Greece has entered “a new chapter” Jean-Claude Juncker cheerily said as banners in Brussels were raised for the ending of the country’s 8 year bail-out programme. In Greece there is less jubilation with a fifth of the working-age population out of work, youth unemployment running at 43.6% – the worst in the EU; the level of output remains 25 per cent below where it was a decade ago; the banks still carry significant bad loans; hundreds of thousands of Greeks have emigrated; and there is deep ill will towards the EU and other member states over their handling of the emergency.

Larry Elliot said: ‘Greece has been a colossal failure. It is a tale of incompetence, of dogma, of needless delay and of the interests of banks being put before the needs of people.’ The IMF are less optimistic about the long-term future given the level of debt, though GDP is rising again.

The Greece 24 July 1974 4am chart is showing signs of change this year with tr Uranus square the Sun; but is facing a challenging, rebellious and deprived 2019 with the tr Pluto Saturn conjunction square the 4^th house Uranus indicating a population who’ve had enough. Tr Neptune will conjunct the Jupiter all year and into 2020 – suggesting high hopes will be dashed; and there’s a major setback Solar Arc Mars square Saturn, exact in the autumn of 2019. A global recession could hit the country badly given its fragile state.

The Greece 25 March 1821 5pm chart, if sound, will be similarly undermined in 2019 into 2020 with tr Neptune square the MC, with financial panics in 2021 as Solar Arc Venus squares the Neptune Uranus; and by 2020 tr Neptune squares the 4^th house Moon hinting at a highly discontented population.

The chart for Greece joining the EU, 1 January 1981, looks to be under considerable pressure with the Pluto Saturn conjunction squaring the natal Pluto, following on from a downbeat 2018 with tr Saturn casting gloom over the Sun, Mercury, Saturn, Jupiter. Tr Uranus is square the Mars this year into 2019 which is insecure, angry and disruptive. By 2020 the Solar Arc Uranus will square the Saturn for more tensions erupting.

Not that Greece is likely to exit since they need EU money. And a no-deal Brexit could make a difference to them with less funds available. Both the Greece country relationship charts with the EU look under acute pressure for the next three years.

It may have largely been their fault but the EU and European banks, especially German, also have a good deal to answer for.

Comments by Yanis Varoufakis:- Greece was never bailed out – it remains a debtor’s prison and the EU won’t let go of the keys.

‘In summary, after having bailed out French and German banks at the expense of Europe’s poorest citizens, and after having turned Greece into a debtor’s prison, last week Greece’s creditors decided to declare victory. Having put Greece into a coma, they made it permanent and declared it “stability”: they pushed our people off a cliff and celebrated their bounce off the hard rock of a great depression as proof of “recovery”. To quote Tacitus, they made a desert and called it peace.’

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/aug/26/greece-was-never-bailed-out—it-remains-a-debtors-prison-and-the-eu-still-holds-the-keys

Elon Musk appears to be teetering on the brink of, or is in the middle of, an epic meltdown. First he sent out on off-the-cuff and against-SEC-regulations tweet about taking Tesla private to get back at financiers who were shorting his company’s stock and then gave a tearful interview where he admitted working 120 hour weeks and surviving on ambien sleeping pills. He has multiple problems with a possible insider trading investigation, plunging shares and allegations that Tesla knowingly shipped cars with battery flaws. Never mind other peripheral idiocies.

He was born on 28 June 1971 in Pretoria, South Africa, five days before Julian Assange and has a Sun, Mercury in Cancer square Uranus in Libra – creative and uncompromising; with his Jupiter in money-magnet Scorpio in a high-finance conjunction to Neptune and more crucially in a wobbly opposition to Saturn, and a powerfully confident and successful sextile to Pluto, and an impulsive square to Mars in determined Aquarius. His Saturn is also trine Pluto and Uranus giving him a tough-edge as he pushes ahead with innovations. His Moon is in hard-working and worrying Virgo and his Venus in Gemini.

He’s been described as “an iconoclast not bound by normal rules and conventions; a dreamer and risk taker.” And like all geniuses, which he probably is, he lives near the edge.

His Jupiter Saturn opposition is on a see-saw between crazy optimism and deep pessimism, stoking up an acute reaction to failure. He also has a strongly aspected 7^th harmonic (septiles) which is highly creative and can also go along with a fine mental balance.

He does have a car-crash Solar Arc Mars square his Sun around now; as well as a discouraging tr Saturn opposition his Sun and square his Uranus this year; plus a dashed-high-hopes tr Neptune opposition his Sun/Jupiter midpoint in 2018/2019. On top of that tr Uranus is opposition his Saturn/Pluto and Neptune/Pluto midpoints this year into early 2019 which are high-stress and crazy-making. 2019/2020 look not much better and it’ll be 2022 before he really gets his mojo back as tr Pluto sextiles his Jupiter and picks up his Jupiter/Pluto midpoint.

Imran Khan was sworn in as Pakistan’s new PM at 10.15 am this morning in Islamabad. Two things leap out – one is an aggravated Mars on the IC suggesting a fractious populace and internal argument. All the more so since Mars opposes the Node and squares onto a divisive 7^th house Uranus. Uranus will make him keen to push through reforms especially since it trines Saturn – taking the best of the old and mixing it with the news – though it’ll be a bumpy ride and relations with neighbours may be fraught.

Mercury squares Jupiter for enthusiastic talk and promises; and Jupiter is sextile Pluto so there will be determination and confidence. But there’s a Yod onto Neptune from Venus sextile Mercury which hints at impracticality – high ideals with not enough will power to make them stick.

There are positives in it and quite a few negatives. It’ll be especially troubled in 2021 when Mars close the square to Uranus to exact by Solar Arc. Even this year into early 2019 tr Uranus square the Mars will make for high insecurity, raised tempers and unrest.

There’s doubt about his birth date. Though most opt for October 1952. See post July 26 2018.

Kofi Annan, Nobel prize-winning head of the UN for two terms, has died. The descendant of generations of Ghanaian tribal chiefs, he rose up through the ranks at the UN to become one of its most powerful leaders, pushing through reforms, although running into controversies as well, especially over Iraq and Abu Ghraib.

Born 8 April 1938 in Kumasi, Ghana, he was a cautious and practical Sun Saturn in Aries; with a risk-taking and determined Mars Uranus in Taurus trine Neptune, and opposition North Node square Jupiter in Aquarius. An accentuated Jupiter would make him humanitarian, idealistic with an ability to push through visionary schemes.

His 11^th and 22^nd Harmonics were strong – both are master numbers and difficult to live up to but if well-handled do produce considerable results. Plus a notable leaving-a-legacy-for-history 17H.

His Sun was conjunct the UN Ascendant with his Venus Mercury and Uranus Mars also in the UN 1^st – so a significant figure for them. Though his Pluto conjunct the UN 4^th house Mars Saturn would run his internal reforms up against severe resistance.

His relationship chart with the UN had a practical Earth Grand Trine of composite Sun trine Uranus Sun trine Neptune formed into a Kite by Sun opposition Venus – vision, realism and great charm.

A right Royal scandal is blowing up over the £2 million security costs for Princess Eugenie’s overly ostentatious wedding on October 12^th, at Harry and Meghan’s venue, in Windsor chapel. There will be Royals galore attending plus handfuls of A-list celebs. According to the Daily Mail (where else) it was Prince Andrew’s insistence that she had as big a splash. Though since she’s 9^th in line to the throne and not involved in public duties, it’s hardly comparable.   She’s marrying Jack Brooksbank, a tequila brand ambassador for George Clooney’s favourite tipple.

The wedding day chart looks tense with a Sun square Pluto; and fairly explosive with Uranus opposition Mercury Venus square North Node opposition Mars in place.

Born 23 March 1990 6.58 pm London, she has a T square of Uranus opposition Jupiter square Sun Mercury in Aries – adventurous, lucky, fairly ego-centric. She has a party-loving and showy 5^th house Venus Moon in Aquarius square a compulsive-spender Pluto in the 2^nd connected to her possessive mother; with a troubled home-life and experience of her father with Neptune Saturn in Capricorn as well as Mars in her 4^th.

She looks fraught at the moment with tr Pluto conjunct her Sun/Neptune midpoint, which tends to bring depression, returning in November. Running into the wedding, as to be expected, and on the day itself she has tr Uranus square her Mars/Saturn midpoint which is extreme nervous tension with hints of physical stress or accidents. And a lucky, relieved tr Uranus sextile her Jupiter. Her Solar Arc Saturn is conjunct her Moon in 7 months’ time and tr Pluto will be in a tough-slog conjunction to her Saturn in 2019/2020 which may be family/mother worries – so not much of a honeymoon period.

Her relationship chart with Jack, 3 May 1986, does have an overly expansive Jupiter opposition Pluto, which does suggest a touch too much push for attention and not enough humility. It’s fairly argumentative and will be pressured for the next few years or so with tr Pluto square the composite Sun and then conjunct Mars in the early 2020s.

When Zara Tindall, Princess Anne’s daughter was married, she had a quiet do in Scotland. Prince Andrew has filled his daughters’ heads with his self-importance.  Eugenie and Beatrice recently did a Vogue interview about how difficult it was to be a princess and lead a normal working life, which was not well received in the comment-sphere.  Their constant holidaying, paparazzi-drenched social life and frequent absences from their supposed day jobs doesn’t suggest they understand what working discipline means.

Mark Chapman, John Lennon’s killer, is up again for parole next week, as he has been every two years for the past decade after he had served 20 years of his sentence. He’s been turned down every time.

Born 15 May 1955 7.30pm Fort Worth, Texas to a military and, he claims, abusive father, he had imaginary friends in childhood, took drugs, became a born-again Presbyterian, was treated for clinical depression and was reading Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye, a novel about teenage angst and alienation, as he sat on a step after he shot Lennon waiting to be arrested. He was deemed psychotic but refused an insanity defence and plead guilty.

He has a startling chart. With a heavily aspected Pluto in Leo in the opinionated 9^th – on the focal point of a bleak T square to Saturn in Scorpio opposition a Taurus Sun; and also on the focal point a mini-Grand Trine of Neptune trine Mars in the 8^th sextile Pluto. Very controlling and obsessive. Plus Mars in the 8^th has a volcano of buried anger. He also has Venus in Aries in his performing 5^th opposition Neptune square Jupiter Uranus in Cancer – adventurous, fanatical, head-in-the-clouds, emotionally erratic.

His Capricorn Moon is unaspected which Bil Tierney describes as: ‘the most personally traumatic’ of any unaspected planet, ‘markedly unstabilizing or uncommonly vulnerable.‘

Plus a Yod of Venus sextile Mars inconjunct Saturn in Scorpio which has heavy karmic overtones and is tricky to handle well.

By 2019 tr Pluto will have moved a quarter cycle since he shot Lennon on 8 December 1980. Then it was approaching the square to his Uranus Jupiter. At the moment he has his Solar Arc Pluto square his Uranus Jupiter and tr Pluto will be in opposition by 2020/21.  He does have tr Pluto trine his Sun now which is generally positive; with tr Uranus heading to trine his midheaven and oppose his Solar Arc midheaven from mid September this year.

That all looks like a fair amount of change though his life outside if he ever gets there will be a considerable challenge because of irate fans and intrusive media, never mind having become institutionalized after 4 decades inside. Tr Saturn will return to conjunct his Moon in the autumn; and by 2020 he has his Solar Arc Pluto conjunct his Neptune which will bring considerable confusion.

The Paul Manafort trial on charges of filing false tax returns, four counts of failing to disclose his offshore bank accounts, and nine counts of bank fraud is now into its second day of jury deliberations. The jury has requested more advice on what amounts to reasonable doubt suggesting they are divided about whether the prosecution has met the burden of proof.

The U.S. District Court Judge T.S. Ellis III has come under criticism for ‘unusual’ behaviour, intervening regularly, and mainly against the prosecution in the presence of the jury and on matters of substance, not courtroom conduct. The WPost says: ‘He disparaged the prosecution’s evidence, misstated its legal theories, even implied that prosecutors had disobeyed his orders when they had not.’

If Manafort is found not guilty there is no recourse to appeal, even if the judge is held to have violated impartiality and fairness since double jeopardy applies.

There’s nothing overly informative on Manafort’s chart 1 April 1949 (without a birthtime) apart from a discouraging tr Saturn square his Venus, Mars, Sun in Aries through late autumn when he faces a second trial. Though on second thoughts his Solar Arc Mars is catching the tr Neptune square now which is usually downbeat. Plus tr Pluto is opposition his Neptune/Node which can be devastation and confusion, plus tr Neptune is square his Mercury/Saturn also now which is depressed.  So not exactly delirious with relief. If found guilty he faces a long prison sentence (if not pardoned).

The judge TS Ellis 111 15 May 1940 is a stalwart and stubborn Sun Uranus in Taurus trine Neptune; with his Sun exactly conjunct Trump’s midheaven. He certainly dislikes Mueller with their relationship chart having a hostile Mars Pluto Venus sextile Saturn Uranus; and it looks at a low ebb over the result. Though these charges are not specifically related to the Russia collusion investigation.

Ellis’s relationship chart with Trump isn’t exactly warm with a composite Sun Saturn and is under pressure at the moment. But it isn’t anyways near as bad as with Mueller.

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Predictions of a financial crash in China are, according to Forbes, a fantasy, at least for the time being. Economic commentators do appear to be worse gloom-merchants than astrologers. Catastrophe lurks round every corner.

On the China chart there will be wobbles of financial uncertainty until tr Neptune clears the opposition to the 8^th house Saturn this New Year; with more blips from tr Saturn square the 8^th house Neptune through 2019 as well. But neither of those is earth-shattering. The imponderable is tr Pluto Saturn conjunct the 12^th house Jupiter in 2019/2020. Tr Pluto should provide a boost, while Saturn does the opposite. So it may be stop-start or more likely a global Saturn Pluto recession will bite to some degree but it will be short lived. Especially with a Jupiter Return in 2020 and then tr Jupiter moving across the Ascendant a year later, along with Saturn.

The Bank of China chart, 1 December 1948 is showing a few belt-tightening moments this autumn and a few hiccups in 2019 but again nothing off the Richter-scale.

Xi Jinping’s Term chart 24 October 2017 12.30pm is having a bumpy ride ahead but is generally a lucky chart with an inspirational Fire Grand Trine of North Node trine Saturn Moon trine Uranus, formed into a Kite by Uranus opposition Sun and Jupiter, the latter two planets conjunct the midheaven from the 9^th. 2020 does look troubled with tr Neptune square the Moon for an unhappy populace; and 2021/22 has an unstable tr Pluto square the Term Uranus.

In many ways China looks in better shape ahead than the USA or the EU.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/yuwahedrickwong/2018/08/15/the-myths-about-chinas-economic-slowdown/#4da301d55d55

The economic panic button has moved off Turkey onto Italy with Claudio Borghi, the chairman of Italy’s budget committee, sounding doom over the European Central Bank’s intention to cease to be the lender-of-last resort by the end of this year.  He said, “The whole situation is unsustainable without an ECB guarantee, and the eurozone will collapse.”

Any rescue thereafter would require the backing of the EU bail-out fund (ESM), under draconian terms, subject to a vote in the Bundestag, which would not be acceptable to the new coalition in Rome. At which point they could activate their idea of a parallel currency to subvert monetary union from within. Any move by the ECB to extend bond purchases into next year would cause a political ruckus in Germany. Rock and a hard place which will push Brexit down the worry-list this autumn.

Italy isn’t like Greece or Portugal. It still has the EU’s second biggest manufacturing industry and a current account surplus and is a net contributor to Brussels. But it has had two lost decades since EU currencies were fixed. Prior to that it had a trade surplus with Germany. Ejecting Italy from the monetary union would be a disaster so won’t happen, with a chain-reaction of defaults, bringing down the European banking system with Germany losing around €2 trillion.

Matteo Salvini, strongman and Deputy PM of the government, is vehemently against what he describes as the ECB cage within which he says self-government is impossible – “the euro is a crime against humanity”.

It (or similar) certainly fits an astro-scenario on the EU chart with the Solar Arc Pluto conjunct the 2^nd house Neptune, exact in around 9 months’ time. This could accompany widespread devastation. Followed in 14 months’ time, late in 2019, with the Solar Arc MC conjunct the 12^th house EU Pluto which could suggest a variety of outcomes – from dirty tricks behind the scenes, to a dead-halt, to a bitter power struggle over future direction. By 2020 tr Neptune will square the EU Saturn for two years of panicky confusion and uncertainty.

The ECB 1 January 1999 12am chart is deeply aggravated this September and October; and looking flummoxed, directionless and sinking in a mire of confusion and disappointment with the Solar Arc Sun conjunct its Neptune in a year’s time.

The EU, ECB, Germany and UK have the tr Saturn opposition their respective Capricorn Suns this December for a sobering reality-check.

Both the Italy 17 March 1861 and the Republic 10 June 1946 in relationship to both the EU and Germany appear poles apart, tense, irritated through 2018/19. And the Italy 1861/Germany chart is especially at loggerheads in 2020/21 with tr Pluto opposition the composite Mars. No quick ‘n easy answers.