2019 will be a year of traumatic transformation for the UK with the Capricorn Solar Eclipses early and late and the Cancer Eclipse mid-year in aspect to the UK Capricorn Sun and IC as well as the 10^th house Cancer Moon and Midheaven. There’ll be zero possibility of continuing as before. The fork in the road is here, decisions need to be taken and stuck to. It will have the strongest impact on 4^th house matters – domestic security, emotional stability, farming; and 10^th house Moon matters – rulers, including the monarchy, public image, leaving the past behind, future direction and ambitions.

Eclipses at these degrees do come round every few years:– 2011 when there were London riots over a police shooting and anti-capitalist Occupy London demos. 1992 – Black Wednesday and the UK crashing out of the ERM. 1973 – recession, UK joined the EEC. What will exacerbate the sense of standing on shifting foundations this time round will be tr Pluto and tr Saturn both moving through the UK 4^th house.

The late December 2019 Capricorn Eclipse is in a Saros Series associated with sudden endings. Though it is also conjunct Jupiter which from the New Year and throughout 2020 will move through the UK 4^th which should bring more internal contentment.

Relationship splits and separations will be the hallmark throughout 2019 with tr Saturn square the UK’s Sun/Moon midpoint, the close relationship signifier, in January 2019 and returning  twice again up to October 2019.

Tr Saturn will also oppose the 10^th house Moon in late March, and on and off till December 2019, which suggests a mourning or loss, either of a ruler or of old certainties.

The Queen is still resolutely active though cutting back as she moves towards her 93^rd birthday. Her Coronation chart does suggests a major directional shift, coming suddenly, probably late in 2019 as the Solar Arc Midheaven is conjunct Uranus.

Her own chart has tr Uranus conjunct her Taurus Sun for a final time late March/early April, which may see surprise events hastening decisions. Otherwise it’ll be 2020/2021 as her gradual stepping-back picks up pace. The Capricorn/Cancer Eclipse do bounce off her 6^th house Pluto through 2019 which will put additional strain on her health-wise as well as perhaps land her with additional work as politicians continue to muddle and guddle along.

Theresa May’s Government chart is befuddled (!?) from May 2019 onwards into 2020 with Neptune square the Sun and Moon. But her own personal chart is facing failure before then, in disaster territory from mid January 2019, trapped and cornered in February and facing career failure and loss from late March onwards.

On the UK chart the Solar Arc Moon will oppose the 11^th house legislature Saturn, exactly in three month’s time but in effect before then, pointing to voter antipathy towards the governing classes. Tr Neptune square the 3^rd house Mercury from late March through April and returning on and off till February 2020 will bring evasiveness in discussions, miscommunications and travel confusion; and late in 2019 there will be aggravated debates as well as blockages  when Solar Arc Mars is conjunct the UK Mercury with tr Neptune  sowing the seeds of a few more muddles as it is conjunct both.

From midpoints there’ll be panics and uncertainty from a few transits bringing feelings of loneliness, being neglected or misunderstood; but there’s also surprisingly a reasonable amount of Jupiterian uplift mid January to mid February and again mid July till late December.  And a definite sense of relief late March to mid April.

There’s a Progressed Moon Return within three months from now which suggests a reassessment and new beginning.

Depending on house system, tr Uranus is aiming to move into the UK 8^th (on Koch) at the same time as the Solar Arc Uranus moves in, towards mid 2019 which kicks off a roller coaster few years as far as international and business finances are concerned, not all bad, just erratic and unpredictable.

One thing is for sure. The national morale is in a better state than the PM’s.

      

Another teddy-out-of-the-pram tantrum followed James Mattis’ stinging rebuke of Trump’s policies in his resignation letter. He’s now been ousted two months early in a petty-minded piece of spite by the supreme leader.

In as Acting Defense Chief at the Pentagon is Patrick Shanahan, a former Boeing executive and Deputy to Mattis since 2017 with no military experience, no previous government experience and little experience with foreign policy.

Third time lucky on birth data. If accurate, he was born 27 June 1962, Aberdeen, Washington, so he’s a Sun Cancer in a protective Water Grand Trine to Jupiter trine Neptune, formed into a talented and driven Kite by Jupiter opposition Pluto, which will make him push social niceties to one side to get what he wants. This makes power-hungry Pluto the driving planet. His Pluto Jupiter opposition squares onto Mercury in Gemini making him quick-witted but also scattered and at times disorganized. His Saturn in scientific Aquarius opposes Venus and squares Neptune in Scorpio – fixed, stubborn but not always decisive. His Mars in steamroller Taurus is in a volatile, short-tempered square to Uranus.

It’s an odd mix with Trump since Shanahan’s Uranus is conjunct Trump’s Mars and Ascendant which is an explosive and edgy interface; with Shanahan’s Mars conjunct Trump’s midheaven which can turn competitive.   Although at this stage it isn’t clear if he will be confirmed or is merely a pro-tem filler to allow Trump to vent his spleen and kick Mattis out of the door faster.

 

  

 

Paddy Ashdown, who in his political incarnation took the Lib Dems from obscurity to become the strongest third party in parliament since the 1920s, has died. His event-packed life before Westminster included a stint in the Royal Marines, the Special Boat Section (later Service) and then MI6 as a spy.

He was born 27 February 1941 4.30 pm New Delhi, India, into a family of soldiers and colonial administrators, grew up mainly in Northern Ireland and spoke several languages including Mandarin. During his time in MI6 he lived in Switzerland under diplomatic cover as a UK representative to the UN. After he left parliament, he became UN high representative for Bosnia and Herzegovina in May 2002, calming tensions after a brutal civil war. He was later proposed as Nato’s envoy to Afghanistan, but his appointment was vetoed by President Karzai and influential warlords.

He did have a powerful and talented chart with his Pisces Sun Mercury on the focal point of a mini-Grand Trine to Mars in Capricorn in his pro-active 5^th trine Jupiter Saturn in Taurus on his midheaven.  Jupiter on the MC brings increasing respect with age; Saturn on the MC would give him executive and organisational ability. Jupiter Saturn mixes ideals with practicality. Mars Jupiter gave him boundless enthusiasm; Saturn Mars good for a military career.

His Saturn Jupiter squared onto a 12^th house Pluto giving him grit and behind-the-scenes influence and power. His Uranus in the 10^th suited him for an unusual career without too much direct supervision. Uranus square a charming 7^th house Venus would make him a flirt, though with a hidden sensitive 8^th house Pisces he would protect his vulnerabilities.

His astrocartography intriguingly put his Sun on the midheaven when relocated to Bosnia, suggesting that was where he’d find his truest direction in life.

 

        

 

The turn of this decade will be marked by three outer planet conjunctions pointing to a tectonic shift of greater than usual significance. Economic and financial turbulence will be part of it.

The bleak Saturn Pluto conjunction, requiring grit and perseverance through tough conditions, draws closer through 2019 and comes exact at 22 degrees Capricorn in January 2020. Capricorn rules big business, high finances and government. It never returns to the exact aspect again but the austere mood will hang around till late 2020.

2020 also sees the much more upbeat though still materialistic Jupiter Pluto conjunction in Capricorn in April, June, November 2020. A few will make more money, others will continue to suffer.

By December 2020 there is a Jupiter Saturn conjunction in Capricorn, moving in tandem into Aquarius, also in December.

Saturn Pluto conjunctions come round roughly three times a century – most recently in 1982, 1947 and 1914. Jupiter Saturn conjunctions occur every 20 years.  All three together are rarer.

Triple Conjunctions: The only recent example of all three planets in the same area of the zodiac was around 1819/1820, although Saturn Pluto then in Pisces preceded the Jupiter conjunction to both.

What’s interesting is that 1819 saw the first major peacetime financial crisis in the United States followed by a general collapse of the American economy persisting through 1821. The downturn was followed by a resurgence as the USA economy moved in a new direction thereafter. First Saturn cuts back, then Jupiter expands.

In the UK, 1819 saw the Peterloo Massacre when the cavalry charged a crowd demanding the reform of parliamentary representation, against a backdrop of famine and high unemployment. The immediate effect was a clamp down on protests and although it did nothing to speed reform it is regarded as a turning point and in later decades progress was made.

Saturn Pluto in Capricorn:  The last time Saturn and Pluto were together in Capricorn was in January 1518 as Martin Luther’s Protestant Revolution got under way. He spearheaded the split with the Roman Catholic Church and his use of the Gutenberg printing press to reach a broader audience moved mass communication one step forward.

Jupiter Saturn conjunctions (December 2020) are, in theory, about finding a balance between idealism and materialism. It is also associated with iconic figures born under their influence, or US Presidents elected in those years, being cut down. Princess Diana and John Lennon are two examples, along with JF Kennedy. The raison d’etre being that Jupiter gets ahead of itself and flies too high, like Icarus towards the Sun, aiming to become god-like. Saturn then steps in, scythe in hand, with the reminder that all men are mortal. Balance and humility help.

There’s little doubt that a major financial downturn will be part of what’s coming. In addition to the always- restrictive Saturn Pluto in 2019/2020; there’s a financial-bubble-bursting Jupiter square Neptune in January 2019, repeating across the summer and into the autumn of 2019; and by 2021 Uranus in Taurus will square Saturn in Aquarius, usually an indicator of financial instability. So a longish three year period of economic bad news globally.

As a consequence there will be civil unrest (like Peterloo in the UK) and activists will step up to highlight corruption in an effective way (like Luther) but in the financial and political spheres, rather than religious. Though progress is always slow under the repressive Saturn Pluto.

Jupiter coming late to the party is a help since the difficulties come first and the solutions later; rather than high hopes followed by disappointment. It’ll also help that earthy, ambitious, money-minded Capricorn gives way to airy Aquarius – first with Saturn Jupiter in late 2020 and then Pluto as it moves into Aquarius in 2023/24. So the mood will gradually lighten with less focus on acquisitiveness, and more on ideas, ideals and scientific progress. Not that Aquarius is all wonderful – it can be overly stubborn, produce ideologues and fascists, as well as humanitarians.

The leading countries most affected will be: The USA with its Mercury opposition Pluto picking up the full brunt of the triple conjunction, exacerbating the bitterly divisive internal debates. Saudi Arabia with its own triple conjunction in Capricorn suffering a grind-down-and-rebuild few years. China with its 12^th house Jupiter in Capricorn at risk of a full-scale contraction, then expansion economically. Australia with its Capricorn Midheaven catching the triple conjunction leading to a forced change of direction. Germany, with its 10^th house Uranus square Neptune being triggered by the triple conjunction could see an outbreak of USA-style extremist arguments and a sharp change of direction during a turbulent three years. And the UK with its 10th house Cancer Moon being opposed, suggesting changes in rulership and an unsettled populace.

One financial name leapt out as sitting in the eye of the financial storm – Amazon and Jeff Bezos. Amazon’s first sale, 16 July 1995 has a last decan Cancer Sun opposition Uranus Neptune in Capricorn so will be severely shaken; as will Bezos, 12 January 1964, with his last decan Capricorn Sun. Neither will escape unscathed. Nor will Jared Kushner with his 20 degree Capricorn Sun.

There’s a risk of getting apocalyptic about what’s coming up. Saturn Pluto isn’t enjoyable but it usually produces the grit and resourcefulness to cope with tough conditions; and we go round this circuit three times a century so it isn’t terminal. Jupiter Saturns come and go, five a century.  The last triple conjunction – of Saturn Uranus Neptune – pulled down the Berlin Wall.

Who knows? There could be an effective Martin Luther-type leader rising up to hammer a few nails into the coffin of the cash-and-power mismanagers.

    

 

‘And then there were none.’ Alarm has been sounded abroad and in DC, including within the GOP, about the abrupt resignation of James Mattis, one of the original four ‘grown-ups’ in Trump’s cabinet and the last one left standing. His brutally clear resignation letter implicitly accused Trump of betraying allies and failing to recognise the threat posed by enemies like Russia.
The concern is that a Trump-clone replacement for Mattis will lead to even wilder foreign policy whims being acted out. The media are talking of it being a ‘watershed’ moment.

The Trump Administration chart, 20 January 2017 12 noon, Washington, DC, does have a de-stabilising tr Pluto square Uranus exact at the moment till mid January and repeating on and off till late 2019.  It has been around earlier this year so isn’t the first major wobble.

On the Term chart Uranus is tied in to Jupiter by opposition and square a 9^th house Pluto – which is a control-freak and chancer’s charter, homing in on foreign affairs and legal arguments. When tr Pluto moves to square the Jupiter from mid February onwards, on and off till late 2020, there are likely to be more outrageous breaches of political etiquette with niceties being tramped across and possible conflicts with regulatory authorities.

2019 will rock n’ roll on with tr Uranus square the Admin Sun in March, followed by an undermining, unpopular, disappointing tr Neptune conjunct Venus in April.

Trump’s relationship with both Republican charts isn’t looking great. There are huge upsets on the GOP 22 February 1856 one from now till mid-February 2019 with tr Uranus conjunct the composite Sun and more thereafter which suggests splits are becoming more obvious.

Where the most obvious fall-off-perch moment comes on Trump’s Term chart is late 2019/early 2020 when the Solar Arc Pluto moves to close the square to Uranus to exact; and indeed the square to Jupiter. Before then he’s likely to cross several lines that even die-hard fans will quail at. Though quite what given how much they’ve swallowed to date –  most recently ‘shocking illegality’ in the Trump charitable Foundation plus plus plus.

I can’t decide whether poor America is more in need of sympathy than totally chaotic UK.

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Trump’s quixotic tweet informing the globe of his mercurial decision to pull US troops out of Syria, despite recent assurances of his own advisers to the contrary, has added another layer of complexity to the Syria mess.  From Trump’s standpoint it was undoubtedly self-serving, another bravura distraction away from the myriad swirling scandals in DC and NY. And it was posed in bizarrely personalised language, insisting that ISIS had been defeated, (a view no one else shares) – “My only reason for being there during the Trump Presidency.”

For Syria, it leaves Bashar Al Assad in charge of roughly two thirds of the country effectively under Russian management, with Israel and the US in agreement; the rest of Syria is held by Kurds, Syrian rebels, Turkish-backed forces, Jihadists and a small proportion of ISIS. Netanyahu gets a deal on keeping trouble away from Israel’s borders; Iran was bought off with Russia investment in oil and gas. And Trump can wash his hands of the Middle East, proclaiming it is someone else’s problem and expense.

What is odd is that Bashar Assad, despite the heavyweight protection propping him up at the moment, looks almost less secure ahead than before. His Presidency chart, 17 July 2000, has a frustrating, trapped tr Pluto opposition Mars through 2018/2019 and then much the same from tr Pluto opposition Sun/Mars in 2019/2020 and then Sun – right through till late 2021 – which is a poleaxing set of pressures. With what could be a total collapse in 2021/22 with Solar Arc Uranus square Pluto.

His own personal chart, 11 September 1965, is drifting steadily downhill with tr Neptune conjunct Saturn now, opposition Uranus Pluto and Sun till late 2020; with a shocking collision Solar Arc Sun conjunct Mars around 2021.

  

 

Penny Marshall, a TV star of the 1970s who graduated into an A-list movie director working with many big name stars in a series of stand-out movies, has died.  Half of TV sitcom duo Laverne & Shirley, which was one of the most-watched shows in the US from 1976 to 1983, she was deemed a comedy genius. As a director, she gave Tom Hanks his breakout lead, worked with Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, Whoopi Goldberg, Madonna, Denzel Washington. Rosie O’Donnell, Whitney Houston.

Born 15 October 1943 9.32 am New York, she had a Libra Sun on the cusp of the 12^th trine a difficult Mars Saturn in Gemini in her 8^th, sextile Jupiter in Leo. Comedians always have a dark twist in their charts and she certainly had hers – though all channelled through a flamboyant Jupiter. Her Taurus Moon was in an intense square to Pluto and an easy trine to a charming 10^th house Venus.

Her Pluto in the communicative 9^th was further emphasised being on the focal point of a mini-Grand Trine to Uranus trine Neptune Mercury.

Her relationship life was chequered with two relatively brief marriages. A freedom-loving Uranus in her 7^th house of relationships square her Venus would make compromise tricky for her.

Her creative 5^th Harmonic was strong; as was her actor’s 15H. Even more notable were her breakthrough-genius 13H and he ‘obsessive dream’ 11H.

    

 

Dick Cheney, Vice President under George W Bush, seems an odd choice for a black comedy satire and the movie Vice has been getting mixed reviews apart from Christian Bale’s stand out performance in the lead role. But digging deeper it’s obvious why he attracted filmmaker Adam MacKay, previously director of The Big Short. Cheney was the most influential Vice President ever for the eight years from 2001 to 2008. He wasn’t just the power behind the throne, he was the effective president. When he left office after Iraq, waterboarding, Halliburton et al he had an approval rating as low as 13 percent, lower than Richard Nixon when he resigned. Stephen Bannon famously put Dick Cheney in his own hall of heroes, behind only Darth Vader and Satan as a great disruptor.

The NY Times calls it a ‘real live monster-movie’ and says it is ‘the story of an individual who was able, through a unique combination of discipline, guile and luck, to bend reality to his will. The man’s feats are both impressive and appalling.’ And behind him stood his steel-backbone wife Lynne. ‘McKay’s portrait of their marriage subscribes to a Macbeth-like conception of political morality. Behind every bad man, there is a woman who is even worse.’

Christian Bale, 30 January 1974, Wales, oddly has his Sun at exactly the same degree of Aquarius as Cheney, so he’ll understand some of his approach. Bale also has an expansive Jupiter Mercury in Aquarius and all three planets are square a heavyweight Mars in Taurus which gives him heft and endurance.  He’s also got an Air Grand Trine of Jupiter Mercury trine Saturn trine Uranus, maybe formed into a Kite by Uranus opposition Moon, which would make sense for an actor who tunes into public taste. That airy, communicative quality marks him out from Cheney who has a much earthier chart.

Cheney, born 30 January 1941 7.30 pm Lincoln, Nebraska, learnt his political ropes with Nixon, Ford, George HW Bush and finally Bush junior. He has an Earth Grand Trine of Uranus trine Neptune trine Venus in Capricorn, suiting him for a commercially-oriented career where money and possessions are paramount. He also has a ferociously fixed and power-hungry T square of Sun opposition Pluto square Jupiter Saturn in Taurus – iron-willed, over-confident, unyielding, not worried about social niceties when it came to getting what he wanted.

He also has a heated Mars in his 4^th square a Pisces Moon which in turn opposed Neptune – there was a more sensitive side of him though it never got much of an airing except at home where it would be argumentative as well. Perhaps why he had continual run ins with a serious heart condition.

Cheney’s midheaven and his Uranus are conjunct the destructive Fixed star Algol (as indeed Trump’s midheaven is) and his wife’s spine-straightening Saturn in Taurus which is exactly conjunct his midheaven is as well.

She was born 14 August 1941, and is a fiery, confident Sun Leo trine Mars in Aries sextile Jupiter in Gemini; with her Sun square Saturn Moon in Taurus, so good at digging in her heels for the long haul. She’s also fairly earthy with those two Taurus planets and Venus Neptune in Virgo.

Her relationship chart with her husband is astonishingly fixed with an affectionate composite Sun Venus damped down in an opposition to a dutiful Saturn but kept afloat in opposition to Jupiter Uranus all square a determined Mars – not exactly sweetness and light but there for the long haul.

All goes to show there was horror in the White House before the present incarnation.

Pic: Greig Fraser / Annapurna Pictures.

    

 

Poor Meghan is now finding out the price of marrying a prince – running the gauntlet of the media. They are up to their usual game of puffing up and then looking for cracks to pull her down. She’s difficult, can’t keep staff, too uppity in her demands etc etc etc. My recollection is that Kate took a fair pounding in the early years and she didn’t have a mouthy family causing embarrassment to contend with.

Meghan does look a touch deflated at the moment with tr Saturn moving in hard aspect to her Jupiter Saturn opposition MC square Mars T Square, now till early January. The few days over New Year look fractious and aggravated. Tr Neptune is also opposing her Venus till late this month which can be disappointing emotionally and romantically, a dream dented.

Tr Pluto will square her 4^th house Pluto again from mid January, continuing pressures for change domestically and in terms of her family relationships, adult and childhood. Which can be fairly push n’ pull. Late March into April will be nerve-stretched and relieved at the same time.

Her relationship with her father Thomas Markle who appears incapable of keeping his mouth shut isn’t getting easier. From her chart with Pluto in the 4^th he would always be experienced by her as controlling and possessive. Plus his Pluto is conjunct her Sun which says much the same.   And his Sun sits exactly on her Ascendant so he will feel his identity is very tied up with her image.

Their relationship chart has an argumentative composite Sun, Mars, Mercury conjunction which is being rattled over this coming year and on. There’s a cool composite Venus Saturn and a one-upmanship Jupiter Pluto, which latter has tr Neptune in opposition pulling down its grip well into 2020.

Jupiter through her 5^th till almost the end of 2019 will keep her morale high though she may well over-stretch herself physically taking on too many commitments with tr Saturn moving into her 6^th.