Liev Schreiber, star of Ray Donovan, is set to make his debut as host of Saturday Night Live next week. Ray Donovan is now into its sixth season, having broken viewership records for its pilot in 2013 and garnering Schreiber continuing acclaim for his role as a fixer who arranges bribes, payoffs, threats, and other shady activities for his clients. He’s had an extraordinary career, juggling roles in horror movies, blockbusters and indie films alongside highly praised performances on stage in classical drama; as well as directing and producing.

He was born on 4 October 1967 10.30am San Francisco, with a far-left hippie mother, a friend of William Burroughs, who after a bad acid trip was hospitalized and when threatened with being institutionalised, fled with him. His father kidnapped him but his mother got full custody and he grew up in poverty, having to adapt to her eccentricities. Her mother (his maternal grandmother) had been lobotomized. He lived in an ashram in his teens.

He has a friendly 11^th house Libra Sun and Libra Moon on the cusp of the 12^th. His Sun opposes Saturn in forced-to-be-self-reliant Aries in the 5^th. He has Jupiter Venus on his Midheaven, which will give him great charm and also can be an indication of a drama-queen mother. The rebellious, chaotic Pluto Uranus in Virgo is in his 10^th, again a hint of an unpredictable mother and suiting him for a constantly changing career. Uranus Pluto square Mars in Sagittarius in his 2nd, which has channelled his angst into making money.

A New Yorker profile of him said: ‘To a large extent, Schreiber’s professional shape-shifting and his uncanny instinct for isolating the frightened, frail, goofy parts of his characters are a result of being forced to adapt to his mother’s eccentricities. It’s both his grief and his gift.’

His long-term-relationship with Naomi Watts, mother of his two children, broke up two years back as the tr Uranus square tr Pluto was battering on his Sun/Moon midpoint. And he’s gradually easing out of a lower-profile phase which often brings up personal issues with tr Saturn now heading for his 3^rd house – and a good deal ahead for him. He looks upbeat and confident at the moment; with a few rocky moments as well as success in 2019/2020. With Saturn in the 5th the likelihood is he will more and more veer to the organizational side of the entertainment business.

His artistic and ‘seeking soul’ 7^th harmonic is strong; and his actor’s 15H very confident.

The rift between UK Opposition leader Jeremy Corbyn and his Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell, which has been growing in recent months, widened post the Budget. McDonnell, despite being even further left, didn’t oppose Hammond’s tax cuts with his eye on the road to power; while Corbyn stuck to his ideological guns. Corbyn avoids what his aides contemptuously call “the MSM” (mainstream media) and bristles about criticism of anti-Semitism. McDonnell on the other hand has gone on a media blitz recently and has been frank about his doubts about how the anti-Semitism allegations were handled.

They stuck together through the wilderness years with a common enemy but nearly winning the last election has sent them off on different trajectories.

McDonnell’s ultra-determined Mars Pluto in flamboyant Leo is conjunct Corbyn’s Pluto and square Corbyn’s equally do-or-die Mars in Taurus. Those are powerful energies and useful when focussed outwards; but once they start to creep into a relationship it ends in a bitter power struggle.

Their relationship chart is volatile at best with a composite Mars Uranus conjunction and that is getting knocked sideways this year with tr Saturn in opposition. Plus tr Neptune is undermining the composite Saturn till late 2019 for suspicion and doubts between them; and the pressures will increase probably to breaking point in 2020/2021 with tr Pluto opposition the composite Sun Mercury. It’s almost more conflicted than the Tony Blair/Gordon Brown relationship which did so much damage to the Labour Party.

McDonnell, 8 September 1951, looks seriously jangled this December and January 2019, and undermined till late 2019.

So close yet tantalisingly so far.

See Jeremy Corbyn post: August 15 2018

Former footballer Rio Ferdinand, now a TV pundit, is to marry again after his first wife died tragically of cancer in 2015 leaving behind three children. His subsequent book and documentary Being a Mum and Dad were widely praised for his honesty about his emotional turmoil at the loss. His new fiancé, proposed to on a Dubai rooftop and headlined in the Daily Mail, is Kate Wright, a former reality soap star with a bikini-filled Instagram.

He was born 7 November 1978 in London and took classes while growing up in gymnastics, theatre and ballet as well as football. During his long career on the field he came to be regarded by many to be one of England’s greatest ever players. Though he did have a few tabloid controversies along the way (see wiki).

He’s got a strong chart with Sun, Venus, Uranus in Scorpio – an intensely charming maverick; that squares onto a confident Jupiter in flamboyant Leo perhaps opposition an Aquarius Moon.

His wife-to-be, born 3 June 1991, is a Sun Gemini with an Aquarius Moon, Jupiter also in Leo and Venus in late Cancer.

Gemini and Scorpio aren’t an intuitively easy match though he’s betwixt and between having an Aquarius Moon as she has which will help, as will her Venus in home-loving Cancer. They have strong Saturn crossovers – her Saturn maybe conjunct his Moon and certainly opposition his Jupiter; and his Saturn square her Sun – duty and career will come first. The relationship chart has a close-knit composite Sun sextile Pluto and square Saturn; with an exciting but needs-space Venus square Uranus; and an only-one-can-win Neptune square Mars. She’s already given up her career to look after his children. Won’t all be a walk in the park.

Arron Banks, a principal donor to the campaign to leave the EU, is facing a criminal inquiry after the Electoral Commission referred him and others to The National Crime Agency over suspected offences in the referendum campaign. The watchdog said it suspected Mr Banks was not the “true source” of loans to the campaign and the money had come “from impermissible sources”. Under UK law, loans and donations to registered campaigners can only come from permissible sources, which essentially excludes overseas or foreign funding. There are hot and supercilious denials from the Banks’ camp; and a twitter storm from Remainers who say Brexit should be delayed until the matter is fully investigated.

Banks born 22 March 1966 in Norwich, England, with his father a sugar-plantation manager in Africa largely absent, was expelled as a teenager from two schools, once for “an accumulation of offences”, including the sale of lead stolen from the roofs of school buildings and “high-spirited bad behaviour.” He’s been married twice, the second time to a Russian. His financial and commercial career has accrued him around £100 million, though it’s been littered with litigation and allegations of tax avoidance (see Wiki). In the run up to the Brexit referendum and Trump’s election he had several meetings with high-level Russians.

He has a go-ahead, combative and impulsive Aries Sun conjunct Mars and probably Moon also in Aries; with Saturn in Pisces opposition Uranus Pluto square Jupiter in Gemini – innovative, chaotic, determined, lucky, scattered. His Neptune is opposition the North Node in Taurus which often gets embroiled in financial tangles and is trine Saturn. His Sun and Mercury are both conjunct his hard-edged Mars/Saturn midpoint.

For all his bravado in the face of a criminal inquiry he does have tr Pluto picking up the exact square to his Uranus/Neptune now till mid-December which is calamitous, loss-making and suggests he’ll have to give way. And a setback tr Saturn square his Sun/Mars exactly now, moving on to square his Mars in mid this December, so generally bad-tempered and confused. Tr Pluto is ploughing through heavy seas in 2019/20 as it hits two of his Saturn and one Uranus midpoint. With moments of high insecurity in May 2019 and then great relief a month later. Tr Neptune is also opposing his Uranus Pluto on and off till late 2019, before moving on to square two of his heavier Saturn midpoints in 2020/21 which doesn’t look reassuring.

He’s wriggled out of a fair few tight corners in his life and is no doubt gambling that this time round won’t be any different. On the other hand his 10^th Harmonic – the rise and fall fickle-finger-of-fate-one is strongly aspected.

His relationship charts with both Boris Johnson and Nigel Farage look v strained at the moment.

Trump who clearly prefers campaigning to actually running the USA has already indicated he is gearing up for another go in 2020. If America spent a hundredth of the money that is thrown in obscene quantities at elections on sensible domestic projects, it’d be a better country. And we’d all get less bored lurching from one political frenzy to the next before you can draw breath.

He’s named Brad Parscale as his campaign manager (for now) who was the Digital Director running into 2016 and has worked for the Trump Organization since 2011.

Born 3 January 1976 in Topeka, KS, he’s got a Capricorn Sun on the focal point of a T Square to a pushily-confident Pluto opposition Jupiter in Capricorn; plus a publicity-seeking Mars in Gemini opposition Neptune; and a wannabe-important Saturn in Leo opposition Mercury (Moon) in Aquarius square Uranus in Scorpio – well-suited to high tech and all matters innovative.

Tr Saturn will dent his enthusiasm as it hits his Sun, Jupiter, Pluto through 2019 though that could just be excessively hard work. But tr Neptune square his Mars till late 2019 doesn’t look successful. Plus major upheavals from tr Uranus hitting on his Saturn, Mercury and Uranus in early and later 2019. Plus he has a ‘shocking setback’ Solar Arc Mars conjunct Saturn in 2019; and a rerun of the same from Solar Arc Saturn square his Mars in 2020.

It’s not the greatest of matches with Trump with Parscale’s Mars conjunct Trump’s Uranus; and Parscale’s Uranus square Trump’s Pluto – though that latter could be his IT-input.

The relationship chart has a wildly over-enthusiastic and risk-taking composite Mars opposition Jupiter square Mercury, which will be under considerable pressure in 2019. The composite Mars is also in a ratchety conjunction with Saturn, which will be stretched to breaking point in terms of temper in 2020/2021.

Trump went through several campaign managers as I recollect last time so he may not stay the course.

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Whitey Bulger, the infamous Irish-American mob boss has been found dead in prison with some reports talking of another prisoner heing questioned over his death.

His reign in the Boston underworld was aided by crooked FBI agents in the 1980s for whom he was an informant, and he later went on the run for 16 years, living incognito by the California. Once captured he was charged with 32 counts of racketeering and firearms possession including allegations that he was complicit in 19 murders and was given two life sentences.

Born 3 September 1929, he grew up in poverty and took to street crime early, though two of his brothers excelled at school and one became President of the Massachusetts Senate.

He was a New Moon and Neptune in Virgo. With an explosive Mars opposition Uranus, widely square Pluto in Cancer, and also sextile/trine Venus in flamboyant Leo.  His Uranus was on the apex of a Yod inconjunct his Sun sextile the South Node in Scorpio – not a natural fitter-in to society. Plus an unaspected Saturn in self-righteous Sagittarius which would make it difficult for him to integrate rules and social order into his life.

His 18^th Harmonic is heavily aspected – a risk-taker, rebellious, and emotionally bleak. Latterly he thought of his life as wasted.

Niels Hogel, an ex-nurse in Germany has admitted he murdered 100 patients, making him one of the world’s most prolific serial killers. He administered fatal doses of medication to the people in his care – causing cardiac arrest – to impress colleagues by trying to revive them. He is already serving a life term for six deaths while in his care.

Born 30 December 1976 in Wilhelmshaven, Germany, he has a Capricorn Sun square Pluto and sextile Uranus. With a wide opposition between a wannabe-important Saturn in Leo opposition Venus in Aquarius in an over-confident square to Jupiter which would tend to make him intolerant, dogmatic and opinionated. His Mars in late Sagittarius aspects his delusional Neptune/Pluto midpoint and his autocratic Saturn/Uranus. And his Jupiter opposes his brutal Mars/Pluto, so he’d glorify in what he’d done.

His 5^th harmonic, often associated with a dominating personality who wants to recreate the world as it suits him, is strong and cruel. His 9^th harmonic – what gives him pleasure – has hints of megalomania. And his 18H, often found amongst serial killers; has a violently aggressive Sun, Mars, Pluto T Square.

The English Civil War of 1642,  between Parliamentarians and Royalists vying for the power to govern, ended in a short-lived republic under Oliver Cromwell until King Charles 11 was restored to the throne. Casualty estimates for military and disease deaths indicate England suffered a 3.7% loss of population, Scotland a loss of 6%, while Ireland suffered a loss of 41% of its population.

The devastation is clearest on the England 11 May 973 AD chart with the natal Sun Mars square Pluto having moved by Solar Arc to collide with the England Saturn; and both the Solar Arc Neptune and transiting Neptune were hitting on the England Pluto which also pulled in hard aspects to the England Sun Mars – a perfect storm of military brutality, extreme hardship and mass devastation and confusion.

The England 25 December 1066 chart had Solar Arc Mars opposition Pluto; with tr Uranus exactly square the 1066 Mars.

The traditional civil war signature is tr Pluto conjunct the Sun which was in place for the break up of the USSR, though it wasn’t exactly a war. Tr Pluto was also square the Russia Saturn then.

Syria in 2015 when the civil war erupted had a tr Pluto square tr Saturn which often accompanies a war; with tr Pluto heading to conjunct the Syria Capricorn Sun as it got fully underway; and Solar Arc Neptune hovering around the opposition to the midpoint between the Syria Saturn and the Syria Mars Uranus conjunction.  Uranus had just moved into Aries preparing for the rebellious square to Pluto in the next few years.

British India 1 January 1877 12am Delhi, at the bloody partition with Pakistan in 1947 which led to 14 million being displaced and well over one million dead did have a tr Mars Uranus in place in August 47 though it’s a minor enough aspect. Tr Uranus was square the India Solar Arc midheaven for a sharp change of direction. The Solar Arc Pluto had been in the devastating/confused square to the India Neptune in the run up; and the Solar Arc North Node was exactly conjunct Pluto pulling on the Fixed Pluto opposition Mars square Uranus T Square.

Usually it takes more than one influence to catapult a country into civil breakdown. The USSR break up happened at the time of the triple conjunction in Capricorn. The 1848/1850s upheavals all over Europe and elsewhere also occurred on a triple conjunction of Uranus Pluto Saturn in Aries, then moving together into Taurus, so quite a whammy.  Indian partition happened around the bleak Saturn Pluto in Leo; the Syrian Civil War on Uranus square Pluto.

The USA had tr Pluto conjunct its Cancer Sun in the early 1920s and showed no sign of fragmenting. The UK had tr Pluto conjunct the Capricorn Sun in the run up to the Scotland Independence Referendum so it was a possibility.  The USA won’t get tr Uranus conjunct its Mars until 2030 – and those Uranian hard aspects occur roughly every twelve years, so it’s been through a few since 1776. The UK gets tr Uranus conjunct its Mars around 2021.

No real conclusions except that its much like individuals, you can never quite gauge from the swirling cycles of differing influences what will prove a tipping point or indeed how the reactions will manifest. Some stand steady in the eye of the hurricane; some don’t.

Is the USA heading for civil war? The inflammatory Steve Bannon is drawing comparisons with 1860 when the election of Abraham Lincoln led to the southern states seceding and the civil war followed a few months later. More serious and credible voices are also raising concerns that political instability is likely to worsen without reform of immigration and inequality, perhaps peaking around 2020, making the USA “particularly vulnerable to violent upheaval”. (See URL below).

Historian Victor Hanson commented that history has repeatedly shown that “zealous and sometimes warring tiny minorities can escalate tensions, nullify opposition and bully the silenced majority to sanction — or at least not object to — violence”.

The 2021 Inauguration chart certainly looks extremely volatile and combustible with a Mars Uranus square Sun, Saturn, Jupiter. But is nothing like as brutal as Abraham Lincoln’s Inauguration on 4 March 1861 which had a Mars Pluto in Taurus conjunction trine Saturn; and Uranus in early Gemini on its first Return to the USA 1776 chart in a conflicted square to Saturn.

The USA First President chart 30 April 1789 12.45pm shows up the Civil War most clearly with tr Pluto moving to conjunct the Taurus Sun which is a classic break-up influence; with the Solar Arc midheaven conjunct Uranus to within half a degree. There is certainly high anxiety on this chart in the run up to the 2020 election with tr Uranus conjunct the Sun from July 2020 onwards, into early 2021. Which isn’t as strong as tr Pluto in 1860/61, but will produce considerable tensions bringing troublemakers and revolutionary spirits to the fore.  There will also be major panic and concern from tr Neptune hovering around the conjunction to Solar Arc Uranus and the natal Saturn. With more upheavals as tr Pluto opposes the Uranus in 2023/204 and a serious setback in 2024 with Solar Arc Saturn opposing the Sun.

The USA 1776 chart which lacks an accurate start time though I use 11 am had on this time tr Neptune conjunct the Descendant and square the midheaven over the start of the 1861 Civil War; with another high-tension Saturn Uranus collision.

The fanatical Mercury opposition Pluto in this chart which spawned Mcarthyism and Watergate amongst other eruptions when it was triggered, is directly in the line of fire of the tr Saturn Pluto Jupiter over the 2020 election.  And has tr Neptune square the USA Mars from March 2021 onwards into 2022 which is panicky failure. With indications of a destructive setback in 2024 when the Solar Arc Saturn in conjunct Mars. And the Pluto Return running in 2022/23.

So no solution in sight for a healing of the fault lines which have widened catastrophically with Trump’s hate rhetoric.

Bannon, 27 November 1953, who’s been jaunting round Europe stoking up the far-right populist parties, is becoming more fanatical over the next four years with his Uranus, North Node, Neptune T Square being pounded by tr Pluto – which could end up in devastation for him or megalomania running rampant. He looks disappointed now into early 2019; scattering wildly in 2019; pushing ahead with high confidence in 2020 but running into road blocks in 2021. Like Trump he’s always lived in excited and aggressive chaos, with his multiple schemes usually ending in failure. Which doesn’t mean he couldn’t cause damage before he implodes and moves on.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/comment/america-is-edging-closer-to-civil-war-jqvnv8f0n