This is an astro-maze post more for my benefit as I struggle to grasp what is actually going on with Brexit. Question – what is a lying chancer and the manic spinning-top that is Boris Johnson doing as the catalyst for change in a country as fixed as the UK? Partly it touches on Kissinger’s thought about Trump that such people turn up at the end of a cycle, effectively as wreckers of the old ways, but without much sense of what any alternative plan might be. Pluto in Capricorn’s final revenge before it exits, tearing down the pillars of the old temple.

The UK is strong, enduring, resourceful, capable of surviving through tough times, but not good at adaptability or embracing change with what is effectively a Fixed Grand Cross in the 1801 chart. Along comes Boris and his sidekick Dominic Cummings who lack almost totally the UK’s astro-strengths since they have manically scattergun Mutable charts – Gemini, Virgo, Pisces, Sagittarius. Staying-power is not their forte to put it mildly as they get blown hither and thither by their excitable need for constant action and desperate need for a windmill to tilt at.

What caught my eye and attention on the UK 1801 chart is Pluto in Pisces, one of only two Mutable (adaptable) planets, which is picking up the tr Uranus sextile late this December and through January 2020 for the third and final time. In country charts, even soft transits appear to act much like hard, so it is likely to be a more major jolt than it appears.

The UK Pluto natally is on the apex of a Yod to Jupiter sextile Uranus and was amplified at Brexit in 2016 by Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct, exact in the months before. What Pluto on a yod says about the UK temperament is that it has all of the aloof Plutonic power-hungry tendencies, usually along with a lack of understanding the Other, being better suited for an authoritarian position than equal co-operation. Such a Yod can undergo periods of frustration and isolation before being reborn with different values and ambitions.

When the UK finally joined the European Economic Community with the hope of rebuilding the economy after two punishingly expensive wars tr Pluto was conjunct the UK Ascendant; and the natal Pluto had moved by Solar Arc to conjunct the 11^th house legislative Saturn which is the final leg of the Fixed Grand Cross. Solar Arc Pluto had started round the Fixed Grand Cross around 1960/1 as the old Empire disappeared. Solar Arc Pluto is now poised almost exactly to cross the UK Ascendant – for another major staging post in the country’s history.

On the synastry comparing the UK to the EU chart, the UK’s authoritarian Pluto at 2 degrees Pisces natally it is exactly opposition the EU’s ruthlessly determined and unco-operative Pluto square Mars – so it was never going to be a comfortable match. The UK’s Uranus is conjunct the EU’s Ascendant making the UK the maverick rebel, with the UK likes-to-be-in-financial-control Mars conjunct the EU Moon and square the EU Uranus for a combustible and inflammatory chemistry.

The key events of the 20^th Century – WW1 and 11, loss of colonies, joining the EEC – were all marked up by that UK Pluto in its Solar Arc position at the time. And here we are again with another significant marker on the UK’s timeline.

It kind of makes sense of the clown that is Johnson who is not remotely Churchillian for all his vanity preening. [ Churchill despite being a Sagittarius had a preponderantly Fixed chart to give him endurance and bottom; and his enthusiastic, morale-boosting Mars Jupiter fell in the UK’s 1^st house which was the saving grace in WW11.]

I wasn’t remotely pro Brexit for pragmatic reasons since the gigantic economic hiccup that it’ll cause in trade will hit the poorest worst – with no clear indication of what will fill the void. And divorce from the EU with its vengeful, dirty-dealing Mars square Pluto wasn’t ever going to be easy-peasy or without jeopardy.

But we are where we are – and my sense is that a good many people are so fed up with the topic, they’d be happy to just get it done and dusted and if we step into a void then the country will cope somehow, since it always has – jollied along by Boris et al’s delusional optimism that it’ll be alright on the day – though that wouldn’t include Scots or Irish. And since the EU’s beyond-parody Juncker and bloated technocrats etc have made themselves even more unpopular, even with remainers, there is probably no way back. And just to add another layer of snarl-up, no one is going to vote even a rubber duck like Boris out and put an incompetent, old Trot like Corbyn in. It is very Plutonic – a titanium spun spider’s web which traps you no matter which way you try to turn.

Boris as a puppet on the fates’ string makes more sense as Pluto in Capricorn moves into its final third, fulfilling the promise of tearing down old governmental (and financial) structures – reducing to ashes to clear the ground for rebuilding. As with all matters Plutonic nothing moves fast and the destruction phase is unpleasant and often painful.  Economically the UK is now into a very turbulent few years with tr Uranus in Taurus moving through the 8th until 2025 bouncing off all the UK’s Fixed planets.

 

Red lights are flashing in Westminster with tempers ratcheting up to defcon level as Boris Johnson, fuelled no doubt by his aide the ‘psychopathic’ careerist Dominic Cummings, forces parliament into the longest suspension since 1945. It was all done on the specious excuse of preparing for new government strategies on a range of non-Brexit issues to be prepared for a Queen’s Speech on October 14^th. Normally that takes one to two weeks. The manoeuvre has been described as an “affront to parliamentary democracy” and is clearly designed to help the government avoid scrutiny for its Brexit plans. Scotland and North Ireland are up in arms as are many Tories and Remainers.

The Queen who was dragged into the mess and had little choice but to sign it off is not amused. The country who are on their knees with Brexit boredom and exhaustion are bemused and befuddled.

It is hardly surprising since both Johnson and Cummings have focal point Mutable Mars in their charts, Gemini and Pisces respectively, which gives a tendency to leap first and think second – harum scarum, dashing headlong into action in an ill-considered way. And the government chart, 24 July 2019 3.12pm, also has an afflicted Mars on the apex of a Yod – which equally points to reckless action, plunging ahead without necessarily having a clear plan to follow so it can often backfire. It can be courageous and daring but more often foolhardy.

Mid-November to mid-December is when dashed-hopes and significant calamities assail the government chart. With Boris’s own chart panicking at the prospect of failure from September 22^nd to late January 2020 with a run of tr Neptune hard aspects to various Mars midpoints. September 22^nd to October 19 point to leadership upsets, martyrdom, suffering and being forced to adjust to new circumstances. November 11 to December 18 looks high-risk, blocked and powerless.

Dominic Cummings, 25 November 1971, is also hemmed in every which way and completely poleaxed by events from mid November to mid December.

Senior civil servant David Frost, 21 February 1965, Boris’s knight-in-shining-armour, despatched off the Brussels to accomplish the impossible, is more or less admitting defeat from mid November for a few weeks, his enthusiasm dented, though with one upbeat influence giving him a straw to clutch at. But even that will have sunk by late December into January when he sees plans dissolving in a puff of smoke.

The UK chart has the confused tr Neptune square the 3^rd house Mercury now till late September; and then the panicky-failure tr Neptune square the Solar Arc Mars until November 12^th; with a depressed tr Pluto square the Mercury/Saturn also till early November. That bizarrely is followed by an upbeat, enthusiastic tr Pluto square the Sun/Jupiter till December 18^th though running concurrently with another nerve-stretching influence. Mid December tr Saturn is in a donwbeat opposition to the 10^th house (ruling classes) Moon for a few days. Then from mid January 2020 tr Jupiter moves into the UK 4^th house for a year which can bring a period of quiet contentment which seems unlikely but maybe in the background there’ll be an acceptance of the way thing are.  Maybe even an extension of the exiting process allowing it to become less of a foreground panic.

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Neptune moves out of Pisces into Aries in 2025 to stay until 2038 which is an odd contradiction of religious/creative and self-assertive energy.

Looking back to past occurrences: (I have incorporated suggestions from comments below for ease of finding later.)

1044 to 1056 AD – Westminster Abbey was founded, The Great Schism between the Catholic Church and the Eastern Orthodox Churches. Edward the Confessor was King of England.

1208 to 1221 – the Magna Carta was signed, University of Cambridge founded.

1372 to 1383 – The Western Schism with two men both claiming to be Pope, the Bible was translated into English, England Peasants’ Revolt.

   There are some interesting synchronicities. In 1216 Henry III came to the throne and in 1377 Richard II came to the throne. Both were children and had to deal with unrest one fermented by a French invasion sponsored by the City of London, the other by the Peasant’s revolt.

1525 to 1547 – Anne Boleyn was Queen of England just before, then beheaded. Elizabeth Tudor was born. Anabaptist rebellion in Germany.  The rebellion Pilgrimage of Grace in 1536 was the most serious Tudor uprising against Henry V111’s break with Rome.

1699 to 1712 – War of Spanish Succession, Union of Scotland and England. Huguenot Rebellion. 1702-3 Quebec epidemic, where smallpox killed thousands. 1702 King William III of England died from a fall off a horse, and his sister-in-law Anne become Queen (The Favorite).

1703: Middle Italy had three killer earthquakes, on the Mercalli scale of VIII (severe), X and XI (extreme), with great loss of life.

1863 to 1875 – US Civil War. Unification of Germany and Italy. Red Cross founded and Yellowstone Park opened. 1865 to 1869 advanced the rights of African-Americans, being granted freedom in ’65, citizenship in ‘68 and in 1870 the right to vote. This led to an ugly backlash with the Opelousas Massacre in 1868 and the formation of the KKK in ‘65 to ‘71.

Canada was founded in 1867. [Neptune was in Aries or Libra for every US Uranus in Gemini return, which coincided each time so far with major armed conflict (the War of Independence, the Civil War, D-Day). The next one is in 2027-2028. Canada was deeply affected by all three.]

  Neptune in Aries certainly seems pivotal for English history, as well as for the Vatican; and also appears to produce iconic national symbols like the Magna Carta, Westminster Abbey and Yellowstone Park.

  On only two occasions was Saturn in Aries at the same time as we have in 2025.  They were running concurrently in Aries from June 1379 to May 1380 with the Peasants Revolt coming in 1381 as it was waning.  And again June 1702 to December 1703.

  Any historian comments gratefully received. Usually Saturn Neptune conjunctions or hard aspects support the underdogs – so women and workers issues come to the forefront, and it can also accompany epidemics. 

Important time periods in Nordic History, too. I – or we in general – do not have that much information on the first two periods, although 1040s and 1050s were the tailend of Viking Period, considered to have finished with Battle of Stamford Bridge in 1066.

From Solaia on Nordic history:

But 1370s and 1380s were some of the most turbulant times in Nordic History, with very weak monarchies and strong nobility feuding, and eventually leading to formation of Kalmar Union in 1397. This was not all bad, since possibly the wealthiest man in Nordic Countries before Modern Times Bo Jonsson Grip was at the peak of his power and very forward thinking.

Kalmar Union, of course, collapsed in the 1520’s, but resulted to almost constant state of war between established Danish and newly founded Swedish Monarchies during this Neptune in Aries. Ironically, both Danish and Swedish Monarchies decided to adopt new Lutheran faith during this time, Sweden first in 1527, Denmark after the death of Fredrick II, who remained Catholic until his death.

1699 to 1712 was the beginning of Great Northern War, and initially successful under “Warrior King” Charles XII. There was a fortune in Battle of Poltava disfortune, though, since Charles XII fled to Ottoman Empire, where his chefs were introduced to köfte and those became Swedish Meatballs (seriously, someone traced this and concluded meatballs first appeared in Sweden only after Charles’ adventures). On a not so delightful not, there was a wide spread plague epidemic in Nordic Countries around 1710, spread by refugees from Baltics.

1860’s and 1870’s were, in many ways, when Nordic Societies as we would know them were established. Many Astrologers prefer to use the 1866 Chart for Sweden, and it definitely does explain the shift from what had been the most belligerent state in Europe to the one that has enjoyed longest continues time of peace in the continent. 1860’s also saw Autonomous Grand Duchy of Finland establishing many of the institutions that carried all the way to Independence and to this day. Most importantly, Language Diet of 1863, which required introduction of Finnish Language to public business and later to state offices within 20 years. Downside, The Last Peace Time Famine Disaster in Europe, 1867 and particularly early in 1868, which killed tenth of the population in Finland.

A secretive fundamentalist religious organisation wielding enormous power at the heart of American politics is the scary conspiracy story, much of it based on fact, which is highlighted in a Netflix five-part documentary series. It’s based on the 2008 book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power by American journalist Jeff Sharlet. In it he says the Family or Fellowship fetishizes power by comparing Jesus to “Lenin, Ho Chi Minh, Bin Laden” as examples of leaders who change the world through the strength of the covenants they had forged with their “brothers.

A year after the book’s publication, sex scandals of prominent political members of the Family and accusations that it was illegally subsidizing the rent of members of Congress and involved in the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which would have imposed the death penalty for homosexuality in Uganda, pushed it into the national spotlight.

What is noteworthy astrologically is that it was started in 1935 by a Norwegian preacher who held breakfast prayer meetings, which spread across the US and later presidents took up. At that point tr Uranus had just moved into Taurus to which it has only recently returned for the first time; and tr Pluto was in last decan Cancer so not dissimilar to now with Pluto half a zodiac on and in hard aspect to the fanatical, demagogic (rabble-rousing) US Mercury opposition Pluto. There was also the neurotic, creative Saturn opposition Neptune which Ebertin describes as a struggle between the lower and higher nature.

The founder Abraham Vereide claimed to have been directed in a vision by God to shift his Christian ministry away from the “down and out” and toward the “up and out.” He then evangelized among wealthy and politically powerful individuals who shared his concerns about socialism and other “subversive” forces. In The Family’s eccentric theology, the world is run by “key men” who have been chosen by God to rule over the rest of us, in imitation of Jesus, who they believe to have been a muscular leader interested only in power.

Doug Coe took over and was for decades the highly discreet almost invisible driver of the early vision until he died in 2017. He is on videotape idolizing fascist rulers of the twentieth century and spreading a “covenant” in which Christian fundamentalism is popular because of its similarity to the Nazi brotherhood.

Coe was born 20 October 1928 in Oregon, and was a late Sun Libra with a Half Grand Sextile of Mercury in Scorpio opposition Jupiter, sextile/trine Neptune and Mars – a persuasive speaker. He also had a Yod of Mercury sextile Neptune inconjunct Uranus – suggesting a catalyst for change, a trailblazer, who was intolerant of convention, even lawless at times. He also had a seductive Venus in Scorpio opposition Node square Neptune in Virgo hinting at a shapeshifter, with a chameleon-like tendency to insert himself into situations without causing waves.

Abraham Vereide was born 7 October 1886 so was another Sun Libra conjunct Jupiter Mercury square Saturn in Cancer; with the signature Neptune Pluto of his generation trine Venus with Pluto in an innovative trine to Uranus – he’d also be seductively charming with a Libra Sun and Venus trine Pluto Neptune. More significantly he has a ruthlessly ambitious Mars opposition Pluto square North Node – tying him into the zeitgeist.

Seriously scary stuff – there’s nothing worse than religious zealotry being twisted to cosmeticize power-hungry greed and elitism, never mind condoning private sexual misbehaviour while preaching morality in public.

https://newrepublic.com/article/154763/familys-big-secret-hiding-plain-sight

The Harvey Weinstein #metoo court saga winds on with the long-delayed start due on September 9^th.  Breaking News – just put back to January 6 next year.  He has been charged with two counts of predatory sexual assault, one count of criminal sexual act in the first degree, one count of first-degree rape and one count of third-degree rape to which he had pleaded not guilty on all counts. It’ll be a viciously fought trial and the legal system can be a very blunt instrument for tackling sexual offences, often ending with skewed verdicts. If found guilty, he could spend the rest of his life in jail. More than 80 women have alleged sexual misconduct on the part of the producer, over four decades though the court case only involves two women.

He’s onto his third set of defence lawyers which now includes a powerful female Chicago attorney who specializes in defending men in sexual harassment cases, Donna Rotunno. She has previously argued that the #MeToo movement has done a disservice to women. She said “I believe women are responsible for the choices that they make,” and suggested she could get away with a good deal more in cross examination as a woman.

Weinstein was born 19 March 1952 with an unverified time of 9.45pm in New York. It’s a feasible birth time putting his final degree filmic Pisces Sun in the entertaining 5^th house; and his ruthlessly dominating Pluto on his Midheaven square a vengeful Mars in Scorpio on his Ascendant. Plus a fountain-of-initiative Cardinal Grand Cross of Saturn Neptune opposition Mercury Jupiter in pro-active Aries square Uranus opposition a Capricorn Moon.

He’ll go into the trial on a confident high with tr Pluto square his Jupiter but since it also squares his Neptune through till early November his hopes are likely to turn to disappointment. Late September to mid November as well he has tr Neptune opposition his Saturn/Pluto midpoint which Ebertin describes as ‘shattered nerves’ as well as ‘falsehoods and frauds.’ From late January 2020 the trapped, infuriated, scary, powerless tr Pluto conjunct his Sun/Mars midpoint returns for a few weeks and repeats on and off till late year; with a confidence-eroding tr Neptune square his Jupiter/Pluto midpoint picking up next spring and running through till 2021. So he won’t exactly be bouncing with exuberance.

The BBC are showing a documentary Untouchable: The Rise and Fall of Harvey Weinstein on September 1^st

Actress Rosanna Arquette is interviewed in it as one of the first women to share details of Weinstein’s abuse with Ronan Farrow in the New Yorker and in the New York Times along with Rose McGowan. She talks of her career being ruined as she spurned his advances and the documentary investigates Weinstein’s use of an Israel intelligence firm to put together profiles on his adversaries in order to undermine their allegations and dissuade them from speaking out.

Her fear and paranoia which she speaks openly about (see URL below) are understandable and show up starkly on the astrology. She was born 10 August 1959 4.45pm New York which gives her an 8^th house Sun Uranus in Leo which Weinstein’s Pluto sits directly on top of with his Mars square. A scary combination which will strike deep fear in her.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/aug/26/rosanna-arquette-they-said-i-was-a-pain-in-the-ass-its-not-true

 

Another public marital dust-up between the Rooneys as footballer Wayne is photographed on a boys night out with ladies in Vancouver, which has evidently incensed wife Coleen to the point of suggesting he break his contract with DC United in Washington which he is due to quit at the end of the season and return to the UK immediately. Then he’s back to happy home times with her and the four kids in Cheshire.

All of which can be taken with a huge pinch of salt since this scenario or similar has been running throughout their eleven year marriage and before. She enjoys the lifestyle, almost constant holidays and kids while he plays football and all the rest.

He was born 24 October 1985 in Liverpool and is an intense, controlling Sun Pluto in Scorpio in a pushily confident square to Jupiter in Aquarius. With Mercury Saturn also in Scorpio – so very fixed and stubborn; with a changeable Pisces Moon square Uranus; and a sociably indulgent Jupiter trine Venus in Libra.

Coleen, 3 April 1986, is a Sun Aries in a publicity-attracting square to Neptune Mars in Capricorn and a sensible trine to Saturn with a Capricorn/Aquarius Moon. Her Sun opposes his Venus which is a good connection; her Venus in Taurus opposes his Sun Pluto for passion and possessiveness; and her Jupiter may be conjunct his Moon which will provide moral support and comfort. But her Uranus also squares his Mars which will lead to flare ups.

Their relationship chart has an affectionate composite Sun opposition Venus; and an adventurous and high-energy Jupiter sextile Uranus and square Mars; with a wide, aggravated composite Mars Pluto conjunction. It is under pressure at the moment with tr Pluto opposition the Venus and conjunct the Sun into 2020 as well; plus a disruptive tr Uranus opposition the composite Pluto.

Both of their lives are undergoing considerable adjustment, his especially, with tr Uranus opposition their respective Plutos. It’s difficult to see them settling into sedate bourgeois middle age – but who knows? There’s clearly an affectionate bond which may hold them through the stormy passages.

 

Another unlikely astro-pairing are actress/activist Angelina Jolie and bad-boy comedian turned political activist Russell Brand, both born 4 June 1975. Both had truly difficult childhoods. Angelina born at 9.09am Los Angeles was brought up by a single mother, who abandoned her to babysitters, then in her early teens gave her the master bedroom to share with her live-in boyfriend and used her daughter to live out her own dreams of stardom. Not surprisingly Angelina got into hard drugs, lived as a goth, self-harmed and attempted suicide.

Russell, born at midnight in Basildon, England also had parents splitting when he was very young, his mother was ill for a period when he was young and he was abused at school – diagnosed ADHD and bi-polar with subsequent drug problems and self-harm. Born the same day as Angelina Jolie.

They are both restless, multi-tasking Geminis with their Sun opposition a creative and can-be-addiction-prone Neptune and in a controlling trine to Pluto. Neptune Pluto tied into the Sun tends to give above average ambition, those two planets together having a tinge of megalomania.

They also have emotionally stressed and overly-excitable Aries Moons conjunct Mars and opposition Pluto, which hints at a destructive streak in their relationships with mother initially and then in adult domestic life. Plus a constantly-changing Venus square Uranus; and a hates-failure Jupiter square Saturn as well as an enthusiastic Mars Jupiter – very up and down in mood.

Time of birth and house positions obviously make a significant difference. Angelina has an erratic, emotionally unpredictable Uranus in the 4^th making her a bit of a gypsy when it comes to putting down roots; while Russell has a health-issues Saturn in the 6^th.

Another two, born close together, though less obviously similar, are Scary Spice Mel B, 29 May 1975 6.01pm Leeds, England; and Marissa Mayer, 30 May 1975 10.10 am Wisconsin, former Yahoo CEO and information technology executive. Both, like Jolie and Brand, have ambitious Gemini Suns opposition Neptune and trine Pluto; with the implacably determined Mars opposition Pluto. In their case additionally they share a similar Air Grand Trines of an Aquarius Moon trine Pluto trine Sun, formed into two talented Kites by Sun opposition Neptune and Mars opposition Pluto.

Marissa Mayer was an over achiever as a child and hasn’t had anything like as chaotic a romantic life as the much and unhappily married Mel B. Although Mel B does have an 8^th house Sun trine a 12^th house Pluto which may explain some of the drama in her love life.

 

The mysterious death of Willie MacRae in 1985, a Scots lawyer, SNP activist and anti-nuclear campaigner, has spawned a multitude of conspiracy theories involving the security services. The reasons suggested are that he was targeted for his successful effort to stop nuclear waste dumping and because he had uncovered evidence of an alleged paedophile ring in Westminster during the 1980s. His car crashed in a remote part of the Scottish Highlands and he was found shot in the head with a revolver with a briefcase of documents missing.

His death came a year after the murder of Hilda Murrell, another anti-nuclear campaigner. Although subsequently a local labourer was charged with her abduction, rape and murder on DNA evidence, some remain suspicious that there’s more to the story than that.

Both deaths occurred oddly enough on an Aries Sun and Scorpio Moon; with an exact scandal-prone Pluto sextile Neptune; and more pointedly around the time of Mars being in hard aspect to the Saturn/Pluto midpoint which is brutal.

Willie MacRae was born 18 May 1923 in Falkirk, served in WW11, was in the Royal Indian navy, and ADC to Mountbatten at one point. He was a Taurus with an excitable Mars in outspoken Gemini square Uranus; and an idealistic Jupiter square Neptune. When he died on 7 April 1985, tr Saturn was in a downbeat opposition to his Sun and his Solar Arc Neptune was in a high anxiety conjunction to his Saturn and there were several ‘accident-prone’ hard aspects to his Mars/Saturn, Mars/Uranus and Mars/Node midpoints – so it would be an exceptionally fraught time for him.

There were certain similar aspects on Hilda Murrell’s chart, 3 February 1906, when she was killed on 21 March 1984. This was just before she was due to give evidence on radioactive waste disposal at the Sizewell Inquiry. She was a triple Aquarius with Jupiter in Taurus and a courageous Mars in Pisces square Pluto – a determined lady. Tr Saturn was hovering around the square to her Sun; and both tr Saturn and tr Uranus were in aspect to her Mars/Saturn midpoint when she died.

In both cases death wasn’t instantaneous – Hilda Murrell died of hypothermia having been brutally attacked and stabbed. Willie MacRae survived after his car crashed and was declared brain dead in hospital a day later.

Astrology won’t prove or disprove murder/suicide theories. But they were oddly similar circumstances and astro-events in both cases.

 

This is a reprise of an old post about Pluto in Aquarius which is up and coming in three years’ time.

Pluto has been grinding its way inexorably through Capricorn since 2008, pulling down old structures – in the Capricorn-ruled arenas of finance and government – razing the old status quo to ashes, with the hope of rebuilding better on the far side. Pluto only gets back round to the same sign every 230 to 240 years so it is significant. Pluto moves into Aquarius in 2023 staying till 2044. Past experience associates this phase with an upsurge of more significant rebellions than usual and a flowering of inventions.

Previous Pluto in Aquarius phases:

1778 -1797: The USA had declared independence in 1776 so the Brits were in retreat, though elsewhere were fighting the French, Spanish, Dutch and Indians in different spats. The French Revolution of 1793 had a dramatic effect and not just in France, though this was partially due to Pluto being opposition Uranus. The Industrial Revolution was in full swing having got under way during Pluto in Capricorn. James Watts’ improved steam engine revolutionised production.

Aquarius is scientific, so no surprises there were major advances in chemistry. And, with blissful syncronicity, William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus, which rules Aquarius. Explorers, another Aquarian strength, were also out and about with Captains James Cook and William Bligh leading the way to ‘new’ lands.

It was a productive period for philosophical and social thinkers – Emmanuel Kant and Thomas Paine (Rights of Man); with cultural highpoints from Mozart and Scottish poet Robert Burns, who later established a global footprint.

1532 – 1552: Henry V111 declared himself head of the Church in 1531 and was excommunicated in 1533 by the Pope. The RC versus Protestant schism got under way in earnest, which led to centuries of conflict.

1287 – 1307: Welsh Rebellion against the English. Edward 1 of England put John Balliol on Scottish throne with William Wallace rebellion following.

1041 – 1061: Macbeth succeeds to throne of Scotland. Great schism between the Western RC church and Eastern Orthodox churches.

796 – 816: Charlemagne becomes Holy Roman Emperor in 800. He unites most of Western Europe, laying the foundations for modern France and Germany. He dies just as Pluto is about to exit Aquarius.

551 – 572: Mohammed is born.

So world-changing events during Pluto in Aquarius.

This next time round tr Pluto in Aquarius will march in time to Neptune in Aries (2025 to 2038) and initially to Uranus in Gemini (2025 to 2033) – so early on there’ll be a Uranus trine Pluto sextile Neptune after the mid 2020s – innovative and creative. Of the earlier historical happenings which might repeat, we can expect more advances in science and exploration (outer space/bottom of the sea/under Arctic ice?). For the rest – the US and France will have come full circle back to their first Pluto Return or the immediate aftermath, so significant shifts/adjustments, epochal events in both countries. Sometimes empires that rise on one Pluto cycle, fall on the next.

Hugh Fowler comments;

At the risk of becoming an ephemeris bore I have checked the 11th century to see what was happening in the run up to the Norman Conquest. The record shows Pluto ingresses into Aquarius in 1041 which was the year Edward the Confessor returned from exile in Normandy to become the heir to his half brother Harthacnut. The latter died in April 1042 and Edward became king almost precisely at the point of the Neptune ingresses into Aries in May 1042. Edward’s accession to the throne, his Norman upbringing and his failure to produce an heir set in train the series of events that would lead to the fall of the Anglo Saxon royal house of Wessex and its replacement by the Dukes of Normandy. Again the transition seems to fall at a deeply significant moment where a seemingly mundane event in the historical process kicks off changes that run very deep and last centuries. One final point it should be noted that however big the change Britain seems to always reset to old patterns. So while all the Norman and Angevin dynasties ruled for centuries by the end of the 13th century the kings of England were being titled Edward again.

As a quick addendum I have checked the ephemeris to see what was happening at the time the Roman province of Britain was created. It essentially began in 43 CE when Claudius army invaded. At that time Pluto was in Capricorn and Neptune was in Pisces. Rather spookily the conquest was essentially completed and made permanent for the next four centuries when the Boudiccan revolt was crushed between 60 and 61 CE. That was precisely the time that Pluto ingressed into Aquarius and Neptune into Aries. This transition does seem to echo down the centuries for the inhabitants of Britain.

Scots are looking through the wrong end of the telescope at the astrology here. If the past is anything to go by Pluto moving into Aquarius and Neptune into Aries in the 2020 signals some sort of transformation of English identity and its relation to the world if the 1530s is anything to go by since that is the last time it happened. Moreover it all be generated internally (ie the English nation will do it to themselves for good or ill). I can’t even guess what is going to happen but as in the 1530s what triggers the change (Henry VIII lack of a male heir from his Spanish wife) won’t necessarily be as significant as the changes it brings.