Charles Dickens, renowned for his compassion for the poor, the suffering and the downtrodden, whose plight he exposed in his novels, appears to have been a good deal less saintly in his private life than his image suggested. Letters have emerged which tell the tale of how he tried to have his wife, mother of his ten children, committed to a mental asylum when she had lost her looks and he had started a long affair with an actress. The doctor in charge, a friend, refused to certify her and was called a ‘medical donkey’ by Dickens.

Born 7 February 1812 at 7.50pm Portsmouth, England, Dickens was sent to a blacking factory at 12 years old when he father was sent to debtors prison. Even after the father’s release he was left there.  He became a legal clerk, then a writer who soared to great success in England and the USA.

He was a cerebral Sun in Aquarius on the cusp of the hard-working 6^th house trine a successful Jupiter in Gemini in the 10^th. Communicative Mercury, ruler of his 10^th house of career, was in his entertaining 5^th house. He had a bleak Saturn in Capricorn in his 4^th house of childhood in a cruel-treatment square to feisty Mars in Aries in his 7^th. He did have a hard childhood which in turn seems to have made him uncaring about his own children.

His Sun was square an independent, rebellious Uranus in the 3^rd. His emotionally confused Moon Neptune was in square a passionate Venus Pluto in Pisces on the cusp of his 7^th.

With intense controlling Pluto and argumentative Mars in his 7^th house of relationships he was guaranteed to run into hostility in marriage.  And his relationship chart with his wife Catherine was truly terrible with a composite Mars Pluto trine Uranus, sextile Saturn in their relationship chart – so volcanic quantities of anger, bitterness and resentment.

Catherine, 19 May 1815, was a stalwart Sun Taurus sextile/trine a pushily-confident Pluto opposition Jupiter with a volatile Mars square Uranus. Her Saturn was conjunct his Sun which is cold and critical. Certainly not someone to be tramped underfoot. She’d give as good as she got.

His mistress Ellen Ternan, 3 March 1839, didn’t look easy either since she was a Sun Uranus in Pisces square Saturn in Sagittarius so would be erratic and highly strung.  But her Venus in Aries fell in his 7^th conjunct his Mars which would help to smooth rough edges. Her Sun Uranus was conjunct his Venus Pluto which would be instant attraction but a fair amount of upheaval thereafter. Her Neptune was conjunct his Sun which isn’t ideal though can give a spiritual or self-sacrificial bond. Her Saturn was conjunct his Moon which can block out nurturing feelings – so he couldn’t quite escape his 4^th house Saturn and his deprived childhood.

The Mueller Investigation looks to be coming to an end though according to those in the know is unlikely to bring closure but it may provide pointers – “a road map” – to further investigations by Congress and additional criminal proceedings by other prosecutors. Thus the end of the beginning, not the beginning of the end.

Mueller, 7 August 1944, a controlled Sun Pluto in Leo, does have a sigh-of-relief tr Uranus trine his Jupiter from mid April for a few weeks and again across the New Year. So he’ll be pleased to lay down some of his burden. And at the moment till late March he has similar from tr Pluto opposition his Jupiter/Uranus midpoint, and that repeats till late 2020. However he’s also got the undermining tr Neptune opposition his Mars in Virgo in March and that repeats late in the year. So half boosted and half deflated.

His relationship chart with Trump looks edgy, jangled and discouraging at the moment; insecure from July and in a state of upheaval come 2020. So the repercussions will presumably roll on.

His relationship chart with William Barr, the new Attorney General, who has the job of deciding how much to make public, looks highly pressured and blocked from April onwards; and unsettled July to September; worse in 2020/21.

The Mueller Investigation chart, 17 May 2017 looks to be sagging more than somewhat through April onwards, but that could just be it closing up shop.

William Barr, 23 May 1950, over whom Trump is pouring treacle and honey to keep him sweet (he hopes) is an expansive  Gemini square Jupiter with a hard-working and serious Mars and Saturn in Virgo both trine a practical Mercury in Taurus. He’s trudging through thick mud now till late March; highly-strung and on edge in April and devastated May to mid August with a catastrophic tr Neptune opposition his Mars/Saturn midpoint – and that’s around into 2020 as well. He’s picked up the poisoned chalice and will have to run with it.

For Trump time line see post February 15.

If You Don’t Know Me is a docu-bio-pic about American soul singer, the late Teddy Pendergrass, who had a tumultuous life. He came to fame as lead singer with Harold Melvin & the Blue Notes, went solo and survived through the gangster-ridden Philadelphia music scene, which saw his manager murdered. He was a larger-than-life, virile personality with a glorious voice and then when he was 32 his life shuddered to a halt after a car crash irreparably damaged his spine and left him quadriplegic. A formidably strong mother and his three children dragged him back from suicide and he continued his solo career from a wheelchair with great success.

Born 26 March 1950 in South Carolina, he was an upfront, pro-active Sun Mercury North Node in Aries in an impulsive opposition to Mars in Libra in a volatile square to Uranus (Moon) in Cancer. Sun Mars Uranus would certainly make him reckless. His Venus in friendly Aquarius was in an indulgent conjunction to Jupiter and a confident opposition to Pluto.

There was surprisingly little happening on his chart at the time of the accident – 18 March 1982 (dates being sound) – when I’d have expected to see major Mars collisions. So presumably it would be the tr Saturn Pluto Mars in Libra hitting his midheaven or Ascendant. The only thing I could find was his Secondary Progressed Mars was exactly conjunct his accident-prone Mars/Saturn midpoint – but that’s fairly obscure and not something I’d have looked for in advance.

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The first three defectors from the Tory Party – Anna Soubry, Heidi Allen, Sarah Wollaston – timed their exit for maximum impact on Theresa May just before PMQ and (yet another) Brussels visit.

Soubry was trenchant in her criticism of Theresa May and her handling of Brexit. “I think she is in a bad place. I don’t mean this in a cruel way, but I think she is absolutely delusional about the situation that she and this country are in. I don’t think she is a bad person. I just don’t think she is awfully good at the job, to be honest. I thought she would be a really good safe pair of hands on the tiller. I think we now know that she had these two pretty ghastly special advisers who basically were the hands on the tiller. Without them she is absolutely all at sea.” Reassuring.

Soubry, 7 December 1956, is a Sun Sagittarius with an adventurous, opportunistic Mars in Aries opposition Jupiter square Mercury in Sagittarius – outspoken, overly-excitable. All the more so since her Mars is on the focal point of a Yod inconjunct Neptune sextile Pluto, so has lessons to learn about her overly-impulsive approach. She looks generally slumped this year with tr Neptune square her Sun and square her Mars/Pluto till late in the year. A few blips upwards cancelled out by major setbacks; with a generally disheartening outlook towards 2022/23.

Heidi Allen, 18 January 1975, is a late Sun Capricorn in a rebellious square to Uranus in Scorpio; and a tough-minded Saturn square Pluto. Again she’s sagging through this year with an underwhelming, dashed-hopes tr Neptune conjunct her Jupiter plus plus other disappointments.  Nothing much cheerful until 2022 onwards.

Sarah Wollaston, 17 February 1962, is an enthusiastic Sun Jupiter in Aquarius with her Sun conjunct Venus in Pisces and opposition Uranus – charming and rebellious; with a hard-edged Mars Mercury Saturn in Aquarius square Neptune. She looks blocked in at the moment, seriously jangled in June onwards with tr Uranus square her Saturn; with catastrophes in 2020. So not exactly on top of the world either.

Divorce in haste, repent at leisure.

Actor and comedian Alec Baldwin has spoken of his fear that Donald Trump is stirring up some supporters to exact “retribution” against him for his satirical performance of the president on Saturday Night Live, saying the president “signals people” to become angry and bitter “and then the actions flow from there”.

Baldwin born 3 April 1958 in New York is an upfront Aries with a stubbornly contrary Mars in Aquarius in an explosive opposition to Uranus which squares onto Mercury in Taurus opposition Neptune – not one to mince his words or hold back with trenchant opinions. His Venus in Aquarius is in a passionate opposition to Pluto which is sextile/trine Saturn a self-righteous Sagittarius.

He’s certainly a match for Trump with his Mars opposition Uranus crashing into Trump’s 12^th house Pluto, hitting him where it hurts since a 12th house Pluto is especially vulnerable to shame. And Baldwin’s potentially destructive Pluto sits on Trump’s Ascendant and is conjunct Trump’s Mars leading to serious dislike on both sides and he certainly has the ability to humiliate the president. His Saturn is also conjunct Trump’s Moon and opposition his Sun so he will delight in criticising him.

Their relationship chart has a ferociously hostile composite Sun opposition Mars square a power-struggling Pluto which is as bad as it gets.  There’ll be more jousting in 2019/2020 with tr Pluto square the composite Jupiter.

Baldwin look muddled and disappointed through from April onwards and is hitting a major setback in late 2020. But that could be anything in his life which tends to be beset by rolling crisis.

Pic: Gage Skidmore

Choupette, the pampered Burmese pet of Karl Lagerfeld, could become even richer after his death if, as rumoured, he bequeaths her some of his millions. Already a celebrity millionairess in her own right after she was launched on twitter and Instagram, she reputedly has a bodyguard, two maids and a personal chef.

Born 19 August 2011, no surprises she’s a flashy and attention-seeking Sun, Venus and Mercury in Leo opposition a filmic and ethereal Neptune. Her indulgent Jupiter in Taurus is in a confident trine to Pluto and a lively sextile to Mars. Though I’d expect to see a few claws out when she’s thwarted with her Mars in a ruthless opposition to Pluto in a volatile and rebellious square to Uranus.

If she were a human she’d be a diva and a half. As she’s a cat, all the obscenely expensive flummery and pampering is just plain depressing. She should be down in a cellar snuffling out mice.

As the virtuous seven file out of Labour’s front door, a former Trotskyite hardliner from the Militant Tendency is welcomed back in. Whether by accident or design, the timing is turning stomachs amongst many Labour members.

Derek Hatton dominated Liverpool’s council  in the 1980s and resisted Tory cuts by massively over spending on loans which it took 15 years for the city to repay.  As a PR stunt he hired taxis to deliver redundancy notices to more than 30,000 workers in the city.

It’s worth reading chapter and verse on what he got up to (URl below). Hannah Jane Parkinson writes: “When the gardeners were called out on strike, they rebelled, fearing the impact on the flora. In an act of political revenge, and a mark of his character, Hatton sacked the gardeners and bulldozed the gardens. A famous banner held aloft in protests against the council at the time read: “Hitler only destroyed half of our city. Hatton tried for the lot.”

Neil Kinnock had the Militant tendency booted out of the Labour Party and Hatton was charged with corruption though he was acquitted. Then he flitted off to Cyprus to become a capitalist property developer, boasting about its low tax rates and his £60,000 car.

Born 17 January 1948 Liverpool, he’s an ambitious, money-minded Sun Capricorn; with an adventurous/opportunistic Jupiter opposition Uranus; a tough, unyielding Saturn Pluto in Leo. His Venus is in a none-too-sensitive opposition to Mars in Virgo.  It’s a chart that needs a birth time to anchor it since nothing much fits together.

He once played King Rat in panto – and will ever remain so.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/feb/19/the-return-of-king-rat-derek-hatton-marks-a-new-low-for-labour

Bernie Sanders has announced he’s taking another crack at the Presidency though there’s nothing remotely hopeful about his chart. His Virgo Sun in an expansive (overly-confident) square to Jupiter in Gemini is catching tr Neptune hard aspects through this year and next.  Plus he has a deeply frustrating tr Pluto square his Mars in Aries picking up this April and running on and off till late 2020; made a million times worse by Solar Arc Pluto opposition his Mars which will be on the exact degree from mid 2020 for several months.  He’ll feel caged and enraged.

See post September 18 2017.

Karl Lagerfeld, the astonishingly successful fashion designer who transformed a moribund Chanel into the world’s leading brand, freelanced across various labels and constantly reinvented himself, has died of pancreatic cancer. He was famously acid-tongued and given to hate-festes with people who displeased him. His long-time partner died of AIDs aged 38 though he said he never had sex with him, only with high class prostitutes. He created a mythology around himself with his pony tail, dark glasses and eye-catching black and white outfits – and Choupette his cat.

Born 10 September 1933 in Hamburg Germany, he had his Sun, Mercury and Neptune in Virgo, so was hard-working and creative, as well as nit-picky in his criticism. That was especially so given his Mars in vengeful Scorpio sat in sextile to his Virgo planets and in a hard-edged square to cool Saturn in Aquarius. He also had a controlling and innovative Cardinal T Square of Venus in elegant Libra opposition Uranus square Pluto in Cancer – overflowing with initiative, restless, constantly think about new ideas.

His creative 5^th and 7^th Harmonic were notable; as was his leaving-a-legacy 17H and superstar 22H.