Trump announced his bid for 2020 around 8pm in Orlando last night which was when a mid degree Capricorn Moon was approaching a conjunction to Saturn Pluto and opposition Mars – not an auspicious kick off. His 2016 launch on 16 June was on an exact Jupiter in Leo trine Uranus, sextile Mars Sun Mercury in Gemini – not spectacularly definitive of a win but certainly indicative of good luck.

This time round he has lost the heavy emphasis on his natal Jupiter that was there in 2016/17 from transiting and Solar Arc Pluto which was definitely a bringer of good fortune and success.

As this next election approaches the tr Saturn Pluto is opposing his Saturn Venus in Cancer, this year and next, which the Mountain Astrologer in a useful piece suggests will open up his emotional wound of being unloved and under-nurtured.

Birth time being accurate he does also have tr Pluto trine his midheaven from early 2020 to late 2021 which is generally helpful on the career front; though at the same time he has tr Pluto opposition his Sun/Mars midpoint which points to extraordinary stresses, maybe cardiac issues and considerable frustrating obstacles.

He’s also got tr Uranus square his Solar Arc Midheaven this year and early next which will force him in a new direction, followed by the upheaval of tr Uranus square his Pluto from mid 2020 onwards for a year. And he has a nerve-wracked tr Neptune square his 10^th house Uranus this year and next; moving on to undermining, confused squares  to his Moon and Sun in 2021/22.

Where his chart runs into worse headaches is from late 2021 till 2023 with a neurotic, panicky Solar Arc Saturn conjunct his financial Neptune at the same time as a nerve-stretched Solar Arc Neptune opposition his Uranus; with worse in 2022/23 from Solar Arc Mars square Pluto and Solar Arc Pluto square Saturn when he’ll feel completely walled in.

I looked back to the point in the late 1980s and early 1990s where his finances hit the deck heading to the verge of insolvency despite his boasts at the time of being worth $3.5 billion. Starting in the mid 1980s his Solar Arc Saturn moved across his Ascendant; and his Solar Arc Pluto squared his 10^th house Uranus with tr Uranus in opposition starting an earthquake in his career; and his Solar Arc Uranus was conjunct his Venus in Cancer which is emotional and financial shocks and again hitting on his wound which equates being loved with being obscenely wealthy. And his Solar Arc Mars hit a panicky-failure conjunction to his financial Neptune.

Over the 1989/early 1990s the Saturn Uranus Neptune in Capricorn were square his natal Neptune and Jupiter in his financial 2^nd house.

What’s around now and in the next few years is not quite as disruptive as that period though in many ways is more destructive with Pluto Saturn Mars. And several of the same key areas of his chart are being highlighted – his 2^nd house Neptune, his defensive Venus Saturn and his maverick 10^th house Uranus.

What is sickening, teeth-grittingly so, are the stories now emerging of how he cowed reporters into silence over the reality of his situation as he veered towards bankruptcy. Joshua Greenberg, who was an evaluator for Forbes rich list wrote in the Washington Post: ‘Journalists told me how he’d tried to block their reporting on his empire — by making up ethical scandals about them, furnishing fake documents and, in one case, threatening to expose the private life of a closeted media executive. Wall Street analysts witnessed a campaign of intimidation that began when Trump got one of them fired for (correctly) doubting his casinos’ ability to pay off their debts.’  Greenberg asked ‘How did Donald Trump, a self-serving promoter who lost billions of dollars for his investors, convince the world that he is a financial genius? It wasn’t just by fabricating tales of his success. It was also by bullying and silencing people who could have stopped those deceits — particularly reporters and Wall Street analysts — forcing all but a very few into a conspiracy of silence.’

Not much changes and the old slash and burn technique clearly still has traction.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/posteverything/wp/2019/06/14/feature/how-donald-trump-silenced-the-people-who-could-expose-his-business-failures/?utm_term=.34fe60c78a88

Scots actor Sam Heughan is going from strength to strength co-producing as well as playing the lead in Starz TV’s Outlander now in its 5^th and 6^th season; and he’s also been recently cast as lead in an upcoming SAS movie based on an Andy McNab novel.

He was born 30 April 1980 in New Galloway, Scotland (so there should be a birth time for him if anyone has it). He’s been acting since he left school on stage as well as in TV and films with several awards to his credit.

He is a Sun Taurus almost certainly opposition a Scorpio Moon so an earthy and heavyweight personality. Add to that Mars in entertaining and determined Leo conjunct confident, lucky Jupiter squaring onto a high-adrenaline Uranus and he’s custom built for an exciting life. He has a creative and exceptionally hard-working though emotionally scattered Venus in Gemini opposition Neptune square Saturn in Virgo. Plus an inspirational and entrepreneurial Fire Grand Trine of Mars and a leadership North Node in Leo trine Mercury trine Neptune, formed into an even more talented Kite by Mercury in upfront Aries opposition Pluto. He will be influential and outspoken as well as fairly controlling. His love life seems varied which is to be expected from a Full Moon (can’t decide) and a changeable Venus in Gemini.

2020/21 will be years of major change with tr Uranus conjunct his Sun and tr Pluto sextile his Uranus.

Michael Platini, a France football legend and former Uefa president at present banned for ethics violations has been detained in connection with a criminal investigation into alleged corruption relating to Fifa’s decision to host the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. He denies all outside influence in the vote he made for Qatar, though focus will be turned on a lunch he attended in Paris just days before the controversial vote in 2010, with the Qatar Head of State and the then French president Nicolas Sarkozy who was lobbying for an important bilateral trade deals between the two nations. Qatar subsequently took over the Paris St-Germain team. There’s little prospect that this latest development will affect Qatar’s status as hosts, even if Platini is charged.

He was born 21 June 1955 9am Joeuf, France, and is a Sun and Mercury in Gemini opposition North Node in sporting Sagittarius, trine Neptune and sextile Pluto – so not short of ambition, influence or the ability to slide round obstacles. He’s also got an adventurous Uranus conjunct Jupiter in a highly-strung square to Neptune. Plus a gritty Saturn in Scorpio trine Mars (Moon) in Cancer.

He’s not looking too cheerful at the moment with tr Saturn coming up to oppose his Mars from the last day of this month into July which is usually a setback and enraging; and it repeats later in the year. But where he runs into real trouble  is in 2021/22 with his Solar Arc Mercury conjunct Pluto which is depressing; and tr Pluto opposing his Uranus and square his Neptune which will be a considerable upheaval and fairly devastating and confusing.

Katie Hopkins is the nearest thing the UK has to a right-wing, shock-jock with rancidly extreme views which have got her fired from most media outlets, even when they hired her for as a controversialist. She’s been reduced to a Canadian website on which Tommy Robinson of the English Defence League is also a contributor; and has recently filed for bankruptcy as a consequence of legal cases which went against her. She has suffered badly from epilepsy. She’s anti-Islam and anti-multicultural and Trump is a fan.

Born 13 February 1975 she has an unaspected Aquarius Sun which will make it difficult for her to modulate her ego. She’ll tend to be an island unto herself, holding herself in high esteem, and not being much affected by feedback. She does have what should be a relatively pleasant and sensitive Moon, Venus and Jupiter in Pisces but that is completely swamped by an aggressive and afflicted Mars in Capricorn opposition Saturn square Pluto – fuelling inner rage, grievance and hatred. Saturn Pluto makes her unyielding and resistant to change.

Her Jupiter and Venus square Trump’s Gemini Sun and Sagittarius Moon for an emollient cross over. But that apart they wouldn’t make a great pair with her Sun in an argumentative and competitive opposition to his Mars; her Mercury opposition his Pluto and her controlling Pluto square his Mercury.  Their relationship chart has a cool, business-like composite Sun square Saturn and trine Uranus; with Uranus square Venus. And a ramped-up Jupiter trine Pluto sextile Mars Neptune which will do well as they work together to attract publicity for each. But if they ever got close and fell out it would turn nasty since neither are supportive types.  There would be a fight for supremacy. Indeed all is not well in that heated corner especially from this July onwards into 2020.

She looks pretty much flattened this year with Solar Arc Pluto square her Sun and Solar Arc Sun opposition her Pluto which will block her every which way, no doubt because of financial problems – and an emotionally upsetting Solar Arc Venus opposition her Uranus. Plus several aggravated and insecure Uranus transits to midpoints plus a swampy Neptune; and setbacks from tr Saturn conjunct her Mars till late this year.  Not her finest hour.

Add ON: There’s no suggestion that Katie Hopkins is in any way associated with the following but it popped up today and has an astro-slant. Two teen Neo-Nazis have been jailed for terrorism offences in the UK, promoting online material that encouraged an attack on Prince Harry for marrying a woman of mixed race, suggested targeting non-white and Jewish people and glorified the Norwegian mass murderer Anders Breivik. Their UK Sonnenkrieg organisation takes after the USA Atomwaffen which is led by James Mason, 25 July 1952. Both are seen as extreme even within the alt-right movement.

Mason has Mars in vengeful Scorpio opposition Jupiter and square Pluto in Leo (which is opposition the North Node in Aquarius). Mars Pluto is a running theme through a great many of these hate organisation individuals; and an emphasised/afflicted Pluto which in its efforts to exert control needs to stamp what is considers lesser persons under foot.

Gloria Vanderbilt, heiress, fabulously wealthy socialite, fashion designer and writer, has died aged 95. She was the subject of an infamous custody case as a child as her aunt sought successfully to remove her and thus her fortune from the hands of her extravagant mother after her father’s death.

Born 20 February 1924 9.55 am New York, she went on to marry four times, once to director Sydney Lumet and had four sons, one of them, Anderson Cooper, from her final marriage.

She was born on the exact Full Moon with a Pisces Sun opposition a 5^th house performing/entertaining Virgo Moon, so would never know quite what she wanted emotionally. She had a strong Mars Jupiter in the 8^th as might be expected having inherited vast sums of money; with both in a showbizzy and creative trine to Neptune. Her Venus in upfront Aries was in a passionate square to Pluto which would contribute to the variety of relationships she enjoyed through her life, including Marlon Brando, Frank Sinatra, Howard Hughes and Roald Dahl amongst others.

She was also renowned as a writer with a 10^th house Mercury in Aquarius square Saturn.

A lady who lived life to the full and worked until late on in years.

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Chuka Umanna, former Opposition Shadow Cabinet member, a Blairite and Remainer, who backed out of the Labour Party leadership race in 2015, then objected to the leftward drift of the party and finally this year baled to start the Change UK independent group before exiting for the Lib Dems. The cartoonist are having a field day about his flip flopping.

Born 17 October 1978 he’s a controlled and controlling Sun Pluto in Libra with a charming, though changeable and stubborn Venus Mars Uranus in Scorpio. He’s also got Mercury in Scorpio square Jupiter in Leo – plenty of fixed signs so he’s not exactly one to waver around in the breeze, except for Saturn in Virgo square Neptune.

He’s not having a great year with tr Neptune opposition his Sun/Jupiter midpoint till December; a hugely pressured tr Pluto square his Sun until late 2020; a muddled-thinking Solar Arc Mercury conjunct his Neptune; and a couple of unfortunate Uranus and Neptune hard aspects to midpoints, which run into and through next year.  He’ll get some uplift from tr Uranus square his Jupiter this July to September but there’s not much else of cheer.

Pic: Chris McAndrew

Another of Trump’s unseemly hate-festes has been unleashed against London Mayor Sadiq Khan. It’s a spat that has been running since Khan spoke out against the Muslim ban and Trump retaliated with glee on twitter over the London terror attacks in 2017 which left 7 dead and many injured, using it to justify his travel ban and misquoting Khan. Khan has since retaliated by speaking out against Trump and his state visit.

Now stoked up by the beyond-appalling Katie Hopkins, Trump is slating Khan for London’s crime killings. In reality the murder rate in Baltimore is a 31 times higher per capita, New Orleans is 22.4 times higher and Detroit 22 times. London has half New York’s murder rate.

What’s astrologically on point is the cross over between the charts. Khan, despite being a mild-mannered Libra, has a megaton, forceful Mars Pluto in Virgo which squares Trump’s Sun and Moon; and Khan’s Saturn in Taurus is conjunct Trump’s midheaven with his Neptune opposition and both are square Trump’s bombastic Mars. Active dislike runs rampant and Khan would crush him if he could.

Their relationship chart has a composite Mars Pluto which leads to bitter power struggles; and a needs-space, differing-agendas composite Sun Uranus. It’ll flare up again in November and next February as tr Uranus trines the Mars Pluto, if not before in July.

Franco Zeffirelli, one of the great film and opera directors, has died. He was known for his Taming of the Shrew with Liz Taylor and Richard Burton, Romeo and Juliet and the miniseries Jesus of Nazareth starring Robert Powell as Christ. He worked with Maria Callas and some of his operatic designs and productions have become worldwide classics. He was also latterly a senator for Berlusconi’s Italian centre-right Forza Italia party and a staunch Catholic.

He was born 12 February 1923 12 noon Florence the result of an affair between a fashion designer and a wool dealer and could trace his lineage back to Leonardo da Vinci’s family.  His mother died when he was six and he grew up in an English expatriate community. He fought as a partisan and an interpreter for British troops, went back to architectural studies after the war and then switched to theatre, working with Luchino Visconti, Roberto Rossellini and Vittorio De Sica.

He had a 10^th house Aquarius Sun opposition a filmic and creative Neptune squaring onto an expansive, confident and lucky Jupiter in Scorpio. He also had a restless, high-initiative Cardinal Grand Square of a Capricorn Moon and Venus opposition Pluto square Mars in Aries opposition Saturn in Libra – so no slouch when it came to hard work and dreaming up new projects. But he had a hard-edged and ruthless streak which would make him tricky to get along with. He also had a creative Water Grand Trine of a maverick Uranus in the 10^th trine Pluto trine Jupiter, formed into a Kite by Pluto opposition Moon. Not designed for an ordinary life – the driving planet Moon would propel him towards a public career as would a 10^th house Sun.

His creative and musical 7^th harmonic was confident and strongly marked; as was his obsessive-dream 11H; his leaving-a-legacy 17H; and his superstar 22H.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s (alleged) press secretary has resigned, though in recent times after being caught out in a litany of lies, obfuscations and misspeaks, she has rarely spoken to the majority of the media.

Born 13 August 1982 in Hope, Arkansas, she is the daughter of Mick Huckabee former Republican Governor of Arkansas and twice candidate for the presidency.  She’s got an idealistic/slippery Leo Sun trine Neptune, sextile an unyielding Saturn Pluto in Libra; with a sugary-sweet, good-for-PR, insincere-charm Venus in Cancer square Jupiter Mars in Scorpio which masks a steely core.

Her relationship with Trump is genuinely affectionate/friendly and supportive with a composite Sun Venus square Jupiter; though it was always going to be a  bond that moved through changeable times with composite Saturn Uranus and Uranus conjunct Pluto.

I thought it might blow last year when tr Uranus was square the composite Sun and Venus though that may have loosened the ties that bind. Tr Pluto has been opposing the composite Sun this year; and both tr Uranus and tr Neptune are pulling on the need-for-change planets. Mueller may have been the straw that finally made the difference as she is recorded as having lied about the FBI and James Comey, though she won’t admit to anything other than a slip of the tongue.

On her own chart she looks relieved with tr Uranus opposition her Jupiter though also a touch insecure and agitated with tr Uranus opposition her Mars, with a deluge of bad press on her exit. She also has a massive upheaval from her Solar Arc Pluto conjunct her Uranus now, which would certainly give her a sharp nudge.  Her road ahead looks uncertain, insecure, confused and fairly catastrophic for the next three to four years with tr Neptune opposition her Sun/Saturn midpoint in 2020/2021 and three Pluto hard aspects to three separate Saturn midpoints this year and on till 2023. Though that won’t hold her back with tr Pluto square her Jupiter in 2021/22, so she’ll respond – some of the time – with her usual tone-deaf confidence.