Bernie Sanders has pulled out of campaigning for a short while after having emergency surgery putting two stents in to ease artery blockage. Although he’s still raising substantial quantities of money, his campaign was already in some disarray with Elizabeth Warren eclipsing him as the progressive standard-bearer. He’s sunk to third place nationally, behind Warren and Joe Biden.

He never looked that sanguine ahead with tr Neptune in a debilitating opposition to his Sun for the final time mid this November to mid December and a frustratingly blocked tr Pluto square his Mars in Aries from late January 2020 on and off till December 2020. Plus his Solar Arc Neptune is moving to square his Sun in 2020 as well and square his Jupiter – suggesting high hopes would be dashed.  And worse still his Solar Arc Pluto conjunct his Venus now and opposition his Mars in 2020 which is blocked every which way.

Despite his best efforts, William Barr, the Attorney General, is being dragged down into the rapidly expanding Ukraine impeachment affaire. It appears he and Mike Pompeo, according to multiple reports, ‘collectively participated in contacts between Trump and leaders of at least four foreign countries.’ These contacts were variously aimed at producing stories that could damage Joe Biden or undermine the US intelligence community’s assessment from 2017 of Russian election tampering in the last election. Barack Obama’s former speechwriter Jon Favreau tweeted “The America First crowd is jeopardizing our national security by pressuring foreign governments to help them discredit our intelligence officials and rig our elections.”

Barr always did look in for an exceptionally panicky and uncertain term (see posts April 18 and May 1 2019). From distorting the Mueller report to make Trump sound exonerated, he’s obviously continued along the same path in a job that is supposed to be non-partisan but using his position to support Trump’s political ends.

Mid November onwards looks rocky, with some lucky breaks, but they’ll disappear through a high-stress phase in late December and through January on both his personal chart and his relationship chart with Trump. Where the real calamitous aggravations crop up – which shows on the Pence and other related charts as well – is March/April 2020 and September 2020 to February 2021.

Multiple allegations and firm denials are flying around over Boris Johnson’s association with American entrepreneur Jennifer Arcuri during his time as London Mayor. The Sunday Times reported that Ms Arcuri was given £126,000 in public money and privileged access to three foreign trade missions led by him during this time. And friends are quoted as saying she told them there was a sexual affair, which given his track record seems not unlikely.

She was born 26 February 1985 (net sources) possibly in Kentucky, which makes her a Sun Pisces trine Pluto, sextile Neptune – creative, not short of stratospheric ambition, especially given her Pluto in a super-confident square to Jupiter. She has a passionately enthusiastic Venus Mars in Aries so definitely pro-active – she goes straight for what she wants. Her Moon is in earthy, acquisitive Taurus.

Assuming this is accurate her Venus Mars fall in Boris’s 7^th house of close relationships conjunct his Descendant so there would definitely be an attraction. Her Pluto is conjunct his Scorpio Moon with her Jupiter square his Moon – so there would be an intense frisson and good feelings. Her Moon falls in his 8^th perhaps conjunct his Jupiter so again a deep comforting connection. It wouldn’t be entirely perfect since her Sun is conjunct his Saturn opposition his Uranus Pluto and square his Mars so long term it’d be a less than stable connection.

Their relationship chart has a fiery composite Sun Mars which initially can spark up a few romantic fireworks, but ultimately becomes argumentative and competitive. What’s interesting is that there is a Yod of Pluto sextile Neptune inconjunct Mars. This suggests a fated relationship which has the potential to affect the destiny of each in a significant way – for good or for ill.

There’s no indication they have much contact nowadays but the ‘relationship’ has been dominating the headlines and there may be more consequences when tr Uranus is conjunct the composite Sun from this coming mid November for a four weeks; and more so into 2020 when tr Uranus is conjunct the composite Sun/Mars midpoint at around 6 degrees Taurus and more so in June 2020 as it hits the composite Mars – jangling the Yod.

PS: I can’t remember which of his many liaisons when it surfaced in the press was brushed aside as an inverted pyramid of piffle. He was steeped in the Trump playbook from way back.

‘An enigma without a secret’ – Matthew Parris’s delightful description of Theresa May might just as easily be applied to Mike Pence, Trump’s VP. To European eyes his fusion of evangelical Protestantism with unvarnished capitalism and the spirit of the Tea party seem head-jarringly contradictory. Less so in the USA but even there his piety sits awkwardly with his proximity to the pussy-grabber-in-chief.

For all his slippery evasiveness he now appears to be getting dragged into the impeachment scandal – with both Barr and himself named in a whistleblower complaint alleging Trump abused his office in a conversation with Ukrainian President. There are also hot rumours that the Kushners are manoeuvring to have him dumped and replaced by Nikki Haley.

Pence born 7 June 1959 is facing an uncomfortable few months with a debilitating tr Neptune square his Gemini Sun running now till mid November and returning mid December to late January 2020. Plus a ‘shocking’ and insecure-making jolt from tr Uranus square his Mars mid this November to mid December, returning in February and early March 2020; with an additional jangle from tr Uranus square his Venus/Mars midpoint late December and across January. In addition he has his Solar Arc Sun conjunct his Uranus around now which will be destabilising – without a birth time it’s not possible to pin it down timing-wise.

Late December to early February also look beset by tr Pluto square his Neptune/Node leading to confusion and breakdown of relationships; followed from late March till early July by tr Pluto square his Saturn/Uranus midpoint which will bring brutal challenges, harm through force majeure – and that repeats on and off till late 2021.

During that last phase his relationship with Trump hits a new low with tr Neptune square their composite Sun from late March, on and off into 2021. And there are also signs at the exact same time that Trump’s relationship with Lindsay Graham who is mounting his impeachment defence also hits the skids with tr Neptune opposition their composite Saturn.

But for all of the above he does have tr Pluto sextile his Jupiter in Scorpio from late March onwards till late 2021 which will bring him some succour and confidence.

Neither Pence nor his wife Karen, 1 January 1957, whom he calls mother, get on with Jared. In Pence’s case there will be ructions from mid October onwards. Karen who evidently had a hotline into his office when he was Governor and more or less ruled both his home and working life is an ambitious and pro-active Capricorn Sun (Moon) square Mars in Aries with Venus Saturn in Sagittarius. She reportedly wasn’t too enamoured when Trump won with her holier-than-though husband at his side so tricky to tell from her chart whether she’d be up or down at being able to retreat from the White House. Her relationship chart with Trump nosedives even lower from March 2020 onwards with tr Neptune square the composite Mars.

The oddly macabre tale of Barbara Newhall Follett has surfaced again with the reprint of her successful novel, House Without Windows, published when she was 12 years old in 1927, which propelled her to prominence as a child prodigy. Her second novel at 14 also received critical acclaim though in the same year her life fell to bits when her beloved father abandoned the family for a younger lover. She married at 19 and became depressed because of her husband’s infidelity and walked out, so the story goes, when she was 25 and was never heard from again. It’s still debated whether it was suicide or murder.

Born 4 March 1914 in Hanover, New Hampshire, she was creative and sensitive with Sun Venus and Mercury in Pisces, with her Sun Venus square Saturn in Gemini – so she would be prone to depression; though her Sun Venus were also trine Mars in Cancer giving her courage. Her Mercury in Pisces was in a good-for-fiction trine to Neptune in Cancer. Her Moon was in Gemini as was her Pluto; and she had an adventurous Jupiter Uranus in Aquarius. So a Water Air chart which often finds it tricky to find a balance between head and heart, and can be unstable. Not only did she have Saturn pulling down her self-esteem, she also had Mars conjunct Pluto which can lead to intense frustration and deeply buried anger which can be destructive.

When she disappeared her Solar Arc Saturn had moved to conjunct her Mars – which can be accident-prone but would also aggravate the Mars Pluto, bringing a sense of calamity; tr Pluto was within a degree of a conjunction to her Solar Arc Mars, again completely road-blocked; and her Solar Arc Pluto was conjunct her Neptune with tr Saturn in square to both which would be confusing to the nth degree. Whatever actually happened she would be on the edge of a breakdown with those influences running.

Lenny Henry, the Brit comedian and Shakespearean actor, has brought out a memoir covering his childhood and early career after he won New Faces, but stops before his marriage to Dawn French. He was born 29 August 1958 at 3 am (from memory) in Sedgley, England to Jamaican immigrant parents, though he only discovered his biological father was different from his mother’s husband when he was ten years old. His mother appeared to have been violent towards him but he remarkably bears no ill will for his childhood, saying in an interview that working-class kids just accepted the way life was and he was very fond of her.

He’s had an amazingly versatile career starting young, founding Comic Relief and doing stand-up as well as comedy on the box, serious drama on television and classical theatre. He campaigns for diversity in the arts, is a prominent spokesman against racism and was knighted in 2015.

He’s a controlled Sun Pluto in hard-working Virgo opposition an 8^th house Pisces Moon – so a very private individual who won’t much like talking about his personal life. He has an ambitious Mars in Taurus in his 10^th house of career in an excitable square to Venus Uranus in entertaining Leo, and inconjunct Saturn. The last does give some indication of the unfairness of his childhood but he’s also got an upbeat Jupiter Neptune in his 4^th trine his Moon which would smooth over rough edges and leave him looking on the bright side.

There’s a good deal ahead for him on the career front with tr Saturn moving through his Second Quadrant and will reach his peak in another decade or so. He’s not looking that contented over the next eighteen months with an irritable Progressed Moon conjunct his Mars, a confusing Solar Arc Pluto conjunct his 4^th house Neptune; and tr Neptune square his Saturn in 2020. But he’ll bounce with more enthusiasm from 2022 onwards.

“I haven’t been happy one minute of my entire fucking life,” says Arthur in Todd Phillips’ movie ‘Joker’. He’s a mentally ill, impoverished, failed stand-up comedian who suffers from pathological laughter and turns to crime in despair. It won the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival and critics rave about Joaquin Phoenix’s performance as the killer-clown. Whether audiences will flock to it is less certain. Described as “a hypnotically perverse, ghoulishly grippingly urban-nightmare comic fantasia – Arthur Fleck (Joaquin Phoenix), the loser-freak who will, down the line, become Batman’s nemesis, stands before us not as a grand villain but as a pathetic specimen of raw human damage.” Not a laugh a minute by the sound of it, nor anything remotely comforting in these troubled times.

Joaquin Phoenix, 28 October 1974 San Juan, Puerto Rico, maybe 2.55 am (astrotheme), is an intense and charming Sun Venus in Scorpio conjunct Mars, Uranus, Mercury in late Libra – so no stranger to living on the edge himself with such a high-octane, explosive mix. His Sun Venus trine Jupiter which will help him on the luck and enthusiasm front.

He did have an appalling childhood being brought up in the Children of God sect, which undoubtedly contributed to his brother River’s addiction problems and drug-related death in 1993 when Joaquin was present. River was four years older and had a marginally more challenging chart with Saturn in Taurus opposition Neptune square a Virgo Sun and Mars; with Saturn trine Pluto Mercury – abused, addiction and depression-prone, massive anger issues.

This year and into early 2020 Joaquin has tr Uranus opposing his Venus and Sun for a fairly roller coaster several months. But he will be into an upbeat and go-ahead lucky streak from March 2020 till late 2021 with tr Pluto conjunct his Jupiter/Node.  2022/23 and further on look much less straightforward with tr Pluto square his Mercury, Uranus and then Mars for a truly challenging and frustrating few years. Though his Solar Arc Jupiter will sail to the rescue in the latter stages as it starts to oppose his bunched together five planets over several years thereafter.

Mike Pompeo, Secretary of State, has been drawn into the Ukraine impeachment imbroglio with three House committees subpoena-ing him to produce relevant documents within a week. It won’t please him at all. He has stuck himself to Trump for survival reasons but has ambitions beyond him of perhaps a presidential run in future.

It might explain the fairly violent disruption between the pair up and coming from late this December and escalating through 2020. That’s when tr Uranus is conjunct the composite Venus, moving on through hard aspects to the Venus, Saturn, Mars midpoints and then the composite Saturn and then Mars throughout all of 2020. May, June and across the election look exceptionally fraught between them.

Pompeo’s own chart, 30 December 1963 1.32 pm Orange, California, is facing catastrophe mid this October to mid November with tr Uranus square the Mars/Saturn, repeating in March 2020; and career losses from tr Neptune conjunct his Jupiter/Saturn midpoint mid November to mid December. His Capricorn Sun is also in the line of fire this year and early next from the July Cancer Eclipse and the December Capricorn one.

His Term chart as Secy of State, 26 April 2018 2pm Washington, DC, will be road-blocked and bad tempered across this New Year with setbacks from tr Saturn conjunct the Mars Pluto; and before then from mid November to mid December with tr Pluto returning to its natal position conjunct Mars.

That could also indicate repercussions from events in the outside world, not just Trump mayhem.

Pompeo is an evangelical Christian, an adherent to the notion that God promised the land of Israel to the Jews, and that their gathering is foretold in the prophecy of the rapture — the ascent of true believers into the kingdom of God. The rest of us – Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, agnostics, atheists etc – get tossed in the trash can. Pompeo says that the Bible “informs everything I do.” Presumably including Middle East policy.

Kurt Volker, 27 December 1964, a well-respected career diplomat and Ukraine envoy since 2017, has resigned over the furore though he’s still expected to give testimony. He’s a Sun Capricorn which was jangled by the July Cancer Eclipse and the upcoming December one in Capricorn. He also has Mars in Virgo which squares Trump’s Sun and Moon and his Pluto Uranus squares Trump’s 10^th house Uranus – so a combative and ratchety interface.

Volker is confused and uncertain now till mid-November with challenges and setbacks into 2020, with greater panics from late February onwards.

ADD ON: The precipitating factor in ensnaring the State Department appears, at least in large part, to be Rudy Giuliani’s doing. Trump’s personal lawyer, a wild card with a motormouth went on television and publicly named State Department officials who were involved which led to Volker’s resignation. Pompeo is reportedly furious with Giuliani but it’s unclear whether he’s had it out with him given his protected status as Trump’s right-hand man.

Pompeo’s relationship chart with Giuliani is a volcanic cauldron of dislike with a composite Saturn opposition Neptune Mars square Uranus which tr Pluto will be hammering at from late January 2020 for two years. Even before then mid this November there’ll be a decided dip between them for four weeks with tr Neptune squares the composite Jupiter. That’s the same phase when Trump’s relationship chart with Giuliani is also moving through swampy times with tr Neptune square the composite Sun.

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Dina Asher Smith, the young British runner, has been called one of the most exciting athletes in the world and she’s aiming for a hat trick of three at the Doha Championships on now till October 6^th. Not only is she gutsy and dedicated to her training, she’s also got a sideline in modelling and TV punditry to fall back on.

She was born 4 December 1995 in London which puts her Sun, Pluto, Mercury and Jupiter spread out through sporty Sagittarius. Her Sun sits on her Jupiter/Pluto midpoint which Ebertin describes as ‘the successful use of extraordinary physical and mental powers, the creation of magical effects.’

Her Sun and Jupiter both square Saturn in Pisces so she’ll dislike failure. A passionately enthusiastic Mars Venus sit at one end of earthy Capricorn and the highly-strung and quite fanatical Uranus Neptune sits at the other. Her Moon is in earthy Taurus. So a Fire Earth chart making her a steamroller of energy who keeps going long after others have collapsed by the roadside.

She’s on her Jupiter return this year with an upbeat tr Jupiter conjunct her Sun/Jupiter within a few days. But sporting predictions are tricky since what shows in the chart tends to be extreme strain and doesn’t necessarily reflect as a triumphant high.