Jack Vettriano, the Scottish painter who was often dismissed as kitsch and derivative but became one of Britain’s most successful artists has died. Often compared to Edward Hopper and Walter Sickert because of his subject matter, after his sudden breakthrough in 1988 he painted prolifically.
He was born into a mining village left school early and wandered for a few years career-wise before going to college and starting to paint without success in the early years. After his rise to prominence he was out selling Monet and Van Gogh and earning a reported £500,000 in annual royalties from reproductions of his paintings on postcards, posters, calendars and jigsaw puzzles.
He never made ‘claims for his art, pointing to the gritty themes of film noir, the bright colours of art deco railway posters and the garish drama of pulp fiction novel covers as his aesthetic inspiration.’
He was born 17 November 1951 Methil, Scotland, 9.30am, and had a 12th house intense Scorpio Sun square Pluto and sextile Mars in Virgo, so drawn to undercurrents of darkness and mystery in his paintings. He also had Saturn conjunct his Midheaven and Venus opposition Jupiter square an 8th house Cancer Moon; with Uranus also in the 8th square a 10th house Neptune.
He drew his inspiration from the depths with a strong 8th house and packed a punch in his subject matter, which seemed colourful on the surface, often light-hearted but carried undertones of unease.
His creative 5th and 7th harmonic charts were well aspected; as was his leaving-a-legacy-for-history 17H and his global renown 22H.
Cuba has been reinstated to the list of state sponsors of terrorism by the US government and has been punished for the communist regime’s human trafficking of Cuban doctors. The so-called Cuban Medical Brigades have a history of six decades of labor exploitation, human rights abuses and in some cases cover-up of military operations. The doctors involved sent by Cuba sometimes against their will, get little to no compensation for their services—as opposed to medical international aid from nearly any other country.
Cuba at present is going through its worst economic crisis in 30 years with falling wages, deteriorating public services, regular power outages, severe shortages and a growing black market. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled the country. The blame is placed on Cuban government mismanagement and longstanding US economic sanctions in place since 1962.
The Cuba 20 May 1902 12pm Havana chart with its revolutionary Uranus opposition Pluto just clear of the downbeat tr Saturn square is still facing a disruptive tr Uranus conjunct its Taurus Sun in June, December this year and March 2025. With an uncertain tr Saturn square Neptune all year into early 2026. 2027/28 look like the nadir though there will be on attempt to shore up confidence.
The Cuba Revolution chart, 2 January 1959 1am Havana, has its Libra Moon at 8 degrees Libra catching the March and September 2025 Solar eclipses for a crisis of public confidence. 2026/27 with tr Uranus square the Pluto could see unrest and upheavals.
President Miguel Diaz-Canel’s Term chart, 19 April 2018 points to 2026 as potentially destabilizing and 2027 starts a catastrophic run of setbacks.
His personal chart, 20 April 1960, with his Taurus Sun opposition Neptune under assault from tr Pluto squares through the past two years and on for another three years is on a downward slide. With major turmoil in 2026/26.
His relationship with Trump is showing aggravation in late April into early May this year (along with everyone else); with more ratchety and explosive moments in 2026/27.
Trump’s relationship charts with both Cubas are volatile and combustible His chart relocated to Havana puts his bombastic, aggressive Mars in his 1st house.
In a grovelling attempt to curry favour with Trump, Keir Starmer produced a rabbit out of the hat in the form of a personal letter from King Charles. It not only suggested a second state visit, untypical for a returning president, but also a pre-Balmoral knees up to discuss same. It worked.
Monarchs are used to their ‘soft power’ being utilized if politics demand it, when glazed smiles and gritted teeth are the order of the day. Queen Elizabeth 11 entertained many controversial foreign leaders, including Bashar al-Assad, Robert Mugabe, Idi Amin, Donald Trump, Emperor Hirohito and Vladimir Putin. Her Majesty was evidently not best pleased when Trump, on his last trip up the Mall in a gilded coach, walked in front of her as they inspected the guard of honour and evidently later remarked she found him ‘very rude’ as he “couldn’t stop looking over her shoulder, as though in search of others more interesting.”
Trump’s Mars in Leo not surprisingly is a major part of the problem. When unrestrained it can be over-bearing, egotistical, inclined to dominate and believes firmly in its infallibility. Not a good match for monarchy which is firmly rooted in an ethos of respect for the Royal hierarchy.
Trump’s Mars clashed badly with QE11’s conscientious, dutiful Saturn in Scorpio and Midheaven and their relationship chart had an angry/irritable composite Sun opposition Mars, firmly clamped down by a sextile/trine to Pluto. But all passed by in icy calm.
Charles won’t find Trump easy since the DT Mars in Leo squares his Scorpio Sun and there is a volatile composite Mars trine Uranus trine Moon in their relationship chart. But Charles is a softer character than his mother and has an odd blind spot for the very wealthy so it may float by as long as it does not occur within the next few months.
The two who will really be on a back foot will be Princess Anne since her Leo Sun clashes with DT’s Mars and she is not one to back down or put on a good face when she is irked. Their relationship chart has a short-fused composite Uranus square Mars.
The other is Prince William who really really dislikes Trump with a composite hostile Mars Pluto conjunction with a high-tension composite Saturn Pluto as well.
Camilla will not be overly enamoured either since her Sun is conjunct DT’s Saturn but no doubt she’ll turn on the charm and turn up with a Jack Russell or two and some good book recommendations.
Boris Spassky, the Russian chess grandmaster who against his wishes became embroiled in a Cold War east-west tussle with American player Bobby Fischer, has died.
He was born 30 January 1937 in Leningrad, no birth time, with a military father, school teacher mother and a sister who won the Soviet draughts championship four times. He learnt to play chess on a train while he was being evacuated from Leningrad in 1942 and practised for five hours a day. When he was ten he beat the Soviet champion Mikhail Botvinnik in a simultaneous exhibition.
He was a Sun Aquarius square a Uranus in Taurus opposition Mars in Scorpio. His Neptune in Virgo (and Moon) opposed Saturn Venus in Pisces and was trine Jupiter Mercury in Capricorn. Determined, unconventional, surprisingly emotional.
In the famous 1972 match he lost to Fischer, there was ‘a clash of temperaments as well as the ideologies of their nations. Spassky was personable and gentlemanly; Fischer was given to histrionics and prepared to use gamesmanship.’
Fischer’s agitated carping and complaining unsettled Spassky. Fisher’s lawyer, Paul Marshall, later recalled: “All this nonsense … all this delay … all this haggling … had an adverse effect on Boris Spassky, who was a very straightforward, decent, certainly a brilliant chessman and very nice man … I think this was against his character.” Spassky lost and was shunned in the USSR but was relieved at being out of the limelight. He emigrated to France in 1976 and became a French citizen only returning home in recent years, some say forcibly.
At that 1972 match, transiting Neptune was conjunct his Mercury throwing his thinking off track. When he lost for a second time to Fischer in 1992 tr Uranus was square his Mercury.
Bobby Fischer, 9 March 1943 2.39 pm Chicago, Illinois, another child prodigy chess master, had a Pisces Sun trine Jupiter; and a do-or-die determined Pluto in Leo on his Ascendant opposition Mars square a 10th house Taurus Moon.
He became more disturbed the older he got, spouting conspiracy theories, getting paranoid, supporting the 9/11 terrorists, and running into increasing problems until he landed in Iceland where he died a few years ago.
Is there method in the madness? Or was the Zelensky fiasco in the White House a rapid pull back after a hard word from Putin pointing out that a US/Ukraine mineral deal (lighting up Trump’s greed) would effectively rule out any future Kremlin attacks and incursions?
Trump, the disruptor, is obvious but whether the wrecking ball has a coherent long term strategy to replace what is being subverted is not remotely clear. On the global plane, his real enemy is China so cosying up to Russia might well be with the thought of splitting their ties with China. Beijing is evidently anxious about the US-Russia rapprochement. But as Moscow’s top trading partner, China wields substantial economic leverage over the Kremlin and has been growing in military and economic strength relative to Russia.
The Middle East is not the only a region of shifting sands in these uncertain times.
The China/Russia relationship charts (Russia 1917 and 1991) both hint at a chill through 2025 into early 2026 with outbursts of tension from July 2025 also into 2026.
Xi Jinping’s presidency charts (initial 2013 and 2022) points to disappointment and losses as tr Neptune and Saturn move into Aries in 2025/26. The Bank of China chart (1 December 1948) also highlight an economic/financial slump of considerable proportions in 2026/27; with high anxiety worsening through this coming year.
The China 1 January 1912 chart shows a mood of pushy confidence now though an impulsive response to events. 2028 has a volatile, explosive SA Uranus conjunct its Mars by 2028 when the war-mongering Saturn square Pluto is in place.
Vladimir Putin’s presidency charts (initial 31 December 1999 and 7 May 2024) are both running into trouble ahead. His 5th term 2024 will get lucky breaks this year but run into panicky failure in 2026/27. His initial presidency chart has a potentially destabilizing SA Uranus square Pluto in 2026 and a totally blocked SA Pluto conjunct Sun in 2027.
Trump with his Solar Arc Neptune exactly conjunct his Sagittarius Moon at the moment and moving to oppose his Sun through 2026/7 has clearly manifested the ‘follow your dream’ side of Neptune rather than the lacklustre slump. Though tr Uranus square his Mars from late April may shaft a spear of reality through his illusions. Birth time being accurate he also has tr Uranus conjunct his Midheaven from late this month in early April hinting at a change of direction. [A trivial fact worth pondering – MacDonalds, the burger kings, have their Taurus Sun exactly conjunct his midheaven.] Plus his Solar Arc Midheaven is moving to conjunct his Pluto which could bring a grind-to-a-halt moment. If his birthtime is out, the timing of these Midheaven aspects will change.
On the astrocartography relocating his chart to Beijing puts his controlling Pluto conjunct the Descendant and argumentative Mars in the 7th house of enemies. His relationship chart with China is hostile with a composite Mars Pluto conjunction; and is being keyed up this year and on till late decade with undermining tr Neptune Saturn hard aspects to the central T square.
The USA/China relationship chart flags up concern in 2026/27 and angry tensions by 2027/28. The USA/Russia relationship charts are unsettled this year and confused into 2026.
Zelensky’s chart, 25 January 1978 2pm Krivoj Reg, Ukraine is completely undermined and blocked with Solar Arc Neptune conjunct his Sun Venus in Aquarius at the moment; as well as a stuck SA Saturn conjunct Pluto; and SA Mars square Neptune – plus a trapped, scary, infuriated tr Pluto opposition his Sun/Mars midpoint at the moment and on till early 2026.
The Ukraine 24 August 1991 2.31pm Kiev chart is also in trouble with a devastating, udermining SA Neptune square the Pluto through this year as well as a deprived tr Uranus Pluto conjunct Saturn and tr Uranus moving to make a disruptive square to the Sun from this July. Apart from one Jupiterian blip in April it does not look overly cheerful ahead.
The EU/USA relationship chart is at crisis point this year with the composite Sun, Mercury, Neptune square Uranus colliding with the Aries/Libra Solar Eclipses – and the Trump/ Ursula van der Leyen and EU relationship charts faring no better.
Too many charts – too much uncertainty. The celestial gear shift will give most major players problems.
Ukraine which has been facing an existential crisis over the past three years and fighting courageously against a bloody invasion deserves better than this.
Add On: List of how much each country has paid – seems to be from a well regarded political writer.
Andrew Tate and his brother Tristan, accused of rape, human trafficking and money laundering, have been freed from travel restrictions in Romania after several White House officials took an interest in their case. Though the president denies all knowledge.
They have joint US-UK citizenship and face separate, unrelated allegations of rape and human trafficking in the UK, and civil suits in the US and UK.
The brothers have millions of followers by championing hyper-masculinity in a subculture of mixed martial arts fighting, video games and cryptocurrencies. Andrew Tate has said that rape victims bear some responsibility for their attack, that women are the property of their husbands and that he needs to have authority over the women he dates. They sell a glamorous lifestyle of expensive properties, cigars and luxury cars.
Andrew Tate was born 1 December 1986 in Washington, DC, and his brother Tristan 15 July 1988 in Chicago with an African-American father who was an international chess master. The family relocated to the UK in 1997 after the parents split.
Their legal troubles may not be over since Romania said their cases remained active, while Florida’s attorney-general, James Uthmeier, said his office would “conduct a preliminary inquiry into these individuals”. “Florida has zero tolerance for human trafficking and violence against women. If any of these alleged crimes trigger Florida jurisdiction, we will hold them accountable,” he said. There are also several cases pending in the UK on rape and tax evasion charges.
Andrew Tate is a New Moon in Sagittarius conjunct Saturn square an opportunistic Mars Jupiter in Pisces; with Uranus also in Sagittarius. Self-righteous from an emphasized Saturn in Sagittarius and keen to impose his beliefs on others. With a can-be-sexually manipulative Venus Pluto in Scorpio in a forceful trine to Mars Jupiter. Venus Pluto trine Mars, sextile Neptune can turn perverse.
His relationship with his father Emory, 27 December 1958, would inform his views on masculinity – he was a Sun Capricorn conjunct Saturn in late Sagittarius with his Sun trine Pluto. Their relationship chart had an explosive composite Mars opposition Uranus (square Jupiter) and a hostile, power-struggling Mars opposition Pluto. Power issues and freedom from interference would be central to their fractured relationship.
Andrew Tate is feeling upbeat at the moment with a lucky-break tr Pluto conjunct his Jupiter/Uranus midpoint which runs on and off up to this coming New Year. Though he’ll have ripples of unease and disappointment as tr Neptune moves into Aries in April and more so when tr Uranus moves into Gemini from July, hitting various midpoints. 2026/27 look like a downhill slide with failed hopes and high insecurity.
His relationship chart with Trump will sag badly and be rattled by tr Neptune into Aries in April and tr Uranus into Gemini in July.
Tristan is a late Sun Cancer (conjunct Procyon) inconjunct Saturn Uranus in Sagittarius with a Virgo Moon; with a focal point Mars in assertive Aries square Mercury opposition Neptune – ratchety, autocratic, headstrong.
Tristan will be panicking from the second week in June through July as tr Neptune squares his focal point Mars and that worsens in 2026 as tr Saturn joins in. Later in the decade he will be totally blocked, trapped and scary with SA Mars opposition his Pluto plus plus.
The Tates are interesting for two reasons. One: they represent (lead) an odd social mania of misogyny in recent times. Two: for the life of me I cannot get my head round what it is that sanctimonious, moralizing, god-bothering USA is doing with a White House filled with sex-offending types in high Cabinet positions as well obviously as in the Tate camp.
‘Democracy Dies in Darkness’ still sits as an ironic indictment on the masthead of the Washington Post – the paper that broke the Watergate story and unseated a corrupt president – as oligarch-owner Jeff Bezos dramatically undermines standards. He has issued an edict that curtails what the Opinion section can print prompting the top opinion editor to resign. Pre the election for the first time ever the WP did not support the Democratic candidate on Bezos’ instruction.
What is odd is that Bezos was generally thought of as liberal minded, a disliker of Trump (and vice versa) and a positive force when he first bought the WP in 2013, restoring it to profitability and keeping his hands off the journalism. One likely explanation is that in recent times he has become concerned about possible attacks on Amazon for restraining trade. He also owns Blue Origin, a rocket and space technology firm with government contracts. Limiting the government’s regulatory oversight over space technology or contracting is in Bezos’s interest. He appeared with his fiancée Lauren Sanchez at the inauguration last month and donated $1 million to the president’s inaugural committee.
The Washington Post, founded 6 December 1877, has a communicative, knowledgeable and adventurous Sagittarius Sun and Mercury with a revolutionary Pluto in Taurus square Uranus; and Uranus further emphasised being on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Mars in late Pisces sextile Venus. Such a Uranus is independent-spirited, often a catalyst for change and a mould-breaker – ideally designed to shine a light on power structures that needed changed.
This year tr Uranus is conjunct the WP Pluto for the final time from mid March to early April and square the Uranus in June and on and off into 2026. So a time of great turbulence. With confusion and disappointment in 2026/27 as tr Pluto is square the WP Neptune.
The WP relationship with Bezos will continue on a rocky road ahead with an aggravated, angry tr Uranus square the Mars across June, December and March 2026. With tr Neptune Saturn square the composite Mercury Sun in 2025/26; and tr Uranus square the composite Saturn opposition Uranus in 2026/27.
Bezos himself, 12 January 1964, is an ambitious, go-getting Sun Mars in Capricorn with a self-aggrandising, over-wheeningly confident Jupiterian yod onto Pluto sextile Neptune. He will have lucky moments ahead but 2027 is when he runs into serious trouble, perhaps his arrogance having pushed him a step too far in in 2026.
He really is not an easy match with Trump since JB’s Sun Mars in Capricorn is in an irritable opposition to DT’s Saturn Venus in Cancer. JB’s Saturn Venus in Aquarius opposes and clashes with DT’s Mars in Leo; and JB’s Pluto is in an unsettled square DT’s to Uranus.
Their relationship chart does have a lucky T square of Sun opposition Mercury square Jupiter; though also a hostile composite Mars opposition Saturn Venus. There’ll be ripples of unease this May and again in early 2026 when tr Uranus is square the composite Pluto putting their relationship onto a different footing. Through 2026 a chill will emerge and intensify in a disappointing 2027 – assuming all stays as is.
That April/May period this year (and across the end of the year) does seem to be one of great unrest on a whole swathe of key charts.
Veteran actor Gene Hackman has died aged 95, having retired from movies two decades ago and turned his hand to co-writing three historical fiction novels. Renowned for The French Connection, Unforgiven, Mississippi Burning, Superman, A Bridge Too Far, Enemy of the State, amongst many others he was prolific over an award-strewn, four decade career on screen.
He was born January 30, 1930 7.45 am San Bernadino, California, and had ambitions to be an actor at a young age though he volunteered for the Marines aged 16 and became a field radio operator in China, Hawaii and Japan.
He struggled initially as an actor along with Dustin Hoffman, acting on stage and in bit parts but broke into the big time when he was in his forties with the French Connection after which he never looked back.
He had a New Moon and Venus in Aquarius in his reclusive and creative 12th house with Jupiter on his IC so he would be content to relax at home in between movies. His ambitious Mars in Capricorn in a sharp-spoken conjunction to Mercury sat on the cusp of his 12th house and was in an ultra-determined opposition to an attention-commanding Pluto in his performing 5th house. His Saturn in Capricorn was in his not-altogether friendly 11th house reinforcing his image as not light hearted or sociable. His Saturn was in a can-be irritable and/or autocratic square to Uranus.
He also had an Earth Grand Trine of Saturn trine North Node in Taurus trine Neptune in Virgo in his 7th house.
An interesting, intensely talented man if not always easy within himself or with others.
His actors 15th harmonic was powerfully confident, though strained. His leaving-a-legacy 17H was lucky and adventurous. And his global superstar 22H was explosive and intense, reflecting the characters he played.
He appears to have been found along with his second wife of twenty five years, former classical pianist Betty Arakawa. She was born 1 December 1961 and was a lively Sun Mars in Sagittarius though that made an intense square onto Pluto and her Mercury in Sagittarius was square Uranus. She had Jupiter in Aquarius which would sit well with his New Moon and Venus and his Jupiter IC. Though her Saturn conjunct his Mars would be scratchy and her Uranus in his 7th conjunct his Neptune hinted at an unconventional bond. His Mars Pluto would be fairly dominating and her Mars Pluto was used to being submissive (mainly).
Their relationship chart had a passionately enthusiastic composite Sun, Mars, Venus conjunction squaring Jupiter opposition Neptune – Jupiter to bring mutual support and confidence; Jupiter Neptune for optimism and Neptune for ideals and illusions. There was also a composite yod of Pluto sextile Uranus inconjunct Saturn which would require maturity to make it work.
It is not clear in what circumstances she died though police say there are no indications at this stage of foul play.
‘The day the UN died’ was the headline as the USA voted with Russia and China at the United Nations to avoid condemnation of the Kremlin over the blood-soaked Ukraine invasion – ‘as if Ukraine’s calamity was a natural disaster for which no-one could be blamed.’
Ripples of unease are running round various international bodies as Trump tears up the global order.
The UN, 24 October 19845 4.40 pm Washington, DC, is under major pressure for change as tr Pluto squares the Sun this year. But it is 2027/28 which look the most fraught with the Solar Arc Sun opposition the Mars Saturn hinting at a calamitous setback.
The World Health Organisation 7 April 1948 New York, is rattled this year with tr Saturn Neptune and the Eclipses catching its Mercury in late Pisces. But again 2027 looks like being the key year of dented hopes. 2026 will see emotional and financial upsets also with tr Uranus square the Venus. Though it is a tough outfit with a Pluto, Saturn, Mars in Leo trine Sun so won’t budge easily under pressure.
NATO, 24 August 1949 11.42 am Washington, DC, will be jangled when tr Uranus moves into Gemini to square the Sun from this August into 2026 – with 2026 looking high-stress and blocked with the Solar Arc Sun square Pluto, and tr Neptune Saturn in Aries in hard aspect to the financial Venus square Uranus.
The International Criminal Court, 1 July 2002, which has issued a warrant against Benjamin Netanyahu, will be rattled this year; and will face it greatest test in 2027 after an explosive 2026.
Not all of this may be due to Trump pulling the plug.
