For Royal and Eclipse watchers:-

Both Prince William and Kate, the Duchess of Cambridge, will be feeling the effects of the recent and about to occur eclipses.

Prince William with his Cancer New Moon catching the late December Capricorn Solar Eclipse conjunct Jupiter has just launched along with David Attenborough the “most prestigious environmental prize in history” – a multi-million pound competition to encourage the world’s greatest problem-solvers to find answers to Earth’s biggest environmental problems. He said the planet was now at a tipping point. That certainly sounds Jupiterian enough – visionary and very large. Though Jupiter has a habit of sometimes overdoing the stretch. And there may be other effects as well since this eclipse effect runs on for several months. By which time the June 21^st 2020 Cancer Solar Eclipse on his birthday will be exactly conjunct his Sun and near enough his Moon. This June eclipse Saros Series is difficult with restrictions and separations in the months following with progress being blocked; and the eclipsed New Moon is in an argumentative square to Mars and inconjunct Saturn, so much less upbeat than this recent one..

Kate with her Capricorn Sun opposition Cancer Moon square Mars and Saturn Pluto in Libra will catch the January 10^th Lunar Eclipse at 20 degrees Cancer which will conjunct her Moon and oppose her Sun; with the early July 2020 Capricorn Lunar Eclipse conjunct her Sun and opposition her Moon. So it’ll be a critical year for her as well in terms of relationships with partners as well as the public.

She has stepped out of her shell in the past year, spruced up her wardrobe style (mainly), and come across with more confidence. She’s been through a punishing few years with tr Pluto and tr Uranus bouncing off her Sun opposition Moon and Saturn. It has clearly been transformative – which is often the case with women who have heavily Plutonic charts since they often don’t come into their own until their forties – after the tr Pluto square natal Pluto – in her case not for another couple of years. But she has such a downbeat, hemmed-in chart, the recent battering has obviously cleared away some of what was suppressing her.

Someone on the forum mentioned early on that she appeared to be ‘on remote control’ which will have been the effect of an over-controlling Pluto from childhood leaving its mark.

Just goes to show that difficult outer planet transits, which in advance can be panic-inducing, can have a positive effect.

There may be a shift in the family dynamics and in their marriage since the eclipses are homing in on both their Sun/Moon midpoints. A necessary adjustment as they step up for what is likely to be an endurance test in years to come.

Sam Mendes took home best director for his epic war drama 1917 which was also crowned best film drama at the Golden Globes.  Born one day after J.K. Rowling on 1 August 1965, he had a novelist mother and academic father, directed plays when at Cambridge, and later at the Royal Shakespeare Company and Chichester. He has a special place in my respect for his regeneration of the tiny Donmar Theatre in London in the early 1990s where he put on a stream of superlative serious plays. As well as directing Lionel Bart’s Oliver with Cameron Mackintosh – and the list of stage triumphs goes on and on. On the movie front, most notably American Beauty with Kevin Spacey and the James Bond Skyfall and many others. He really has the golden touch.

He has a Leo Sun square filmic and musical Neptune; with the leading-edge, innovative Uranus Pluto in Virgo opposition Saturn in Pisces squaring onto a lucky Jupiter in Gemini. A Mutable T Square like this gives him a need for constant movement and stimulation. A focal point Jupiter will make him a natural teacher or spokesman and visionary but exceedingly restless with it – so a career full of constantly changing projects will suit him.

His Jupiter is also in a high-energy, adventurous and risk-taking trine to Mars in Libra. His Moon in probably Libra in contrast to Rowling’s Virgo Moon.

Other winners included a well-deserved Brad Pitt (see posts 30 August and 21 September 2019); Rene Zellwegger (post September 11 2019); Joaquin Phoenix (post September 28 2019); Olivia Coleman (post November 24 2018); and Quentin Tarantino (post May 27 2019).

Rod Stewart, one of the top selling musical artists of all time has been charged with battery after punching a security guard at a hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, on New Year’s Eve. His son Sean, appears to be a co-defendant and the affidavit says cctv footage indicated that they were the “primary aggressors” after the guard confronted them about crashing a private party. They could face a year in jail, the same time on probation or a £760 fine if found guilty at a hearing in February.

Rod born 10 January 1945 9.45pm London (time unverified) has a Capricorn Sun in the performing 5^th house in a confident trine to Jupiter in Virgo, with a maverick Uranus on his midheaven. More significantly he has a short-fuse Mars in Capricorn opposition Saturn in Cancer square Neptune. His Mars had the recent Solar Eclipse in Capricorn conjunct Jupiter firing it up, which has a tendency to produce arguments with Jupiter amplifying the effect. And he had tr Saturn in a frustrating square to his Mars/Pluto midpoint exactly which would also not improve his temper. Plus his Sun is going to catch the mid January Lunar Eclipse in Cancer/Capricorn which is always an indicator of critical events.

Sean, born 1 September 1980, from Rod’s first marriage to Alana spent 90 days in jail in 2002 after attacking a man outside a restaurant and in 2010 was arrested for driving with a suspended license. He’s a Sun Virgo with Mercury Jupiter and Saturn in Virgo all square Neptune in Sagittarius with a Gemini Moon – so a scattered and quite highly-strung temperament with so many mutable planets. And more pointedly he has Mars in Scorpio which doesn’t back down easy from confrontations which has tr Uranus in opposition at the moment which tends to provoke rash responses.

No doubt celebrity-obsessed Palm Beach will find a way of smoothing over the cracks.

A radioactive boulder having been lobbed into the Middle East causing Ayatollah Khamenei to vow revenge and Trump to counter-threaten further reprisals, the surrounding countries are on tenterhooks.

This is just a quick look round certain key charts. Apart from Iran, the two Soleimani allies most affected by his death are Syria’s Bashar Assad and Hezbollah. Assad’s Presidency chart of 17 July 2000, despite his recent ‘win’ always did look more pressured ahead with a trapped, high-risk tr Saturn Pluto opposition the Sun/Mars midpoint in 2020 and then opposition Sun at 25 degrees Cancer – so a potentially blocked and destructive three years ahead.

Hezbollah, based in Lebanon, who are one of Israel’s main concerns, 16 February 1985, look devastated at the moment with their Solar Arc Sun square Saturn hitting on their Neptune exactly, bringing uncertainty and a significant setback. Tr Uranus is also triggering their pushily-confident Jupiter square Pluto between now and late March, which could provoke a definite response. Their relationship with Israel is on a sharp downhill slide from late March onwards for several years ahead with tr Neptune square the composite Mars and then opposition the composite Pluto Uranus.

Israel is alarmed at present with tr Uranus square the Sun/Neptune midpoint; and foreseeing disruptive changes with tr Pluto square the Jupiter/Saturn midpoint. This March could be a flare-up point with an emotionally upsetting tr Uranus square the 10^th house Moon.

Netanyahu whose political future was hanging in the balance after indictment charges looks remarkably confident and successful from late March onwards with tr Pluto conjunct his Jupiter. Though relations between the Israel and the USA chart seem to be exceptionally strained from late March as well with tr Pluto picking up the opposition to the composite Mars which runs till late 2021; and an undermining and disappointing tr Neptune square the composite Sun slightly earlier in March (repeating into early 2021). There will also be a considerable upheaval in relations from late March into April.

Up in the skies the second half of March does have Mars in Capricorn conjunct Pluto and Jupiter and then in Aquarius conjunct Saturn – which looks risky, angry and could be violent.

Saudi Arabia, 15 January 1902, is certainly in for an event-filled year with times of major confidence (over?) and deflating setbacks. At the moment and through January there’ll be an urge towards impulsive action, rising excitement and a tendency to over-reaction from tr Uranus square the Sun/Mars midpoint; which will, if anything, become more marked from July onwards as tr Uranus squares the Saudi Mars which can bring an explosive mood, high-insecurity and lead to hasty and unwise retaliation. In between tr Pluto will conjunct the Saudi Sun Jupiter from late February onwards for two years which could lead to soaring over confidence, but with tr Saturn also in effect and the Saturn/Jupiter and Saturn/Sun midpoints being triggered in 2020 it’ll be one step forwards, one step backwards.

Mohammed bin Salman,  31 August 1985, the reckless Saudi Crown Prince, looks more pumped up than usually at the moment with tr Uranus triggering his Jupiter Pluto Venus T Square – at the moment tr Uranus is opposition his Pluto, moving to square his Venus and Jupiter  from lat5e May, on and off till early 2021. This could bring lucky breaks as well as hasty initiatives.

Too many charts, too much data but some of it may be helpful.

The killing of Qassem Soleimani, commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Qds force in a USA strike has shaken analysts who all say it’s impossible to exaggerate the repercussions of this event. Soleimani was ‘more important than the president, spoke to all factions in Iran, had a direct line to the supreme leader and was in charge of Iran’s regional policy.” Haaretz says: “This is the most fateful action by the Trump administration in the Middle East in the past three years – the blatant assassination of effectively the second-most powerful man in his country and over the past two decades the most powerful in the region.”

“Soleimani played the key role in destabilizing Iraq after the American invasion. He transformed Hezbollah from a medium-sized militia into an army-sized force and the main power broker in Lebanon. And then came his greatest achievement, at the cost of hundreds of thousands of deaths: Without him Bashar Assad would not have remained president of Syria in his Damascus palace.”

General Petraeus, in a 2008 letter to the then-US defence secretary, described Soleimani as “a truly evil figure”.

The question is not why he was taken out so much as why now? There have been low level attacks by Iranian-backed militia on American forces and personnel in Iraq recently with some retaliation from the US. But this appears to be what the Telegraph described as “a massive walk up the escalation ladder.” Even Israel has ducked chances to take Soleimani out for fear of the consequences.

Trump wants out of the Middle East and stymied John Bolton’s hawkish efforts to topple the Iranian leadership. Did he think a one-off strike would bring him kudos and divert attention from domestic woes? If so, he woefully under-estimates the Iranians who will feel impelled to grandstand their anger and resistance. Despite talk of World War 111 and an all-out confrontation, their talent is asymmetrical warfare since they know they lack the US’s massive armed forces. The payback could happen anywhere and anytime but will certainly put US and Brit forces in Syria and Iraq at higher risk.

Soleimani, 11 March 1957 Iran, was a Sun Pisces (a sign often found in Islamic-fundamentalist charts) in a confident opposition to Jupiter in Virgo with Mercury Venus also in Pisces – all his Pisces planets being square a serious and knowledgeable Saturn in Sagittarius. Most significantly he had Mars in heavyweight Taurus conjunct the destructive Fixed star Algol in a ruthless square to Pluto.

The Iran 7 October 1906 chart has a Solar Arc Mars opposition Jupiter now which does suggest a ‘holy crusader’, aggressive and self-justifying response. There was similar when the US launched the Afghanistan War in 2001. In Iran’s case the Solar Arc Mars will move onto to oppose the Neptune in two years’ time which suggests failed plans; with a massive jolt in 2020 from Solar Arc Saturn opposition Uranus.

Trump’s Term chart also indicates a gung-ho, might-makes-right mood at the moment with tr Pluto square the Jupiter running till late January 2020 and repeating till the end of the year. It gives an overdose of confidence which can ultimately blowback. There’s also a distinct see-saw wobble from the Pluto moving to close to the square to Uranus to exact within the next two months.

Pompeo’s Secretary of State chart always indicated an explosive and crises-ridden with an exact Mars Pluto conjunction which has tr Saturn sitting exactly on it for these few days over the New Year. And his relationship chart with Trump looks extremely fraught with an aggravated Mars opposition Venus Saturn which is being elbowed at the moment by tr Uranus conjunct the Venus and moving on more disruptively in May/June. There were some rumours he was going to bale to pursue a Senate run, which doesn’t sound as if he is in-step with POTUS. Certainly Pompeo does not have Iran as a success zone on his astrocartography, quite the reverse with Mars on his IC.

Neither does Trump since it puts his Uranus Sun in the 7^th opposition Moon in the 1^st, with an indecisive Neptune in the 10^th located to Teheran. The Ayatollah Khamenei’s Uranus is conjunct Trump’s Midheaven, giving him a capacity for destabilising Trump; and the Ayatollah’s Cancer Sun sits on Trump’s Saturn in Cancer, so he’ll dent Trump’s self-esteem.

Which makes the magnitude of the action even more bizarre. Perhaps in his deteriorating mental state, beset by impeachment fears, losing the North Korea negotiating triumph as Kim Jong Un goes awry again, he thought an out-do Obama moment by knocking off an even more significant figure than Bin Laden might feed his crumbling ego. Or maybe he didn’t think. Or maybe a nuke-em-all military type just got his finger on the trigger before anyone noticed. All will no doubt be revealed in time re-motives and decision-making.

Add On:  The Iran Revolutionary Guard was founded on 5 May 1979 – which gives a maverick Taurus Sun opposition Uranus; with a ruthless Mars Mercury and Venus in Aries opposition Pluto. The tr Saturn Pluto is square the Mars now as if suffers its worst setback; and in 2021 there’s a road-blocked Solar Arc Saturn conjunct Pluto for a discouraging year. It will be undergoing upheavals and radical changes 2021 to early 2024 as tr Uranus is conjunct the Sun and then opposition Uranus – so the nature of the organisation will be significantly changed. And by the mid 2020s the Solar Arc Saturn will oppose the Mars for a ‘collision’ of a setback.

Thomas Friedman has a few interesting things to say about Soleimani in the NY Times pointing out how his manoeuvrings on the battlefield caused Iran harm at home: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/01/03/opinion/iran-general-soleimani.html?action=click&module=Opinion&pgtype=Homepage

The Iran Revolution chart of 1 February 1979 9am is set for the moment Ayatollah Khomeini’s feet touched Iranian soil after his time in exile as he returned to put the mullahs in charge. There’s a Sun, Mars, Mercury in stubbornly uncompromising Aquarius opposition Jupiter in Leo. The Sun is widely square Uranus, trine Pluto and inconjunct Saturn – a hint of revolution, heavy control and strain.

Tr Uranus will square the Jupiter from February 9^th to early March, which will give rise to a surge of confidence (or good luck); with sharp words erupting mid April to early May with tr Uranus square the Mercury; though when it starts to show disruption, high-risk and insecurity will be from mid June onwards as tr Uranus squares the Mars – which can provoke ill-advised macho gestures to prop up self esteem and that repeats into early 2021. Then in 2021 the tr Saturn in Aquarius square tr Uranus will land on the Aquarius Sun for an uncomfortable year of economic damage and other mishaps, necessitating a change of direction. The tr Uranus square Uranus doesn’t come until 2023 but that will continue the mood of unrest.

Vladimir Putin’s 4^th term as Russia President always did look like a crises-ridden administration. There’s a ruthless (and blocked) Mars Pluto in Capricorn square Uranus and Midheaven – less stable than it appears from the outside. There’s also a lucky Sun opposition Jupiter, in a Half Grand Sextile of evasive Neptune in the financial 8^th sextile Pluto, which will help to bolster its chances, although economic/financial matters will be a weak spot.

Where it starts to be disrupted is in 2022 with tr Uranus conjunct the Sun – but Jupiter may well step in with dollops of luck to improve his chances of political survival. There’s likely to be explosive mishaps before then in 2021 as the Solar Arc Mars square the Uranus and reputational damage from tr Pluto square the midheaven in 2021/22. And there’ll be worse violence and brutality when the Solar Arc Pluto is conjunct the Mars in 2023. The run up to the next election will be exceptionally fraught.

2020 itself will have some highs mid-year but also patches of long slow, discouraging slog, some major obstacles from the Mars/Pluto midpoint and dashed-hopes from tr Neptune square Jupiter/Pluto.

The plethora of charts for Russia as a country is irksome. But looking at 8 December 1991 7.45pm there’s an undermining drift until late January 2020 from tr Neptune square the Sun; jolts and tensions from tr Uranus square the Saturn early February to early March 2020; and more debilitating confusion or indecision late year as the Solar Arc Sun is conjunct the Neptune. Tr Saturn in Aquarius in 2022 will put pressure on the 4^th house Pluto, with disruptions the following year from tr Uranus square the Pluto – if the start time is sound, that could knock away some of the internal domestic controls.

The 8 November 197 2.12 am chart is more obviously in the line of fire from the economic-setback tr Saturn square tr Uranus in 2022/23 as both will hard aspect the Scorpio Sun, Mercury and square the Saturn and then Uranus.

Going back to conspiracy theories: The Russia 1917 chart has a paranoid Saturn Neptune conjunction and a control-freak Pluto in the 10^th trine a Scorpio Sun – so custom-built for spreading ‘imaginative’ disinformation. The 1991 chart has a Uranus Neptune conjunction which can also bend reality to its own uses.

A #boycott Cyprus campaign has started after a judge handed down a guilty sentence to a 19-year-old British girl for causing public mischief. She reported having been raped by 12 Israeli men last July and then retracted her allegations after a protracted interrogation by police when no lawyer or translator was present. The judge refused to hear any evidence about whether the alleged rape took place, only on the recantation which she claims was forced and was certainly extracted without due process. The UK Foreign Office has expressed disquiet and several former Cypriot Attorneys General and the like have also queried the proceedings. There has been one other such story in the media about the police forcing a retraction from a woman claiming rape.

Cyprus gained independence on 16 August 1960 at midnight. The chart has two distinct sides. There’s an entertaining Sun Uranus in Leo in and adventurous trine to Jupiter in colourful Sagittarius. And there’s a much darker streak with a controlling 4^th house Pluto Venus in Virgo square Mars Moon in Gemini – certainly it will foster sexual licence but there’s cruelty in there as well. Plus a stressed Yod of Moon Mars sextile Mercury inconjunct an 8^th house Saturn – not exactly warm, cosy and supportive, for sure. The feminine doesn’t come out well in this chart being hemmed in by Mars and Pluto as well as an ungiving 8^th house Saturn.

At the moment the Cyprus Gemini Ascendant has a debilitating tr Neptune square till late January undermining its image; plus a panicky-failure Solar Arc Mars square Neptune in the entertaining 5^th house. There could be financial repercussions with the Solar Arc Venus moving to conjunct the Neptune in 2020.

If they hoped to protect their tourist trade by burying the story it’s going to boomerang in an even more damaging way if the boycott campaign gains traction. Sunny holiday spots and dodgy legal systems appear to go hand in hand.

Brazilian footballer, Givanildo Vieira de Sousa, otherwise known as Hulk for his likeness to Lou Ferrigno, who played Hulk on TV in the 1970s, has scandalised football fans. Having abandoned his 12 year marriage in July he has since taken up with his wife’s favourite niece, who is cousin to his three children.

He was born 25 July 1986 in Campina Grande, Brazil, and is a Sun Leo in a controlling square to Pluto, trine Saturn in prickly Sagittarius, inconjunct Neptune in Capricorn. His Venus in Virgo opposes Jupiter in Pisces squaring onto an uncompromising and high-wire Uranus; and his earthy Venus is also trine Mars in ambitious Capricorn. Not an easy personality – he will want to be centre of attention, is obstinate, dislikes criticism, prone to muddles with the Neptune quincunx. His Venus opposition Jupiter is superficially charming, certainly indulgent and square Uranus hints at an erratic approach to emotional connections and commitment. His Moon is either late Pisces or Aries and will either be square Uranus or square Neptune, neither of which suggest a settled domestic life.

What’s interesting is that his North Node is in Aries which usually indicates that part of life will be spent alone, rather than in relationship. Tr Pluto is moving to square his Node from early 2020 to late 2021, which won’t necessarily bring isolation but there’ll be hints of lessons to learn.

He does look unsettled at the moment with tr Uranus square his Sun across the New Year and January, moving on to square his Pluto by March; and he also has a frustrating and enraging tr Pluto square his Sun/Mars midpoint at the moment with an avalanche of bad publicity and critical fans, and it repeats on and off till late 2020. Not his shining moment.

Janus, the two-faced god, rules the New Year – one set of eyes looking back, the other looking forward. A time for most to stop and consider.

In every individual life there are several, even more significant though less frequent, staging posts as the outer planets move to make hard aspects to their natal place and in the case of Saturn to return. They don’t always fall at the ages you might imagine.

The First Saturn Return at 29 is the first maturing transit. Despite most of us assuming we’re grown up at 16, it takes until the late twenties to face facts, get real and settle into the Saturnine virtues of hard work and self-discipline. Running into it is a pressured, sometimes painful year of tough experiences. The Second Saturn Return at 58 also brings sober realisation, this time about the next phase of life running into retirement, or at least slowing down to accept the limitations of age. The Progressed Moon cycle hits marginally earlier with a Return at 28 and another at 56 – which is an emotional taking-stock.

Uranus makes a square to its natal place, aged 21, which is a touch late for a teenage rebellion, but will bring a strong urge to express individuality as well as a restless desire for adventure. The next Uranus hard aspect, the opposition at age 42, is usually even more dramatic bringing a mid-life crisis. This goes along with a desire to throw everything that feels stale and dull in the air and go hot foot after unfulfilled ambitions, sometimes including buying a sports car or taking a younger lover. The next Uranus square at 63 isn’t as dramatic but coincides with a restless period of questioning – ‘where have I been and where am I going’ – as plans for the future are pondered over in light of what has been achieved. The Uranus Return at 84 brings it back full cycle.

The most significant staging past of them all occurs across a few year span from the late 30s to early 40s. What Carl Jung called the individuation crisis – starting with the Second Nodal Return at 37 (occurring every 18.6 years), and running on through the Uranus opposition, Pluto and Neptune squares to their natal place. Negotiating this transition successfully, he thought, brought new energy and vitality to the second half of life, as a deeper connection to the inner soul or Self came with a new sense of purpose. Ignoring it, he felt, brought stagnation and decay to the second half of life.

“Individuation answers the question, who are you, beneath all of your social roles and responsibilities? If you took off the ‘masks’, or personas, that you hide behind? Who would you be if you faced up to all your hidden secrets and made peace with your darkest corners? And dared to be yourself no matter how different you are from others?”

It may just be personal experience, but my impression is that more people than the average die in their late 30s perhaps because of this cross-over point which for some is a step too far.

It can be helpful for those angst-ridden times of dark nights of the soul to understand the astrology of the experience and decipher the direction in which the celestial winds are blowing.

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