Actress turned director Heather Graham has made a comedy – Chosen Family – about her struggles to stop being a people-pleaser which led to her splitting from her family thirty years ago.
She was born 29 January 1970 5.37pm Brookfield, Wisconsin, with an FBI agent father and children’s author mother who were religious and disapproved of her opting for an acting career.
“I stopped talking to them and, I have to say, that was a huge relief. I felt like, at that moment, my life opened up with a freedom. I didn’t need to please them.”
She does have a tricky chart with a Scorpio Moon conjunct Jupiter which would be where her tendency to put on a good face comes from but that opposes Saturn in Taurus for a less than nurturing childhood and probably a fair amount of double-messaging. The opposition squares onto Sun Venus in Aquarius so she’ll have a need to be noticed and Jupiter Venus will also be inclined to smooth over unpleasantness and aim for harmony.
Her 8th house Mars exactly conjunct Chiron opposes both Pluto and Uranus so there would have been heavy undercurrents of anger and domination when she was growing up. Her Saturn is also on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Neptune sextile Pluto and Uranus which requires a backbone and presumably the ability to put down limits before it works well.
Fascinating chart with strong sugary sweet Jupiter Venus Sun aspects but the rest of it is bubbling with with feelings which are the exact opposite.
Hopes that the EU-UK summit on May 19 in London could be the start of a warming of relations are being cheered on by Germany. Initially the meeting is to agree a new EU-UK defence and security pact; with hopes that a youth mobility deal, energy co-operation, removal of red tape for food and plant exports, and the mutual recognition of professional qualifications, can be negotiated before the end of the year.
If talks are successful, it could pave the way in 2026 for a second wave of reforms when Boris Johnson’s trade agreement is reviewed. Starmer has ruled out Britain returning to the single market, customs union or free movement. One EU commentator said “the real stumbling block to getting privileged access to the single market is mobility of people”.
The UK/EU relationship chart does have a composite Uranus square Pluto suggesting a relationship that will be subject to constant change and periodic upheavals. Tr Uranus will conjunct the composite Pluto from June 2026 and square the Uranus in 2027; with tr Pluto trine Pluto this year and tr Neptune Saturn sextile the Pluto – so a re-set is possible after a fair amount of shuffling and negotiating.
Oddly enough the backhanded Trump effect will make it more likely than less.
When the final Brexit severance was signed on 31 December 2020 the UK’s Solar Arc Saturn was opposition the 10th house Jupiter for discouraging a moment. Tr Uranus was then poised on the cusp of the UK’s 8th house pointing to an unsettled economic period ahead for several years. Tr Pluto will oppose the UK Jupiter throughout this year for a resurgence of confidence and motivation. And tr Uranus will move out of the UK 8th in 2026 and beyond for a more settled financial phase where business is concerned.
On the run up to the Brexit referendum the status-quo-upsetting tr Pluto in Capricorn square tr Uranus in Aries were in hard aspect to the UK’s 7th house North Node in Aries and highlighting the country’s ambivalent approach to neighbourly cooperation.
There is certainly a different mood around at the moment with the celestial shift; with US tariffs affecting global finances and a recognition of the cost of Brexit in trade and convenience.
There is still one giant hiccup this year with the UK Solar Arc Uranus conjunct the 8th house Mars, exact within two degrees of a minute (2 weeks ahead) though in effect all year.
The EU itself is highly pressured with the Solar Arc Pluto moving to oppose the 8th house Moon and square the 11th house Uranus within months – so finances and future plans will be blocked and challenged, making a climb down on certain demands more likely. Tr Pluto square the 2nd house Neptune in 2026/27 will only add to their concerns since it is likely to bring disappointment and losses.
Actor John Lithgow is on a roll playing the fearsome Cardinal Tremblay in The Conclave, appearing in the successful Giant in the West End of London as children’s writer Roald Dahl at his most antisemitic; and having accepted the role of Dumbledore in HBO’s forthcoming ten-season Harry Potter series. The hate mail he has received since accepting anything under the J.K. Rowling banner has bemused him though not put him off.
Born 19 October 1945 in New York, the son of an actress and a theatrical producer, he became an actor after Harvard and has had an award strewn career on stage and screen. He has a Libra Sun square a disciplined, surprisingly hard-edged Mars Saturn in Cancer with Venus, Neptune, Jupiter also in Libra. His Jupiter is in an adventurous trine to Uranus and sextile Pluto giving him confidence and influence. Mercury in Scorpio square Pluto will give him the capacity to be sharp and penetrating when needed.
Roald Dahl, 13 September 1916, was a Sun Virgo with Mars in vengeful Scorpio opposition Jupiter square Venus Neptune in Leo; with his Mars trine Pluto – talented with words but a bitter, angry man.
Director Nicholas Hytner said he knew Lithgow had to play Dahl because “even though he is the sweetest man, he does have the most extraordinary talent for playing monstrous characters”. He is known for a number of memorable villain roles, including the voice of the ruthless Lord Farquaad in animated movie Shrek, disgraced Fox News head Roger Ailes in Bombshell, and as a child psychologist who himself suffers a mental collapse in Raising Cain.
Of Dahl, Lithgow said “he was a very complicated man damaged by terrible tragedies. He was a charmer and a wit, but he had a vile temper and he could be horrible to people. And he had a deeply emotional side. He endured awful grief when one of his children was badly injured and another passed away. What fascinated him about Dahl was the “origins of that hatred… I think so much of that comes from injury, from damage.”
Both Lithgow and Dahl share Saturn in Cancer which can give expression to emotional pain. Lithgow’s North Node in Cancer was conjunct Dahl’s Pluto and Lithgow’s Mercury was conjunct Dahl’s Mars in Scorpio which again suggests enough connection to Dahl’s inner conflict and hatred to be able to make sense of an insightful stage portrayal.
J.K. Rowling, 31 July 1965 9.10 pm Bristol, England, Lithgow will be drawn to since his Pluto is conjunct her Sun and his Libra planets click with her 8th house Mars. A not always easy association but he will understand her motivations.
She looks relieved after the Supreme Court ruling on two sexes with only a few tremors more this year as tr Saturn opposes her Moon for a final time in November and December.
She may have a few outspoken moments with tr Uranus square her Mercury as well, picking up from this July onwards. But with her Solar Arc Mars having finished wading across the aggravated squares to her Uranus Pluto which made the recent few years fraught – and only one more square to her Saturn in six months which may cause some setbacks or irritations, thereafter she looks as if she will settle for a quiet life.
Her Progressed Moon is aiming for her Midheaven within months which will require a focus on career matters for a while ahead. But at the same time Jupiter through her 5th will want time to enjoy and have fun; and tr Saturn through her lower profile First Quadrant hints that a less pressured schedule ahead will suit her.
The funeral of Pope Francis was a wonder of flamboyant colour, pomp and liturgy, wonderfully well produced and surprisingly upbeat with thoughts of happy ever after for the departed. The central figure presiding with remarkable stamina and gravitas was the 91 year old Cardinal Giovanni Battista Re, whose voice and hands remained steady through a long service.
The son of a carpenter, born 30 January 1934, he serves as the Dean of the College of Cardinals and as the most senior cardinal-bishop in attendance, he chaired the 2013 papal conclave that elected Pope Francis.
He has a stellium in Aquarius ranging from the Sun, through a Mercury, Saturn, Venus, North Node conjunction and later degree Mars; with a confident and controlling Jupiter opposition Uranus square Pluto. His Moon is in Leo probably opposition his Sun. His spiritual Neptune is strangely unaspected being only inconjunct his Sun.
His Mars in stubborn Aquarius is square Chiron Algol perhaps a hint of the rigidity of his views – which raised criticism when he supported the excommunication of a Brazilian mother and medical team who handled the abortion after a nine year old was raped by her stepfather.
He struck me as interesting astrologically because of his age and his handling of the funeral.
If a birth time of 22.30 is correct he has influential Pluto in his 10th which makes sense and a grandstanding 5th house full of Aquarius so designed for public performances. His 12th house Neptune is sextile his Midheaven but still fairly weak.
Chris Eubank Jr versus Conor Benn tonight has boxing fans enthralled as the bitter rivals face up to each other 35 years after their respective fathers punched it out with Eubank Snr emerging the winner.
The Juniors were due to fight two and a half ago but that was cancelled at the last minute because Benn failed two drugs tests.
It is all the more tense since Conor Benn has an undefeated record to defend and has publicly said his father does not support him.
Just to add to the family spirit the promoter is Eddie Hearn whose father Barry is also prominent in the world of sports management.
Chris Eubank Jnr, 18 September 1989, is a fiery Sun Mars in Virgo in a volatile square to Uranus, Saturn, Neptune in Capricorn with a seductive Venus Pluto in Scorpio – quite a personality.
His father Chris Eubank Snr, 8 August 1966, a Sun Leo square Neptune has his Saturn in Pisces opposition Conor’s Sun Mars which is an aggravated chemistry, with Junior constantly feeling thwarted by father’s criticism. Their relationship chart has a similarly fractious composite Mars opposition Saturn; with a power-struggling for the upper hand composite Jupiter square Pluto.
Conor Benn, 25 September 1996, Greenwich, England, is a Sun Libra opposition Saturn in Aries square Jupiter in Capricorn; with the Sun sextile Pluto and trine Uranus in a talented Half Grand Sextile. And Venus and Mars in Leo.
His father Nigel Benn, 22 January 1964, has a fiery Sun Mars in Aquarius which is opposition his son’s Mars; and his Saturn in Aquarius is opposition his son’s Venus. There will be a few arguments and rough edges but their relationship chart has softer aspects that the Eubanks.
Eddie Hearn, 8 June 1979, is a Sun Mercury in Gemini opposition Neptune and trine Pluto; with Mars and Venus in Taurus opposition Uranus Moon in Scorpio and Jupiter in Leo. Super-ambitious, oodles of endurance and perseverance, stubborn.
His father Barry, 19 June 1948, another Sun Gemini though in his case conjunct an independent-minded Uranus and in a lucky, risk-taking opposition to Jupiter. Plus Saturn Pluto in Leo which will clash at times with his son’s Fixed Taurus/Scorpio opposition.
Their relationship chart shows a tight and controlling Sun Venus square Pluto and an exuberant Mars square Jupiter. As long as they are not in competition it will be sort of OK.
Virginia Giuffre who accused Prince Andrew and Jeffrey Epstein of sexual abuse, has apparently committed suicide. Relatives said in a statement on Friday that she had been a “fierce warrior in the fight against sexual abuse”, and that the “toll of abuse… became unbearable”. She was one of the most outspoken accusers of Epstein and Ghislaine Maxwell, alleging they trafficked her to the Duke of York when she was 17, which Prince Andrew has strenuously denied.
Born 9 August 1983 5.52 am Sacramento, California, she had an upbeat Leo Sun on her Ascendant along with a Leo Moon. But her chart also had Mars in Cancer in her 12th in a square to Saturn Pluto in late Libra conjunct her IC describing the abuse and cruelty she suffered in childhood and afterwards.
See previous post 4th April 2025: Virginia Giuffre & Prince Andrew – both in crisis.
“Aged 7 she was molested by a family friend, ended up living on the streets as a 13 year old, then in foster homes, was abused by a 65-year-old sex trafficker, who was later imprisoned for alien smuggling for prostitution. She returned to live with her father aged 14, who was a maintenance manager at Mar-a-Lago. She met Ghislaine Maxwell there when she was 16 and was offered a job working for Epstein as a traveling masseuse with the assurance that no experience was necessary. Between 2000 and 2002, she travelled between Epstein’s residences in Palm Beach and Manhattan, his New Mexico ranch and island Little Saint James, being trafficked, she said in her autobiography, by Epstein to provide massages and sexual services for him and a number of his business associates over a two-and-a-half-year period.”
Her 22 year marriage to martial arts trainer Robert Giuffre with whom she had three children appeared to have split this year with some evidence she was distressed at being separated from her children. She married at 19 only ten days after meeting her prospective husband which allowed her to escape Epstein’s clutches.
Tr Uranus was exactly square her Moon at the moment for an emotionally upsetting period continuing on from last year; with her Solar Arc Sun square her 5th house Neptune for disappointment and uncertainty. Tr Uranus was also in hard aspect to her Neptune/Pluto midpoint and her Saturn/North Node – which would bring maximum confusion and high tensions. Her Solar Arc Saturn Pluto had also recently been square her Venus for emotional loss and challenges.
Her Progressed Moon moving through her 7th and tr Saturn through her 8th both point to her feeling the lack of a partner’s support keenly.
Australia was not her best place to live since it put her deprived Saturn Pluto in her 8th, her Moon in the 6th house of delicate health; and Neptune on her Midheaven.
He relationship chart with Prince Andrew has a composite Sun Uranus conjunction in Libra catching the recent Solar Eclipse in opposition with the late September Solar Eclipse being conjunct – so the tremors will extend on. There is also a composite Sun conjunct Algol; and an ominous yod of Neptune sextile Pluto inconjunct Mars which would bind their destinies together for good or in this case for ill.
He has tr Uranus less than a degree over the opposition to his Scorpio Moon and with SA Pluto still conjunct his 4th house Neptune – for an emotionally troubled few months with domestic and family uncertainties.
Lady Victoria Hervey, 6 October 1976, London, a staunch supporter of Prince Andrew, has been heavily criticised after suggesting Virginia Giuffre’s death was due to her ‘lies catching up’. She is a socialite and model, with a Sun Pluto in Libra which is in the line of fire of the recent Aries Solar Eclipse and the autumn Libra one as well. Her Neptune is conjunct Andrew’s Moon for a delusional glow of appreciation.
A deadly attack on civilians in Indian-controlled Kashmir has threatened to reignite one of Asia’s longest-running conflicts after New Delhi blamed the violence on Pakistan, which aroused fears of a renewed confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbours. Twenty-six people were killed and 17 wounded on Tuesday when suspected militants opened fire in a scenic tourism destination which India blamed on Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan-based armed group, though Kashmiri secessionists claimed credit. There has already been an exchange of fire on the border and India has suspended a major treaty governing water sharing of six rivers in the Indus basin between the two countries.
Kashmir has been a point of contention since the violent partition of India and Pakistan in 1947 and there have been several conflicts over the decades as tensions erupted into the open.
Pakistan declared independence at 9.30 am on 14th August 1947 and India at midnight going into the 15 August 1947 so both have relatively similar planets placings though in different houses. Most notably at the moment their Mars at zero degrees Cancer will be on edge as tr Saturn squares the Mars from June 10th onwards, joined at intervals by a retrograding tr Neptune square into 2026 and until early 2027 – bringing aggravation and then a sense of failure.
Pakistan has their Mars in an explosive, excitable conjunction with Uranus sitting at their midheaven so it will affect their direction over the next two years – and with tr Saturn Neptune in Aries moving through their 7th, neighbourly squalls were to be expected.
India has its Mars Uranus in its financial 2nd house so there may be economic repercussions.
Both countries were ‘born’ when the tough-minded, enduring and super-stubborn Saturn Pluto conjunction in Leo was in place with Venus, Sun and Mercury also in Leo and Jupiter in Scorpio – very Fixed and unbudgeable.
Both also have Neptune in Libra catching the recent Solar Eclipse and the late September Eclipse, hinting at a need to choose between greater understanding or self-deceit – with the latter being the more likely. Pakistan has its Neptune in the 1st for a tricky-to-pin-down image. India has its Neptune in the 5th possibly a reference to its inclination towards speculation.
India is much more money-minded and to a degree inward looking with a lower hemisphere chart. Pakistan is independent with a left hand chart but has more connections elsewhere.
Mars Pluto looms large on Narendra Modi’s chart, the India prime minister. Born 17 September 1950, no verified birth time, he is a Sun, Mercury, Saturn in Virgo; with Mars in Scorpio square Pluto on one side and square Jupiter in Aquarius on the other. At the moment his Solar Arc Uranus is conjunct his Sun for an unsettled year with sudden changes, and his Solar Arc Pluto (square SA Mars) is catching the tr Pluto square – so will be in a belligerent mood.
Modi’s Third Term chart, 9 June 2024, has a close ruthlessly determined Mars in Taurus square Pluto in Aquarius which is catching this weekend’s tr Pluto opposition Mars exactly, repeating till the end of the year. So he won’t back down.
The Pakistani leader General Asim Munir has varying birthdates – 1968 or 1966. His administration chart, 29 November 2022 has an excitable Mutable T Square of Mars opposition Mercury square Neptune Jupiter in Pisces which is not at the best of times overly steady and will be undermined by tr Neptune Saturn conjunct the Jupiter this year and into 2026.
If he was born 6 June 1966 10.15pm Rawalpindi, as one astrology site suggested, then he is a Sun Mars in Gemini square Uranus Pluto in Virgo with his Solar Arc Mars catching the tr Pluto opposition now.
The Kashmir Accession chart, 27 October 1947 when it was handed to India, has a Mars, Pluto, Saturn conjunction in Leo; which has moved with the Solar Arc Mars conjunct the Scorpio Sun at the moment. Though much has changed in the interim 80 years.
Mars opposition Pluto which has been a constant and baleful celestial presence since late last October meets its final aspect exactly this Sunday but will hang around in effect for a few days after since the Taurus Sun will hook it into a Fixed T square.
As above so below. Not only does Mars Pluto in hard aspect tend to accompany certain types of events – see previous posts, Pluto – adding power to energy 7th April 2025; and Mars Pluto – testing courage and confidence 7th April 2025 – it also marks those born under its influence.
[The brewing trouble between India and Pakistan over Kashmir being a case in point – with the Kashmir Accession Signing of 26 October 1947 having a Mars Pluto conjunction with Saturn close by – of which more anon tomorrow.]
Mars Pluto has an ominous reputation being often connected to ruthless, if not downright criminal behaviour – Richard Nixon and Ho Chi Minh exhibited its do-or-die determination. Though it can have a more productive outcome giving courage and determination in the face of danger as with astronaut Buzz Aldrin and Mahatma Gandhi.
With women, it can produce either a submissive temperament and/or a tendency to attract bullying behaviour from outside – poor little JonBenet Ramsay, (mini-murdered beauty queen), Tippi Hedren (bullied by Hitchcock whose Venus was conjunct his Mars/Pluto midpoint). Ian McKellen, born in 1939, spent his early years in wartime conditions which left their mark in a Mars opposition Pluto. Actor Patrick Stewart who grew up with an abusive father has a Mars Pluto conjunction.
In the Mars Pluto opposition column there are a mix of personalities – some pushy, others finding another outlet for their compacted anger – Bruce Lee, Russell Brand, Woody Allen, Michel Barnier, Justin Trudeau, Rush Limbaugh – as well as Prince Edward, Prince George, Mary Shelley, Cindy Crawford.
Amongst the Mars Pluto conjunction types – Hillary Clinton stars, as does Paul McCartney, Gwyneth Paltrow, Cher, Ringo Starr, George Michael and the tragic Natalie Wood.
The most glaring and negative example of Mars Pluto in conjunction was Nero, 15 December 37 AD JC 7.30am Anzio with Mars Pluto Sun conjunct in Sagittarius and admittedly square Saturn which doubles up on the nastiness. The litany of his crimes including the murder of his mother, wife and brother plus a fair few extras and demonstrate the damage an afflicted Mars Pluto can do when allowed to run rampant.
Mars Pluto squares – Muhammad Ali, Genghis Khan, Oprah Winfrey, Harvey Weinstein, Andrea Bocelli, Roman Polanski, Martin Scorsese, Justin Bieber.
Different personalities but all determined, some finding positive outcomes for the demon which drives them and others taking the low road.
Liz Hurley has sent the gossip columns into a flutter as she announces an unlikely romantic hook up with three times married plus plus country singer and actor Billy Ray Cyrus, who performed at Trump’s second Inauguration.
Having had four well-publicised partnerships with Hugh Grant, Steve Bing, Arun Nayar and Shane Warner, she seemed in recent times to have settled to maternal status squiring her son (and clone) Damian.
Billy Ray Cyrus, 25 August 1961 5.52pm Bellefonte, Kentucky, has had an even more chequered emotional life with three marriages, several children in and out of marriage, and his final match in 2023 with Australian singer Firerose lasting less than a year with accusations flying in both directions.
He is a controlling Sun Pluto in Virgo with Pluto on the cusp of his 8th conjunct Mercury and Mars also in his 8th in Libra, so a heavyweight personality. His Moon is final degree Aquarius conjunct his South Node opposition a 7th house Uranus which perhaps explains his changeable (needs freedom) relationship life. He also has Venus in Cancer opposition Saturn Jupiter in Capricorn.
Quite a contradictory temperament.
Liz Hurley, 10 June 1965 London, no birth time, is not an obvious match though her Sun Mercury in Gemini and her Venus in Cancer all fall in his fun-loving 5th house and her easy going Jupiter in his domestic 4th house. But her Uranus conjunct his Pluto Mercury with her Saturn in opposition; and her Mars Pluto falling in his 8th house do suggest tumultuous undercurrents. Her intense Scorpio Moon will not sit comfortably with his Aquarius Moon.
Their relationship chart has an enthusiastic composite Mars opposition Jupiter and an ethereal, illusory Venus trine Neptune sextile a constantly changing Uranus Pluto.
Unless the birth dates are wrong it hardly seems a match made in heaven.
