A secretive fundamentalist religious organisation wielding enormous power at the heart of American politics is the scary conspiracy story, much of it based on fact, which is highlighted in a Netflix five-part documentary series. It’s based on the 2008 book The Family: The Secret Fundamentalism at the Heart of American Power by American journalist Jeff Sharlet. In it he says the Family or Fellowship fetishizes power by comparing Jesus to “Lenin, Ho Chi Minh, Bin Laden” as examples of leaders who change the world through the strength of the covenants they had forged with their “brothers.

A year after the book’s publication, sex scandals of prominent political members of the Family and accusations that it was illegally subsidizing the rent of members of Congress and involved in the Uganda Anti-Homosexuality Bill, which would have imposed the death penalty for homosexuality in Uganda, pushed it into the national spotlight.

What is noteworthy astrologically is that it was started in 1935 by a Norwegian preacher who held breakfast prayer meetings, which spread across the US and later presidents took up. At that point tr Uranus had just moved into Taurus to which it has only recently returned for the first time; and tr Pluto was in last decan Cancer so not dissimilar to now with Pluto half a zodiac on and in hard aspect to the fanatical, demagogic (rabble-rousing) US Mercury opposition Pluto. There was also the neurotic, creative Saturn opposition Neptune which Ebertin describes as a struggle between the lower and higher nature.

The founder Abraham Vereide claimed to have been directed in a vision by God to shift his Christian ministry away from the “down and out” and toward the “up and out.” He then evangelized among wealthy and politically powerful individuals who shared his concerns about socialism and other “subversive” forces. In The Family’s eccentric theology, the world is run by “key men” who have been chosen by God to rule over the rest of us, in imitation of Jesus, who they believe to have been a muscular leader interested only in power.

Doug Coe took over and was for decades the highly discreet almost invisible driver of the early vision until he died in 2017. He is on videotape idolizing fascist rulers of the twentieth century and spreading a “covenant” in which Christian fundamentalism is popular because of its similarity to the Nazi brotherhood.

Coe was born 20 October 1928 in Oregon, and was a late Sun Libra with a Half Grand Sextile of Mercury in Scorpio opposition Jupiter, sextile/trine Neptune and Mars – a persuasive speaker. He also had a Yod of Mercury sextile Neptune inconjunct Uranus – suggesting a catalyst for change, a trailblazer, who was intolerant of convention, even lawless at times. He also had a seductive Venus in Scorpio opposition Node square Neptune in Virgo hinting at a shapeshifter, with a chameleon-like tendency to insert himself into situations without causing waves.

Abraham Vereide was born 7 October 1886 so was another Sun Libra conjunct Jupiter Mercury square Saturn in Cancer; with the signature Neptune Pluto of his generation trine Venus with Pluto in an innovative trine to Uranus – he’d also be seductively charming with a Libra Sun and Venus trine Pluto Neptune. More significantly he has a ruthlessly ambitious Mars opposition Pluto square North Node – tying him into the zeitgeist.

Seriously scary stuff – there’s nothing worse than religious zealotry being twisted to cosmeticize power-hungry greed and elitism, never mind condoning private sexual misbehaviour while preaching morality in public.

https://newrepublic.com/article/154763/familys-big-secret-hiding-plain-sight

The Harvey Weinstein #metoo court saga winds on with the long-delayed start due on September 9^th.  Breaking News – just put back to January 6 next year.  He has been charged with two counts of predatory sexual assault, one count of criminal sexual act in the first degree, one count of first-degree rape and one count of third-degree rape to which he had pleaded not guilty on all counts. It’ll be a viciously fought trial and the legal system can be a very blunt instrument for tackling sexual offences, often ending with skewed verdicts. If found guilty, he could spend the rest of his life in jail. More than 80 women have alleged sexual misconduct on the part of the producer, over four decades though the court case only involves two women.

He’s onto his third set of defence lawyers which now includes a powerful female Chicago attorney who specializes in defending men in sexual harassment cases, Donna Rotunno. She has previously argued that the #MeToo movement has done a disservice to women. She said “I believe women are responsible for the choices that they make,” and suggested she could get away with a good deal more in cross examination as a woman.

Weinstein was born 19 March 1952 with an unverified time of 9.45pm in New York. It’s a feasible birth time putting his final degree filmic Pisces Sun in the entertaining 5^th house; and his ruthlessly dominating Pluto on his Midheaven square a vengeful Mars in Scorpio on his Ascendant. Plus a fountain-of-initiative Cardinal Grand Cross of Saturn Neptune opposition Mercury Jupiter in pro-active Aries square Uranus opposition a Capricorn Moon.

He’ll go into the trial on a confident high with tr Pluto square his Jupiter but since it also squares his Neptune through till early November his hopes are likely to turn to disappointment. Late September to mid November as well he has tr Neptune opposition his Saturn/Pluto midpoint which Ebertin describes as ‘shattered nerves’ as well as ‘falsehoods and frauds.’ From late January 2020 the trapped, infuriated, scary, powerless tr Pluto conjunct his Sun/Mars midpoint returns for a few weeks and repeats on and off till late year; with a confidence-eroding tr Neptune square his Jupiter/Pluto midpoint picking up next spring and running through till 2021. So he won’t exactly be bouncing with exuberance.

The BBC are showing a documentary Untouchable: The Rise and Fall of Harvey Weinstein on September 1^st

Actress Rosanna Arquette is interviewed in it as one of the first women to share details of Weinstein’s abuse with Ronan Farrow in the New Yorker and in the New York Times along with Rose McGowan. She talks of her career being ruined as she spurned his advances and the documentary investigates Weinstein’s use of an Israel intelligence firm to put together profiles on his adversaries in order to undermine their allegations and dissuade them from speaking out.

Her fear and paranoia which she speaks openly about (see URL below) are understandable and show up starkly on the astrology. She was born 10 August 1959 4.45pm New York which gives her an 8^th house Sun Uranus in Leo which Weinstein’s Pluto sits directly on top of with his Mars square. A scary combination which will strike deep fear in her.

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/aug/26/rosanna-arquette-they-said-i-was-a-pain-in-the-ass-its-not-true

 

Another public marital dust-up between the Rooneys as footballer Wayne is photographed on a boys night out with ladies in Vancouver, which has evidently incensed wife Coleen to the point of suggesting he break his contract with DC United in Washington which he is due to quit at the end of the season and return to the UK immediately. Then he’s back to happy home times with her and the four kids in Cheshire.

All of which can be taken with a huge pinch of salt since this scenario or similar has been running throughout their eleven year marriage and before. She enjoys the lifestyle, almost constant holidays and kids while he plays football and all the rest.

He was born 24 October 1985 in Liverpool and is an intense, controlling Sun Pluto in Scorpio in a pushily confident square to Jupiter in Aquarius. With Mercury Saturn also in Scorpio – so very fixed and stubborn; with a changeable Pisces Moon square Uranus; and a sociably indulgent Jupiter trine Venus in Libra.

Coleen, 3 April 1986, is a Sun Aries in a publicity-attracting square to Neptune Mars in Capricorn and a sensible trine to Saturn with a Capricorn/Aquarius Moon. Her Sun opposes his Venus which is a good connection; her Venus in Taurus opposes his Sun Pluto for passion and possessiveness; and her Jupiter may be conjunct his Moon which will provide moral support and comfort. But her Uranus also squares his Mars which will lead to flare ups.

Their relationship chart has an affectionate composite Sun opposition Venus; and an adventurous and high-energy Jupiter sextile Uranus and square Mars; with a wide, aggravated composite Mars Pluto conjunction. It is under pressure at the moment with tr Pluto opposition the Venus and conjunct the Sun into 2020 as well; plus a disruptive tr Uranus opposition the composite Pluto.

Both of their lives are undergoing considerable adjustment, his especially, with tr Uranus opposition their respective Plutos. It’s difficult to see them settling into sedate bourgeois middle age – but who knows? There’s clearly an affectionate bond which may hold them through the stormy passages.

 

Another unlikely astro-pairing are actress/activist Angelina Jolie and bad-boy comedian turned political activist Russell Brand, both born 4 June 1975. Both had truly difficult childhoods. Angelina born at 9.09am Los Angeles was brought up by a single mother, who abandoned her to babysitters, then in her early teens gave her the master bedroom to share with her live-in boyfriend and used her daughter to live out her own dreams of stardom. Not surprisingly Angelina got into hard drugs, lived as a goth, self-harmed and attempted suicide.

Russell, born at midnight in Basildon, England also had parents splitting when he was very young, his mother was ill for a period when he was young and he was abused at school – diagnosed ADHD and bi-polar with subsequent drug problems and self-harm. Born the same day as Angelina Jolie.

They are both restless, multi-tasking Geminis with their Sun opposition a creative and can-be-addiction-prone Neptune and in a controlling trine to Pluto. Neptune Pluto tied into the Sun tends to give above average ambition, those two planets together having a tinge of megalomania.

They also have emotionally stressed and overly-excitable Aries Moons conjunct Mars and opposition Pluto, which hints at a destructive streak in their relationships with mother initially and then in adult domestic life. Plus a constantly-changing Venus square Uranus; and a hates-failure Jupiter square Saturn as well as an enthusiastic Mars Jupiter – very up and down in mood.

Time of birth and house positions obviously make a significant difference. Angelina has an erratic, emotionally unpredictable Uranus in the 4^th making her a bit of a gypsy when it comes to putting down roots; while Russell has a health-issues Saturn in the 6^th.

Another two, born close together, though less obviously similar, are Scary Spice Mel B, 29 May 1975 6.01pm Leeds, England; and Marissa Mayer, 30 May 1975 10.10 am Wisconsin, former Yahoo CEO and information technology executive. Both, like Jolie and Brand, have ambitious Gemini Suns opposition Neptune and trine Pluto; with the implacably determined Mars opposition Pluto. In their case additionally they share a similar Air Grand Trines of an Aquarius Moon trine Pluto trine Sun, formed into two talented Kites by Sun opposition Neptune and Mars opposition Pluto.

Marissa Mayer was an over achiever as a child and hasn’t had anything like as chaotic a romantic life as the much and unhappily married Mel B. Although Mel B does have an 8^th house Sun trine a 12^th house Pluto which may explain some of the drama in her love life.

 

The mysterious death of Willie MacRae in 1985, a Scots lawyer, SNP activist and anti-nuclear campaigner, has spawned a multitude of conspiracy theories involving the security services. The reasons suggested are that he was targeted for his successful effort to stop nuclear waste dumping and because he had uncovered evidence of an alleged paedophile ring in Westminster during the 1980s. His car crashed in a remote part of the Scottish Highlands and he was found shot in the head with a revolver with a briefcase of documents missing.

His death came a year after the murder of Hilda Murrell, another anti-nuclear campaigner. Although subsequently a local labourer was charged with her abduction, rape and murder on DNA evidence, some remain suspicious that there’s more to the story than that.

Both deaths occurred oddly enough on an Aries Sun and Scorpio Moon; with an exact scandal-prone Pluto sextile Neptune; and more pointedly around the time of Mars being in hard aspect to the Saturn/Pluto midpoint which is brutal.

Willie MacRae was born 18 May 1923 in Falkirk, served in WW11, was in the Royal Indian navy, and ADC to Mountbatten at one point. He was a Taurus with an excitable Mars in outspoken Gemini square Uranus; and an idealistic Jupiter square Neptune. When he died on 7 April 1985, tr Saturn was in a downbeat opposition to his Sun and his Solar Arc Neptune was in a high anxiety conjunction to his Saturn and there were several ‘accident-prone’ hard aspects to his Mars/Saturn, Mars/Uranus and Mars/Node midpoints – so it would be an exceptionally fraught time for him.

There were certain similar aspects on Hilda Murrell’s chart, 3 February 1906, when she was killed on 21 March 1984. This was just before she was due to give evidence on radioactive waste disposal at the Sizewell Inquiry. She was a triple Aquarius with Jupiter in Taurus and a courageous Mars in Pisces square Pluto – a determined lady. Tr Saturn was hovering around the square to her Sun; and both tr Saturn and tr Uranus were in aspect to her Mars/Saturn midpoint when she died.

In both cases death wasn’t instantaneous – Hilda Murrell died of hypothermia having been brutally attacked and stabbed. Willie MacRae survived after his car crashed and was declared brain dead in hospital a day later.

Astrology won’t prove or disprove murder/suicide theories. But they were oddly similar circumstances and astro-events in both cases.

 

This is a reprise of an old post about Pluto in Aquarius which is up and coming in three years’ time.

Pluto has been grinding its way inexorably through Capricorn since 2008, pulling down old structures – in the Capricorn-ruled arenas of finance and government – razing the old status quo to ashes, with the hope of rebuilding better on the far side. Pluto only gets back round to the same sign every 230 to 240 years so it is significant. Pluto moves into Aquarius in 2023 staying till 2044. Past experience associates this phase with an upsurge of more significant rebellions than usual and a flowering of inventions.

Previous Pluto in Aquarius phases:

1778 -1797: The USA had declared independence in 1776 so the Brits were in retreat, though elsewhere were fighting the French, Spanish, Dutch and Indians in different spats. The French Revolution of 1793 had a dramatic effect and not just in France, though this was partially due to Pluto being opposition Uranus. The Industrial Revolution was in full swing having got under way during Pluto in Capricorn. James Watts’ improved steam engine revolutionised production.

Aquarius is scientific, so no surprises there were major advances in chemistry. And, with blissful syncronicity, William Herschel discovered the planet Uranus, which rules Aquarius. Explorers, another Aquarian strength, were also out and about with Captains James Cook and William Bligh leading the way to ‘new’ lands.

It was a productive period for philosophical and social thinkers – Emmanuel Kant and Thomas Paine (Rights of Man); with cultural highpoints from Mozart and Scottish poet Robert Burns, who later established a global footprint.

1532 – 1552: Henry V111 declared himself head of the Church in 1531 and was excommunicated in 1533 by the Pope. The RC versus Protestant schism got under way in earnest, which led to centuries of conflict.

1287 – 1307: Welsh Rebellion against the English. Edward 1 of England put John Balliol on Scottish throne with William Wallace rebellion following.

1041 – 1061: Macbeth succeeds to throne of Scotland. Great schism between the Western RC church and Eastern Orthodox churches.

796 – 816: Charlemagne becomes Holy Roman Emperor in 800. He unites most of Western Europe, laying the foundations for modern France and Germany. He dies just as Pluto is about to exit Aquarius.

551 – 572: Mohammed is born.

So world-changing events during Pluto in Aquarius.

This next time round tr Pluto in Aquarius will march in time to Neptune in Aries (2025 to 2038) and initially to Uranus in Gemini (2025 to 2033) – so early on there’ll be a Uranus trine Pluto sextile Neptune after the mid 2020s – innovative and creative. Of the earlier historical happenings which might repeat, we can expect more advances in science and exploration (outer space/bottom of the sea/under Arctic ice?). For the rest – the US and France will have come full circle back to their first Pluto Return or the immediate aftermath, so significant shifts/adjustments, epochal events in both countries. Sometimes empires that rise on one Pluto cycle, fall on the next.

Hugh Fowler comments;

At the risk of becoming an ephemeris bore I have checked the 11th century to see what was happening in the run up to the Norman Conquest. The record shows Pluto ingresses into Aquarius in 1041 which was the year Edward the Confessor returned from exile in Normandy to become the heir to his half brother Harthacnut. The latter died in April 1042 and Edward became king almost precisely at the point of the Neptune ingresses into Aries in May 1042. Edward’s accession to the throne, his Norman upbringing and his failure to produce an heir set in train the series of events that would lead to the fall of the Anglo Saxon royal house of Wessex and its replacement by the Dukes of Normandy. Again the transition seems to fall at a deeply significant moment where a seemingly mundane event in the historical process kicks off changes that run very deep and last centuries. One final point it should be noted that however big the change Britain seems to always reset to old patterns. So while all the Norman and Angevin dynasties ruled for centuries by the end of the 13th century the kings of England were being titled Edward again.

As a quick addendum I have checked the ephemeris to see what was happening at the time the Roman province of Britain was created. It essentially began in 43 CE when Claudius army invaded. At that time Pluto was in Capricorn and Neptune was in Pisces. Rather spookily the conquest was essentially completed and made permanent for the next four centuries when the Boudiccan revolt was crushed between 60 and 61 CE. That was precisely the time that Pluto ingressed into Aquarius and Neptune into Aries. This transition does seem to echo down the centuries for the inhabitants of Britain.

Scots are looking through the wrong end of the telescope at the astrology here. If the past is anything to go by Pluto moving into Aquarius and Neptune into Aries in the 2020 signals some sort of transformation of English identity and its relation to the world if the 1530s is anything to go by since that is the last time it happened. Moreover it all be generated internally (ie the English nation will do it to themselves for good or ill). I can’t even guess what is going to happen but as in the 1530s what triggers the change (Henry VIII lack of a male heir from his Spanish wife) won’t necessarily be as significant as the changes it brings.

 

A celebrity spat between two showbiz sisters has the red tops riveted. Julia Sawalha, best known as Saffy in AbFab has taken exception to her older sister Nadia talking about their volatile relationship on the chat show Loose Women. Julia accused Nadia of crying fake tears for attention. Though they do appear to have had longish periods of not talking in the past.

Julia, 9 September 1968, appears to have been the father’s favourite and after she was born the older two sisters were sent off to live with the grandmother for a while which would sow the seeds of jealousy.

Nadia was born 18 November 1964 and is a Sun Scorpio in an expansive opposition to Jupiter in Taurus square Saturn in Aquarius with a Taurus Moon – intense, stubborn for sure and not good at sharing the driving seat with a focal point Saturn. She also has a tempestuous Mars, Uranus and Pluto in Virgo square Mercury in outspoken Sagittarius so will voice her opinions with force.

Julia has an expansive Sun Jupiter in Virgo conjunct Pluto with Pluto conjunct Uranus – so a stellium in meticulous Virgo. She’ll be confident, at times too much so, and controlling. There’s a flashy Mars in Leo in a showbizzy square Neptune. And she’s also got a difficult Yod of Neptune sextile Pluto (Uranus) inconjunct Saturn in forced-to-be-self-reliant Aries; and an Aries Moon.

So both have an emphasised/afflicted Saturn as well as a prominent Jupiter making for highs and lows in their approach – at times overly rigid, at others taking too much for granted. Both also have Venus in Libra, although Nadia’s is opposed by Julia’s Saturn which won’t help to bring a heartfelt connection.

There are similarities between them and Nadia’s Pluto and Uranus are conjunct Julia’s Sun Jupiter which will make Julia feel controlled but also unsettled by Nadia’s unpredictability. Nadia’s Scorpio Sun opposition Jupiter square Saturn collides with Julia’s Mars square Neptune – so it will get heated.

Their relationship chart does have an up and down, tension-erupting composite Uranus Pluto opposition Saturn, but also an affectionate Sun Venus in an amiable square to Jupiter. So it will lurch from good to bad every so often.

Two strong, independent-minded, stubborn women in the public eye, craving attention, plus all the undercurrents of early jealousies – not a good mix. Families – nearly always a minefield.

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Royal scandals and tragedies are drawing an unwelcome spotlight with the louche lifestyle of Louis and Edwina Mountbatten now being exposed as the fortieth anniversary of his death at the hands of the IRA comes round. And that’s all on top of Prince Andrew’s Epstein sinkhole.

A new book – The Mountbattens: Their Lives and Loves lays bare bedhopping, gay affairs and dangerous liaisons. She had multiple affairs, including with Douglas Fairbanks, pianist Leslie Hutchinson, actor Paul Robeson and probably Indian PM Nehru, and was named as a co-respondent in a society divorce. He was bisexual having affairs with women, including maybe Shirley MacLaine. But there are also tales of him procuring boys from aged 8 to 12 years old, and some from the infamous Kincora Children’s Home in Belfast in the mid 1970s, as well as trawling the Life Guards Barracks in London for young soldiers.

What’s intriguing astrologically about Louis and Edwina is that both had see-saw charts, indicating a constant search for ANother opposite to make themselves feel whole.

Louis, born 25 June 1900 6am, Windsor, England was the Duke of Edinburgh’s uncle and the Queen’s second cousin. His Cancer Sun in the hidden 12^th conjunct Neptune opposed a downbeat Saturn in Capricorn; and his sensual Mars in Taurus opposed Jupiter with his Gemini Moon and Pluto opposing Uranus. He also had Venus Mercury in Cancer in his 12^th. Not much love going around or stability in his aristocratic childhood. He would like to party with Jupiter Uranus in his 5^th and would definitely be unconcerned about transgressing norms of behaviour with such a strong Uranus.

Edwina born 28 November 1901 7am Romsey, England was the granddaughter and heiress to a millionaire magnate with her mother dying when she was 11. She had a 1^st house Sun Sagittarius so would be a live-wire personality; with an intense 8^th house Moon Neptune in Cancer opposition Mars, Jupiter, Saturn in Capricorn, and Uranus opposition Pluto. Not too much of an even keel in her childhood either despite lashings of money.

Their relationship chart was chaotic and constantly changing but very tied together. There was a composite Sun Mercury in an argumentative opposition to Mars square an adventurous Uranus and Jupiter opposition a possessive Pluto Moon. There would be a constant fight for control and the upper hand with aggravation and anger spilling out. Yet with Moon Neptune straddling the composite Midheaven trine Venus they would manage to maintain an ethereal aura in public.

They did have some positive astro-crossovers since his Cancer Sun and her Cancer Moon were conjunct and his Jupiter was conjunct her Sun. But his Saturn on her Mars and opposition her Neptune was never going to make for harmony and bliss.

Another astrological curiosity was the Solar Eclipse which occurred five days before he was blown up in late August 1979 while on holiday in Ireland along with his grandson. This particular eclipse in the 18 North Saros cycle came back round 18 years later for the death of Princess Diana, Princess of Wales, one day before that eclipse. 18 North is usually interpreted as illness or accident-prone and given to obsessive worry. And going back to 1961, the August solar eclipse was the closest to the birth of Lady Diana Spencer in July.

Billionaire and Republican donor David Koch has died, having suffered from prostate cancer for many years. He was born 3 May 1940 and along with his older brother Charles, 1 November 1935, is credited with funding the rise of the right in the Republican Party. They disliked Trump but others in the present administration – Mike Pence, Betty DeVos, Mike Pompeo, Scott Pruitt – are either friends or owe their careers to the Koch Bros. They were/are for small government, a free economy and against environmental protection.

Their father was a self-made oil man and tough.

David was a downbeat Sun Saturn in Taurus with his Sun conjunct Uranus as well – tight with money despite being a philanthropist of note; with his Jupiter in pro-active Aries in a pushily confident square to Pluto; and a passionately enthusiastic Mars Venus in Gemini square Neptune; and Saturn in an unyielding square to Pluto. Tough-minded and not exactly a bundle of laughs or sentimental or sensitive.

His brother Charles is equally fixed having a Scorpio Sun opposition Uranus which is sextile/trine Mars in money-minded Capricorn. His Jupiter in money-attracting Scorpio is in a hates-failure square to Saturn.

They wouldn’t always see eye to eye but their relationship chart had an affectionate composite Sun Venus opposition Jupiter square Uranus which would rub off a good many rough edges. Together their determination was unstoppable with a composite Mars Saturn trine Pluto. Together they certainly made a force for change – for good or for ill.

Charles, now 84 years old, looks shaken up at his brother’s death with tr Uranus hitting on his Uranus this year and next year his Sun; and is not too cheerful over the election if he sticks around for it with a disappointed-hopes tr Pluto square his Jupiter/Neptune midpoint.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/27/death-destruction-david-koch-legacy

Pic: Greg Skidmore.