Palestine Action, a leading activist group has been banned by the home secretary, proscribed as a terrorist organization, “aligned with the Iranian regime”, after vandalism of two military aircraft at the RAF’s largest base. Palestine Action had its first foray on 30 July 2020 by campaigners who had broken away from Extinction Rebellion (XR), the climate exchange group, and the Palestine Solidarity Campaign.
It has provoked a demonstration in London; with Jeremy Corbyn saying that the “draconian” proscribing of Palestine Action as a terrorist group “is an outrageous and authoritarian crackdown on the right to oppose genocide”.
Co-founder Richard Barnard, was charged last year with encouraging criminal damage, urging activists to “smash Israeli weapons factories” and expressing support for a proscribed terrorist group, Hamas, at pro-Palestinian rallies in Manchester and Bradford. He pleaded not guilty and faces trial next year. Another campaigner received suspended 23-month jail sentences last year after being convicted of burglary and damaging property at a British firm it claims supplies equipment to the Israeli army.
Huda Ammori, another co-founder was a former Labour activist for Jeremy Corbyn but turned away from the party under Starmer.
The Palestine Action chart is certainly over-heated and potentially violent with a Jupiter Pluto Saturn in Capricorn opposition Mercury square Mars in Aries – hot-headed, aggressive, rule-breakers. The Pluto has moved by Solar Arc to conjunct the Saturn exactly now as it comes to a halt along with a frustrating, enraged, powerless SA Mars square Pluto approaching.
Huda Ammori, 17 March 1994, London, is a Sun Pisces trine Pluto sextile Uranus Neptune in Capricorn – intense, controlling, excitable, intransigent. With an uncompromising Mercury in Aquarius square Pluto; and a hard-edged Mars Saturn conjunct in Pisces. The September Solar Eclipse will oppose her Sun for for a crisis turning point; with the February 26 Solar Eclipse conjunct her Mercury, and tr Uranus will oppose her Pluto across this year end – a rattled, disruptive phase.
A phrase that is circulating in various fraught debates at the moment – “when good people fail to act, bad men take over” – seems relevant. Anger over the plight of Palestinians is more than legitimate. But the mainstream frowns, winces and does nothing creating a vacuum into which the zealots leap, carrying on the fight in often anti-social ways.
The far left cosying up to militant Islam? You wonder if they think their alliances through – or what it would be like if they actually lived in Iran or a Hamas stronghold?
F1: The Movie, Brad Pitt’s racing drama is mischievously described as “Barbie for dads.” Reviewers are tripping over themselves to find adjectives which praise it as “rousing entertainment” while protecting their gravitas by labelling it as a “cheesy” and a “big, dumb, fun summer flick.” Directed by Joseph Kosinski, of ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ fame, it is blatantly commercial and you “probably have to turn off your brain a bit to truly enjoy it”. Motor racing fans will find it “surreal and spectacular.”
Whether it reaches Barbie’s near $1.5 billion box office takings remains to be seen.
Brad Pitt, 18 December 1963 6.31 am Shawnee, Oklahoma, star and co-producer along with Jerry Bruckheimer and Lewis Hamilton, has transiting Jupiter about to enter his financial 8th house for a year ahead which sounds profitable. Though he does have the September late Virgo Solar Eclipse conjunct his Midheaven and tr Uranus opposition his Solar Arc Midheaven exactly now – which could suggest either a crisis of career direction or a radical change.
His Solar Arc Jupiter is square his Uranus/Pluto midpoint moving to square his Pluto in two years – which suggests an unexpected success or success through a change of direction. On the other hand his SA Mars is opposition his Uranus/Pluto and then Pluto which hints at over confidence maybe getting in the way. His midpoints look discouraging in this July and edgy through August – so not all celebrations ahead instantly.
Joseph Kosinski, 3 May 1974, Iowa, a Sun Taurus with a tough-minded Mars Saturn in Cancer square Pluto (Moon) in Libra is equally not looking overly upbeat on his midpoints in the immediate future and will be unsettled by the September Solar Eclipse opposing his creative Venus in Pisces.
Principal Photography started on 8 July 2023 in Silverstone, England, on a high-tension Pluto inconjunct Mars in Leo which fits with the film’s death-defying content, though would not necessarily suggest an easy launch.
Stephen Fry has been letting loose on J.K.Rowling accusing her of ‘crowing’ over the Supreme Court Ruling that “sex”, “man” and “woman” in the Equality Act refer to biological sex (a person’s sex at birth); and being radicalised.
Quite why he has erupted now – well podcasts being one answer – is not clear since the gender argument has been running for years and part of it may be sour grapes since he disagreed with the ruling.
Fry, 24 August 1957 6am London, has a determined and controlling Pluto Sun in Virgo on his Ascendant with Mars in Virgo close by in a short-fused square to Saturn in can-be-self-righteous Sagittarius. Mercury in later Virgo makes up the stellium in communicative, can-be-critical Virgo. His 4th house Saturn is trine Moon Uranus in Leo in his 12th and sextile Jupiter Venus in Libra. A complicated personality, undoubtedly talented, but emotionally volatile.
Not that J.K.Rowling is exactly serene with a challenging stellium in Virgo ranging from Mercury, through Venus to Uranus Pluto and a Virgo Moon. Her Leo Sun in square a creative Neptune.
She and Fry are not a good mix since her Sun is conjunct his Uranus – differing agendas and need space; her Mercury conjunct his Pluto = no compromise, unwinnable arguments; and worse her Uranus Pluto conjunct his Mars and square his Saturn which is explosive and hostile in both directions.
Their relationship chart echoes the synastry with a composite Sun conjunct Uranus; composite Mercury conjunct Pluto; and composite Saturn trine Mars Venus.
Predictive astrology is complex, requiring detachment, the ability to juggle and rank variables in order of importance and a respect for the ultimate unknowableness of how events will turn out. My own view is that astrology can tap into an underlying realm of potentials, out of which real events emerge. The range of possibilities is relatively easy to compute, the end result less so.
There are various techniques used which are not mutually exclusive, indeed best all brought to the table.
1.Transits to planets and through houses (birth time being available).
2. Secondary Progressions are helpful, in particular the Progressed Moon through the houses and Progressed Mars in hard aspect to natal planets.
3. Solar Arcs, a more recent technique (I think), are more useful than Progressions since with SA Directions the planets move by one degree a year and will show up up effects more regularly than progressions and certainly will pinpoint significant turning points in a life.
4. Transits to midpoints fill in details especially where the birth time is missing.
I use all four techniques automatically and have on occasion wondered why accidents for example show up on Progressions (Mars) but not as clearly elsewhere. Every astrologer has their own individual way of approaching chart interpretation and predictions. Transits of outer planets moving through houses, especially at the start, are one of my favourites. Transits to midpoints I use a good deal for depth and detail. But most of all I am impressed by Solar Arcs in action. They tend to be prominent in aspect to natal planets when there are major, often life-changing events.
For example, crypto-magnate Sam Bankman Fried, 5 March 1992 9.51 am Stanford, California, tumbled from billionaire to bankrupt, hero to zero, when his Solar Arc Mars Saturn was conjunct his Pisces Sun, his Solar Arc Uranus Neptune was conjunct his Venus and his Solar Arc Sun was square his Neptune Uranus. His journey to the bottom and into prison over two or three years coincided with the above.
Ghislaine Maxwell, 25 December 1961 3.20pm Maisons Lafitte, France, Epstein’s friend and fixer, crashed and burned when she was arrested as her Solar Arc Mars (Sun) was opposition her Uranus, beginning several years of maximum aggravation as her SA Mars moves to oppose her 4th house Pluto. Not a happy home time as she languishes in prison. Her SA Pluto was also conjunct her Neptune as she started her sentence.
Tony Blair, 6 May 1953 6.10 am Edinburgh, Scotland, on the other hand, gained a surprise win in 1997 moving into Downing Street when his Solar Arc Mars was conjunct his Uranus for a jolting surprise which could have been accident-prone. But because his Mars is natally conjunct his Jupiter, the combination of Mars Jupiter by Solar Arc Directions impacting on his central Cardinal T square of Saturn Neptune opposition Venus square Uranus catapulted him into a fast-moving upbeat few years. He exited his premiership as his SA Mars was almost at the end of wading round his Cardinal planets and about to conjunct his IC. You would not necessarily have put a firm date on his departure but the broad pattern was there from his Solar Arcs.
There were also transits to consider when he won with tr Jupiter through his 10th opposition his Pluto. His stay at No 10 coincided with a full house transit of Pluto from his Descendant in 1997 into his hidden, stuck 8th by 2007 when he handed over to Gordon Brown.
Solar Arcs or not an either-or-choice but one of the key ingredients to be used alongside others.
Donald Trump had his Solar Arc Pluto conjunct his Jupiter in 2016 for his first presidential victory in addition to being on a Jupiter Return and tr Pluto was also square his Jupiter. Was one more important than the other? I would certainly have marked up the Solar Arc as the most impactful of the three but there was also a cumulative effect. Despite any pushback from common sense or common decency, he was undoubtedly going to win.
The Cancer Ingress chart for the summer solstice is anything but peace and love with control-freak Pluto and aggressive Mars on the focal points of two respective yods and the hopeful Sun Jupiter conjunction undermined by a square from Saturn Neptune in Aries. Plus an excitable, uncompromising and explosive Mars square Uranus.
Set for Teheran it puts the neurotic, can-be-uncertain Neptune Saturn exactly on the Midheaven; with the agitated, argumentative Mars in the 3rd and Pluto approaching the cusp of the 8th.
Set for Washington, DC, it puts the formidable Pluto on the Aquarius Ascendant with Mars in the 7th house of friends and enemies and a grandstanding 5th house Sun. [The Iraq attack chart of 20 March 2003 also had a 5th house Sun, located to Washington.]
Located to Beijing, this Ingress chart has a successful 10th house Sun Jupiter with a muffled-anger 12th house Mars, though an influential-player Pluto in the 5th. Plus a financially discouraging 8th house Neptune Saturn.
Located to Moscow gives a trapped (behind the scenes dealing) 8th house Pluto and an outspoken 3rd house Mars.
P.S. I am never sure how well Ingress charts work but the Teheran one does seem to be on point – though that may be coincidence.
ADD ON: What may be contributing to the general sense of unease, uncertainty of direction and dissonance/discordance, being out of step and not knowing how to get onto the right track may in part be due to yods which are in place strongly at the moment. And were in place over the Hamas Attack of October 7 2023 which was the forerunner of present events. Over the Hamas Attack Uranus was sextile Neptune inconjunct Mars in Libra with a reaction point of the North Node in Aries opposition Mars. Plus Neptune sextile Pluto inconjunct Venus with Saturn as the reaction point opposition Venus. And Venus sextile Mars inconjunct Neptune.
The theory behind a yod’s action is is takes time for the stressed pressures to be released – sometimes years in individual cases. Until that time there is discomfort, a sense of being lost, depressed, stuck, hopeless. Once activated there comes a singular sense of purpose and direction.
Because the outer planet shifts of the moment are producing Pluto sextile Neptune and Neptune Saturn sextile Uranus there will be recurring yods in the next several years as inner planets move to inconjunct the sextiles. So there will be further phases of a lack of clarity, of restlessness, of deception self and other, when no amount of pushing will bring enlightenment or resolution – until the time is right.
At the moment there are two yods both involving Mars which is faster moving. They will stay in place until Mars moves out of orb in early July.
Be interesting to watch how the celestial dance plays out.
The USA joined Israel’s fight against Iran by sending in bombers to attack Iran’s nuclear sites. Happening around 3am Iran time, there were two yods of Sun Jupiter sextile Mars inconjunct Pluto – and Pluto sextile Saturn Neptune inconjunct Mars. A Plutonic yod can be coercive; a Martian yod rash and disruptive – and yods do suggest a game-changing phase.
Even MAGA supporters are split on Trump’s decision which could expose thousands of US military personnel across the Middle East to retaliation by Iran and its proxies in the region and goes against Trump’s campaign promises to avoid military entanglements. Conservative media personality Tucker Carlson said there was no justification for attacking Iran, with “zero credible intelligence” to suggest it was “anywhere near” building a nuclear bomb. Steve Bannon said Israel had “essentially forced President Trump’s hand” by starting a war with Iran, knowing it did not have the military capability to finish the job.
The Bombing chart also has the Sun just into Cancer conjunct Jupiter square Saturn Neptune = over hopeful and uncertain.
The Trump Term Inauguration chart has the Progressed Moon approaching a square to the Mars IC within weeks which does suggest heated debates and an aggravated electorate. What is notable are two midpoints – tr Uranus square the Sun/Neptune midpoint and tr Uranus square the Neptune/Pluto midpoint both exactly now – given the Neptune Pluto in particular is associated with nuclear issues; and Ebertin adds his hints of gloom with ‘hyper-sensitive nerves’, obsessions, maybe losses, emotional crises. There will be upheavals and upsets, changes of plan through July/August with tr Uranus moving into Gemini squaring two other key Trump Term midpoints.
The Iran 22 December 1501 chart is certainly showing maximum stress and disappointment over coming months with tr Uranus opposition the Pluto and tr Neptune Saturn square the late Sagittarius Sun into mid 2026.
The Iran 1501/Israel relationship chart has the ‘disaster/nuclear?’ tr Uranus opposition the composite Neptune into mid 2026. The USA/Iran 1501 is less obvious with a tricky-to-interpret tr Uranus conjunct the Jupiter in this July which (being optimistic) could point to a negotiated settlement and relief. Though tr Saturn square the Pluto into 2026 is blocked and heavy going.
Presumably the wager is that Iran and its proxies in the Middle East have been so weakened that the US intervention can be limited and successful, forcing Tehran to quickly seek a settlement rather than retaliating. But there is a risk of inflaming the Middle East further.
Brian Katulis, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, a Washington think-tank said “It all depends on how the Iranian regime reacts — and it’s not clear what the regime’s capacities and will are at this point. [But] Iran’s network across the region remains operationally lethal, and it is able to sow more instability and terror if it chooses to do so.”
One hope would be that it might collapse the Iran Islamic Republic (the bearded mullahs) whom even the Iranians dislike. Founded 1 April 1979 3pm Teheran, there are signs of stress with the SA Pluto square Venus; SA Mars square the Midheaven; and SA Midheaven square Mars – an emotionally fraught time exactly now though not necessarily the end of the road.
Both the USA and Israel in relationship to the 1979 Iran Islamic Republic chart show continued bad feeling extending from this year and on for several years.
My own feeling (perhaps biased) is not so much that Netanyahu trapped Trump into taking action but more that Trump could not bear to be left on the sidelines (not centre of attention) when a major action was going down.
We wait, watch and see.
Latest: The Iranian parliament has approved the closure of the Strait of Hormuz – a key passage through which 20 per cent of global oil and gas demand flows. It would cause a sharp spike in prices and could temporarily restrict the ability of US warships to exit the Persian Gulf. Major oil producers, including Saudi Arabia and the UAE, rely on the waterway to access the open sea. The Chinese also rely on the Strait of Hormuz for their oil.
Marco Rubio, US Secretary of State said: “It’s economic suicide for them if they do it. It would hurt other countries’ economies a lot more than ours.”
Synastry, comparing on birth chart to another, to understand the dynamics of a relationship is as complicated as human psychology itself.
The first thing is that if an individual is not capable of relating it will not be possible to make a meaningful connection. Which is not to say they won’t get married or have a partner but that partner will themselves have to be damaged enough to submit to a non-functioning, one-sided association.
There are endless permutations of planets to planets and falling in the other’s houses, of which interpretations can be found in websites like Café Astrology or in Sakoian & Acker.
Random thoughts: Sun to Venus brings a harmonious bond but can be over-ridden and obliterated by stronger, negative aspects. Mars cross overs to Venus and Sun can bring a spark of passion and fire, but that can, in time, turn into an argumentative, competitive streak. Initially a Pluto to Venus cross over can bring closeness and intense feelings but eventually will turn to control. Neptune brings dreams and illusions but is slippery, hard to pin down in the Neptune partner and brings disappointment. Saturn is defensive, can be focused more on work/practicalities than feelings but is essential to give a relationship endurance over the long haul.
Planets in the 7th especially the other’s Sun or Moon are ideal. Planets in the 6th suggest hard work will be required to keep it afloat. 11th house brings friendship. 10th house – good for a working relationship and one that thrives on outer appearances. 8th house a deep and not necessarily comfortable connection.
Some examples:
Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, at the time a heady togetherness, but still at loggerheads years after splitting up. Her Sun falls in his 7th = good for a partnership. But her Saturn falls in his 8th dampening down intimacy and causing arguments since it opposes his Mars, Mercury, Moon, Venus in Capricorn; and her Pluto falls in his 10th opposition her Mars in his 4th making her overly-controlling and argumentative in their domestic life. Her Mars, Moon, Jupiter in Aries do sit in his domestic 4th conjunct his Jupiter so there would be good feelings initially. His Sun falls in her 5th house of entertainment and children but his Capricorn planets fall in her 6th – so he would be fun as well as hard work.
I would also tend to skip onto the composite chart (merging two birth charts) to see a timeline for the peaks and troughs or outright separation. With a composite Sun opposition Pluto in the Jolie-Pitt match control would always have been a factor; it was never going to be an easy split. There is also a composite yod – Saturn sextile Moon inconjunct Uranus which did not look stable – but it was/is a ‘fated’ relationship that would change both for good or for ill.
Opposites do attract but my impression is that having similar traits does make for glue. The late Queen Elizabeth shared a Moon Neptune in Leo with Prince Philip and her Taurus Sun was conjunct his Venus. So enough sameness or attraction from that. Though they were very different personalities with her excessively Fixed chart with a T square of Leo Moon Neptune opposition Mars Jupiter in Aquarius square Saturn in Scorpio on her Midheaven – and his more Mutable, restless Gemini Sun Mars, Saturn Jupiter in Virgo opposition Uranus in Pisces. His Sun Mars fell in her 5th house of fun and children which would help.
Royal marriages always look seamless from the outside and usually hide a multitude of hurts if not outright sins. But Gunter Sachs study found that Gemini and Taurus were one of the more common combos for long running marriages. Taurus for stability, keen on security and sameness while Gemini, the wanderer, dances round them like a firefly. So their relationship had enough sameness to understand where the other was coming from and enough difference to make them complement each other.
Though their relationship chart had a central composite Saturn opposition Mars indicating one partner had to suppress their identity to make it work – or excessive duty got in the way of indulgence. On the other hand Philip came from a very unstable background so Elizabeth’s steady temperament would help. And in those days divorce was unthinkable in those circles so he knew the marriage would stick no matter what.
Not all relationships are marital matches. Steve Jobs co-founded Apple Computers with Steve Woziak.
Steve Jobs, 24 February 1955 7.15pm San Francisco. Steve Woziak 11 August 1950 9.45 am San Jose, California.
With wonderful syncronicity Woz’s Jupiter in Pisces is conjunct SJ’s 6th house (= work) Sun and SJ’s Sun is conjunct Woz’s 6th house Jupiter. A dream match for working together especially since in both cases their innovative Uranus fell in the other’s 10th house of career.
Woz’s amiable Sun Venus fell in SJ’s 11th for a friendly connection. And SJ’s Moon fell in Woz’s 7th for a good partnership.
The classic relationship match from years back before some of realities came into the open was Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward. He was an Aquarius Sun with a Pisces Moon and she was a Pisces Sun with an Aquarius Moon. His yin to her yang and vice versa is ideal. But his Neptune opposition her Mars and Moon would be undermining and aggravating for her as his drinking took over. Her Saturn in Capricorn was conjunct his Jupiter in Capricorn opposition Pluto so she would be continually pulling back his wilder, over-confident tendencies. Again the composite chart hints at a one-sided relationship with a composite Saturn square Mars, and Mars trine Pluto. It did hang together but at some cost to her career and talents.
ADD ON: E. Jean Carroll who accused Trump of sexual assault and defamation over two law suits and was awarded nearly $100 million in damages. She was born 12 December 1943 and her Saturn is conjunct DT’s Sun, which can be a face-reality aspect, tending to be critical of DT’s behaviour and denting his image. Her Sun is conjunct his South Node and Moon so she would have an attraction for his ‘lower nature’ and need for nurturing. With her confident, attention-attracting Jupiter conjunct his Mars, allowing her to have the assurance to take on his blow-hard denials.
Relationship quotes:
“The meeting of two personalities is like the contact of two chemical substances: if there is any reaction, both are transformed.” Carl Gustav Jung
“For the two of us, home isn’t a place. It is a person. And we are finally home.” Stephanie Perkins
“I know enough to know that no woman should ever marry a man who hated his mother.” Martha Gellhorn
“Every couple needs to argue now and then. Just to prove that the relationship is strong enough to survive. Long-term relationships, the ones that matter, are all about weathering the peaks and the valleys.” Nicholas Sparks,
“How people treat you is their karma; how you react is yours.” Wayne Dyer
“Assumptions are the termites of relationships”. Henry Winkler
“Falling in love and having a relationship are two different things.” Keanu Reeves
“To catch a husband is an art; to hold him is a job.” Simone de Beauvoir
“The heart of another is a dark forest, always, no matter how close it has been to one’s own.” Willa Cather
“The one who loves the least, controls the relationship.”
Given that health is a key issue on Trump’s 2nd term Administration chart with a ramped-up focal point Moon in the 6th house of health square Mars opposition Mercury it is no surprise that the slash-and-burn policies cutting back federal health budgets and staff are hitting the headlines.
Appointing Robert F Kennedy Jnr, an anti-vaxxer, as head of the Department of Health, has provoked understandable anguish from insiders. One said: “RFK Jr is a disaster. He is completely dismantling things to the point where the damage is going to become irreparable.”
Decades-old research centres dedicated to preventing chronic diseases like cancer and heart disease are being shuttered. CDC, the Center for Disease Control’s childhood lead-poisoning prevention programme was shuttered. One in two American toddlers showing detectable levels of lead, a neurotoxin that can cause cognitive impairments and developmental issues. The Prevention Research Centres (PRC) programme dedicated to chronic disease prevention in poorer communities in the United States — is to be closed. Established in 1984 the programme is likely to have prevented thousands of premature deaths from obesity, addiction, diabetes and cancer.
Similarly the FDA (food and Drug Administration), experts responsible for inspecting factories to ensure food products are safe, have been hamstrung by the mass firing of staff.
The Trump administration’s demand that federal agencies radically downsize is driven by a key figure in the conservative movement. Russell Vought, the principal author of Project 2025, argues that the federal bureaucracy is an existential threat to the country itself and should dramatically downsize. He is thought to be the one behind the Health departments decisions, more so than RFK Jnr.
The Inauguration Moon will get a sharp wake-up call when the Progressed Moon closes the square to Mars by this time next month. There may be other global issues involved, but in the background health is looming as a crucial problem.
The USA 4 July 1776 11am Philadelphia chart has Solar Arc Sun moving through the 6th house moving to square Mars and oppose Neptune in 2026/27. The USA Sibly chart, 4 July 1776 5.10pm has tr Uranus conjunct the Solar Arc Neptune both in the 6th house – and both being rattled by tr Uranus in final degree Taurus on and off into mid 2026. Plus the Solar Arc Midheaven being conjunct Uranus in the 6th. Both charts and the Inauguration home in strongly on 6th house issues.
Russell Vought, 26 March 1976, is a ruthless Sun Aries opposition Pluto square Mars in Cancer; with his Sun trine Neptune plus Pluto makes him mega ambitious; and an opportunistic Jupiter opposition Uranus.
He looks to be on a downward slide from 2026 onwards in a major way as tr Neptune Saturn square his Mars and continue on in hard aspect round his Cardinal T square until 2028. He will battle on against the odds in 2026 but his elastic will be pretty much gone thereafter.
RFK Jnr, 17 January 1954 5.32pm (unverified) Washington, DC, looks stuck and agitated now with his SA Saturn opposition his Uranus; rattled by arguments in 2026 and completely stuck by 2027 with his SA Pluto conjunct his Saturn.
The CDC, 1 July 1946, is showing the strain and pain most in 2027 to 2029 – so the attritional damage will peak perhaps as a public health crisis emerges.
The FDA, 30 June 1906, in a spiral of uncertainty at the moment with SA Saturn conjunct Neptune; equally shows 2027 onwards as the real catastrophe.
The Dept of Health, 11 April 1953, has a yod of Jupiter sextile Mercury (Moon) inconjunct Saturn Neptune in Libra opposition Sun Venus in Aries. The yod has moved by Solar Arc putting the SA Neptune Saturn opposition SA Sun Venus on cue to be challenged by tr Neptune Saturn in square – hinting at it being pushed onto a different trajectory.
Trump with tr Pluto just entering his 6th may alter his outlook on health services – not that he will go short of a doctor but it might (!?!) knock some sense into his head.
Solar Returns drawn up for the moment the Sun returns to its natal place have been a consuming fascination since the days of respected astrologers Johannes Kepler and William Lilly in the 16/17th century.
But for all the weight put on them as indicators of the year ahead interpretations are not always obvious. ‘Nuanced and subtle’ are how Babs Kirby and Janey Stubbs, authors of a newly reprinted book Interpreting Solar and Lunar Returns: A Psychological Approach, describe the process of extracting a theme for the year ahead.
The Sun’s house position and aspects are pinpointed as the most important factor with a run down of all 12 houses and aspects. Next is the Moon with its aspects within the Return chart as well as to the natal chart, and the importance of its progressed positions through the coming year. Then the comparison between the natal and return chart with particular emphasis on the Solar Return Midheaven/IC and Ascendant/Descendant contacts.
There is much of value to be gleaned from this well-written and clearly laid-out listing of meanings of house and aspects. With example charts to study. Lunar Returns (month to month) are also described as well as Mercury, Venus and Mars Returns.
Personally I still find Solar Returns oddly obscure and find Lunar Returns a good deal more helpful for a quick scan of the up and coming.
I do slightly wonder whether they work better for some individual charts than for others – though I have no idea why that would be. King Charles had his SR Sun in the 8th when his mother died which makes sense and his SR Sun in the ‘entertainment’ 5th for his Coronation year. The year he was diagnosed with cancer his SR had a busy 3rd house Sun Mars in Scorpio with Saturn in his 6th house of health.
Tony Blair had his Sun in the 6th square Jupiter when he was first elected in 1997 with Mars on the Midheaven – lucky and ambitious with hard-work being the order of the day. Not sure I would have predicted a rip roaring success from that as a standalone indicator.
As an example – and assuming Trump’s birth time from his birth certificate is accurate – his Solar Return for June 2016 had an 11th house Sun square Jupiter and an 8th house Neptune; with Uranus on the Midheaven. An 11th house Sun would focus his energy on the wider social group which kinda makes sense, though does not leap out immediately as king of the castle time. The SR Midheaven was opposition his natal Jupiter. There were much clearer indicators from Solar Arcs etc to indicate a success.
His Solar Return for his defeat in 2020 also had an 11th house Sun square Neptune Mars Moon in the 9th; and Jupiter Pluto Saturn in his 7th. I know you are not supposed to read Solar Returns the way you read a natal chart – bit still??
His 2024 SR prior to his win put his Sun in the 12th, supposedly a time for solitude and introspection, a time of self-sacrifice and sensitivity. His SR Sun is square Saturn and Neptune in Pisces for discouragement and confusion. His SR Ascendant is admittedly conjunct the USA Cancer Sun which may mean something. His Solar Return for this coming year looks like a grandstanding success with his Sun on the Midheaven and Jupiter in the 10th with an influential Pluto in the 5th. Hmm, I wait to be persuaded.
I am still ambivalent about their usefulness and hit-and-miss quality – though I stand to be corrected if others have a different take.
