The massive cost of disengaging from Russia’s stranglehold over Europe’s gas supplies may be a partial explanation for the hefty financial crunch flagged up on many central bank charts as Pluto moves into Aquarius in 2023.

See post September 11 2021.

 Germany gets 55 per cent of its gas, 45 per cent of its coal and 40 per cent of its oil from Russia. Belgium, France, the Netherlands import less than 10% natural gas; Spain and Portugal none. Italy 40%. Austria, Hungary, Slovenia, Slovakia, 60%, Poland, 80%. Bulgaria all. With reserves in place, most states would likely make it to autumn of 2022 without severe shortages. But the price, already up by 60% on the Ukraine invasion, would go through the roof. Post-COVID-19 economic recoveries will be derailed. It will be far more difficult to run the European economy for several years without Russian gas.

  The much lauded Angela Merkel has seen her legacy tarnished as her softly softly approach to Putin over Nordstrom, closing nuclear power stations and keeping defence costs down has blown up in her face.

  The new chancellor Olaf Scholz has, much to general surprise, transformed German policy in just a week, increasing Germany’s  defence budget by €100 billion, finally meeting Nato’s 2 per cent spending target; and beginning to tackle a revamp of the energy policy.

  The explosive jolt showing on the Germany 1 January 1871 chart from mid June this year as tr Uranus is conjunct the 8^th house financial Pluto (for the first time since 1939) is beginning to make sense. It runs on and off into early 2023. With tr Pluto in a frustrating, trapped trine to the Germany Mars picking up from March 2023 till late 2024.  Like the UK and the EU chart it has tr Uranus bringing a roller coaster economic ride as it moves through the 8^th house for another several years.

  The Bundesbank (Central Bank) 26 July 1957, will hit a crossroads from late this May as tr Uranus  is conjunct its South Node, throwing up, though 2023/24 is when it moves into confused and paralysed state with tr Pluto square the Neptune and tr Uranus in a ‘shocking’ insecure square to the Mars.

  Olaf Scholz was sworn in on 8 December 2021 at 10.55am which puts a redoubtable Mars in Scorpio conjunct the Midheaven sextile Pluto Venus and trine Neptune, so there’s no doubting his determination. But the 2^nd house Neptune square Sun Mercury hints at financial disappointments and indecision. His own personal chart, 14 June 1958, has tr Neptune square the Gemini Sun and Saturn in Sagittarius now, and running till the year end, so a confused, undermining year.

  Relocating Angela Merkel’s chart to Moscow buries her resolute Pluto trine Mars in the ‘trapped’ 8^th and less-assertive 12^th houses; and puts her hopeful Jupiter in the 7^th. The Midheaven of that relocated chart will receive a serious jolt from late May onwards.

 Gerhard Schröder, former Germany chancellor, even more complicit, sits on the boards of Russia’s state-owned energy companies, Rosneft and Gazprom. He once called Putin a “flawless democrat”; while the  Wall Street Journal called him “a luxury-loving, paid-up, swaggering instrument of Vladimir Putin.”  He signed the signed the original Nord Stream deal to supply Russian gas to Germany just before he departed office in 2005 and then swiftly accepted Gazprom’s nomination to head up the shareholder’s committee of Nord Stream AG. His chart located to Moscow has puts his Aries Sun in the speculative 5^th and Venus in his 4^th, hinting he’d be relaxed about living there (in luxury). The midheaven of his relocated chart is catching the dissolving tr Neptune square at the moment.

  Marine Le Pen, the French far-right candidate, another Putin apologist has Venus on her Midheaven and Jupiter in her 10^th located to Moscow suggesting her career has benefited from her Russia connection.

 Boris Johnson is similarly at ease in the Moscow mood with his sociable Sun Venus in Gemini on his Descendant there, and a relaxed, indulgent Jupiter in his 4^th. However it also puts his Scorpio Moon conjunct his relocated Midheaven and Neptune in his 10^th being rattled from this mid May onwards. He’s coming under increasing pressure to speed up sanctions on his erstwhile buddies, tennis cronies and Tory Party donors amongst the Russia oligarchs.

Belarus, under the thumb of steadfast Putin ally, the authoritarian Alexander Lukashenko, has sent troops into northern Ukraine. Belarus has recently been used as a staging post by Russian forces, but now appears to have moved towards becoming an explicit participant in the war. And has taken steps to open the way for a possible deployment of Russian nuclear weapons from Belarus. The EU’s foreign affairs chief, Josep Borrell, said Lukashenko was allowing his country to become a Russian satellite state.

 The modern Belarus chart, 25 August 1991 6pm Minsk has a souped-up Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct Mars now suggesting an overdose of confidence which will rapidly run into a sinkhole of panicky failure from mid May onwards as tr Neptune opposes both the Mars and the Jupiter, suggesting the outcome will be the opposite of what Lukashenko hopes. Mid June has the Belarus Pluto catching the tr Uranus opposition Pluto at 17 degrees Scorpio which echoes through many of the charts so will be a time of significant upheaval.

  Lukashenko took over as president on 20 July 1994 and has been there ever since. That chart is under immense pressure this year with tr Pluto opposition the Cancer Sun and next. From 2023 onwards not only is it looking road-blocked, it will become less stable thereafter.

  Even more obvious is his 6^th term chart, 23 September 2020, (after flawed elections) which looks to be facing gigantic setbacks now or soon; and will be immensely frustrated and trapped August to November this year with tr Pluto square the Mars.

  His personal chart, 30 August 1954, is picking up a catastrophic, high-risk, angry and blocked tr Pluto square the Mars/Pluto midpoint from before mid March onwards and that runs on and off till late 2023. If anything his 2023 looks even worse – devastated, confused, unable to cope.   

Maybe just maybe Pluto in Capricorn is intending to clear the boards of despots before it exits.

“One-in-a-thousand-year” floods are engulfing parts of Australia’s southeast coast. More than 40,000 people have been ordered to evacuate their homes and another 300,000 warned to prepare to flee. The intense rain storms, which have so far killed nine people with more feared dead, are expected to hit Sydney in the early hours of Wednesday.

  Australia appears to lurch from one climate disaster to the next with recent catastrophic wildfires being unprecedented in their scale and intensity, scorching millions of hectares and killing or displaced an estimated 3 billion animals, and sending vast amounts of carbon dioxide and smoke plumes into the atmosphere.

  At the moment the tr Pluto Mars Venus conjunction are sitting on the Australia Midheaven (on a 1.35pm start time) which is a massive hit.

The December 2021 Total Solar Eclipse had a vengeful Mars on the Descendant for Sydney trine a 10^th house Neptune, sextile Pluto Venus in Capricorn. With the Sagittarius New Moon falling close to the AU Venus and Uranus which would presage a crisis of more than unusually large proportions.

The November 2021 Lunar Eclipse has Neptune closer to the Midheaven for Sydney – as well as the volatile, high-tension, unstable Uranus opposition Mars square Saturn which is being rattled now till late April.

  That late 2021 Lunar Eclipse is affecting more than Ukraine.

The Bank of Russia raised key interest rate from 9.5 per cent to 20 per cent today as the rouble value tumbled to an all-time low, with the Russian economy plummeting as the West’s sanctions began to bite. Vast queues have been seen outside cash machines in Russia, as fears rise of an economic collapse. The government ordered people and companies to sell 80 per cent of their foreign currency revenue, forcing them to buy the ruble to help prop it up.

 The Bank of Russia, 13 July 1990 chart, is understandably stunned and depressed at the moment though it is 2023 which shows up as the bottom-of-the-pit time, which is echoed in the original 12 June 1860 Bank of Russia chart. The 1990 chart also indicates that this May onwards will be critical as tr Uranus opposes the Pluto at 15 degrees Scorpio for a significant upheaval. Many of the related charts in Russia as well as surrounding are showing up mid degree Scorpio planets as being triggered this year from late April onwards – including Germany.

  Most pointedly, the Russia 8 November 1917 2.12am Leningrad chart which has a Sun Mercury at 14/17 degrees Scorpio square Saturn at 14 Leo (conjunct Neptune) will be upended with shocks, jolts amid considerable pressure to shift track with difficulty. Not improved by tr Saturn conjunct the Russia Uranus in March, September and November for much the same high-tension and eruptions of frustration. That’s followed in 2023 by tr Uranus square the Uranus and tr Saturn opposition the Mars. It’ll be a rocky road ahead. Mind you it shares that with many countries.

  The modern Russia 8 December 1991 7.45pm chart, I would have to confess I never find that illuminating – for what it’s worth this year looks generally undermining on it with more obvious upheavals in 2023 – and hardship by 2025.

  Having scoured around I gather Russian astrologers use 12 June 1990 for modern Russia though there’s a variety of times – if anyone has a verifiable time I’d be grateful.

  That chart has Pluto at 15 Scorpio exactly opposition the financial Venus in Taurus which will be rattled badly from early May onwards; with high-anxiety and economic confusion worsening in 2023 with the Solar Arc Neptune in square. It does make more sense than the 1991 one. At the moment and on and off till late 2023 there are two midpoint influences running, one of which suggests a)over-confidence/rule-breaking and b) running into the buffers, fearful and trapped.

  The three Russian stock market indices, closed for today by government order – RTS, SE MICEX 1992/2011 – all look roadblocked, panicked and not in good shape now and over the next three years plus.

The head of the Russia Central Bank Elvira Nabiullina, 29 October 1983 is a stalwart Sun Scorpio but is, not surprisingly, looking exceptionally rattled at the moment, on a panicky slide mid March to mid April, and again later in the year; with major forced changes late May to mid June, as her hopes of improvement don’t pan out – and that will be the story of the rest of her year; with even more pressure in 2023/24.

The last remaining and leading author of The Holy Blood Holy Grail, the controversial proponent of the theory that Jesus survived the crucifixion, married Mary Magdalene and their descendants lived on in southern France founding a secret monarchical bloodline connected to the Knights Templar, has died. Henry Lincoln, a former actor and scriptwriter of the fantastical Dr Who, had previously made BBC documentaries on a related subject, when he hooked up with Michael Baigent and Richard Leigh to write the best seller which became the publishing sensation of the 1980s.

  After writing it they fell out so when Dan Brown published the stupendously successful and ‘prosperous piece of pulp fiction’ The Da Vinci Code twenty years later on a similar theme, Lincoln refused to join the other two in suing for infringement of copyright. He pocketed the surge of royalties from their original book which soared with the Brown epic and movie, while the other two went down millions in legal fees after losing in court.

  Michael Baigent, a New Zealander, went on to write with Leigh and solo a range of books on Templars, Dead Sea Scrolls, mysticism and alchemy as well astrology during a period when the publishing world became obsessed by Templars, ancient Egypt and all matters freemasonic. Richard Leigh, an American-British novelist, brother of Liz Greene, was the third.

  Henry Lincoln, 12 February 1930, a Sun Venus in Aquarius, came out of the tough, innovative Depression generation with Pluto opposition Saturn in Capricorn square Uranus. His Mars in stubborn and can-be-mischievous Aquarius sat square to the Nodal Axis of Taurus NN. And his Jupiter in communicative Gemini is square Neptune. All three of these are significant since:

1. his bleak, unyielding Saturn opposition Pluto fell across Michael Baigent’s Descendant/Ascendant axis; and Richard Leigh’s MC/IC axis making for an important but difficult partnership.
2. His Mars opposed Baigent’s Pluto and squared Leigh’s Pluto Jupiter – for a battle of wills. His Sun Mercury also opposed Baigent’s Saturn Mars in Leo which would give rise to major aggravations.
3. Lincoln’s Jupiter square Neptune mirrors Dan Brown’s Jupiter opposition Neptune. Dan Brown was born three days after Boris Johnson, and although a Sun Cancer has similar chart placings. Jupiter in hard aspect to Neptune can give rise to impracticality and a tendency to build castles in the air, not deliver what is promised, be over hopeful, sometimes downright dishonest, smooth talkers pushing ideas/schemes which lack substance.

Richard Leigh, 14 August 1943 10.20pm Teaneck, New Jersey, US, was a Sun North Node in Leo in his entertaining 5^th square Mars in Taurus; with a confident Jupiter Pluto also in his 5^th on the point of a mini Grand Trine to Neptune trine Uranus.

Michael Baigent, 27 February 1948 4.25pm Nelson, NZ, had an 8^th house Pisces Sun and Mercury in Aquarius with his Mercury opposition Mars, Saturn (Pluto in Leo) square North Node in Taurus. His Moon Neptune were in the communication 3^rd house.

  All three came together to create the sensation of the moment which spawned a raft of interest in all fields mystical, culminating in the blockbuster nonsense of the Da Vinci Code which sold 80 million and blossomed into three movies. In each case their North Node is tied into key planets in their charts which connects them to the zeitgeist; even if some would argue their ideas gave rise to ridiculous conspiracy theories – nuggets of truth wrapped up in smoke and mirrors.

  This is a ramble but it was cluttering up my astrological inbox and had the attraction of being NOT Russia.  

Isolated and paranoid, Putin has increasingly withdrawn from the usual wide array of advisers in the past two years to rely on a hardline group of military, security and spy service chiefs, whom he expects to carry out his orders. “He doesn’t ask for advice. He sets tasks and demands they are implemented,” according to one commentator.

Since Putin’s birth data is iffy it’s worth looking at their charts, bearing in mind that being reliant on a madman does not guarantee a stable career or lifestyle. Upsets on their astrology may refer to  personal circumstances in falling out of favour – or could be a clue to the survival of their Lord of Darkness.

  Best known in the west is Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Minister, whose foreign assets in US, EU, UK and Canada have been frozen. Born 21 March 1950 Moscow, he’s a volatile Sun Aries opposition Mars square Uranus; with a pushily confident Pluto opposition Venus and Jupiter in Aquarius. He’s in a meltdown panic since the invasion a few days back with tr Neptune square his Sun/Saturn and opposition his Mars/Saturn midpoints running on till late this April, and returning late September to mid February 2023; with 2023 bringing further Neptunian losses and disappointment as well. May this year onwards also has tr Uranus jolts and jangles hitting his Venus and then Pluto. 2025/26 will be his nadir with the tr Neptune Saturn in Aries hitting his Sun, Uranus, Mars T square.

Sergei Naryshkin, 27 October 1954 St Petersburg, the head of the SVR foreign intelligence service, another former KGB officer and a Soviet history expert, is a Sun, Mercury, Saturn (Moon) in Scorpio square Mars in Aquarius, with a lucky Uranus Jupiter in Cancer. He’s having a wild year, racketing between highs and extreme lows. Mid February (now) till mid March and again November to early January 2023 is calamity time; with a blip of enthusiasm in mid March; followed by more catastrophes in May, December and February 2023 – and complete disorientation August to November. Worse in 2024/25.

Nikolai Patrushev, head of the Russian security council, KGB with Putin since the 1970s, views the West as a crucible of decadence and has claimed that some European countries are “legalising marriage with animals”, 11 July 1951 St Petersburg. He has an over-excitable, none-too-sensible Sun, Uranus in Cancer on the point of a T Square to self-deceptive Jupiter opposition Neptune. His Solar Arc Sun is meeting a sobering brush with cold reality as it conjuncts his Saturn sometime in coming months. More pointedly he’ll be rattled from late April, and knocked completely sideways by disaster midpoints from late May to mid June, November, March 2023. This August to November will also be catastrophe territory for him.

Sergei Shoigu, the defence minister, appears to have the closest relationship with Putin, accompanying him on hiking trips and holidays. He oversees the work of the GRU military intelligence service, accused of trying to assassinate Sergei Skripal, the former Russian spy, with novichok in Salisbury in March 2018. He was born 21 May 1955 and is a stubborn last degree Taurus Sun square Pluto with Pluto square Saturn in Scorpio – unbudgeable. Mid March for a few weeks looks disorientating and devasting; late May to mid June will rattle his stability as tr Uranus opposes his Saturn. The high anxiety which marked this January, returns August to November, with 2023 being a downhill slide of panicky failure.

General Valery Gerasimov, head of the country’s military, 8 September 1955, a Sun, Mars, Venus in Virgo; with Saturn in Scorpio square Jupiter in Leo. Undermining Neptune transits now till late this April, and returning late September to mid February 2023. Late May to mid June flags up as high-tension and unstable with tr Uranus opposition his Saturn – as it does on several of the above charts.  He may have blips of good luck with Uranus square his Jupiter but on the whole it is a swampy year. 2023 will upset his apple cart as tr Pluto opposes his Uranus.

  Putin’s 4^th Term chart, 7 May 2018 11.05am Moscow, is sagging under disappointment now till mid March; with shocks and jolts late May to mid June; some highs and lucky breaks thereafter alongside acute frustrations with tr Pluto conjunct the Mars.   Where it looks in most jeopardy is in a year’s time from February 2023 with the destabilizing tr Pluto square Uranus picking up and the Solar Arc Pluto closing the trapped conjunction to the Mars to exact in the months following.

  Deleting dictators can be a long drawn out agonising process, since they are supported by a clique who depend on them for survival, fiscal as well as literal. And very often have undeserved luck. The fates don’t always discriminate.

PS The headline is a steal from PJ O’Rourke.

Alexander Dugin dubbed as “Putin’s Brain” and the man who wrote Putin’s playbook is a controversial Russian philosopher, professor, political analyst and strategist.

  His 1997 book Foundation of Geopolitics: The Geopolitical Future of Russia evidently signalled every significant foreign policy move of the Russian Federation over the following two decades. In order to regain Russia’s position of dominance lost at the end of the Cold War, he pushed for the invasion of Georgia, the annexation of Ukraine, the separation of Britain from the rest of Europe, and the sowing of divisive seeds in the United States.

  Whether or not he whispers in Putin’s ear, what has transpired in Putin’s 20 year plus long-game has been to weaken America’s ties to Europe (Trump), dissolve the European Union (Brexit), and break apart the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

  Dugin was born 7 January 1962, the son of a Soviet military intelligence officer, and reading his wiki CV he comes across as an extremist whackjob. He picked up two PhDs at the same time as dabbling in Satanism and the occult, embraced Nazism and is described as a traditionalist, a fascist, an anti-Semite and an aggressive Russian nationalist.

  He has four, maybe five planets spread out through Capricorn with a passionate Sun Venus Mars conjunction and Mercury, perhaps Moon.  He has an ideologue’s Saturn and Jupiter conjunction in Aquarius with Jupiter in a delusional/over hopeful square to Neptune. His reforming, status-quo-upsetting Pluto conjunct Uranus in Virgo also has Pluto in an ultra-determined trine to Mars Venus. Sentiment, empathy and moderation, never mind common sense are noticeably lacking.

  He looks buoyed up with enthusiasm at the moment with tr Uranus square his Jupiter till mid March; though edgier in April as tr Uranus opposes his Neptune.  August to November he gets a return of a successful, confident tr Pluto conjunct his Mars/Jupiter midpoint. Into 2023 he has a mix of success, depressing slog and frustration but he doesn’t look totally devastated which is discouraging. 2024 may see him hitting the skids albeit temporarily since he’ll bounce up on the far side.

Add On: Stories about Putin’s earlier birth give 7 October 1950 as his birthdate. It doesn’t resonate quite as much as his 1952 chart – but for what it is worth it makes him a Sun Neptune Venus in Libra square Uranus. With a Leo Moon Pluto.

  If accurate then he’s in for a nosedive this year with tr Neptune in an uncertain, panicked opposition to the Saturn from mid May onwards, continuing into 2023; and the Solar Arc Sun running into a sobering square to the Saturn around now as well. With worse in 2023 with a car-crash Solar Arc Saturn conjunct the Mars – or perhaps earlier in the final months of this year if the birth time was early morning.

The story seemed to have emerged as a marginally unlikely tale of blackmail during the Chechen conflict, with the putative mother at risk of being kidnapped to leverage Putin. On this scenario he was illegitimate and adopted out when his mother married another man.

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Volodymyr Zelensky, the Ukraine president, has exceeded expectations by standing  courageously against the Russian onslaught. A former comedian and actor, he did not seem a natural war-time leader but in an impassioned and defiant video he said: “ ‘I am here. We will not lay down any weapons. We will defend our state, because our weapons are our truth. Our truth is that this is our land, our country, our children and we will protect all of this. This is what I wanted to tell you. Glory to Ukraine!’

  He was born 25 January 1978 2pm Krivoj Rog, Ukraine to Jewish parents with an academic father (Cybernetics and Computing Hardware) and an engineer mother and grew up in a Russian-speaking part of Ukraine. His grandfather, served in the Red Army in World War II and several relatives were killed in the Holocaust. Zelensky took a law degree but opted to go into showbusiness, and created his own production company. During the Donbas crisis of 2014 his company donated to the Ukrainian army. He was voted president on an anti-corruption ticket in 2019 after starring for four years in a popular TV drama series where he played the role of president.

  He has a charming, communicative and stubborn 9^th house Sun Venus in Aquarius opposition a flamboyant and outspoken Mars in Leo in his 3^rd house. He has an attention-commanding Pluto in the 5^th trine his Midheaven with Neptune sextile. His intense Mercury in Capricorn in the 8^th is in a dogmatic square to Pluto. And his reforming Uranus is on the focal point of a T square to a Leo Moon opposition his Midheaven. It’s a Fixed chart so he is designed to persevere and not bend in the breeze. Jupiter in Gemini below his Ascendant will give him the ability to motivate and encourage.

  It’s not the chart of an individual who is a natural in crises but his Sun Venus sit on the Midheaven of the Ukraine 22 January 2018 9.54pm Kharkov chart; and his Midheaven is conjunct the Aquarius Moon on the Ukraine 24 August 1991 2.31 pm chart – so he does key into his country in a unique way to promote leadership. On the 1991 chart his emphasized Uranus is also conjunct the country’s 10^th house controlling Pluto, which will give him the urge to free Ukraine from the shackles of dictators.

His personal chart is understandably stressed at the moment with tr Neptune opposition his Saturn/|Pluto midpoint until mid March, and again later in the year; with losses and glitches through this month; high risk after mid April till early May (returning Jan/Feb 2023). Tr Uranus will oppose his Uranus and square his Moon from late May, on and off into 2023 bringing emotional upsets, forced changes, and sudden decisions. There will be a  glimmering of light mid June to early July alongside high tensions and confusion which also returns mid Oct/Nov and April 2023. In many ways his greatest challenges come in 2023 to 2026 when tr Pluto opposes his Mars and is then conjunct his Sun Venus, which will be infuriating frustrated, trapped.

  Mid this June to early July this year shows up as a significant upheaval point in many of the neighbouring country charts (and Germany) so there may be key events around then.   

  Zelensky’s Term chart, 20 May 2019 at 10am Kiev, has the warlike, tough-conditions Saturn Pluto conjunction in Capricorn in the 6^th house trine a 10^th house Mercury Sun Algol in Taurus – all harbingers of a crisis-ridden administration.  It’s under massive pressure at the moment from the Solar Arc Saturn moving to close the conjunction to Pluto to exact as of now; and the rest of the year looks swampy, uncertain and confused; though with an upbeat tr Pluto trine the Mars/Jupiter midpoint now till early March which clearly coincides with his brave effort to face down Putin’s domination. That does return late June/July and across the New Year but there’s no saying the administration will be around much longer if Kiev falls.

Saturn Pluto is always the main astro-indicator for war – which is not in influence at the moment. World War One started on a Saturn in late Gemini conjunct Pluto in Cancer. WW11 on Pluto just into Leo square Saturn. The Vietnam War on Saturn square Pluto. The Afghan and Iraq Wars on Saturn opposition Plutos.

The murderous clashes at the partition of India coincided with the late 1940s Saturn Pluto conjunction in Leo; the Falklands War started on a Saturn Pluto conjunction as well.

  It doesn’t mean there are not skirmishes and other deadly clashes which erupt without it being in place. Nor does it mean there always has to be a war every time a hard Saturn Pluto aspect comes round. The 2020 Saturn Pluto conjunction in Capricorn was mopped up by the deprivation, hardship and death of the pandemic.

What does seem to be another theme is the outer planets being at the point of transition into a new sign – which is certainly a factor in the next four years. Though there won’t be a Saturn Pluto hard aspect again until 2028.