Eclipses normally come in twos, a Solar and two weeks before or after a Lunar. This time we’re blessed or cursed with having two Solar Eclipses (New Moons) – July 13 at 21 degrees Cancer and August 11 at 19 degrees Leo; and a Lunar Eclipse (Full Moon) on July 27^th at 5 degrees Aquarius.

Both the Solar Eclipses fall in Saros series which according to Bernadette Brady (The Eagle and the Lark) focus on friendships and relationships. The first in July bringing a glum mood about separations or endings but fast action will produce results; and the second in August bringing a potential collapse of plans or lifestyles with a long-term result of transformation and rebuilding. The Eclipse effect often strikes up in advance and lingers for a few months thereafter.

The July Solar eclipse is challenging and blocked as the New Moon opposes Pluto; with a disruptive Mars opposition Node square Uranus. But there’s also a workmanlike Earth Grand Trine of Uranus to Saturn and Venus which may bring some stability and common sense.

The 27 July Lunar eclipse has the Moon conjunct Mars opposition Sun, North Node square Uranus, so is likely to be explosive with sudden shocks and surprises.

The August 11^th Solar eclipse has the Leo New Moon square Jupiter and inconjunct Pluto with the overly-excitable and uncompromising Uranus Mars Node T square still in place.

None of which looks peaceful.

The UK’s Moon and the USA Mercury opposition Pluto will catch the July Cancer Eclipse. For the UK since the Moon rules the people and – in the 10^th – the country’s rulers (Royal and other), there’s likely to be insecurity, a sense of standing on shifting sand; matters of the past will come back to be dealt with, and the country’s image will be under scrutiny.

For the USA it’ll be an intellectual challenge to review and rethink vehemently held opinions and also to clear out a murky past (Pluto). If that doesn’t occur then stagnation and decay are likely ahead.

The EU will be most affected by the 27^th July Lunar Eclipse as it will shake their Fixed Grand Cross of Neptune, Moon, Uranus (and Venus) – mainly situated in financial and future-planning houses.

To watch: Saudi Arabia with its Sun, Jupiter, Saturn in Capricorn will catch the first Solar Eclipse; as will Angela Merkel with her Sun Uranus in Cancer; and Donald Trump with his Venus Saturn in Cancer. Michel Barnier will also be adversely affected as the July Eclipse opposes his Capricorn Sun, ditto Jared Kushner, and for them the challenge is to face up to an ego-blow and let the past go.

Baby-faced singer Justin Bieber has moved on from an on-off relationship with Selena Gomez to become engaged to model Hailey Baldwin. Whether this one will last is questionable.

He has Sun, Saturn and Venus in Pisces; with a Libra Moon square a highly-strung and changeable Uranus Neptune in Capricorn and a ferociously determined Mars in contrary Aquarius square Pluto.

Hailey, 22 November 1996, is a controlled Sun Pluto in Sagittarius in a bleak trine to Saturn in self-reliant Aries; with a late Aries or early Taurus Moon. Her Venus in Libra certainly chimes with his Moon; but her Mars in Virgo opposes his Saturn, Sun and Venus which is gritty; and her Sun Pluto also square his Saturn Sun which is blocking.

Their relationship chart has a truly difficult composite Mars Pluto conjunction which will lead to ferocious power struggles; with an unstable composite Sun, Uranus, Neptune conjunction which is under strain now and for another few years ahead.

He clearly likes strong women since Selena Gomez is a Sun Cancer triune Pluto with her Pluto square Saturn. Their relationship was also Plutonic – can’t live with them, can’t live without them.

Note:His birth time is unverified.

After a Reality Show roll of drums, pause with bated breath, Brett Kavanaugh, was announced as the pick for the Supreme Court. Born 12 February 1965 in DC, he has impeccable legal credentials but is a staunch conservative and Roman Catholic, so will swing SCOTUS firmly to the right and raise fears about Roe v Wade as well as Affordable Care. He’ll face a gruelling grilling, likely to be after the recess because of the amount of documentation to be sifted through in the discovery process. And he will face tough questions over his part in Kenneth Starr’s attempt to prosecute Bill Clinton and his later comment that presidents should be exempt from such, amongst other things.

He’s not looking remotely upbeat this month with tr Neptune square his Mars/Saturn midpoint, perhaps because of the level of hostility he’s facing from Democrats. Tr Neptune then opposes his Pluto in August/early September, then opposes his Uranus/Pluto in September/October and opposes his Uranus thereafter. Plus he has his Solar Arc Mars conjunct his Neptune this year which is generally not favourable for ambitions.

His relationship with Trump is an odd mix of enthusiastic and evasive, or based on an illusion leading to disappointment; and will be under strain in 2019/2020.

He’s a Sun Aquarius on the point of a T Square to Jupiter opposition Neptune – high-flying ambitions, not always realistic. Though his Jupiter trine Pluto Uranus will give him luck.

The new Foreign Secretary, Jeremy Hunt, shares with Theresa May a non-stickability talent allowing him to skate through disasters, failures and misjudgements and survive. Jupiter rides to his undeserving rescue as it squares his Scorpio Sun Venus from Leo natally. He’s also got Saturn opposition Uranus Pluto in Virgo, with Mars also in Virgo with a Gemini Moon so fairly scattered. 1 November 1966.

He’ll be in off the deep end through August with a major panic to oversee, which may be domestic politics or overseas as tr Neptune opposes his Mars/Pluto midpoint; and that influence repeats from February 2019 to be rapidly followed in April by two other catastrophic transits – tr Neptune square his Mars/Saturn and Mars/Uranus – both running into 2020. He will have some bounce from a couple of Jupiters but will be hard put to keep his happy-face tacked on.

Matt Hancock, 2 October 1978, gets the poisoned chalice of the NHS as Health Secretary. He’s a Sun Libra like Theresa May with Mercury, Moon, Pluto also in Libra; like Hunt he has Jupiter in flash Leo; and a determined (and vengeful) Mars, Uranus, Venus in Scorpio. His relationship with the PM looks chilly this year and pressured. He’s got some ups but will face a gruelling obstacle course in 2019/2020.

Theresa May gave a robust speech today in Westminster as David Davis, her Brexit negotiator (in name anyway), and Boris Johnson, her hapless Foreign Secretary, (he might have been pushed) exit stage left. The media are shrieking headlines about shattering blows to a beleaguered PM and an imminent no-confidence vote. But there’s nothing much showing up on her Government chart, barring a setback in the final days of this month into early August and again in the first half of October as tr Saturn opposes the 10^th house Mars. That apart there are a couple of Jupiters running till September to provide buoyancy.

Her own chart looks mighty confused this Sept/Oct and panicky in November/December but most of the horror won’t occur till 2019 on either chart.

Boris Johnson, 19 June 1964 2pm New York, is wading through a minefield in thick fog this year, perhaps facing up to the consequences of his miscalculations. Much of that continues through 2019, though he’ll recover some of his mojo from April 2019 onwards with tr Pluto trine his Mars/Jupiter midpoint. His ambitions always were firmly focused on getting the keys to No 10, but his lamentable performance in the Foreign Office and Brexit gaffes have shot his popularity within the party way down the list. He’ll certainly be at daggers’ drawn with Theresa May from early 2019 onwards so he may be back into the fray then.

Dominic Raab,25 February 1974, has stepped in to take Davis’s place but since most of the negotiations are handled by the civil servant Olly Robbins, who works directly to No 10, it’s not clear how much input he’ll have. He’s a Brexiteer and generally well thought of, with a legal background, worked for one of the Palestinian negotiators of the Oslo peace accords, assessed World Bank projects on the West Bank, been involved for the Foreign Office at The Hague bringing war criminals to justice, advised on the Arab–Israeli conflict, the European Union, and Gibraltar. So his background is wide-ranging.

He’s a Sun Pisces square Neptune; with an intellectually talented Air Grand Trine of Saturn in Gemini trine Uranus trine Jupiter in Aquarius, with Saturn opposition North Node in Sagittarius; and a heavyweight Mars in Taurus square Jupiter trine Venus in Capricorn. He’ll be one to watch for the future. Though not for the next two years which look jolting, confused, panicky and not progressive. He’ll bounce up in 2021/22.

His relationship with Olly Robbins, looks business-like though slightly teeth-gritting; and is under a black cloud around the time that is also afflicted on the T May Government chart – late this month into early August, and again early October two weeks. Perhaps when Brussels says a resounding NON to everything.

So who knows? It could be brick wall time for her but she has some of Merkel’s Houdini qualities and has been written off umpteen times in the past year.

The Royal gilded cage has iron bars in highly conservative Japan where hefty restrictions on the freedom of the imperial ladies has caused serious depression for the Crown Princess, also castigated for not producing a male heir. Now Princess Mako, the daughter of Akishino, second-in-line to the throne, appears to have run foul of the mediaeval Chrysanethemum court. Her engagement to a commoner which would have given her a chance to shed her chains has been postponed till 2020, possibly indefinitely.

They make the Brit Royals look positive paragons of compassion and modernity, with lurid tales of the old Empress Kojun – a steely Pisces square Pluto; with a fearsomely chilly Air Grand Trine of Mars trine Pluto trine Mercury – ladelling into her son’s spouses about their failings, causing depression. Which baton was picked up by the present Empress Michiko – a Sun Libra trine Saturn square Pluto – mother of the Crown Prince and his brother.

Poor Princess Mako, 23 October 1991 11.41pm Tokyo, had a tough childhood with a 4^th house of Mars in Scorpio, conjunct Sun and opposition a Taurus Moon MC, with Mercury Pluto also in her 4^th. Her Sun Mars squares onto a 6^th house dutiful Saturn in Aquarius – with her Saturn opposition her Sun/Moon midpoint – all of which suggest family interference and control and a delayed marriage, with heavy costs attached.

Her father, Akishino, 30 November 1965 12.15 am Tokyo, is a highly-strung and dominating Sun Sagittarius; with Uranus Pluto on his Ascendant opposition Saturn square Mercury in Sagittarius; and Mars in Capricorn in the 4^th trine Pluto Uranus, sextile Saturn.

Mako looks anything but happy over the next two years with several debilitating and discouraging Neptune and Pluto transits to midpoints; and tr Uranus in a separating square to her Sun/Moon midpoint this year and conjunct her Moon as well, both running into 2019.  There does look to be a considerable upheaval for both at home and in terms of her direction in 2019 with tr Uranus opposition her 4^th house Mars and conjunct her midheaven. With luck she may well rebel and jump ship anyway.

The perilous Thailand cave rescue has caught the world’s attention and brought in international helpers to assist local Thai navy divers. The teenage football team became trapped on June 23^rd when the Mars opposition North Node Venus square Uranus opposition a Scorpio Moon was in place – accident prone, emotionally upsetting, catching significant attention with the Node involved.

When the Chile Mine accident occurred in 2010 with miners trapped for two months, there was Mars Saturn opposition Uranus Jupiter square Pluto North Node – so a similar afflicted Mars tied into the Node.

The Thailand 24 June 1932 chart does have the upcoming 13^th July Cancer Solar Eclipse this month conjunct its Pluto; the Lunar Eclipse two weeks later conjunct the Thai Saturn in Aquarius; and the mid-August Solar Eclipse conjunct the Thai Jupiter in Leo. All of these will be in effect now – a dangerous, underworld situation with Pluto; requiring massive effort with Saturn; and hopefully bringing good news from Jupiter, though one professional diver has already died.

Located to the scene near Chiang Rai, the 13 July Cancer Solar Eclipse has Neptune on the Descendant and Pluto in the 5^th house of children opposition the New Moon; with Mars also in the 5^th square Uranus in the 8^th.   The July 27^th Lunar Eclipse has Neptune on the MC and Saturn on the Descendant; with Jupiter in the 5^th. And the 11 August Solar Eclipse has Pluto on the Ascendant and Uranus on the IC. Outer planets on the chart angles for Eclipses usually points up significant events for the location.

One of the boys had his 16^th birthday on the day they became trapped. Pheeraphat Sompiengjai would have been born in 2002. This puts his Solar Arc Pluto opposition his Cancer Sun for a totally stuck situation; with an upsetting Solar Arc Sun conjunct his Mars in Cancer. What looks hopeful is tr Pluto retrograding back to oppose his Mars/Jupiter midpoint within days.

That would be my worst nightmare, being stuck underground and having to swim under water through a long winding narrow tunnel. Four are now out and – cross fingers and pray – all the others will be got out tomorrow.

‘When ambitious psychopaths get control democracy goes wrong’ – a thought from author Robert Harris, whose trilogy of novels about power and ambition in Ancient Rome has been dramatized for the stage. He said when he wrote it he had “absolutely no idea the parallels with Brexit and President Trump would be so obvious”. Rome had been a Republic for centuries ruled by an intellectual elite until it was torn apart by populists whipping up the mob and within 25 years had become a dictatorship with an Emperor.

The self-glorifying Pompey is given a Trump-like head of hair, Cicero is condemned as an “enemy of the people” for being moderate and the dithering Brutus, having stabbed Caesar, admits that “there is no plan”. “The people have swept away the old certainties,” Mark Antony says. “What matters now is who they’ll follow.”

Caesar, he thinks, is more like Putin “in his willingness to smash everything up, the identification of the state with himself, the sense that he’s running things with a network of cronies.” Jeremy Corbyn, he twinned with Cato, who would wander the streets of Rome barefoot, in the same clothes he’d worn for weeks and saw himself as a man of the people. “Michael Gove and his Brexiteers fall on the populist side and the Remainers are more Senatorial. That is the great division that has been thrown up in modern Britain that compares to the Roman republic.”

Harris was born 7 March 1957 in Nottingham into a working class family with a printer father, wanted to be a writer from an early age, went to Cambridge and worked for the BBC and newspapers as a journalist. He also wrote novels through his 20s and hit the big time with Fatherland, about a Britain after WW11 under a victorious Hitler, when he was 35. Thereafter he’s written more best-sellers on mainly political or historical subjects.

He’s a Sun Pisces in a hard-working square to Saturn in thoughtful Sagittarius; with Venus Mercury in Pisces trine Neptune. What drives his extraordinary output apart from his Saturn, is an ultra-determined Mars (Moon) in Taurus square Pluto and in a confidently enthusiastic trine to Jupiter in Virgo. He does have creative talent from marked 5th and 7th Harmonics.

Sadly Caesar’s chart – a Sun Cancer opposition Saturn (Uranus) in Capricorn square Neptune –  does have some similarities to Putin’s. They are both highly Cardinal charts with Sun, Saturn, Neptune aspects and Jupiter in Taurus. Putin’s chart is more like King Richard 111.

The leaders of the Japanese religious doomsday cult who released the nerve gas sarin on the Tokyo subway in 1995, killing 13 and injuring 5,500 have been executed by hanging. Aum Shinrikyo was started as a yoga and meditation group in 1984 and expanded into a popular though money-grabbing cult, with a mish-mash of Armageddonite beliefs and a habit of bumping off any who got in their way. The gassing was intended to kill three judges, presiding over a case that had been brought against AUM.

The founder Shoko Asahara, 2 March 1955, who masterminded the attack, was partially blind from birth, known as a bully and extortionist at school and went on to father 12 children. He was a Sun Pisces; with a heavily aspected Neptune squaring onto Venus in Capricorn opposition Jupiter Uranus and opposition Mars in Taurus. Steve Jobs born a week earlier had the same Grand Cross with Mars in late Aries – so there was potential for luck, talent and vision in his chart but clearly it all went sideways. Asahara also had an obsessive and tough-minded Saturn in Scorpio square Pluto, trine Jupiter Uranus and sextile Venus.

When the attack occurred the fanatical Uranus Neptune in Capricorn was in place on the focal point of a mini-Grand Trine to Sun trine Pluto and probably conjunct the midheaven; with the Moon in Scorpio square Mars.

The tr Uranus Neptune was then shaking up his Grand Cross, exacerbating his delusional tendencies. He faced 27 counts of murder in 13 separate indictments and the prosecution argued he gave orders to attack the Tokyo Subway in order to “overthrow the government and install himself in the position of Emperor of Japan”.

His multiple-killer 18^th Harmonic has a pushily-confident Pluto Jupiter aspect. His can-be-domineering 5H is particularly strong and paranoid; even more so his 7^th harmonic which can be spiritual but also unbalanced.

The 2021 Inauguration chart is nothing like any Administration in recent times. It has Pluto conjunct the midheaven from the 9^th with Sun, Jupiter Saturn in Aquarius square a 12^th house Mars Uranus and Moon (assuming time is 12 noon).

Pluto hasn’t been in the 10^th in a presidential chart since the early days. Thomas Jefferson and James Madison probably had it with 10am oath-taking on 3^rd March 1801/4 and 1809 with a Pisces midheaven. Pluto can be control-freaky but also influential and transformational, pointing to a strong leader. Jefferson pursued vigorous trading policies; and was for religious freedom and tolerance although he kept slaves and forced the removal of Native Americans from their ancestral homelands. Both he and Madison were Constitutionalists and regarded as above average.

The USA 1776 chart does have tr Pluto opposition the USA Mercury in 2021 and moving to their First Pluto Return in 2022/23. I initially thought that might produce more of the fanaticism we’ve seen recently. But a previous hard aspect was around in 1933 to 1936 when Franklin D Roosevelt proposed the New Deal in response to the Great Depression – focusing on relief, recovery and reform. The next Pluto hard aspect to the USA Mercury opposition Pluto was in 1980 to late 1982, which covered the end of Jimmy Carter, then early Reagan – his Star Wars Defence Strategy, attempted assassination and ultimately the détente with Russia which ended the Cold War.

As to the Sun, Saturn, Jupiter square Mars Uranus Moon:- Woodrow Wilson’s Term had a Moon Mars Uranus in 1913 preceding WW1. George H Bush had Uranus trine Mars (Gulf War 1). GWB had an even more stark and warlike Mars opposition Saturn square Mercury Uranus though it was more obvious being across the Asc/Desc axis. 2021 looks like hidden disruption.

Jupiter Saturn in Aquarius could well point to a better balance between idealism (liberal and humanitarian policies) and materialism; as opposed to the crassly (and incompetently) commercial approach of this administration. Though if mishandled, Aquarius does have its fanatical side, so need not all be good.