will find that close emotional relationships, home and family matters bring harder work with Saturn moving through their 4^th. This can have a dual meaning with success at work bringing a more visible role in the outside world. But it can also bring up tensions within the family which will have to be resolved, as well as practical domestic problems requiring attention. For some it may involve the hassle of a house move.

Capricorn is ruled by Saturn so more attuned to its demands and strictures. Moving through the 3^rd house puts a focus on everyday schedules at work and in the neighbourhood and communication. There may be difficulties getting opinions and messages across which will require either a change of approach or persistence. Backing off into a corner and feeling hurt at not being heard won’t bring a solution. Repeat, louder if necessary. Be bold and break down barriers.

Aquarius is co-ruled by Saturn, though often prefers to lean on its whacky, maverick Uranian side. Saturn moving through the financial 2^nd house will require a practical, cautious and security-conscious approach to handling money. Indulgences need to be cut back and long term security put up as a priority. It need not be a disaster but tightening belt and re-organising will be vital.

Pisces will need to put their feet on solid earth with Saturn moving through their own sign. This is the start of a new 29 year cycle which won’t begin with bells and whistles and neon lights flashing. But slowly, as in sowing seeds having prepared the ground in advance and then patience. It could feel chilly, restricted or downbeat as they have to adapt to a new phase which means letting go elements of the past. But it could, with effort, be a time of forging new ideals and hopes for the future and setting foot on a new path.

Greece’s worst train disaster with 57 dead when a freight and a passenger train going in opposite directions collided, has been put down to human error with a station master taking responsibility for not switching tracks. Though major demonstrations since of angry citizens say it was an accident waiting to happen and blamed the government. There have been long-running problems with the electronic systems that are supposed to warn them of danger ahead. The transport minister resigned, taking responsibility for the government’s failure to modernise the country’s railways in the three-and-a-half years it had been in power.

  The crash is becoming a defining political issue for Greece as it prepares to face a general election in the spring. A senior politician told the BBC that the lack of funding was the direct result of the strict terms of international bailouts imposed after the 2010 debt crisis.

 The crash occurred at 11.31 pm close to Thessaloniki on 28 February  when both Pluto and Saturn were in the final degree of their respective signs. The chart itself is hard but not especially horrific though, like the 9/11 chart, down in the harmonics a bleaker description emerges – with in this case the destructive 18^th harmonic linking a brutal Mars Pluto to Saturn and Neptune.

  Often major national disasters precede significant changes at a political or domestic level in the country. The modern Greece 24 July 1974 chart has a Sun at zero degrees Leo sitting in the line of the tr Pluto opposition Sun from later this month which certainly points to a transformational and challenging time over the next two years, setting a different scenario for what follows. 

On the country chart there is also a Solar Arc Saturn conjunct Mars on the cusp of the 3^rd now which is pretty descriptive of a transport accident.

  The recent Solar Eclipse set for this location has Uranus on the IC and Pluto conjunct the Ascendant, marking it out as a fraught region.

Gabor Mate, the Hungarian-Canadian doctor/therapist with special interest in trauma and addictions and a million Instagram followers has been criticized for his promotion of hallucinogenic drugs as a cure for depression. His interview with Prince Harry has also raised alarm amongst parents and health experts about the blithe acceptance that cocaine, marijuana, alcohol and the Amazonian plant ayahuasca can be life enhancing and trauma eradicators.

There is some evidence that hallucinogenics given under carefully controlled conditions can help some but serious adverse reactions have also been seen including suicide. Taking drugs during teens and early twenties when the brain has not yet fully developed has also been shown to do considerable damage.

  Mate, born 6 January 1944 in Budapest, Hungary lost his grandparents in Auschwitz and was handed over by his mother when he was five months old for a few weeks for reasons of safety – which abandonment he says has left lifelong scars which have motivated his work. He is a Sun Mercury in Capricorn with a serious Saturn in Gemini and a flamboyant Jupiter in Leo.

  What dominates his chart is a Half Grand Sextile formed from an explosive Mars Uranus (Moon) in Gemini opposition Venus in Sagittarius sextile Pluto North Node in Leo sextile Neptune. Talented, ambitious clearly, controlling and influential, with his excitable (and thrill-seeking) Mars Uranus sextile Pluto drawing him towards crisis situations.

  Reading a couple of journalistic interviews with him, he seems to have focused in on his own issue and used that as a platform to give him prominence. He also seems a touch overly keen to feed his ego by giving definite diagnosis rather than follow the standard therapeutic procedure of facilitating patients/clients in finding their own answers.

 His get-it-together 5^th Harmonic is strong, as is his self-defeating 10h and leaving-a-legacy-for-history 17h.

  There is no one-size-fits-all approach to therapy. What suits one individual won’t do it for another. Mate sounds too evangelical for my taste and careless of those for whom a directive and forcing (scud missile) approach could do more harm than good.     

The value of astrology, Arab astrologers believed, was in helping us understand and put in context the past. Unfortunately most astrologers spend their time in a tremor of anxiety about what is coming. Pluto, the planet of transformation, ruler of inexorable and seismic changes, is once again poised on the brink of a cyclical shift. Should we shiver with excitement at the chance of new vistas opening up and the possibility of recent restrictions being cast aside? Or wilt at the prospect of having to adjust yet again to a new scenario with a while different set of challenges?

  Sun sign astrology is generally sneered at by the elitists but it works well enough at a simple level not to be dismissed out of hand.  It is one way of approaching what will happen to individuals in the time to come.

 Pluto will move into Aquarius from the 23^rd of this month till the middle of this June and returns again from early 2024 for two decades thereafter.

  The greatest effect will be felt by the Fixed signs – Taurus, Leo, Scorpio and Aquarius.   Those born early in their sign will feel the effects first.

   For Taurus, it falls in the Solar 10^th house of career and life direction, bringing a long phase of seeking and searching for meaning and purpose at work and in life. The ultimate aim is to find a true vocation. But it may be a question of try, try, try again before you succeed. Along the way there may be power struggles with authority figures.

Leo will be prompted to alter their approach to close relationships. Pluto can throw up tensions as one or both partners resist letting go the old ways and fight for control. It can be scary to open up to deeper connections with intense emotional reactions surfacing. But the end result will be to forge stronger bonds if the problems can be overcome and trust established.

Scorpio will sense the winds of change blowing through their home life, family relationships and altering their attitude to their roots and origins. Pulling away from old emotional foundations can bring a sense of loss but the gift is the prospect of reattaching in future to more mature connections as childish patterns are eliminated. It can also be a time of rebuilding literally at home as the domestic shell shows signs of requiring renovations.

Aquarius could regard this as a transformational phase comparable to caterpillar, chrysalis into butterfly. Though another analogy might be the crustacean – like a lobster or shrimp.  They are armour coated which protects them but what fends off danger also stops them growing. When they need to evolve to a larger size they go through a vulnerable phase when they cast off the old shell. At that point they hide under a rock for safety. Grown in size, they put on a suitably enlarged overcoat and sally back into the fray. Pluto’s change always requires a step backwards into an exposed or defenseless stage before an empowered move forward.  Aquarius will emerge renewed and regenerated along the way.

  The other Air signs – Gemini and Libra – will benefit from Pluto in Aquarius. 

Gemini has been labouring since 2008 with Pluto moving through its Solar 8^th house, which is a financial and emotional drag. Some have used Pluto’s subtle manipulation of power and influence astutely but it hasn’t been easy. Pluto moving ahead through their Solar 9^th will find them opinionated and wrestling to a degree with sorting out their beliefs and philosophy of life but they won’t be as tied down.

Libra has been sorting out home, family and domestic matters for the past fifteen years and is now ready to step out into a longish phase of Pluto moving through their Solar 5^th house. This will help them make their mark creatively and be an influential presence on the social scene. Less helpfully it can make them more possessive and controlling about children and loved ones. Resisting that temptation and turning their attention to building up their self-confidence and getting their achievements out on display will make more sense.

The fire signs – Aries and Sagittarius – will be less burdened moving ahead with Pluto moving out of materialistic, earthy Capricorn into airy Aquarius.  A mix of Fire and Air can be hot-air-balloon time, exciting but not always realistic or practical. But will appeal to their adventurous spirit.

  Aries will throw their energy into activist movements with Pluto moving through their Solar 11^th house, wanting to make a difference. Friendships will become more intense and mixing with influential types out in society will be more frequent.

Sagittarius can now turn their attention away from Pluto in Capricorn’s obsession with money to considering how to reorganize their everyday schedule and routines at work and in the neighbourhood. Altering their way of communication will be key to Pluto in Aquarius. Everyday encounters may take on a significant tone, though too much may be read into small glitches. Becoming opinionated, dogmatic or negative are risks but real insight into the core of situations and problems will be the gift.

Cancer is still moving through a challenging phase of revisioning close relationships. Pluto in Capricorn has been a longish time of adjusting to a different balance in interchanges with one-to-one partners. Pluto moving into the Solar 8^th house can bring a sense of restriction either financial or emotional, but in rethinking attitudes to influence, power and control, there can be a surprisingly positive outcome. For sure, best results will come from altering ways of sharing, caring and relating and being firstly more adaptable and secondly accepting of what can’t be changed.

Pisces will adapt to Pluto moving through Aquarius, the sign before theirs, by disappearing into a private space to ponder. For some, they will drift and daydream through a time where they feel marginally hemmed in. For others they will rise to the challenge of understanding what is going on deep within themselves. They will explore their unconscious or their past for clues to how to change the pattern of their lives.

Virgo facing Pluto moving into their 6^th house of health and work will be unperturbed at the prospect of exploring better ways of upgrading and regenerating their fitness and physical well-being. Being hypochondriacs at heart, they will relish the thought of researching new diets, exercise plans and supplements to keep them on peak form.  There may be tensions in the work place since their determination that they know best about new methods and approaches may not meet with universal agreement.

Capricorn likewise won’t be unduly unnerved by the prospect of Pluto moving into its chart area of personal finances, since money and materialistic matters fall within its comfort zone. Though they may not appreciate Pluto’s tendency to start with a breakdown phase as an old financial base or methods are deconstructed before the reconstruction begins.  Staying in control of cash and security will be key to their peace of mind.

  These are the rule of thumb Solar effects of Pluto in Aquarius – which will equally make sense when applied to the rising (Ascendant) sign. Not to be regarded as tablets of stone since other planetary influences will also be in play. But helpful as an overview.

  Clues to the effect of the upcoming two decades of Pluto in Aquarius may lie – in part – in the types of individuals who carried this signature in their charts.

  Looking back over 1778 to 1797 what stand out are inventors and social reformers born during these years who had an impact on knowledge and culture in later years.

  Michael Faraday, 1791, one of the greatest scientific discoverers of all time with his studies into electromagnetism was born in 1791, the same year as Charles Babbage, father of the computer; and Samuel Morse, co-developer of Morse code and the commercial use of telegraphy. Admittedly there was also a Uranus opposition Pluto that year which would help to promote a leading-edge mentality.

Fanny Wright, 1795, a Scottish-born freethinker, feminist, utopian socialist, abolitionist, social reformer, and Epicurean philosopher advocated universal education, the emancipation of slaves, birth control, equal rights, sexual freedom, legal rights for married women, and liberal divorce laws. She was also vocal in her opposition to organized religion and capital punishment.

Sarah Grimke, 1792, American abolitionist, widely held to be the mother of the women’s suffrage movement.

Lucretia Mott, 1793, an American Quaker, abolitionist, women’s rights activist, and social reformer.

Elizabeth Fry, 1780, prison reformer and Quaker.

Robert Peel, 1788, founded the Metropolitan Police.

Thomas L. Jennings, 1791, an African-American inventor, and abolitionist.

  There were also influential thinkers like the philosopher Arthur Schopenhauer, and explorers, as well as creative types like Lord Byron, Percy Shelley (also an activist and radical), Rossini, John Keats and painter William Turner, whose skyscapes have a fittingly Aquarian feel.

  Not much stands out from the previous Pluto in Aquarius, 1532 to 1552, apart from the French essayist Michael de Montaigne. Also Hieronymous Fabricius, 20th May, 1533, father of Embryology, a pioneering Italian anatomist who designed an orthopedic exo-skeleton. And Queen Elizabeth 1, 1533.

  Those who shaped the culture of the Pluto in Aquarius years would, of course, have been born during Pluto in Sagittarius, in Scorpio, Libra or even Virgo. But still faint hints of how the energy plays out from the above.  

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Alex Murdaugh, the villain of a true-crime twisted family tale worthy of a gothic melodrama has been found guilty of murdering his wife and son. Documentaries on Netflix and HBO scrutinized the powerful South Carolina dynasty that ran the state’s legal system for nearly a century with the present patriarch brought low, having squandered millions of clients and law partners’ money as he fed a pill addiction. He faces 30 years to life in prison.

  Even before the deaths of his wife and son, there were other criminal scandals in recent years with Murdaugh’s youngest son allegedly crashing a boat while drunk, killing a teenage girl. The death triggered lawsuits and investigations that threatened to unravel senior’s web of lies and so he shot his wife and one son to cover up his misdeeds. There were other deaths allegedly tied to the family: their housekeeper died suddenly as did an openly gay young man, reportedly in a relationship with another son.

 Alex Murdaugh was born 27 May 1968 (net sources) and has a stellium in Gemini with a New Moon conjunct Venus and Mars as well as Mercury. His Mercury is square Uranus Pluto in Virgo, but more pointedly he has a tricky karmic Yod of Uranus Pluto sextile Neptune inconjunct Saturn. That brings with it heavy Saturnine lessons about not transgressing moral codes.  When the murders took place on June 7 2021, there was a brutal/ruthless tr Pluto opposition tr Mars in Cancer. At that point his Solar Arc Saturn was moving to conjunct his Mars; with his Solar Arc Neptune square his North Node  – which is quite a collision of fated influences, covering the deed and subsequent trial.

  Margaret Murdaugh, 15 September 1968, (obituary) was a Sun, Pluto, Jupiter in Virgo so attracted to a powerful, wealthy, pushy husband. She also had that difficult Saturnine Yod with Saturn opposition Mercury in Libra. When she was shot her Solar Arc Mars was conjunct her Mercury with her Solar Arc Neptune square.

  Paul Murdaugh, 14 April 1999, who died alongside her, was a Sun Jupiter in Aries with a hard-edged, unfairly-treated Mars in Scorpio opposition Saturn square Neptune (Uranus) – all of which suggest a less-than-ideal father – cruel, bad-tempered, evasive.  His relationship chart with his father echoes that, with an unpleasant composite Grand Trine of Saturn, Neptune, Mars. Paul’s Sun fell close to his father’s focal point Saturn for a cold and critical interface.

    I would say it is a very American story which isn’t to say there are not instances of abuses of power by the influential and wealthy elsewhere in the world. But even the unravelling of it has been turned into a streaming extravaganza with accusations hurled around even before the jury returned a verdict.  

ADD ON: There are problems over pinning down his accurate birth date. So not worth pursuing until someone digs out proper records.

A hapless politician seeks to rehabilitate his damaged reputation by writing a puff memoir of his days overseeing the UK pandemic response. The journalist he picked as co-writer has form for pulling deep, dark secrets out of the closet (see wiki) and despite a confidentiality contract has released 100,000 of his What’s App messages to the Daily Telegraph, claiming a public interest defence.  Oops. Mistake. It has raked up again all the anger about the lockdown and given a peep into government thinking or the lack of it at the time.

  Isabel Oakeshott, 12 June 1974, has had a high profile journalistic career with the Sunday Times and then Daily Mail, writing an unauthorized biography of David Cameron which contained the infamous ‘sex with a dead pig’ story which could not be substantiated. She is a Brexiteer, co-wrote a book with Aaron Banks and is reportedly close to the Reform Party leader.

 She has a communicative Gemini Sun trine Uranus and in an over-confident square to Jupiter. Her Mars in flamboyant Leo is trine Neptune and sextile Pluto – attracting her to publicity and giving her exalted ambition as well as fierce determination. Her Mercury in Cancer conjunct Saturn is also square Pluto and trine Jupiter – Mercury Pluto and Saturn is good for research though there will be a tendency to dig for dirt and be dogmatic.

   Matt Hancock was Health Secretary overseeing amongst other things the controversial procurement of PPE until his passionate office affair was shown to have breached distancing regulations and he departed. He was born 2 October 1978 and is a New Moon, Mercury, Pluto in Libra with a clutch of Mars, Uranus, Venus in Scorpio which is an uneasy combination of light and shade, Air and Water.

  Tr Uranus is opposing his Uranus and soon Venus as all of his Covid muddle and mayhem is exposed – dragging others in the Boris government into jeopardy as well. He’s yowling foul but the damage is done. His midpoints are lining up to provide more whirlpools, swamps and sinkholes throughout this year.

  Isabel Oakeshott’s Pluto is conjunct his Sun, Mercury giving her the urge to control him. Her Sun opposes his Neptune as she pins down his evasions. Her Mars in fiery Leo is conjunct his Jupiter and squares his Mars in Scorpio – so his secrets did not stay that way for long.

     The whole thing is tawdry but at least it has pulled back the veil and dragged political incompetence out into the open.

[An Astro-oddity which I have not explored at all but is intriguing – Matt Hancock’s 10th harmonic, prominent in individuals with a habit of shooting themselves in the foot and sabotaging their good fortune – bears remarkable similarities to Isabel Oakeshott’s chart. Almost as if his unconscious need to reverse himself picked exactly the right person to do it.]

  I’m sure the Greeks had a word for it – tragic flaw hardly connects to Matt Hancock since he is not exactly heroic. But the fates and karma were surely hard at work in this entanglement.  

Prince Harry out and Prince Andrew in – Frogxit or Frogmarch. That is a surprise as King Charles shows a steely determination in pushing through his slimmed-down monarchy plans. Yowls of victimised outrage have emerged from the Harry camp who appeared to think they could get away with mud-slinging and trash-talking their family without any kickback. They can give it but not take it.

   Prince Andrew, minus a chatty PR and biographer, is said to be sulking and resisting mightily any prospect of being dislodged from his 30 room Royal Lodge abode into a five bedroom ‘cottage’.

  Both he and Harry have 4^th house Moons in Fixed signs so they are more firmly rooted than most. Prince Andrew in particular with a Scorpio Moon is likely to hang on tenaciously and that is in addition to a controlling, possessive Sun opposition Pluto; with his socially ambitious Venus Mars in Capricorn feeling the humiliation of a possible downsize keenly.

  His Scorpio Moon was always due for an upheaval from June 2024 onwards with tr Uranus moving into opposition which is a classic move-house transit. Though it could come sooner. With tr Uranus opposition Mars/Pluto mid this March to early April he’ll be facing a disastrous crisis. Then tr Uranus is square his Yod focal point Uranus in late April/early May which will flip or jolt his life onto a different track. With a downbeat tr Saturn conjunct his Sun later this month and opposition his Pluto in late April as well across the Coronation. He’ll respond with his usually bull-necked confidence till late March and later in the year but he looks hemmed in all ways. His Venus Mars in Capricorn are trapped by a tr Pluto conjunction all year and his financial 8^th house is not in good shape. Tr Saturn moving through his 8^th throughout 2024 will throw him back on his own resources financially and emotionally, making him feel the world is a less generous place for him.  Plus he has Solar Arc Pluto conjunct his 4th house Neptune in 2024 which will feel devastating where domestic matters are concerned.

  His North Node is, of course, in his 2^nd house, which is a hint that his preferred method of taking the easy way out and depending on others isn’t good for his spiritual development. Standing on his own two feet is required.

  His not-quite-ex-wife Sarah of York who presently lives at the Royal Lodge in a platonic, separate-wing arrangement we are led to believe, will have to move but her children, both with rich husbands, helpfully appear to have bought her a multi-million pound London pad. If her birth time of 9.03am is sound then she will be due to move in early 2024 with tr Saturn moving into her 4^th. She’s running into a financially fraught few years with her Solar Arc Mars about to conjunct her 2^nd house Saturn later this year into 2024. And she’s also head for a nervy, agitated, major jolt from Solar Arc Uranus conjunct her Mars in late 2024/25.

  Prince Harry has a 4^th house Taurus Moon which is up there with Scorpio in not being inclined to budge easily.  Tr Uranus will be conjunct his Moon from the middle of this June onwards to jolt him into a change, like it or not; and before then will cross his IC into his 4^th from April which is another classic house-relocation transit.

He also has an 8^th house Sun which has a Scorpio feel and is not inclined to let go. Plus a Taurus North Node which most often involves individuals in long running wrangles over money and property until they acquire a Buddha-like detachment.  He does look emotionally upset at the moment with his Solar Arc Uranus square his Venus and a trapped/stuck Progressed Moon conjunct his Pluto mid June onwards for a few weeks; with his Progressed Sun also conjunct his Pluto this year. He’s stuck every which several ways.

  Tr Neptune square his Midheaven this year hints at a lack of direction and undermining circumstances around career matter; with radical changes of future plans come late 2024 as his Solar Arc Pluto is conjunct his 11^th house Uranus.

  Poor soul. He has brought it all down on his own head but I do feel sorry for him. He was doing magnificently with Invictus before he stumbled into this flustercluck.

  Andrew needs despatched to outer Uzbekistan and told not to come back.

Saturn, bringer of the harvest and a reckoning for past mistakes, is poised to move into Pisces for the first time in 29 years next week. It shifts sign every two years plus for a notable change of mood, heightened this year with the anticipation of the even more momentous move of Pluto into Aquarius two weeks later.

  Pisces, planet of the boundaryless ocean, is not a sign in which structured Saturn, the builder, the organizer and rule-maker, sits comfortably. Most interpretations for individuals lean towards regret for the past, paranoia, excessive worry, self-pity, the need for quiet and solitude – and also a deep understanding of those less fortunate.

  Looking back over the last century’s occurrences, there are the usual problems of extrapolating what belongs to Saturn in Pisces and what is likely to be the result of other aspects.

Saturn in Pisces: 13 April 1905 to 19 March 1908.

14 February 1935 to 25 April 1937

24 March 1964 to 3 March 1967

21 May 1993 to 7 April 1996

7 March 2023 to 25 May 2025

 Both the 1993/1996 Saturn in Pisces and the 1905/06 one also had strong Uranus Neptune aspects – a conjunction and an opposition respectively – which is probably why the major 1994 Los Angeles and in 1906 San Francisco earthquakes occurred. Although the Alaska 9.2 earthquake happened under Saturn in Pisces in 1964 not with Uranus Neptune but with Uranus Pluto. This time round in 2025/2026 there is a Uranus sextile Neptune which is not as strong. The mid 1960s had Saturn in Pisces opposition Uranus Pluto in Virgo – which is a whole lot of chaos and hardship.

What repeats through all of the instances is massive unrest in Russia. 1905 Russian Revolution against the Tsar with reforms following. Russo-Japanese War – Russians losing.  1936/37 – Stalin’s Great Purge and the Trotskyite plot to overthrow him, ending in a show trial. 1993/4 Russia withdraws troops from Lithuania, Poland and Germany. 1995 First Chechen War with Russia.

  There did seem to be a surprising number of independence movements – in the sense that it doesn’t sound like Saturn in Pisces. 1905 Norway got full independence. In Persia in 1906 there was a constitutional revolution leading to a new national assembly – and changes its name to Iran on the next Saturn in Pisces.

In 1935 there were moves to give a Federation of India autonomy from the UK. There was an Arab Revolt in Palestine against the Brits. The Spanish Civil War. Ireland pulls further away from the UK.

1964 – Singapore becomes independent. Rhodesia declares unilateral independence. Protests in Cuba against Castro. The Bosnian Serb war was ongoing in the 1990s.

  Nelson Mandela becomes President of South Africa in 1994, having been imprisoned for life one Saturn in Pisces before in 1964, having made his ‘I am prepared to die’ speech against apartheid. In 1906 Mahatma Gandhi starts his non-violence campaign.

Other Saturn in Pisces events:

1906 – Finland becomes first country to allow women to stand as candidates with universal suffrage. Boy Scout movement starts.

1935 – Alcoholics Anonymous founded.

1994 – NAFTA.  Channel Tunnel opens. Maastricht in effect.   

   No great conclusions except that certain countries – Russia, Iran, China appear to be sensitive to Saturn in Pisces. And that the unrest and push for democracy and freedom may be part of the underdog’s mutiny against ill treatment.