The soft coup d’etat of Brussels monetary orthodoxy over democractically elected Italian politicians could turn out to be the EU’s largest banana skin yet. It has shaken the markets and played into the hands of the populist Mario Salvini and Luigi Di Maio, who had formed a coalition with the largest bloc between them from the last election. By veto-ing their choice of finance minister who has solid credentials, but like most economists harbours doubts about the long-term viability of the euro, the President Sergio Mattarella could have overreached disastrously.

Another Italian election is likely but there are wider worries given the high levels of debt in France, Italy, Belgium and Spain. If this wobbles towards another 2011 crisis, which was resolved by bullying Greece into submission, there are fewer options available. Italy is a larger economy by far; Merkel has lost much of her power; and Macron could be weighed down by internal French debt problems. And the European Central Bank will have reached the limits of its ability to keep plugging the sea-wall.

First Italy. Matteo Salvini, 9 March 1973 10pm (unverified) Milan, has an entertaining 5^th house Sun Venus Mercury in Pisces on the focal point of a Mutable T Square to Saturn opposition Neptune – a sizeable ego, scattered, disorganised, unrealistic; with an excitable and argumentative Mars in Capricorn in the 3^rd square Uranus. Plus a confident Jupiter trine Pluto. He’ll be kicking furiously against restrictions in June but getting a boost in July to mid September from tr Uranus square his Jupiter, which returns in 2019. Overall this a high-wire, nervy year for him. Where he comes into his own will be in 2019/2020 with a successful tr Pluto conjunct his Jupiter/Node from April for two years thereafter; and he’s also got a superlatively confident Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct his Sun, exact in 18 months’ time. His life will be moving through major changes also in 2019/2020 with tr Pluto square his Uranus. With more triumphs in 2022/23.

Luigi Di Maio, 6 July 1986 6.40pm Avellino is a New Moon in Cancer trine opposition Mars in Capricorn and trine Jupiter in Pisces – confident, lucky, volatile, tuned into the nationalist zeitgeist; with an inspirational, attention-demanding Fire Grand Trine. He’s got tr Saturn moving through his first quadrant, so will sag for a few years especially from 2019 onwards, but he’s young enough to pick up again into the early to mid 2020s onwards.

President Sergio Matarella, 23 July 1941 11.40am Palermo, is a controlling 10^th house Sun Pluto in Leo; with a heavyweight Saturn Uranus in Taurus square Venus and trine Neptune. He’s being seriously shaken by tr Uranus square his Sun now and into 2019; and in a disruptive square to his Sun/Pluto in June, also into 2019. Into next year tr Uranus squares his Pluto and is conjunct his Mars/Saturn midpoint – all of which looks storm-strewn. The President is largely a ceremonial position and there are calls for his impeachment but he could also choose to resign.

The really intriguing question is what is happening between Germany and the EU. The relationship chart has a blocked tr Saturn opposition the composite Pluto, picking up last month and again in the autumn, moving onto a separating conjunction to the composite Sun late this December and Mercury in 2019. Tr Uranus is square the composite financial Venus now and again in the autumn, and early 2019; square the composite Uranus in July to mid September this year and again in 2019; and then moves towards a convulsive angry opposition to Mars from May 2019 for a year.  It’s unthinkable that Germany would bale but the very foundations of the bond are being shaken. Almost certainly due to Germany putting a freeze on liquidity, for which there have been growing demands recently, especially with the German economy slowing. And that would spell real trouble for the monetary union, perhaps of a terminal variety for the euro as it operates at the moment.

Rumblings about an IndyRef2 for Scottish independence have been growing stronger in the midst of the Brexit blunders though support remains at 45% in the polls and the last election cut SNP MPs from 56 to 35. An economic report commissioned by Nicola Sturgeon avoids the ‘moonshine’ of the last IndyRef promises of borrowing less, spending more and keeping tax the same. ‘The report assumes oil revenues will be negligible, that much of Scotland’s financial services sector will decamp to London and that the first decade of the new state’s life will be dedicated to establishing financial credibility. There will not be very much cake.’ (Allan Massie, The Times).

A second referendum would need Theresa May’s agreement unless the Catalan route is chosen which seems unlikely.

Nicola Sturgeon does look impulsive this year, perhaps provoked by insecurity with tr Uranus square her Mars exactly now and repeating on and off into early 2019; as well as tr Uranus squaring her Sun/Mars and trine her Mars/Pluto at the same time. So she could well jump into a hasty push. But she looks held back with tr Saturn square her Solar Arc Uranus MC till late year; along with a disappointing tr Neptune opposition her Mars/Jupiter this November and December. Tr Pluto is also trine her Saturn in Taurus in 2018/19 for a discouraging slog.

Where she looks in better spirits and more confident of success, though under considerable pressure, will be come 2021/2022 as tr Pluto trines her Pluto, opposes her Sun and squares her Jupiter, which will put the wind behind her sails.

Her Government chart, 12 May 2016 9.35am Edinburgh, is similarly undercut by tr Neptune this year till February 2019 with tr Neptune opposition Jupiter and square Saturn; but will be getting it together more effectively from March 2019 onwards with tr Pluto trine the Sun.

The arrest of far-right figurehead Tommy Robinson for contempt of court brought hundreds of demonstrators to Downing Street on Saturday brandishing banners, one saying ‘White Lives Matter’. He’s had a chequered past, first with the BNP, then the English Defence League, been in prison several times for mortgage fraud, as well as various assaults and drunken brawls. His latest custodial incident result from videoing defendants in a child abuse case. Much of his vitriol is aimed at Muslims.

Born 27 November 19 1982 to Irish immigrant parents, he has Sun, Uranus, Mercury, Venus all in crusading, fiery Sagittarius. His anger and hatred will come from Mars in Capricorn square a tough-minded and bleak Saturn Pluto in Libra; and he has a singleton Moon in Aries, perhaps square Mars, or if a late day birth, opposition Saturn Pluto as well, which would make it a highly toxic T Square with Mars on the focal point.

His Uranus will make him rebellious and his desire to upset the status quo is fuelled by that hate-filled Mars Pluto Saturn. Not a man to back down from a fight. An afflicted Mars in Capricorn can be cold, calculating, out for material gain and status, and have a total disregard for others.

His chart doesn’t make much of an impact on the UK’s apart from his Mars being opposition the UK Moon which is echoed in the relationship chart by an angry composite Mars square Mercury and Sun.

He’s a rabble rouser and will either end up back inside for a longer stretch at some point or dead as he provokes one punch-up too many. Tr Pluto is conjunct his Mars in 2018/2019 which is blocked every which way; with major disruptions from tr Uranus opposition his Saturn Pluto in 2018 and early 2019; and his Solar Arc Pluto is conjunct his Sun Uranus this year, then moving along with Solar Arc Saturn across his Mercury and Venus over the next few years, which will put significant road blocks in his way.

The amazon puff for the book about him reads:

“The powerful story of Tommy Robinson, former leader of the EDL and a man persecuted by the British state, simply for standing up in support of British troops. Tommy describes growing up on the streets of Luton, a town plagued by Islamic extremism and criminal gangs and how his livelihood was taken from him when he led a street protest against it. Hounded through the courts and thrown to the Muslim underworld which runs England’s prisons, when Tommy refused to be broken the police tried to blackmail him – into working for them.”

The glue that holds marriages together can be tracked through the astrology. Though it will depend in part on the social climate. In Royal circles until relatively recently divorces were unthinkable, so couples would go their own way within the respectable façade of a committed union. It also depends on the capability of each individual to relate at all. It takes two to tango and if one isn’t dancing then short of total submission by the other partner, it won’t stick.

Prince Charles and Princess Diana at first glance seemed admirably suited. He is a Scorpio, and she was a Cancerian – two Water Suns. Her Venus in Taurus clicked with his Sun; and his detached Venus in airy Libra was reasonable with her Aquarius Moon. Though her rebellious Moon didn’t fit at all with his intensely emotional Sun or Taurus Moon. But no relationship is perfect, so with effort it might have worked.

The problems came from her Uranus square his Sun and conjunct his Pluto, which would present him with disruptive force that threatened to undercut his control; and worse her bitterly frustrated and angry Mars Pluto was conjunct his Saturn and trine his 10^th house Moon – so she’d come up against his rigidity and upset his sense of dignity. Communication would be a problem with his Mercury conjunct her Neptune and her Mercury conjunct his Uranus – so they’d be constantly at cross-purposes and never able to iron out difficulties.

Her Jupiter was on his Descendant which is ideal and her charming Venus in his 10^th helped his career. But his Uranus fell in her 7^th robbing her of a feeling of togetherness; with his Mars on her Ascendant which can turn competitive.

On their relationship chart, the composite Sun was trine Jupiter, sextile Saturn – so good for success and duty and should have offered longevity.  But the composite Venus was unaspected, so affection was not an integral part of their bond. And the composite Moon was seriously afflicted in a Yod inconjunct Pluto sextile Mars Neptune, and trine Uranus. A yod in a relationship usually involves a critical connection for both, changing their lives out of all recognition and not always happily.

The killer though is the composite Mars Neptune conjunction – which suggests room for only one ego. Charles is notoriously sensitive to anyone hogging his spotlight and Diana did, unwittingly at the start and then discovered it was a weapon she could wield to great effect. With Mars Neptune there isn’t mutual support. One has a triumph, the other feels diminished, so it is destructive.

In days gone by it would have survived with a submissive wife, though the feeling element was never really there.

The Queen’s relationship with Prince Philip has undercurrents of real anger as he was forced to give up his career and identity at her accession; but the Venus and Moon aspect between them are much stronger, so passion initially and good feelings as well the resentment. Plus the nature of the time made it impossible to do other than stick it out through the rough patches.

Hindsight, of course, is a wonderful thing.

Alarm is rising about a collision between Italy’s new populist coalition government, which campaigned for lower taxes and higher spending, and the EU. The suggested Minister of Finance, Paolo Savona, has to date been vetoed by the Italian president which is evidently his prerogative. Savona is a vocal critic of the euro, deriding it as a “German cage”. The Italian economy has stagnated since joining the common currency because it has not been able to devalue when the going got tough. The EU’s German budget chief Oettinger warned that the EU’s rescue fund was not big enough to bail out an economy the size of Italy.

An Italexit would be much more damaging to the EU than Brexit though there’s no suggestion they intend to leave; they plan to stay in and defy regulations.

The Italy 17 March 1861 chart looks confident though frustrated through this year; with a critical time around the August Leo Eclipse and the two months beyond. The relationship chart with the EU is blocked and tense this year with tr Saturn opposition the composite Pluto, Uranus till late year; and then conjunct the Neptune for an uncertain 2019. Again it shows this August and beyond as a crisis point; with a struggle for the upper hand in 2019.

The Bank of Italy chart, 10 August 1893, also looks rattled by the August Eclipse and will be prone to impulse decisions and rash judgements. With considerable disruption in 2020.

The EU itself is heading for a minor to major financial catastrophe in exactly a year’s time, though in effect before then, as the Solar Arc Pluto is conjunct the EU Neptune, undermining false high hopes and shafting a spear through their bubble. Starting in 2019 tr Uranus first opposes that Neptune, before moving from 2021 onwards through a truly difficult period of financial disruption as tr Uranus is conjunct the 8^th house EU Moon and squares Uranus, then squares the 5^th house speculative Venus.

Even before then from this July tr Uranus trines the EU 12^th house Pluto, perhaps shining a light on dodgy practices behind the scenes, and forcing through change with considerable upheaval. That runs into 2019 as well.

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John Travolta’s latest movie Gotti has been trashed in reviews, in part for taking an oddly sympathetic tone towards the main character, mobster John Gotti, who was serving a life sentence for murder when he died in prison. He was boss of the Gambino crime family, making millions out of racketeering, hijacking, loan sharking, drug trafficking, bookmaking, prostitution, extortion, pornography, illegal gambling etc.

Travolta was at Cannes with his vivacious wife of 27 years Kelly Preston, both high-profile Scientologists and ther two children. She is evidently an even more fervent devotee of the Hubbard cult than him and, according to an escapee, assumes everything she reads about allegations of her husband’s infidelities with men are false.

Travolta, 18 February 1954 2.53pm New Jersey, has a deeply buried 8^th house in last degree Aquarius Sun conjunct Venus in Pisces trine Saturn in Scorpio and Neptune in his 4^th; with his Sun opposition Pluto; and a Virgo Moon square Jupiter, square Mars and opposition Venus; and a 12^th house Uranus opposition North Node square Neptune  – a very complicated temperament with a complicated set of emotional needs.

Kelly Preston, 13 October 1962, Hawaii, is a Sun Libra probably opposition an Aries Moon; with a tough-minded Mars opposition Saturn (her father was killed when she was 3) widely square Neptune.

Their synastry is partly good with her Jupiter conjunct his Sun, Venus; and her Venus in Scorpio square his Pluto and Sun; and her Moon falls in his 10^th so she’ll help him in his career. And partly tricksy. Her Pluto is conjunct his Moon so she will take charge; his Neptune is conjunct her Sun so she’ll find him elusive; and her Mars squares onto his Saturn with her Neptune conjunct, with her Saturn in his 7^th – which is a fair amount of aggravation and confusion and hard work.

Their relationship chart has a composite good-for-business Sun Saturn Mercury square Mars, trine Pluto. Mars Saturn both in an individual and in a relationship chart indicates a suppression of sorts and usually involves one partner giving up a considerable part of themselves to hold it together.

John Gotti, 27 October 1940, was a Sun Scorpio opposition Jupiter Saturn in Taurus square Pluto – so a very tough, money-minded nut. Dick Cheney born earlier that year has an Aquarius Sun opposition Pluto square Jupiter Saturn in Taurus. My impression of Jupiter Saturn in Earth signs is it can be a good deal less pleasant and certainly idealistic than when it falls in Air signs. And there’s one coming up in Capricorn in 2020, though mercifully moving rapidly into Aquarius.

‘Old Ireland died tonight. The old Ireland of asylums for “fallen” women, children sold abroad, shame, secrecy, and fear. Rotten old Ireland’s gone. Long live new Ireland.’ So read one jubilant twitter after the abortion referendum swung heavily in favour of repealing the punitive legislation in place at the moment; with many women travelling back specially to vote. It will still have to be signed into law which may take several months but it means that foetal abnormalities, rape and incest pregnancies now won’t have to be carried to term or necessitate a trip to the UK; and before 12 weeks women will have a choice.

The Ireland 6 December 1922 5pm chart has a woman-controlling Moon Pluto in Cancer in a Water Grand Trine; with the Moon square Saturn in the 4^th – so not naturally inclined to the feminine. Tr Saturn is aiming to opposes the Moon Pluto by December, which sounds more blocked than libertarian. But perhaps bringing a dose of realism to the plight of Irish women. The Solar Arc Moon Pluto is also conjunct the Ireland Saturn, which is more of the same.

The Ireland 18 April 1949 12 am chart also has the Moon in a Grand Trine to Saturn and Mercury – that shows more indications of reform with tr Uranus trine the traditionalist Saturn in the run up and conjunct Mercury from July, on and off into 2019. It also has the angry, frustrated tr Pluto square Mars which may reflect the angst of the NO voters. That also runs into 2019. Plus an electric shock from Solar Arc Mars conjunct Uranus exactly now, as centuries of Catholic rigidity are repudiated by two thirds of the electorate. And again a frustrated, enraged Solar Arc Pluto opposition Mars.

Strong feelings on both sides. I just hope they don’t drag their heels getting it enacted.

Six months of Duchess training lie ahead for Meghan, as the Queen’s assistant private secretary moves in to teach her the Royal ropes.

HM Queen is clearly determined to get this one right.  Not surprising since HMQ’s Taurus Sun falls in Meghan’s 10^th house of career and status and more to the point HMQ’s doggedly conscientious, dutiful and conventional Saturn MC in Scorpio is conjunct Meghan’s can-be-wayward 5^th house Uranus; plus HMQ’s doggedly hard-working 6^th house Pluto is conjunct Meghan’s Mars which will put the clampers on some of Meghan’s volatility.

It’s a relationship with a good cross-over with Meghan’s Leo Sun almost exactly conjunct HMQ’s Moon; and Meghan’s Venus in hard-working Virgo is exactly opposition HMQ’s Venus in Pisces which is equally a good match. But it will be restrictive there’s no doubt.

Their relationship chart displays a good deal of affection and encouragement from Sun Venus opposition Jupiter square Moon. But there’s also a heavyweight composite Mars opposition Saturn, trine/sextile Pluto. Learning to supress her personal needs will be part and parcel of the Queen’s message. Duty before all and it will grate at times.

Meghan’s relationship chart with Camilla has an encouraging Mars trine Jupiter, sextile Moon. But with Camilla’s Pluto Saturn in Leo conjunct Meghan’s Sun and Meghan’s Mars conjunct Camilla’s Moon Venus, there may be some gritty moments and underlying resentment as Camilla takes control.

Prince Charles’s Pluto is also conjunct Meghan’s Sun and his Scorpio Sun is conjunct her Uranus – so she may feel hemmed in or subservient when he’s around, which will test her patience, though she has a 4^th house Pluto so she’ll be used to tensions and power struggles within a family.  With Charles, there’s enough affection and friendliness in the relationship chart to smooth over rough edges.

Stepping into the minefield of rivalries and hierarchies within the Royal Family will be daunting. The Duchess of Cambridge looks as if she needs to keep her distance with a composite Moon Mars square Venus Uranus, a competitive Sun Mars, and a struggle for the upper hand Jupiter Pluto. William has some of the same need for space, but also seems mesmerised by Meghan with a composite Sun Venus square Pluto.

Of the younger generation, Sophie Wessex will be helpful to a degree but its not a natural friendship. Beatrice will put a good face on things but will be aggravated behind the smiles; Eugenie looks less inclined to turn on the faux charm and will be more distant. The latter two perhaps because they see themselves sliding down the pecking order.

Harvey Weinstein has been up in court, hand-cuffed, to be charged with rape, criminal sex act, sexual abuse and sexual misconduct for cases involving two women. He posted $1 million bail, surrendered his passport and will wear an electronic monitoring device and face other travel restrictions. His lawyer said he intended to plead not guilty.

Born 19 March 1952, New York, he’s a last degree Sun Pisces; with a formidably determined and vengeful Mars in Scorpio square Pluto; and high initiative plus executive ability from Mercury Jupiter in Aries opposition Neptune, and a Capricorn Moon opposition Uranus square Saturn in Libra.

Tr Pluto square his Jupiter in 2018/2019 will make him bullishly confident, though since tr Pluto also squares his Neptune his high hopes will more likely than not be dashed. He’s got a ‘catastrophic’ tr Uranus opposition his Mars/Saturn midpoint exactly now, repeating on and off into 2019. Tr Pluto is sextile his Mars in September/October this year which will be testing and trapped; with jolts before then in July to September. If anything 2019/2020 look worse with tr Pluto conjunct his Sun/Mars midpoint. There be one glimmering of light in 2019 but on the whole his trajectory for the next three years looks steadily downhill.