The astrology of past pandemic/plagues is mixed. Finding a start date is tricky so what is below should be taken with a pinch of caution.

Most obvious was the Black Death of 1347-51 when outbreaks of Yersinia pestis Bubonic plague in Europe killed 30%-60% of the population, circa 100 million. It appeared to come from the east. French surgeon Guy de Chauliac suggested the March 1345 Solar Eclipse was to blame. At that point the Solar Eclipse was in late Pisces; with Mars Saturn Jupiter and Neptune in Aquarius. There was also a Uranus Pluto conjunction in Aries which caught the following Total Lunar Eclipse. That is a fairly classic signature with Saturn conjunct Neptune and a disruptive Uranus Pluto.

The Justinian Plague of AD 541/2, one of the deadliest pandemics in history, resulted in the deaths of an estimated 25–100 million people during two centuries of recurrence. It was similar to the Black Death and also came from the east. Neptune in Pisces was opposition Uranus and trine Saturn; with Uranus trine Pluto.

A prominently aspected Neptune occurs in many though not all instances of plagues. It isn’t much in evidence at the moment.

The Antonine Plague AD 165 was brought back from Roman troops returning from the east, thought to be measles or smallpox-related with a 25% mortality rate. Neptune in Scorpio was opposition Pluto and trine Uranus; with Pluto trine Saturn.

Neptune Pluto is devastating, often found alongside natural disasters; Neptune Uranus is highly-strung and anxious; Pluto Saturn is hardship.

The Plague of Athens 430BC, a typhoid-like plague kills up to a third of Athenians. Saturn in Scorpio was square Pluto and square Uranus; with the Uranus Pluto conjunction in Aquarius having occurred two or three years before. Neptune in Aries sextile Pluto.

Great Plague of London 1665. Another bout of the Bubonic plague which wiped out nearly a quarter of all Londoners and was followed by the Great Fire of London in 1666. Both Saturn and Neptune were in Capricorn; Uranus in Aquarius was trine Pluto in Gemini.

The Third Plague Pandemic in 1855 another bubonic plague outbreak starting in China and leading to more than 12 million deaths in India and China, with about 10 million killed in India alone. Neptune in Pisces squared Saturn in Gemini. Pluto and Uranus were both in Taurus.

Russian flu 1889-90, spread through the northern hemisphere in four months, claiming one million lives. Neptune was in a devastating conjunction to Pluto in Gemini; Saturn in Leo and Uranus in Libra.

Spanish flu 1918-19, kills at least 50 million people and infects a third of the world’s population. Saturn Neptune conjunct in Leo, Pluto in early Cancer and Uranus in late Aquarius.

Asian flu 1957-58, kills 1-2 million people worldwide. A vaccine is rapidly developed. Neptune in early Scorpio square Uranus, Saturn in Sagittarius and Pluto in late Leo.

SARS 2002-03, a form of coronavirus infects 8,096 people and causes 774 deaths — a mortality rate of almost 10%. The bleak Pluto in Sagittarius opposition Saturn is waning; as is the Uranus Neptune conjunction in Aquarius.

This is all a touch ghoulish but at least there’s hope nowadays of a vaccine appearing sometime and conditions aren’t as terrifying as they must have been during these earlier plagues.

 

Grim metaphors about war-like conditions and similarities to the devastating 1918 Spanish flu are doing little to keep morale high. Dramatic language may be necessary to force ‘imbeciles’, as one French minister described the irresponsible, to distance and self-isolate but it runs the risk of making a perilous situation sound like an apocalypse.

Spanish flu killed off, on rough estimates, anywhere between 1 and 6 per cent of the global population – perhaps 25 to 50 million people. It was exacerbated and spread by troop movements at the end of World War 1 and killed more in 24 weeks than HIV/AIDS did in 24 years. Curiously it mostly killed young adults it is thought because the older population had built up immunity from a previous flu exposure. It came in three waves – over early 1918, receded through the summer, built up again in the autumn and killed most in the USA over the winter of that year.

In comparison this pandemic – so far – has claimed 13,000 plus lives globally, with 5000 deaths in Italy, though only 100 in South Korea which moved much faster with mass testing, enforced social distancing and contact tracing, because of experience with the 2003 Sars outbreak. The high Italian death rate, in comparison with elsewhere, is partly down to it having a higher proportion of older people, as well as heavy pollution in Lombardy where it started, and political dither before lockdowns were imposed.

When the Spanish flu struck around January 1918 the Saturn Neptune conjunction in Leo was in place with Pluto in early Cancer as it had been since the start of World War 1 in 1914. Saturn Neptune is the classic astrological signature for epidemics and illnesses. But it doesn’t mean it always shows for every epidemic since the early 1950s Saturn Neptune in Libra, while it coincided with one minor flu outbreak, was more notable for the setting up of The Global Influenza Surveillance and Response System (GISRS) by WHO to monitor the evolution of influenza viruses. (See Health and Medicine below.)

This time round there is no Saturn Neptune aspect, though there was the hugely restrictive Saturn Pluto conjunction in place, almost exact for the start of the outbreak. Saturn Pluto in Capricorn is associated more with financial deprivation and hardship than with illness. And one treads warily in saying so but the economic distress caused by coronavirus – so far – far outweighs the health damage.

The next Saturn Neptune conjunction comes due in early 2026 in Aries, with hints from mid 2025 when both are in late Pisces. Pluto then is in early Aquarius. Saturn Neptune has other meanings than illness – it coincides often with the advancement of women’s and workers’ rights.

Odd additional thoughts. It shows up the false economy of shrinking national health services. Germany is faring better than most with a well-resourced health service, testing kits and respirators – it runs a mainly state-funded set-up with mandatory private insurance paying the residue of costs, like France.

The authoritarian regimes have been better at containing the outbreak. Living as I do in France it is fascinating to watch the difference with the UK. The UK PM Boris says plaintively avoid pubs, please stay at home. France doesn’t do plaintive. An edict is issued about a mandatory lockdown. If you emerge you will have a signed form stating your reason. Transgressors are fined and then imprisoned. The UK and the USA are not temperamentally well-designed for having these kind of conditions imposed on them.

Below from my Astrological History of the World.

Saturn Neptune: Health and medicine

The dual face of Saturn–Neptune in providing practical care for the suffering and in the insidious undermining of the body’s health both find a place in world history. An epidemic of St Vitus Dance (chorea) broke out in Europe in 1021 when Saturn and Neptune were together in Aquarius; the disease causes involuntary jerky movements and leads to brain deterioration, and was so called because victims prayed to St Vitus, the patron saint of dance.

The plague that devastated Europe and Asia during the 1340s was marked by the Saturn–Neptune conjunction in Aquarius of 1344, and the Uranus–Pluto conjunction at the same time. The outbreak of bubonic plague in London in 1665 and the Great Fire of London a year later both took place when Saturn and Neptune were together in Capricorn.

In 1846 in Aquarius, widespread famine in Ireland followed the failure of the potato crop. During the 1917 and 1918 conjunction in Leo, there were massive casualties in the First World War, especially at Passchendaele, and the Spanish ‘flu epidemic of 1918 killed 20 million in Europe, the United States and India. By the conjunction of the late 1980s in Capricorn, the AIDS virus was running amok, causing countless deaths in Africa, Europe and the United States.

Medical advances are also highlighted under Saturn–Neptune, with the physicians’ meeting place in Rome, the Schola Medicorum, being set up in AD 17 in Sagittarius; in 1739 in Cancer, the London Foundling Hospital was established; and by 1881 in Taurus, Louis Pasteur had discovered the anthrax vaccine.

 

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Kenny Rogers, the country singer has died. He sold over 150 million records worldwide and had 120 hit singles – all-time classic jukebox favourites including Lucille, Ruby, Don’t Take Your Love to Town, The Gambler, Coward of the County, and, with Dolly Parton, Islands in the Stream. One obituary described him as “the grizzled king of easy-going country & western music, a gravel-voiced charm-merchant who spoke of real things with just a hint of cheese.“

He was born 21 August 1938 in Houston, Texas, at 11.29 am Houston, Texas and had a chart dominated by a Fixed Grand Cross of Mars Sun in flamboyant Leo in his ambitious and high-profile 10^th house, Jupiter in Aquarius in his 4^th, North Node in Scorpio in his first house and Uranus in his 7^th. That last placing was possibly why he ended up married five times, the early attempts all being short-lived affairs. He would be explosive with Uranus square Mars and certainly none-too-adaptable with so many Fixed planets, insisting that others bent round his wishes. But he had endurance aplenty and confidence.

His Uranus was in a creative trine to Neptune in Virgo which produced a good many talented artists from that time. His Cancer Moon was buried in his intense 8^th house; his Venus was also in one of the hidden houses, the 12^th opposition Saturn. He grew up in poverty and was fourth of eight children, so wouldn’t be given as much nurturing as he needed.

His career was nearly undone by a sex scandal in 1990 when he admitted setting up special number for women to call so he could indulge in phone sex with them. He settled all claims before it came to court. At that point tr Pluto in Scorpio was squaring his Midheaven, giving his reputation a dent and opposing his Uranus – it led ultimately to the break up of his marriage.

Venus Saturn aspects oddly enough are associated with ‘sex addictions’ so called and an 8^th house Moon has a hint of Scorpio about it.

His creative musical 7^th harmonic was exceptionally strongly aspected. His superstar 22H was also marked.

He died at 10.25pm on March 20th in Colbert, Georgia.  At that point tr Uranus was exactly opposition his Solar Arc Midheaven. His Solar Arc Jupiter was conjunct his 7th house Uranus with tr Venus also conjunct and the Moon moving through his 4th house close to his Jupiter – he died at home surrounded by his family.

 

Richard Burr, Republican senator and chairman of the Senate Intelligence Committee, is getting it in the neck for making money out of the pandemic. He offloaded millions of dollars in stock after receiving private briefings about the coronavirus outbreak, but before markets crashed, all the while continuing to talk the severity of the virus down in public. Other senators have also been fingered but they have said their portfolios are managed by others and they were not aware of the sales. Burr is the only one who said he was directly involved but that his decision was not insider trading but based on news reports. It has been illegal for members of Congress and other government employees to trade on secret briefings since the passage of the 2012 “Stop Trading on Congressional Knowledge Act”.

Burr, born 30 November 1955 in Virginia, is a Sun Mercury in Sagittarius in an expansive and supercharged square to Jupiter in Virgo and Pluto in late Leo. He also has an uber-determined Mars in Scorpio in an uncompromising square to Uranus, so likes taking risks and dislikes interference in his plans.

Both tr Saturn and his Solar Arc Saturn are due to square his Mars for a major setback through from early April to mid June in the case of the transit and the Solar Arc over several months. All of that looks considerably unsettling and bad-tempered. With more hitches and glitches in 2021/22 as tr Saturn opposes his Uranus followed by Solar Arc Saturn.

He does have a strongly aspected 10th Harmonic chart which is the fickle-finger-of-fate one which throws the individual high and then the wheel of fortune turns and it goes the other way.

 

Pressure and panic are mounting with borders closed, most of Europe in lockdown, the USA starting to follow suit and no clear exit strategy in sight.

March was the first month where the Saturn Pluto Jupiter conjunction started to bite. Today Mars in Capricorn is conjunct Jupiter, normally an expansive, vibrant influence, good for starting new projects. But it’s anchored to the Mars Pluto conjunction approaching exact on Monday next, the 23^rd. That latter is frustrating, scary, restrictive and stressed. In this instance Jupiter appears merely to be amplifying the negative effects of Mars Pluto.

Saturn just outpaces Mars to make it into Aquarius from this Sunday, March the 22^nd, though Mars gets there on the 30^th of this month to form a bad-tempered, accident and setback-prone conjunction to Saturn on the 31^st.

Saturn in Aquarius until 2^nd July (moving in finally for two years plus from late December along with Jupiter) may help to lift some of the gloom. It promotes scientific advance, so good for discoveries and aids mental concentration. It tends to be level-headed, keen on fairness but can be emotionally cold.

This is the start of a gradual shift away from the earthy, materialistic obsessions of Capricorn which have been in place courtesy of Pluto since 2008. Jupiter moves through Aquarius in 2021, Saturn is there through 2021/22 and Pluto moves into Aquarius in 2023 to stay for two decades.

Aquarius is the sign of the collective, of friendship and humanitarian groups, of new knowledge which breaks old moulds, is fascinated by both the future and the distant past. In mythology Prometheus is deemed the Aquarian figure, for stealing fire from the gods to give to mankind which led to the birth of civilization. The Aquarius symbol is the water carrier, the one who gives of the water of knowledge to humanity. The ruler is Uranus – who was Prometheus’ father, the sky god married to Gaia the earth mother, until castrated by Kronos (Saturn) one of his sons.

Aquarius is a Fixed Air sign – has endurance, stands firm, can be stubborn and contrary, thinks rather than feels, communicates well, is a trickster and can be mischievous.

There’ll be a hint of economic challenges to come as Mars squares Uranus in Taurus in April, though the key indicator of financial instability, which is Saturn square Uranus, doesn’t kick in until 2021. April will hiccup along with the insecure and disruptive Mars square Uranus on the 7^th followed by the Aries Sun picking up Jupiter and Pluto mid month which might just raise spirits; though the Taurus Sun then squares Saturn and is conjunct Uranus in the final days for a dip and a jolt.

May trundles through with a cheering Taurus Sun trine Jupiter Pluto.

Gemini June has a lacklustre Neptunian/Piscean flavour with the Sun catching Mars and Neptune together in Pisces in aspect. With the zero degree Cancer Solar Eclipse on the 21^st hinting at yet more difficulties, restrictions, inhibitions, separations and illusions in the months ahead over which it casts its effect. Bernadette Brady remarks in The Eagle and the Lark that this eclipse brings blocks and ’the individual is prone to misjudging his or her strength and is best advised to wait before taking any real action.’ It was around previously in 2002, 1984, 1966, 1948, 1930 and 1912.

July sees Saturn reversing back into Capricorn to reconstitute the Saturn Pluto Jupiter conjunction which is in opposition to the Cancer Sun; and that is followed in August by Mars in Aries square the triple conjunction. So the mood of earlier in the year will be back with a vengeance.

September will have muddles from Neptune opposing the Virgo Sun; and a setback or two from Mars square Saturn. October looks tiringly and worryingly stressed with the Libra Sun in opposition to Mars in Aries square the triple conjunction of Saturn Pluto Jupiter. And that is some T Square – mind boggling. 

November has less aggro and a lift from Jupiter conjunct Pluto.

December brings the last decan Sagittarius Solar Eclipse (conjunct Trump’s Moon and opposition his Sun hinting at a major personal crisis for him). This eclipse series has a feeling of fatedness with a sense of being caught up in situations or relationships beyond individual control. There will be acute frustrations, with the advice being to avoid rash actions. It was around before in 2002, 1984, 1966, 1948, 1930, 1912. Again the effect of this eclipse will cover the early part of 2021.

The economically unstable tr Saturn square tr Uranus becomes exact in February 2021, returning off and on until the New Year into 2022. The Solar Eclipses are in a more upbeat mood from mid 2021 onwards.

For those who work with Ingress charts – when the Sun moves into one of the four Cardinal signs – the Aries Ingress on 20^th March does have the quadruple whammy of Mars, Jupiter, Pluto, Saturn in Capricorn – located to the UK sitting firmly on the Ascendant.

The previous Capricorn Ingress located to Wuhan in China which oversaw the first outbreak has the Sun on the midheaven with a prominent Jupiter as well as Saturn Pluto prominent in the chart.

2020 was always going to be a high stress year, starting under the shadow of the late December 2019 Solar Eclipse in a series which suggested traumatic transformations and significant endings. The return of challenging influences after mid 2020 doesn’t necessarily indicate the virus will continue to wreak havoc since the China experience – with suitably Draconian measures – is that it will fade. But the economic hangover and damage will be immense.

Saturn into Aquarius will – hopefully – bring breakthrough vaccines and drugs that work. Maybe even an expert-driven restructuring of national health services (faint hope). The much lower Germany death rate is in part a result of a better resourced national health set up. How the United States will fare with no safety net for many doesn’t bear thinking about.

 

An Instagramming actress Vanessa Hudgens has had to make a hasty backtrack after a live video in which she managed to write off an extended CV 19 outbreak as “a bunch of bulls***” and added for good measure “ people are gonna die, which is terrible but, like, inevitable?”

How to win friends and influence people. She is best known for the High School Musical film series some years back, and was born 14 December 1988 at 9.27pm Salinas, California.

She has an outspoken Sagittarius Sun conjunct an impulsive Uranus which sits in the performing and grandstanding 5^th house and is in turn conjunct Mercury, Saturn and Neptune in Capricorn – she’ll be highly strung, scattered, erratic and inclined to be a touch autocratic with Saturn Uranus close. She also has an intense, deeply buried 8^th house Mars in pro-active Aries squaring her Capricorn planets so will be overly forceful at times. Particularly now given her Solar Arc Moon is exactly conjunct her Mars making her overly excitable.

She also has a superficially charming Jupiter in indulgent Taurus opposition Venus in Scorpio which will suit her for the froth and glitter generation. But scrape off the surface veneer and there’s hubble and bubble underneath.

All a storm in a twitter-sized egg cup. But interesting astrologically since she has a birth time.

I wonder if this unholy meltdown in society will ultimately sweep away the idiotic celebrity culture, where fans treat actors, actresses and TV presenters as if they were the Delphic Oracle with magic powers of insight. I see Tom Hanks sister remarked in response to questions about his health that he was an actor, not God. Good for her.

 

Tone deaf, brass neck, shameless – it’s difficult to wrap your head around Ghislaine Maxwell’s lawsuit against convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein’s estate for legal fees and security costs. She insists a): she had no knowledge of any wrong doing on his part; and b): she had “a legal and special relationship” with him which obligated his estate to compensate her, since she was out of pocket because for personal protection and safe accommodation costs after multiple death threats. It’s breathtakingly self-absorbed.

Born 25 December 1961, she was the favoured daughter of crooked media proprietor Robert Maxwell, who lavished her with money until his mysterious death by suicide/murder as his financial sins were about to emerge. She was left bereft – and short of cash – until hooking up with Epstein, who effectively bankrolled her in exchange for her social contacts.

She has her Sun, Mars, Mercury in money-minded and socially ambitious Capricorn in a changeable and restless trine to Uranus and Pluto in Virgo. Her Saturn is also in Capricorn. Her Venus in late Sagittarius is in a charming and passionately enthusiastic conjunction to her Mars and Sun. Her five-star-lifestyle Leo Moon is almost certainly in an indulgent opposition to Jupiter and square an evasive, unrealistic Neptune. A steady supply of cash to fund an opulent lifestyle probably seems like a basic essential to her.

She hasn’t yet been charged in connection with Epstein though that may come. This year is a mix of risky catastrophes late this month and through April; with radical changes from mid April, on and off into 2021; with a morale-boost in June this year as tr Uranus square her Jupiter – though since that tugs on her Neptune it may be a short-lived bubble of happiness. Where she really hits the skids is in 2022/23 as tr Pluto is conjunct her Saturn for deprivation and hardship; and her Solar Arc Pluto is in a devastating conjunction to her Neptune in 2023.

Her Second Saturn Return this year isn’t knocking much sense into her. She’d have been more sensible to disappear into a bunker and stay there.

 

 

It’s a baptism of fire for the two new UK finances chiefs – Rishi Sunak, Chancellor of the Exchequer and Andrew Bailey who took over from Mark Carney as Chairmen of the Bank of England just three days ago.

Rishi Sunak, ex-Goldman Sachs and former hedge funder, 12 May 1980, is a steady Sun Mercury in Taurus opposition an innovative Uranus. He does have a Mutable T Square of Venus in Gemini opposition Neptune square Saturn in Virgo, plus Mars Jupiter in Virgo so will be adaptable when circumstances demand it. He’s possibly a better bet than Sajid Javid whom he replaced since the latter had three planets including his Sun in Sagittarius; and a not altogether helpful Mars in Aquarius square Neptune plus a see-saw Saturn opposition Jupiter.

Sunak’s relationship with Boris is inherently suspicious, untrusting and doubting with a composite Sun Mercury opposition Neptune Saturn. His connection to Dominic Cummings who seems to be running most things from his privileged eyrie, is highly strained with a composite Uranus inconjunct Mars; and an even more stressed and fated Yod of Saturn sextile Venus inconjunct Sun. Extraordinary circumstances have thrust them together and the trajectory of both lives will be inevitably changed by their coming together, for good or for ill. Though that composite Sun suggests ego conflicts. There’s also an argumentative and evasive composite T square of Neptune opposition Mars square Mercury – so quite a complicated interface and more significant than with Boris.

Andrew Bailey, 30 March 1959, is a Sun Mercury in Aries in an understated square to Saturn in Capricorn; with Saturn in a determined mini-Grand Trine to Pluto, sextile Neptune. He looks understandably unnerved from mid this April, on and off into early 2021 with tr Uranus opposing his Neptune. But 2021/22 are his all-time horror years with a panicky-failure tr Neptune square his Mars and a Solar Arc Neptune conjunct his Saturn. He’ll catch a few rays of sunshine this year but generally will not be making career progress, will be suffering losses and not feeling successful.

He takes over with the Saturn Pluto Jupiter triple conjunction also conjunct Mars and sextile Neptune, so gigantic pressures to face. 2021 will be upsetting financially with tr Uranus conjunct the Term Venus; with worse in 2022/23 as tr Neptune is conjunct the Term Sun.

Bailey isn’t exactly on the same wavelength as his political masters. With Boris he does have a gung-ho Uranus opposition Jupiter square Sun; but also an evasive Mercury opposition Neptune, which is being shaken up from this July onwards; and an aggravated Mars trine Saturn.

His relationship with Cummings is worse – a composite argumentative Sun square Mars, being severely shaken late this month into the first half of April; and generally sliding downhill this year into next with tr Neptune conjunct the composite Saturn.

In times of crisis it helps to have strong leadership and everyone on the same page – alas not.

Vladimir Putin has put in gear a process that would allow him to remain as President until 2036 which has attracted protests from opposition politicians. It has still to be ratified but with his grip on power it probably will be.

Although his popularity with the electorate is sagging with a stagnant economy; and his promises about making improvements have been badly hit by the double shock of the global coronavirus economic instability and the plummeting oil prices. There’ll be a fair amount of water passing under the bridge before 2024 when the next election is due; with tr Pluto then just into Aquarius, so nothing is certain.

Putin’s birth date is iffy, so his Term chart of 7 May 2018 11.05 am Moscow is more reliable. It indicated a ruthless and unstable administration, prone to disruption and violence with Mars Pluto in Capricorn square Uranus Mercury in Aries.

This year, tr Saturn is conjunct the Term Mars and square Uranus, on and off till late year, which will see rolling setbacks and significant irritations. Tr Pluto then moves onto a frustrating and trapped conjunction to the Mars in 2021/22; with the Solar Arc in an explosive upheaval in square to the Uranus. That’s followed by a forced-change tr Uranus conjunct the Sun in 2022/23. In late 2023/early 2024 the Term Pluto will have moved by Solar Arc to conjunct the Mars, which will be exceptionally blocked and enraging and scary.

Though, as ever, there’s a lucky Jupiter in there opposing the Sun which may produce some undeserved good fortune along the way.

The Russia 8 November 2017 chart suggests a period of turbulence ahead with tr Uranus in a nerve-stretching square to the Russia Neptune picking up this May and running off and on into early 2021. That’s followed by even more major jolts from tr Uranus square Saturn and opposition the Sun in 2021/22 – which suggests that the economically-recessive tr Uranus in Taurus square tr Saturn in Aquarius will have a particularly negative impact on Russia. Then in 2023 tr Uranus squares the Russia Uranus for a forced-rethink of direction; with setbacks in 2024 from Solar Arc Saturn square the Russia Mars.

The modern Russia 8 December 1991 7.45 pm chart points to confusion and disappointment in 2021/22 from Solar Arc Sun conjunct Neptune. [I confess I don’t get this chart – maybe need to look back and see what other of the proliferation of dates around this break up make sense.]

The two Bank of Russia charts, 12 June 1860 and 13 July 1990, both suggest setbacks as tr Saturn moves into Aquarius; with discouragement and forced upheavals; leading into financial disappointment in 2021/22. With some effort at a stimulus but that heads into an even more major brick wall by 2023.

Russia looks in no better shape than anyone else over the next several years – all of which may throw Putin’s plans off track.