Royal biographies are notoriously sanitised. The Quest for Queen Mary is a new book compiled from the unexpurgated interview notes from an earlier biography of the Queen’s grandmother. Max Hastings describes it as ‘arguably the most riotously funny volume published this year.’ ‘The book conveys, in a fashion that no republican could improve upon, the tedium, ghastliness and sheer battiness of life around monarchs.’

Ramrod straight and imperious, Queen Mary was a renowned kleptomaniac, demanding pieces she liked from the grand houses she visited. During the war she took over Badminton House with 55 servants, forcing the Beauforts who owned it to live in two rooms and watch aghast as she had their trees felled. She enjoyed being read to, sometimes for up to seven hours at a stretch by a hapless lady-in-waiting who was eventually sacked for lacking fortitude.

Engaged to be married to Queen Victoria’s eldest son, she stepped down a brother after he died of flu, and married George V whose main excitement in life was stamp collecting.

She treated her children with coldness, typical of the day, which sent the Duke of Windsor into the arms of Wallis Simpson and rendered King George V1 into debilitating nervousness. Prince George, Duke of Kent, had a drug problem and strings of affairs with men and women, including Barbara Cartland and the later Duchess of Argyll; Prince Henry, Duke of Gloucester had a scandalous affair with Beryl Markham. Three of her sons including the young epileptic Prince John predeceased her; and she died weeks before Queen Elizabeth’s coronation.

Born 26 May 1867 11.59pm London she was a Sun Gemini with Moon Jupiter in Pisces trine Uranus, which might have made her fun. What dominated her chart, however was Saturn in Scorpio opposition Pluto square Mars in Leo – and that is hard, unyielding, bound to a life of duty. Her Uranus in the 5th house of children does hint at the wayward bunch she produced. Her Venus in Taurus would give her a love of beautiful things.

Her husband George V, 3 June 1865 1.18am London, with whom by all accounts she had a steady marriage, was not dissimilar to her being a Sun Gemini with (also like her) Venus, Pluto, Mercury in Taurus. Though it was hardly a match of great passion since both their Saturns fell in the others 8^th house of intimacy.

Their relationship chart had a chained-together composite Saturn opposition Pluto Venus square Mars opposition Jupiter – an overload of duty, aggravation, the forced sacrifice of individual identity and a good deal of largesse.   Mars in the composite 5^th might also point to boisterous children who provoked anger.

Scraps from a bygone era. But she was a powerful influence in Queen Elizabeth’s childhood, perhaps re-enforcing the obsessively dutiful Saturn in Scorpio they both share. Though in HM Queen’s case it is conjunct her midheaven and devoted to work first and foremost.  The Queen’s Taurus Sun was conjunct Queen Mary’s Venus and the Queen’s Venus in Pisces was conjunct her grandmother’s Moon Jupiter so there would be affection.  But that relationship chart was tough going with a composite Sun, Uranus, Mars, Moon opposition Saturn square Jupiter – not exactly playful.

Another pop idol gone from a suspected drug overdose – Mac Miller, hugely successful but with a confessed drug and depression problem, which split his two year relationship with Ariane Grande recently.

Born 19 January 1992 in Pittsburgh (no birth time), he had a late Capricorn Sun with Neptune, Uranus Mercury conjunct and Mars North Node all in Capricorn as well; with most likely a Cancer Moon opposition his Sun. Uranus Neptune can give a touch of genius but also tends to be a touch on the edge, not so much prone to depression as to irrational thinking. One of the songs on his latest album has a line: “I’m just looking for a way out of my head’”

An unaspected Saturn would give him problems with self-discipline and make it tricky for him to put limits on himself. His Jupiter was trine Mars, Mercury, Uranus, Neptune which would give him times of enthusiasm and confidence. But it was square his Mars/Pluto midpoint which also aspected his Sun, so he would have intense frustrations.

He had tr Neptune square his Mars/Pluto at the moment which would be exceptionally debilitating and confusing; as well as a trapped tr Pluto conjunct his Sun/Mars, which would be destructive/self-destructive.

He has a reasonably good cross-over with Ariane Grande with his Capricorn Sun trine her Venus in Taurus; and his Jupiter falling in her 8^th for a deep connection. But his inner turmoil would be disturbing for her since his Mars, Uranus, Neptune, Mercury fell in her 12^th with his Mars opposition her Cancer Sun. She said she had to leave because of the toxic nature of their relationship due to drugs.

Their relationship chart has the crazy-making Uranus Neptune highlighted – on the point of a composite T Square to Sun opposition Mercury, as well as trine Jupiter, sextile Pluto.

That early 1990s generation do live at extraordinarily high levels of mental frazzle.

Another noisy and headline-catching bust-up which ended in a brawl this week, between mega-successful rapper Nicki Minaj and rapper/Instagram celeb Cardi B at a Harpers Bazaar ICONS NY party. Whether it was brewed up for publicity and then got out of control isn’t clear. Both have form for volatile outbursts to keep them visible.

Minaj, 8 December 1982 8.25 am, Port of Spain, Trinidad, certainly has a titanium strength chart and a short fuse with Mars in Capricorn in her 1^st square an unyielding and control-freaky 10^th house Pluto Saturn. Her Virgo Moon is also trine her Mars – so both genders tend to rattle her cage.

Cardi B, 11 October 1992, New York is no slouch in the let-it-all-hang-out stakes with an excitable Mars in Cancer opposition Uranus Neptune square a Libra Sun – and that is quite a powder keg of ego-centricity, lack of control, irrationality and confusion.

Cardi’s Mars is exactly conjunct Nicki’s Descendant for an argumentative interface with Cardi’s high-wire Uranus Neptune conjunct Nicki’s Ascendant causing frissons.

Their relationship chart has a power-struggling composite Sun Pluto conjunction; an egging-each-other-on-unwisely Mars opposition Jupiter; and a tension-erupting Saturn Uranus.

They’ll stay at daggers’ drawn through 2019 with tr Pluto continuing to square the composite Mars – and no doubt both gaining from the extra street cred.

Cartoon: Andy Davey: @Cartoon4sale

Labour MP Chuka Umunna has accused leader Jeremy Corbyn of driving centre-left MPs like himself out of the party and he urged him to “call off the dogs” – hardline factions who are intent on changing selection procedures to run out moderate MPs. He said instead the party should be fighting the Tory Government over Brexit. Corbyn promised a kinder, gentler politics but appears to have opened the doors to a vicious, internal brawl instead.

Umanna, 17 October 1978, London, is an intense Sun Pluto in Libra with a determined Venus, Mars, Uranus in Scorpio; a hope-for-a-better-society Saturn square Neptune; and a Taurus Moon probably opposition Mercury in a confident and lucky square to Jupiter in Leo.

His beef is with Momentum, the grassroots, pro-Corbyn organisation founded 8 October 2015, which is exerting pressure to force the Labour Party further left.

Umanna’s relationship chart with Momentum has a power-struggle-for-the-upper-hand Jupiter square Pluto; an argumentative, chilly and suspicious Sun, Saturn, Mercury, Mars with Neptune square Saturn Sun. Not a good mix and is under continued and undermining struggles for several years ahead.

Momentum has a revolutionary Uranus opposition Sun square a controlling Pluto so an odd mix of freedom-fighting and power hungry. With a scattered Mutable T Square of publicity-attracting Neptune opposition an exuberant Mars Jupiter square Saturn in Sagittarius. Such a focal point Saturn tends to be pessimistic, overly critical, cynical; and in Sagittarius can be self-righteous about imposing its views on others. Saturn Neptune can be paranoid; Saturn Mars self-defeating or unlucky.

Both T Squares are being triggered in 16 months’ time with the Solar Arc Mars conjunct the Jupiter for an enthusiastic, crusading pitch with a might-makes-right push; and Solar Arc Pluto will at the same time square the Uranus exactly which will be a total turnaround either a change of leadership, an internal coup or a change of direction. So a critical turning point.

The chemistry between both Labour charts and Momentum suggests the Labour Party feels undermined by the organisation. The Pisces Sun on the 1900 LP chart has Momentum’s Neptune conjunct and Mom’s Saturn square; and its enthusiastic Jupiter is also squelched by Mom’s Saturn. And the 1906 LP chart has its Saturn conjunct Mom’s Neptune with Mom’s Mars in opposition so arousing great suspicion and concern. Relations between Momentum and both the Party charts are on a slide through 2019/2020 with tr Neptune square the composite Saturn on one and the composite Sun and Mars, the latter from 2019 across 2020/21.

The founder Jon Lansman, 9 July 1957, a former Tony Bennite, is a Sun Cancer with Mercury in Cancer in a vague square to Neptune; and Saturn in Sagittarius trine Uranus, Venus, Mars in Leo. He looks successful in 2021/2022 with tr Pluto trine his Jupiter in Virgo. Though with a fairly rocky ride before then.

Umanna’s relationship chart with Corbyn has a competitive composite Sun Mars; and a chilly, constantly-changing Venus, Saturn, Uranus conjunction which will jolt and jangle from next spring onwards with some feelings of relief along the way – so one way or the other they may be free of each other.

Barack Obama’s elastic finally snapped and he took the unusual step of issuing a full-throated indictment of his successor. He called Trump a “threat to our democracy” and a demagogue practicing the “politics of fear and resentment.”  He likened him to Roman Caesars who placated the mob with  bread and circuses. He said “demagogues promise simple fixes to complicated problems. They’ll promise to fight for the little guy…. They’ll promise to clean up corruption even as they plunder away.”

His relationship with Trump always was a major clash, with Trump’s bombastic, ego-centric Mars in Leo conjunct Obama’s reformist Uranus and North Node; and Trump’s under-hand, manipulative and contemptuous Pluto conjunct Obama’s Leo Sun.

Their relationship chart has a suspicious composite Saturn opposition Neptune in a can-be-fanatical and high-tension square to Uranus, North Node, Mercury, Sun; with an irritable composite Mars opposition Moon square Jupiter. The composite Uranus and Neptune are picking up challenging and pressured tr Pluto hard aspects from mid January 2019 onwards throughout the year, moving onto the square to the composite Saturn in 2020/21 which is bulldozer-meets-brickwall time – so it’ll be a long-drawn out, disruptive tussle.

Obama’s personal chart, time being absolutely accurate, looks heartened as the Mid Term results come in with tr Uranus trine his Jupiter/Midheaven midpoint. Jupiter is moving across his 10^th house for twelve months from early November this year, which will see him taking a higher profile and successful role through 2019. Though he is facing an aggravating and frustrating battle from February 2019 onwards for two years with tr Pluto trine his 8^th house Mars. He looks mighty relieved with a sudden lucky turn of events in July 2019 and again in spring 2020 with tr Uranus opposition his Sun/Jupiter.

What’ll be interesting to see is what happens when his Solar Arc Midheaven conjuncts his Saturn in a year’s time – Saturn either accompanies setbacks or consolidates past efforts to bring in a harvest, with a boosted reputation and increased respect. He doesn’t look too happy after the next Inauguration with tr Pluto conjunct his Saturn for two years.

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John Steinbeck, one of the titans of American literature for his novels The Grapes of Wrath, Of Mice and Men, East of Eden, a Nobel and Pulitzer winner, is described as a ‘sadistic womanizer’ in a new memoir. A manuscript written by his second wife Glyn was recently discovered, in which she says he spent their wedding night on the phone to his mistress. He scolded her for ‘complicating’ his life while he was writing a book during her difficult labour with their first son; and when their premature second son suffered fits of screaming in his first days, he ‘burst through the door and said, “I wish to Christ he’d die, he’s taking up too much of your f***ing time.”   They divorced two years later.

Born 27 February 1902 3pm Salinas, California, he had an intensely emotional and secretive 8^th house Pisces Sun and Mars trine a 4^th house Scorpio Moon, doubling up his emotional wilfulness. His afflicted Mars was on the focal point of a T Square to Pluto opposition Uranus in the 5^th – so he would be ruthless, angry, volatile and keen to have an unfettered romantic life with rebellious Uranus in the 5th. He did have Jupiter and Venus Mercury in Aquarius in his 7^th so no doubt he could turn on the charm when it suited him. But otherwise he looks frighteningly explosive.

His second son John Jr was born two days before Donald Trump with a similar chart though with a Scorpio Moon; and the first son Thomas born on 2 August 1944 has a controlling and inflammatory-father Sun Pluto and Mars square Uranus.

His third wife Elaine Anderson, 14 August 1914,  was a Sun Leo which connected to his Venus in Aquarius, though it wouldn’t be an easy marriage with their relationship chart having a fairly brutal and suppressive composite Mars opposition Pluto; and a highly-strung and duty-bound Neptune opposition Uranus square Saturn. Talent comes at a price.

Boris Johnson instead of gearing up for a Brexit fight and push for No 10 is now embroiled in a divorce. He announced today he had separated some months ago from his wife of 25 years, a barrister, with claims that he’d been cheating again. He was thrown out twice before over affairs, in one of which he fathered a child.

He does have tr Uranus opposition his Scorpio Moon this year which suggests radical domestic changes; with tr Uranus having been moving through his 7^th house of one-to-one relationships since 2013, so it’ll have been on the cards since then. His Solar Return for June 2018 also has a separating Uranus in the 7^th on the focal point of a T Square to a heated Mars in the domestic 4^th opposition a sugary charming Venus Node in the ambitious 10^th.

His supporters say he’s just clearing the decks before rebooting his ambitions. But he always did look in for a catastrophic two months this September and October with tr Pluto square his Mars/Saturn midpoint, moving on to oppose his Mars/Uranus November to nid December which will also be fraught; and log-jammed every which way from mid January to mid February 2019. He’ll recover some bounce from April onwards, but woes will come in from all sides right through the year.

Burt Reynolds, a Hollywood mega-star, matinee idol of his day, who never fully realised his acting talents, has died. His performance in Deliverance in 1972 gave chilling testament to his real abilities but he said in his biography “ I wasn’t interested in challenging myself as an actor. I was interested in having a good time.”  He was a relentless womaniser, constantly in the gossip columns, poured his money into ruinous financial schemes, turned down leading roles most actors would kill for – Han Solo in Star Wars, One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest, Endearment, Die Hard, Pretty Woman and Bond. And wrecked what little credibility he had by doing a nude Cosmo spread. His star crashed and burned and he ended up in minor roles.

He was born 11 February 1936 12.10pm Lansing, Michigan with a military/police chief father and went to college on a football scholarship, which ended due to injuries.

He had a 10^th house Aquarius Sun, well-designed for a career in the public eye; with his Moon in Libra in his performing 5^th house; and his Venus in Capricorn in a seductive opposition to Pluto was in the sultry 8^th house, so he’d have powerful and mesmerising appeal. What was his undoing was a Mutable T square of Neptune opposition Mars Saturn in Pisces squaring onto a 7^th house Jupiter in Sagittarius.

A focal point Jupiter can be irresponsible, a wanderer, easily distracted with all of Jupiter’s downside of not wanting to make any effort.

The Mars Saturn stemming from his ex-forces father would make him more accident prone than usual with a game injury and car crash ending his football career; and an accident on set broke his jaw in the 1980s, causing him to lose weight which erupted false rumours he had AIDs and that accelerated his career slide.

His creative 5^th Harmonic and actors’ 15H were strong; but most notable of all was his pleasure-seeking 9^th harmonic.

Martin Selmayr’s fast-track appointment as EU Secretary-General, a post for which he was not qualified and will hold for many years to come, has been harshly criticised by the EU ombudsman who said it “stretched and possibly even overstretched the limits of the law”. The report listed four acts of “maladministration” which shoe-horned Selmayr, Jean-Claude Juncker’s chief of staff, into the EU’s most senior civil service post. Thereby giving the lie to the EU’s lofty ideals of democracy and transparency.

Selmayr, a devout federalist, masterminded Juncker’s campaign for the presidency, has since been described as the most powerful man in Brussels, known variously as The Monster or Frank Underwood (dodgy House of Cards politician). He will suffer no consequences from this condemnation of his smash-and-grab promotion but lessons will be learnt for next time. Isn’t that reassuring?

The EU chart does have a dirty-dealings-and power-play-in-secret with a 12^th house Pluto in a ruthless square to Mars, some of which will be exposed, with luck, in 2020 when the Solar Arc MC is conjunct the Pluto.

Selmayr, 5 December 1970 (no birth time), has his Pluto exactly conjunct the EU Ascendant and exactly square the EU Midheaven so a very powerful not to say coercive figure in the organisation, who will arouse resentment over his tendency to meddle. His Mars is conjunct the EU’s Jupiter which on the one hand could mean he energises the EU’s ideals. But there’s always a risk with Mars Jupiter of egging each other into overly confident schemes, in this case financial since it is the EU’s 2^nd house.

His Term chart, 1 March 2018 12 am, is nothing if not entrepreneurial, breathing fire and inspiration with  a Fire Grand Trine of Mars trine Uranus trine Moon Midheaven; with an ultra-confident Jupiter trine Venus Mercury, sextile Pluto. Though it’ll sag badly with tr Neptune square the composite Mars in 2020/21; be rocking on its axis with the highly unstable tr Pluto square Uranus in 2021/22; and facing worse upheavals in 2023.

For all that, his personal chart along with some ructions  has a raft of Jupiters keeping him buoyant right through till 2022/23.   He will be seriously set-back on his heels from early this November to early December and again in February 2019 with tr Uranus opposition his Mars and his Saturn/Uranus midpoints which may well see him over-reacting in a reckless and irritated way.  But there’s enough luck to keep him sailing through, piling up his golden pension pot for a fair while.

Juncker’s way of keeping his stamp firmly on the EU – the king is dead, long live the king – Juncker retires to his wine cellar and his apparatchik holds the reins.