Hungary’s Viktor Orban has tightened his autocratic grip by exploiting the coronavirus crisis to pass legislation allowing him to govern by decree for an indefinite period of time. He’s already at loggerheads with Brussels over his refusal to take in migrants as per the EU quota scheme and his stamp-down on the media, the judiciary and academic institutions. This latest move has raised disquiet within the EU and given that Hungary is the fourth largest net recipient of the EU budget after Poland, Romania, Greece, there should be considerable leverage. But it appears not to make a dent on Orban’s inexorable passage towards total dictatorship.

Orban, born 31 May 1963, 2pm (memory), is a slippery and controlling Sun Gemini square Pluto Uranus in Virgo; with his Uranus in an explosive, brook-no-interference conjunction to Mars in bombastic Leo. In turn his Mars is in a hard-edged and tough opposition to Saturn in can-be-cold Aquarius squaring onto a stubborn Mercury in Taurus. He’s also got a Yod of Jupiter in Aries sextile Sun inconjunct Neptune – so can be delusional, following a dream.

There’s not much showing on his chart instantly apart from tr Saturn in Aquarius in 2021/22 blocking his Fixed planets. Then there’s a confident uplift or a pro-active push from Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct his Sun in 2023, followed by a dead-halt Solar Arc Midheaven conjunct his Pluto (birth time being accurate) in 2024 with sharp reversals and setbacks also in 2023/24 from tr Uranus square his Mars and Saturn.

His Term chart, 10 May 2018, always did look fairly brutal and repressive with a Taurus Sun in an over-confident opposition to Jupiter and trine a ruthless Mars Pluto in Capricorn. There’ll be a few financial panics this year understandably from tr Neptune square Venus; but the pressure really builds in 2022/23 with a trapped, enraging, frustrating tr Pluto conjunct Mars which could spark violent opposition; with instability in 2023 from tr Pluto square the Uranus and tr Uranus conjunct the Sun. But as usual with demagogues there’ll be an undeserved streak of luck from Jupiter.

The modern Hungary chart, 23 October 1989, has tr Saturn square the Scorpio Sun exactly now; with a blocked and angry tr Pluto square Mars all year; and an undermining tr Neptune square the financial Venus also this year. 2021 will see jolting changes and challenges from tr Uranus opposition the controlling 10^th house Pluto.

The Hungary EU Accession chart, 1 May 2004, indicates disappointment and an undermining of ties from 2021 through till 2023; with tr Saturn exactly square that Midheaven at the moment. There’s also a blocked Solar Arc Pluto opposition Saturn in late 2021/22 – so it may come to a total impasse ahead. The relationship chart with the EU also points to 2021 being a flare-up point extending into 2024.

It’s always head-scratching when countries with as rich a cultural history as Hungary manage to get themselves embroiled with control-freak dinosaurs, determined to put a deadening hand on the lifestyle.

Angry warnings that the EU could collapse altogether if there is no solidarity over the economic plight of countries like Italy and Spain in the aftermath of the pandemic have erupted. At the recent summit it was made clear that Germany and the Netherlands would not countenance any rescue plan that was the equivalent of a transfer union. The Latin Front of the Mediterranean countries has come together united to face the EU down, with even pro-European Italian leaders questioning the point of membership.

The fundamental flaw in the EU and euro project is being stress-tested to its limit and beyond, as was always predicted it would be in the event of another recession. Merkel at the summit by videolink said even if she agreed on the equivalent of a coronabond Marshall Plan that the Bundestag would block it.

That the EU was going to be under immense stress from this year onwards was never in doubt – see previous post March 8 2020. The EU chart is dominated by Fixed sign planets forming a Grand Cross and that is being thrown into total disarray this year and on till 2023 with explosive tr Uranus hard aspects. Then tr Neptune squares the midheaven for a directionless and undermining drift of indecisive lack of direction in 2024/25 just as the Solar Arc Pluto has moved to oppose the 8^th house economic Moon and square the Uranus causing a total snarl up on the financial front.

The various internal relationships between Italy and Spain and the EU, Germany and France – are messy at the moment, in particular where Spain and the EU is concerned. But the major upsets look more congregated around 2022/23 and onwards with even ructions between France and Germany.

Germany this year has the June Solar Eclipse opposition its Saturn and square its Mars so won’t be having an amiable summer, with significant setbacks in the offing, not the least of which is a run of financial bubble-bursting Neptune transits and Solar Arc to its Jupiter in 2020/2021/22. Tr Pluto opposes the 10^th house Uranus in 2021/22 for a sudden, forced change of direction. With a hugely disrupted 2022 as tr Uranus is conjunct its 8^th house Pluto.

Germany will undergo a fairly violent (in diplomatic terms) reset of its relations to France, Italy and Spain through these 2021 to 2023 years. All in complete turmoil until at least mid decade.

Saturn has now been in Aquarius for a week and is joined tomorrow by Mars which makes a conjunction on Tuesday. So this is the first hint of what the long, slow slide over to Aquarius might bring. Saturn stays there till early July, Mars till mid May. Then Saturn and Jupiter together move in late December – Saturn staying for two years, Jupiter for one year; and Pluto moves in by 2023 for two decades.

Aquarius is an inventive, innovative, inquiring, scientific sign which likes to upset the status quo; and, particularly in Mars, dislikes being told what to do. No surprises if it starts on Tuesday’s conjunction with outbursts of anger or accidents. Mars Saturn can be disciplined but it tends to be passive aggressive, gritting teeth for so long and then letting fly. It’s associated with broken bones – Saturn’s rigidity meeting with Mars’ hash and crash approach. And with the military, which is being called out in various countries to deal with the crisis.

April continues with a fair sprinkling of the same energy with a volatile, explosive, argumentative Mars square Uranus on the 7^th which can also bring equipment break downs, in particular with computers or high tech; and a Taurus Sun square Saturn on the 21^st.

But along with the hitches and glitches there will be upbeat moments – a Jupiter Pluto conjunction in Capricorn on the 5^th might bring some cheer and confidence. Though thr Sun opposing Jupiter Pluto on the 14^th/15^th might lead to excessive behaviour since the combination is none too good at sticking to rules and regulations. Arrogance or over confidence can backfire.

Aquarius is associated with friendship and team or humanitarian activities and can also be stubborn and unyielding.

A quickie. Tristan Garel Jones isn’t a name to spark much recognition but he was the inspiration for Francis Urquhart in House of Cards, the Machiavellian Tory whip and consummate backroom fixer in the original book and Brit TV series who morphed into Kevin Spacey in the US version.

The Times obituary says: ‘A whip’s job is to keep backbenchers in line, by fair means or foul, and Garel-Jones was certainly good at it. He was an astute judge of character and political moods, ran a formidable intelligence network, hoovered up gossip and dispensed patronage. He could be foul mouthed or charming, as required. “There was no staircase so twisting, no trapdoor so concealed, and no footfall so silent that Tristan didn’t know of it,” his ministerial colleague, Kenneth Baker, once wrote of him.’

Born 28 February 1941 in Wales, he was a Sun and Mercury in Pisces with a disciplined and hard-edged Mars in Capricorn trine Saturn Jupiter in Taurus. What is more to the point he had Pluto on the focal point of a Yod inconjunct Mars sextile Mercury (Sun). This is a classic signature for manipulation and coercion, and often sends the individual to a prominent position – J Edgar Hoover also had a Yod focal point Pluto inconjunct Saturn and Sun.

Pluto revelling in grubbing down the sewers.

Garel-Jones never sought high office but his leaving-a-legacy 17^th Harmonic is exceptionally strong, as his doppelganger lives on.

The UK PM Boris Johnson and Health Secretary Matt Hancock have both got coronavirus.

Boris has tr Saturn exactly square his Scorpio Moon which only picked up a few days back and sticks around till April 6^th, returning mid June to early July. The Moon can represent the body and Saturn is a depressing influence. He’s also got his Progressed Moon  on top of his Neptune, in effect for two or three weeks, which is also energy-lowering and muddle headed. Plus tr Pluto opposition his Solar Arc Mars which is frustratingly blocked, on and off for another two years ahead.

Late March into mid April also sees tr Uranus square his Sun/Pluto midpoint, which Ebertin describes as ‘sudden adjustment to new circumstances (arrest).’

He’ll be cheered up come late May to mid June with tr Uranus square his Moon/Jupiter midpoint so he may get his energy back for a brief patch. Though he’ll sag again mid June into early July with tr Saturn back on his Moon.

His Moon is under a fair amount of stress later in the year with his Solar Arc Uranus conjunct, exact in nine months’ time. That may produce an emotional shock or surprise of sorts. Birth time being accurate he’s also got his Solar Arc Midheaven conjunct his Uranus at the moment. Tr Neptune has been ambling through his 6^th house of health, since 2016 and on for all of this decade which does suggest he needs to look after his health better,

His pregnant lady Carrie Symonds,17 March 1988, is living separately for the time being. She does have tr Saturn square her Jupiter in Taurus from April 6^th to mid June which will damp her enthusiasm but that may just be late pregnancy blues. She looks in bouncing good form from July onwards; and will be firing on all cylinders in 2021/22.

Matt Hancock, 2 October 1978, Chester, is a Sun, Mercury, Moon, Pluto in Libra with a determined Mars, Uranus, Venus in Scorpio. He’s up and down ahead with a couple of splashes of Jupiterian cheer but also a dead-halt, accident-prone Progressed Mars square his Saturn in Virgo, which will get in the way of duty; and tr Neptune square his Solar Arc Mars all year which is droopy and undermining. Mind you that may not all be personal health since he’d be under huge stress anyway given the pressures on the health service.

Meghan, Duchess of Sussex, proclaims herself ‘free’ since she moved from the UK in which she felt trapped and claustrophobic, according to a friend. She and Prince Harry are now, plus baby Archie, in Los Angeles, having skipped their multi-million dollar Canadian hideout before the border closed.

I wonder about – various things, which in this time of CV19 obsession is a welcome distraction. First the negative vibes about the UK. Relocating her chart to London puts her Leo Sun and Mercury on the midheaven which would allow her to shine in a public role. Admittedly it also puts her Pluto and Jupiter, Saturn Moon in the 12^th. But that is a mite less-trapped than her birth chart with Pluto in the 4^th and Mars in the 12^th. She’d have more of a chance to glitter in the spotlight in the UK than elsewhere.

Methinks she over-reacted because of her own (clearly little understood) psychology from a trapped, scary childhood with Pluto in her 4^th. Marriages often bring up old unresolved issues. And it would be exacerbated in this instance since her relationship chemistry with Harry is reflected in their composite Moon square Saturn Pluto. What happens with Saturn Pluto in relationship charts is that external circumstances are blamed for what is an inner dynamic in the bond itself.

Harry’s Pluto and Saturn in Scorpio (not conjunct) both fall in her natal 4^th house and square her Sun, Mercury, North Node – so it’s not an easy interface.

Taurean Baby Archie, 6 May 2019 5.26 am London, has Saturn Pluto conjunct his Midheaven in his 10^th house which represents career but also mother – and a Saturn Pluto mother is tough, disciplinarian, controlling, not warm. His hidden 12^th house Venus and Mercury also square his Saturn Pluto, suggesting a lack of nurturing. His Gemini Moon is very sparsely aspected only in an out-of-sign trine to Pluto, so he’ll not be well connected from his feelings and perhaps hyper-sensitive as a result.

Meghan in Los Angeles has an exuberant First House Sun Mercury in Leo so it will bring out her enthusiastic streak. In contrast Prince Harry relocated to Los Angeles has a behind-the-scenes Sun and a deeply buried 8^th house Moon, so he won’t be as outgoing.  It does put his charming Venus on his Ascendant so he will smile prettily but be more private.

Harry and Archie will resonate well with Meghan’s mother Doria since she’s a Sun and Jupiter in Virgo; though she’s also got the tough-minded Saturn in Scorpio square Pluto in her chart. Her relationship with Meghan isn’t entirely seamless Since Doria’s Uranus is conjunct Meghan’s Sun; while Doria’s obsessively conscientious Pluto square Saturn collides with Meghan’s emotionally wayward 5^th house Uranus.

Their relationship chart does have an affectionate composite Sun Venus Mercury conjunction in a steady sextile to Saturn which will help. But there’s an elusive, evasive composite Venus square Neptune; and can-be-troublesome-in-the-long-run composite Jupiter Pluto conjunction.

I wish them well and I was very much in favour of Meghan at the start but there’s a smell of something very self-willed, I-know-better-than-anyone-else about the whole set up which won’t end well. She/they haven’t left themselves much wiggle room for if and when the grand plan all goes wrong. Hollywood and the LA celeb culture can be brutal once the initial gloss wears off.

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In a highly unusual move, Venezuela’s Head of State Nicolas Maduro has been indicted in the USA in a decades-long narco-terrorism and international cocaine trafficking conspiracy in which, prosecutors said, he led a violent drug cartel even as he moved up the political ladder. The State Department announced a $15 million reward for information leading to his arrest. He has pushed Venezuela’s economy into meltdown which has forced millions of people to leave.

Maduro, born 23 November 1962 9.03 pm Caracas (birth certificate), has an ego-centric and grandstanding 5^th house Sagittarius Sun and Mercury on the point of a scattered T Square to an 8^th house Jupiter opposition Uranus (Pluto). He’s a risk-taker, lucky and a narcissist. His Neptune Venus in Scorpio is square a flamboyant Mars in Leo on one side and widely square a paranoid Saturn in Aquarius on the other. His Mars, Uranus and Pluto are all in his 2^nd so money will be a driving force.

His most recent term of office (after a heavily disputed election) kicked off on 9 January 2019 at 11.10 am Caracas, which puts Saturn, Sun and Pluto in Capricorn in the 10^th with Sun Pluto square Uranus – tough-going and prone to rolling crises. There’s also an ‘unlucky’ Mars in aggressive Aries square Saturn; plus an over hopeful Jupiter square Neptune. This year the Sun has moved by Solar Arc to close the conjunction to Pluto to exact which will create blocks and high tension. Then by 2022/23 tr Pluto squares the Term Uranus for peak instability.

Venezuela, 5 July 1811 3pm Caracas is in a car-crash year with Solar Arc Mars opposition Saturn, exact late 2020; with an undermining and devastating tr Neptune conjunct Pluto and a financial bubble-bursting square to Jupiter also throughout this year into 2021.

Trump’s relationship chart with Maduro is particularly hair-raising with a power-struggling and hostile composite Mars Pluto in a one-upmanship trine to Jupiter. Tr Pluto is in a confusing, calamitous and disruptive square to the composite Neptune now and then square Uranus running on till late 2022.

Prince Charles has mid symptoms of coronavirus and is in good spirits, it has been announced.

He does look on edge at the moment with his Progressed Moon exactly conjunct his energetic 5^th house Mars, so as a workaholic he may not be taking to his enforced isolation and idleness with any enthusiasm. The triple conjunction of Pluto, Saturn and Jupiter in Capricorn has been moving through his 6^th house of health and work; and with tr Saturn now in Aquarius, still in his 6^th till early next year, squaring his Moon until April 6^th and again mid June to early July, he will be running into blocks to his career perhaps because of low energy. He was already keeping out of sight up in Balmoral and will presumably stay there for the foreseeable future.

He should bounce back with more exuberance come early July when tr Pluto squares his Jupiter/Pluto midpoint. Though worryingly he has his Progressed Mars opposing his 1^st house Pluto in effect all this year, which will be frustrating and trapped; and his Solar Arc Pluto will oppose his 10^th house Moon, exact in the autumn of 2021, which will put considerable pressure on him.

Given his temperament, he may not be overly pleased at Prince William stepping more into the spotlight. Their relationship which has improved in recent times may be sagging touch from late April as tr Neptune opposes the composite Pluto.

The July Lunar Eclipse in Capricorn will affect Camilla’s chart more obviously with her Moon, Venus, Mercury in Cancer in aspect; and tr Pluto opposing her Sun throughout this year posing her major challenges.

The Queen looks rattled and insecure from this Sunday to mid April with tr Uranus conjunct her Mars/Node midpoint; and more so from 6^th April to mid June with tr Saturn square her Mars/Pluto midpoint. The July Lunar Eclipse is in opposition to her Pluto in Cancer in her 6^th. Aspects to 6^th house planets don’t necessarily mean personal health issues, though it can, but they can also indicate concerns about others – and in her case her subjects.

May they all sail through in good spirits.

Andrew Cuomo, Governor of New York, is emerging as a key figure in the fight against coronavirus who can’t and won’t be silenced by Trump. New York State had 25,665 cases, with at least 157 deaths, which accounts for nearly 7 percent of global cases. He said the situation was escalating faster than expected, with new cases doubling every three days and projects they may need 140,000 hospital beds with at present only 53,000 available. Up to 40,000 intensive-care beds could be needed and he scoffed at the 400 ventilators sent in by federal authorities when they need 30,000. He said that New York was a harbinger for the rest of the country. “Look at us today,” he warned. “Where we are today, you will be in four weeks or five weeks or six weeks. We are your future.”

Born 6 December 1957 in New York, he’s a serious Sun Saturn in Sagittarius in an innovative trine to Uranus; with an uber-determined Mars in Scorpio in an excitable square to Uranus, so he likes to live on an adrenaline rush. His Mercury in practical Capricorn is in a persuasive trine to Pluto. He has planets in all three Air signs though not in aspect – a restless and communicative Gemini Moon, a tolerant and people-friendly Venus in Aquarius and Jupiter in fair-minded Libra. His healing Neptune is coincidentally conjunct a Scorpio North Node, tying him into the mood of the moment.

It’s a chart that really needs a birth time to make sense. Though his key midpoints tell a story. His Mars sits on his upbeat, crusading and lucky Sun/Jupiter midpoint. His Jupiter is conjunct his Saturn/Pluto midpoint so bleak conditions bring out the best in him. His Pluto is square his Mars/Saturn which will make him resourceful in crises.

At the moment and through this year and next, tr Pluto is square his Jupiter bringing enthusiasm, confidence and success. Though he’ll run into the buffers next year with Solar Arc Sun square his Mars. But he’s got resilience to spare and is used to shocks and emergencies.

Pic: Pat Arnow.