Trump Impeachment – hope over experience

Nancy Pelosi finally caved and announced Congress would move towards an impeachment inquiry on Trump’s dealings with Ukraine where he allegedly threatened to withhold aid unless it dug dirt on his electoral rival Joe Biden. The chart for 5pm on 24 September does have a successful or at least enthusiastic Jupiter in the 10th but it’s also in an over-hopeful square to Neptune which is never a great sign. Jupiter Neptune is known as the aspect of false happiness and over-optimism. There’s a dirty-dealings-behind-the-scenes Pluto trine an even more deeply buried Mars in Virgo which could either lead to an exceptionally toxic struggle or stalemate. Mercury is also inconjunct Neptune suggesting mis-speaks, evasions and lies. Late December and January 2020 is when the Saturn moves to conjunct the Pluto and trine the Mars, which will be high-risk, irritable and could see a setback or two – which in any event need a two-thirds majority in the GOP-controlled senate which suggests it is a stretch.

Previous impeachment proceedings – in the case of Clinton were launched in October and went to Senate trial the following February where he was acquitted. In Nixon’s case it was a longer drawn-out process starting October 1973 and ending without trial when he resigned the following August.

The White House reckons it can fend off this “outrage du jour,” as one senior administration official called it. Having skated through Mueller; the Charlottesville uproar; Stormy Daniels; the “Access Hollywood“ tape; and dozens of other threats to his presidency, they see no reason why this one shouldn’t be swatted aside.

The key danger point for him is undoubtedly late February next year till early July with tr Pluto opposition his Sun/Mars midpoint; winding up beforehand as well with tr Pluto opposition his Saturn. That’s just after the exact tr Saturn Pluto conjunction of January which could throw up a major distraction of a different order to push all this into a corner.

Late February 2020 is when tr Pluto starts the two-year opposition to the USA Mercury bringing hostile debate of an exceptionally virulent and intense variety. Lies and fraudulent misrepresentation will run rife. The previous time there was anything similar astrologically was 1933/34 with tr Pluto in Cancer conjunct the USA Mercury; and prior to that in 1844/45 with tr Pluto in Aries square.

Trump & Biden – smears and tears

 

Another day, another egregious Trump transgression to which he responds in typical style by muddying the waters and hurling the same accusation back. On his scenario he’s not corrupt for using US Foreign policy for personal political ends to attack and undermine his leading opponent Joe Biden. Instead Joe Biden’s son, Hunter, is guilty on the basis of allegations that have been thoroughly debunked and relate back to a corrupt Ukrainian prosecutor who would threaten lawsuits if he wasn’t paid off and who has been denounced by a tranche of international bodies. Regrettably Trump’s muckraking tactic appears to be generally successful given that his spurious claims are repeated ad nauseam by the right wing media and a complicit GOP stays silent. The general public who don’t read the detail just shrug and reckon they’re each as bad as the other. Of which more anon.

But the drumbeats for impeachment have grown louder with even Nancy Pelosi shifting ground in that direction. Trump’s chart does have an enthusiasm-dampening tr Saturn square his Jupiter (which may be financial) in late November; and an exceptionally jumpy and overly-excitable tr Pluto opposition his Mars/Uranus midpoint in late December till early February. But his real trials begin late January and wind up a considerable head of steam from late February till early July when he looks trapped, cornered and enraged. His relationship with Pelosi is at daggers drawn in that early year phase and again mid year; and is undergoing a jolting turnaround at the moment with tr Uranus square the composite Pluto – as well as this year’s July Cancer Eclipse catching the composite Mars in combative mode.

Hunter Biden, 4 February 1970, has had business dealings in the Ukraine and with China, which latter have had Steven Bannon hot on his trail looking for dirt. He’s a Sun Venus in Aquarius with Jupiter in money-magnet Scorpio in a wobbly opposition to Saturn in Taurus. His Pluto falls in Biden’s senior’s 10th house which can suggest the relationship may have an adverse effect on the reputation of one or both; his Neptune is on senior’s Ascendant opposition his Uranus Saturn; and Hunter’s Saturn is conjunct senior’s Moon – not an easy relationship all round. Though there is an affectionate Sun Venus on the relationship chart. Hunter appears to have had a coke habit which saw him tossed out of the Navy Reserve. He looks on edge over the New Year with a jolting tr Uranus conjunct his Saturn

It is one of the many drawbacks of the American political system that it attracts very wealthy individuals or their money-seeking relatives which can give hostages to fortune where it comes to this kind of situation. It’s not that Trump isn’t a million times worse and quite blatantly so, but it really doesn’t help.

Greta Thunberg – “how dare you”

 

Greta Thunberg has given a blistering, heartfelt speech at the UN summit on climate change. “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words,” she told governments – “you are still not mature enough to tell it like it is. You are failing us. But the young people are starting to understand your betrayal.”

Trump ducked the UN climate change summit opting for one on religious freedom (hah!) and put out a sneery tweet about her looking happy.

Her unyielding and critical Saturn in Gemini opposition Pluto in Sagittarius sit firmly on and squash down on his Gemini Sun opposition Sagittarius Moon; and her innovative, reforming and explosive Uranus opposes his Mars – so ‘twas never going to be meeting of minds and hearts. She has an immoveable Fixed T Square of Uranus opposition Jupiter square Mars Venus in Scorpio plenty of courage, topped up by charm and confidence.

Her relationship chart with Trump is stark and hostile with a composite Sun in an argumentative opposition to Mars squaring onto a critical Saturn; with Saturn in an implacable-dislike square to Mars Pluto.

Her Capricorn Sun caught the opposition from the July Cancer Solar Eclipse as did her Solar Arc Saturn which is moving to oppose her Sun in 2020; and her Solar Arc Mars is opposing her Gemini North Node – so she’s very much in the eye of the storm and feeling she’s not winning. Her Solar Arc Neptune is conjunct her Uranus now which is highly-strung but can also be inspired.

Her humanitarian 9th Harmonic is strong, as is her ‘obsessive dream’ 11H; and her leaving-a-legacy 17H and her superstar 22H.

From previous Greta post March 15:

Young people in more than 100 countries have walked out of class today to demand action on climate change. Greta Thunberg, the Swedish schoolgirl who started the international movement, has been nominated as a candidate for this year’s Nobel Peace Prize.

She was born 3 January 2003 to an opera singer mother and an actor father. She has described herself as having been “diagnosed with Asperger syndrome, obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD), and selective mutism; and says she can’t let things go once she has seen them.

a Swedish political activist seeking to stop global warming and climate change. In August 2018, she became a prominent figure for starting the first school strike for climate, outside the Swedish parliament building.[1] In December she addressed the United Nations Climate Change Conference and in January 2019 was invited to talk at Davos where she berated business leaders for putting profit before the future security of the earth.

She has a Sun and Moon in Capricorn; with an ultra-determined and unyielding, prone-to-depression Saturn in Gemini opposition Pluto. She has a passionately enthusiastic Venus Mars in intense Scorpio in a volatile square to Uranus. Her Jupiter in flamboyant Leo is in an idealistic opposition to Neptune and a confident trine to Pluto.

Her Saturn Pluto and five Fixed planets – Mars Venus, Jupiter and Uranus Neptune – will give her staying power and obstinacy. Her Capricorn Sun and Moon give her initiative.

At the moment her Solar Arc Neptune is conjunct her Uranus which can be highly-strung though also inspired. She’ll have her down moments this year as well. It won’t ever be that easy for her with her underlying psychological issues. Tr Neptune will start an undermining square to her Pluto from this year and moves on to square her Saturn by 2022, aspecting the midpoint in between which will be droopy; and in 2021 her Solar Arc Saturn opposes her Sun which is downbeat and stuck.

She’s got guts but it’s a beyond-huge project she’s taken on.

Thomas Cook – reborn and then eclipsed

The collapse of the travel agent Thomas Cook has led to the largest ever peacetime repatriation with 155,000 British tourists being flown back home in Operation Matterhorn, expected to cost around £100 million. The failure of last-ditch talks to raise fresh funding will put 22,000 jobs at risk worldwide, including 9,000 in the UK.

The company was founded in 1841 ferrying temperance supporters between major English cities, sadly without a start date; and after being acquired by German owners merged with another travel company on 19 June 2007.

The 2007 chart has an entrepreneurial though sticky Fire Grand Trine of Mars in Aries trine Pluto trine Saturn Moon in Leo, formed into two Kites by Saturn opposition Neptune in Aquarius and Pluto opposition a Gemini Sun squaring onto Uranus in Pisces. There is potential wrapped up in this chart though also rolling crises from Uranus Pluto, setbacks from Saturn Mars and Mars Pluto; and impracticality from Neptune. One of the driving rods of this chart – the Sun opposition Pluto – had moved by Solar Arc to catch the July Cancer Solar Eclipse head on. Tr Neptune had also started to undermine the Mutable T Square with a conjunction to the Uranus.

What is intriguing is that in 1841, certain of the major planetary positions were the same – Uranus was in Pisces, Neptune in Aquarius, Jupiter and Saturn in Sagittarius – so not a million miles different from the 2007 chart.

UK Supreme Court – another potential Brexit pothole

 

The UK Supreme Court is expected to give its answer about whether Boris Johnson’s cessation of Parliamentary business for five weeks was legal or not, within a day or so. Legal insiders say there’s a real possibility the decision may go against the government. If so, there’ll be more feathers flying in the henhouse.

The Supreme Court was first convened at 10am 1 October 2009 in London which suitably enough gives a Libra Sun with the scales of justice as the ruling symbol. There’s also a Uranus opposition Saturn which can be dictatorial and inconsistent, not given to humility. Plus a Yod of Mars in excitable and patriotic Cancer sextile Mercury in meticulous Virgo inconjunct Jupiter Neptune in Aquarius. Jupiter on the point of a Yod can be influential in setting social patterns and promoting development of ideals, though tends to be self-righteous. A Yod apex Neptune can be fairly ivory-tower and needs seclusion to operate best if it is not to become disorganized.

Neither Boris nor Dominic Cummings look altogether settled with the Supreme Court chart at the moment. Boris has an emotionally jangled, separating tr Uranus square the composite Venus Mercury now; and a disappointing tr Neptune square a composite Saturn opposition Uranus mid-November to mid-December. Dominic Cummings has tr Uranus opposition the composite Sun now and then Venus within weeks – and he regards them with real dislike with a composite power-struggle exact Pluto opposition Mars.

George Blake – the regretful spy

 

George Blake, the British spy who gave information to the Russians which did great damage to western intelligence in Eastern Europe  is still living in Moscow and evidently regretting his choices. He was convicted of treason in the UK and sentenced to 42 years but managed to escape after five years and was smuggled across Europe.

He was born 11 November 1922 at 2.40 pm Amsterdam, Netherlands, and had a peripatetic childhood, mixing with Communists in Holland, involved in the Dutch resistance during the German invasion and having escaped to the UK worked for British intelligence. After World War 11 finished he was posted to Korea and taken prisoner there for three years, during which his dislike of US bombing turned him towards Russia. He volunteered his services and was a valuable asset for the KGB during his MI6 time in Berlin until he was arrested eight years later. He spent five years in prison and then escaped with two other prisoners and was smuggled across Europe into Russia where he has been for nearly 55 years.

His chart is astonishingly similar to Eli Cohen’s (see post below) – with an 8th house Scorpio Sun, a 4th house Pluto in Cancer and a 12th house Uranus; and both shared Moon Neptune in Leo. Both have Fire Water charts.

The other spy of note Oleg Gordievsky, 10 October 1938, Moscow, no birth time sadly, was a former KGB colonel who became disillusioned after the building of the Berlin Wall and invasion of Czechoslovakia and passed secrets to the British for a decade until he was uncovered by a mole within the CIA and summoned back to Moscow, but managed to escape after interrogation. He’s unlike the other two being a Sun Libra opposition Saturn; with his Sun inconjunct Uranus; and his Jupiter in Aquarius inconjunct Mars Neptune – so would have felt like an outsider. He’s still alive living under protection in the UK. Ben McIntyre wrote a revealing biography of him last year – The Spy and the Traitor.

Downton Abbey – audiences seeking comfort

 

Downton Abbey: The Movie has had a brilliant opening way above expectation in terms of box office. The reviews were less effusive, talking of same old, same old and no plot. But the punters clearly just want familiarity and not too much nerve-stretching jeopardy.

It started Principal Photography on 31 August 2018 with a confidently successful Jupiter Pluto Neptune mini-Grand Trine; and a business-like Earth Grand Trine – so it did get off onto the right foot.

Gareth Neame, the producer who suggested Downton Abbey in the first place, oversaw its spectacularly successful television run, and was co-producer of the film, is the fourth generation of a family steeped in the cinema and TV business. He was born 8 March 1967, and in addition to Downton, he brought winners like Spooks, State of Play, Hustle, New Tricks amongst others to the screen.

He has a super-talented chart with a creative Water Grand Trine of a Pisces Sun trine Jupiter in Cancer trine Neptune, formed into a Kite by Sun opposition Pluto Uranus – very much on the cutting edge. He’s got a successful tr Pluto trine his Sun/Jupiter midpoint exactly now as it launches; with tr Pluto moving to form a confident opposition to his Jupiter in 2020/2021 which will push his Grand Trine and life onto a different track. Plus a Solar Arc Jupiter opposition his Sun in 2020 which will also bring a triumph or two, followed in subsequent years by Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct his Pluto and then Uranus – he’ll be on a roll.

Julian Fellowes, the writer of Downton Abbey, 17 August 1949, Cairo, Egypt, is an influential and entertaining Sun Pluto in Leo; with a showbizzy Mars in patriotic Cancer square Neptune and in an exuberant opposition to Jupiter; and a hard-working, communicative Mercury Saturn in Virgo. His Sun is quincunx Jupiter in socially ambitious Capricorn. He’s had an illustrious career winning awards for his screenplay of Gosford Park; and penned many others; and clearly has a special feeling for the aristo lifestyle of bygone days.

Labour Party – at each other’s throats, like the Tories

The UK Opposition Labour Party is riven by division as much as the Tories, with civil war almost breaking out when the far left attempted to abolish centre-left Tom Watson’s elected Deputy Leader position. He described it as a ‘drive by shooting’ which had been triggered by his pro-Remain and Second Referendum stance on Brexit; and said that Momentum, who were exerting the pressure disliked a broad church and plurality of views.

Not too different from the sling-them-out government response to MPs who differed from the Boris Brexit line.

Corbyn stamped on the notion of deleting Tom Watson’s position but it’s done damage. Jon Lansman, the activist, Corbyn supporter and founder of Momentum founder, 9 July 1957, is a Sun Cancer with a lively Mars, Venus, Uranus in Leo trine Saturn in dogmatic Sagittarius. He’s deflated at the moment with tr Neptune opposition his Solar Arc Mars; and in a fairly excitable and agitated phase with tr Uranus square his Uranus, Venus and Mars between now and 2021. He does have a confident tr Pluto trine his Jupiter in Virgo in 2021/22 but that runs alongside two serious setback Solar Arcs in 2021/22.

Momentum, founded 8 October 2015 – if it holds good as a chart since I’m fairly wary of political party charts – is downbeat now till mid December with tr Saturn in hard aspect to the Libra Sun opposition Uranus square Pluto. Though it also has a risk-taking, adventurous surge of confidence from Solar Arc Mars conjunct Jupiter also now. It looks jolted in about six months’ time; and has two difficult Solar Arcs in 2021/22.

Tom Watson has been having a tough time, not just with internal party politics, but having backed the fantasist Nick (Carl Beech) who falsely alleged abuse by leading politicians. Born 8 January 1967, his Capricorn Sun square Mars in Libra has been heavily pressured over the past two years by the tr Pluto hard aspect. That has now cleared; but his Pluto Uranus in Virgo opposition Saturn is picking up the tr Pluto trine and sextile over the next two/three years – and even soft aspects will be an uphill struggle.

His relationship with Lansman is fairly hostile with a composite Mars Pluto, a high-tension Uranus inconjunct Saturn; and a cold Venus square Saturn. It won’t improve in November.

The two Labour Party charts – 27 February 1900 and 12 February 1906 – if they hold water – show mixed fortunes on the 1900 chart, picking up more successful influences from late February 2020 till late 2021 after a discouraging and frustrating two years recently. The 1906 chart isn’t showing much cheer, indeed the opposite in 2020 with an undermining tr Neptune square the Pluto, conjunct the Jupiter/Uranus midpoint early on and conjunct the Mars/Saturn midpoint from April on and off into 2021.

Brad Pitt & James Gray – hoping to hit the stars

Brad Pitt was given a rapturous response at the Venice Film Festival for his starring role in James Gray’s space odyssey/family drama Ad Astra with an 8/10 critical rating. Though it’s doubtful whether it will outdo the  abysmally-reviewed Rambo for this weekend’s opening for second place behind the surprising front-runner Downton Abbey: The Movie.

James Gray, the director and writer, was born 14 April 1969 in New York and has several films to his credit which made it to the Cannes Film Festival shortlist. He has a powerfully focussed chart with a Yod of Jupiter in Virgo (conjunct Uranus and Pluto) sextile Neptune inconjunct Sun Saturn in Aries – an individual who would always follow his own path.

His first movie Little Odessa won at the Silver Lion Venice Film Festival in 1994 – that was when his Solar Arc Jupiter (Pluto Uranus) and tr Uranus Neptune in Capricorn were all hovering around hard aspects to his apex focal point Sun – see chart. Yods usually need a significant trigger from transits and other influences etc to jolt them into gear. There’s nothing much on his chart suggesting a rip-roaring success with this one with tr Neptune in a worrisome square to his Solar Arc Saturn now and moving to a panicky square to his Mars from mid-November.

Neither is Brad Pitt in a spectacularly successful phase, see post August 30 2019. He’s probably at a stage where he’s not too concerned about box office takings and more with enjoying himself in the film roles he picks. Though upbeat tr Jupiter is moving through his 1st house at the moment and conjunct his Sun in early November; and tr Pluto is sextile his Solar Arc Midheaven (birth time being accurate) – so he’s not disheartened.

It was a good symbiosis between director and actor with Gray’s Jupiter sitting on Pitt’s midheaven for a successful partnership in terms of ambition, with Gray’s focussed Sun Saturn falling in Pitt’s performing 5th house of creativity. Though it wouldn’t be without its rough edges with Gray’s Mars in Pitt’s 1st house which can be competitive and square Pitt’s Pluto Uranus which can be explosive. On the relationship chart it displays as a complementary and friendly composite New Moon conjunct Venus (more whole when together); and a high-octane Saturn opposition Uranus Pluto square Mars.