Pondering on whether we are truly at a page-turning moment in history and where it fits the astrology, especially the momentous once-in-250-year Pluto in Capricorn, a thought suddenly struck me about where the world wide web fitted into all of this. Pluto in Capricorn’s thrust is to transform government (and finances) – collapse the old structures and hopefully (though not always) construct better in their place.

Out of the creative and chaotic turmoil of the triple conjunction in Capricorn on the late 1980s/early 1990s, the internet was born which has consequences good and bad. On the upside, it has given ordinary people a voice; and activist groups are able to connect with others of like mind to build up a critical mass that makes a difference. Twitter is now invaluable in revolutions and disasters for spreading the word. So a political force for good.

Though as Edward Tenner points out in his book: “Why Things Bite Back: Technology and the Revenge of Unintended Consequences” there is usually an unwanted reaction to any action. For example, design a super-antibiotic and a super-resistant bug follows.

The downside to the internet is that the monolithic social media giants designed to harvest gargantuan sums of money in advertising revenues have been hi-jacked by those of ill-intent wishing to deliver ideological and political messages to voters. In the USA two thirds get their news from Facebook and other social media platforms. News including the fake stuff now goes viral along with pandemic fads driven by mob zeal.

The WWW was launched on 6 August 1991 as an information-sharing system initially useful for academics and scientists. It was born with Uranus Neptune North Node in Capricorn sextile Pluto in Scorpio and Saturn in geeky Aquarius – Uranus Neptune is inspired, tinged with genius and prone to fanaticism. Once an idea takes hold, Uranus Neptune won’t let go, no matter what evidence is produced to the contrary, so at times detached from reality. As a footnote, the Black Moon Lilith sits conjunct the WWW Uranus Neptune. She represents female rage against domination.

There are two ways in which the internet impacts forcefully on politics. One is the spread of false information. The other, and I tread delicately here, is the question of whether giving the common man/woman a stronger voice always leads to better results.

We in the west are wedded to the notion that democracy is a good thing and the internet initially seemed to offer a golden opportunity for a more inclusive politics. Yet Plato’s aphorism, from 2500 years back, that “the problem with democracy is that it elevates opinion above knowledge” does have an uncomfortable ring of truth for today. He also thought that political systems which followed citizens’ impulses rather than pursuing the common good, mistook anarchy for freedom and were typically run by fools. The Romans gave the mob bread and circuses to keep them happy; politicians telling voters what they want to hear – Trump (MAGA) and Brexit (£350 million for the NHS) spring to mind – aren’t much different.

So a mix of lies which pander to the voters’ selfish interests, or suit the malign agenda of those seeking to destabilise, sit on one side of Pluto’s battle for better government. The other side is a genuine opportunity to make ordinary people better informed in the choices they make and give a voice to the silent majority. Previous experiences of Pluto in Capricorn from the past do suggest it promotes justice, culture and learning rather than chaos. Getting its act together this time round still seems a ways off.

The inestimable Cillian Murphy is back in the fourth series of BBC TV’s Peaky Blinders, playing the gypsy gangster, Tommy Shelby, head of a Birmingham mafioso family with menacing charisma. The production has created its own sumptuously dark and corrupt world with dynastic anti-heroes at the heart of it. Murphy carries the series with a quiet, brooding and murderous presence.

He’s had a sterling, award-strewn career since giving up his first love of music, appearing in all three of the Dark Night movies, most recently in Dunkirk and continued working on stage.

Born 25 May 1976 in Cork (no birth time sadly) he is a Sun Gemini opposition filmic Neptune; and his Sun is trine Pluto, sextiling onto Mars in Leo conjunct Saturn in late Cancer; and his Mars is in a high-adrenaline square to Uranus – definitely creative from Neptune but with enough sharp-edged aggravation from Pluto Mars Saturn Uranus to pack a punch on screen. Plus he has Jupiter, Mercury, Venus in Taurus adding heft and charm to his airy Gemini Sun. Taurus also helps to give him a compelling voice and liking for music.

His actor’s 15^th Harmonic is very marked with a Grand Trine tying together Pluto Neptune and Mars, focussing through a Kite onto Mercury – more than usual success from Pluto Neptune, showbizzy from Mars Neptune, danger from Pluto Mars – and all channelled through his voice.

Peaky Blinders launched on 13 September 2013 when Mars was in Leo square Saturn Venus in Scorpio, inconjunct Pluto and trine Uranus – so carrying the themes of his chart. There was also a successful Cardinal Grand Cross of Pluto opposition Jupiter square Uranus opposition Mercury.

Cillian Murphy has executive produced this fourth but not final series so is widening his repertoire further. Across 2020 and the years following, he’ll be due another run of successes, though with a few bumps before then as tr Uranus hits on his Saturn Mars and Uranus.

Another Prince of Wales who had to wait to succeed was King Edward V11, who was 61 at his coronation. During the long reign of his mother Queen Victoria, he was largely excluded from political power, and came to personify the fashionable, leisured elite. He did fulfil ceremonial duties but his reputation as a playboy prince soured his relationship with his mother. After his accession his charm made him exceptionally popular. She was 82 when she died.

Born 9 November 1841 10.48 am London, England his chart has certain similarities to Prince Charles’s. Both charts have Scorpio Suns, Jupiter in Sagittarius in hard aspect to Uranus, and Venus in Libra. Edward’s Sun was square Neptune, trine Uranus, sextile Mars, inconjunct Pluto with his Pluto opposition Venus. Charles has his Sun square Pluto with Neptune conjunct his IC, and his Pluto sextile his Venus. So both emotional, determined, charming and fairly Neptunian; though Edward was more of a risk-taker.

The houses are different with Edward being more inclined to travel with Moon Venus in his 9th house so more attracted to long distance travel, and a 10th/11th house Sun would make him more ambitious and people-oriented.

When Victoria died tr Jupiter just into his 1^st house giving him a boost was conjunct his Saturn in Capricorn, sextile his midheaven and conjunct his Solar Arc midheaven. And both tr Pluto and his Solar Arc Pluto were in a super-confident opposition to his Jupiter around the time of his coronation 18 months later and just after.

Charles has nothing similar coming up though with a 4^th house Sun, Mercury, Venus and Neptune he’s a much more introspective temperament than Edward, so will regard his accession perhaps with less pleasure.

Why now? The outpouring of #metoo allegations of sexual abuse and harassment in the USA and UK feels like a game-changing moment, although it is in danger of saturating a public more inclined to look the other way.  It’ll only take a couple of false allegations to be exposed to run the risk of being swept back under the rug again.

Scorpio will have a hand in it with tr Jupiter having moved into Scorpio, the sign that rules sexuality, almost to the day when the Harvey Weinstein allegations in the NY Times blew the lid off a very nasty can of worms. But Jupiter cycles back round into Scorpio every 12 years so there has to be a more complicated explanation – of several astrological influences coinciding to create a perfect storm, some of which specifically trigger the US and UK charts.

Scorpio which has a reputation for depth,  darkness and trawling the sewers will certainly be part of it. It was the driving force behind the upsurge of child sexual abuse allegations in the UK and USA. In the late 1980s as Pluto was in early Scorpio in the UK it kicked of with Cleveland family abuse allegations. Although they were trashed unfairly by the media and politicians as a nothing-happened scandal, there was ample evidence which has never received proper exposure. As Pluto left Scorpio in 1997 the infamous Rosemary West trial was making the UK sick as a dog with appalling tales of child sexual abuse and murder.

In the USA, again at the start of Pluto in Scorpio in 1988 Ellen Bass’s book Courage to Heal for child sexual abuse survivors went global and provoked a backlash against victims speaking out and their social work and therapist helpers, which morphed into the vicious Memory Wars of the 1990s which attempted to write off allegations as ‘false memories’ and succeeded to a frightening degree because of a gullible public, for whom denial is always the more comfortable option.

When the Jimmy Savile was outed in October 2012 as a prolific paedophile, a year after his death, tr Saturn was within a few days of moving into Scorpio; and an avalanche of other tragic victim stories and trials followed.

It’s easier to see why these examples of Scorpio transits above rattled up the UK since the country chart has planets in all four fixed signs, including a can-be-corrupt Mars in Taurus in the 8^th house of sexuality square Venus in Aquarius in the 5^th house of children. So any outer planets transiting through Scorpio would force murky secrets to the surface. The USA is less obvious though the US Aquarius Moon (sign of the feminine) may play its part and it has been shaken this year and next by the Leo/Aquarius Lunar and Solar Eclipses. And tr Jupiter will square the US Moon in 2018.

I wonder whether the millennial generation has a hand in the explanation since it includes those born in the Pluto in Scorpio years (1983 to 1995), as well as the triple conjunction in Capricorn of the late 80s/early 90s. They are rebellious, more inclined to disregard ‘conventional’ wisdom and to rock the boat wherever possible.

Ronan Farrow whose determined efforts broke the Weinstein story was born on 19 December 1987 with Pluto and Mars conjunct in Scorpio and Saturn Uranus in late Sagittarius very central to his chart. At the moment tr Uranus has moved a third of a zodiac to trine tr Saturn and both are tied into the Leo North Node which is being buffeted by this August’s Leo Eclipse and next February’s Aquarius Eclipse.

For all I distrust the overblown transgender phenomenon which risks thoroughly confusing children, that may be an additional symptom of the breakdown of the – I hate the word – patriarchy, out of which springs much of the past sexualised power play behaviour.

Any other astro-thoughts welcome.

Just a quickie on explorer adventurers. What is extraordinary looking at eight charts of the most famous modern and a couple of older ones is the absence of earth signs.

Ranulph Fiennes, the transglobe explorer, 7 March 1944, has none at all – he’s a Pisces Sun, Mercury with five Air and three Fire planets.  Neither has Ben Fogle, Sun Scorpio with no Earth, 4 Air, 3 Fire, 3 Water.

Aron Lee Ralston, is a Sun Uranus in Scorpio with only Venus in Virgo in Earth, 3 Water, 2 Air, 3 or 4 Fire.

Tom Avery, is a Sun Sagittarius with only Mercury in Capricorn in Earth, four Fire, three Air.

Bear Grylls, is a Sun Gemini with only Venus in Taurus and a Capricorn Moon in an Earth sign and four Water planets.

Edmund Hillary, the Everest mountaineer, a Sun Cancer with five Water planets, four Fire, no Air.

Ernest Shackleton, a Sun Aquarius with five Air, three Fire and only Pluto in Taurus in Earth.

Not surprisingly, most have high-adrenaline, danger-seeking Mars Uranus aspects. And several have Jupiter Neptune aspects – following a dream (delusional) – though sometimes dreams come true. And otherwise strongly aspected Jupiters for confidence and luck.

Perhaps too much earth which generally give practicality, common sense and a grounding in the body isn’t helpful for high endurance, madcap expeditions.

Mo Farah, the long-distance Olympic runner is similar being a Sun Aries, with four Fire signs and only Venus in Taurus.

Maybe being connected to the body would put the brakes on these sports which push beyond the limits, which is where Jupiter Neptune comes in as well. Endurance is a head and head-in-the-clouds sport.

Serena Williams married Alexis Ohanian, the American-Armenian co-founder of Reddit, father of her baby, yesterday in the early evening in New Orleans. Who’d get married on a Mars Pluto square? Doesn’t augur well for the road ahead. The wedding was glitzy enough, indeed seriously overdone, in the style of superstar hitches as befits a frivolously indulgent Moon Jupiter Venus in Scorpio. Though the Sun quincunx Uranus hints at a degree of strain. And Mars square Pluto? Oof, angst, power-struggles, hostility down the road, never mind during the preparations of the week before.

She’s a tennis superstar, 22 times Grand Slam winner, born 26 September 1981 8.28pm Saginaw, Michigan and he 24 April 1983 New York.

From an earlier post: She has her Sun and Saturn Jupiter Pluto Mercury in Libra with a Virgo Moon and Venus in Scorpio. While he is a Sun in Taurus opposition Saturn Pluto, with Mars also in Taurus; a Virgo/Libra Moon, Venus in Gemini and a lucky Uranus Jupiter in Sagittarius. It’s not intuitively that strong a mix. On the upside his Venus does trine her Libra Sun Saturn Jupiter which is affectionate; his Moon is around her Moon Sun which gives a shared resonance; his Sun is on her Ascendant which can be good though also competitive. Her Venus in Scorpio opposes his Mars in Taurus which is hot, passionate and sexy but not overly sensitive. And his Saturn Pluto is conjunct her Descendant which isn’t too emotional, better suited to a business relationship.

The relationship chart, which oddly enough or maybe not, often picks up the themes of the wedding chart, has a morale-boosting composite Sun trine Jupiter; but the Sun is also square a cold, overly hard-working Saturn and trapped Pluto; with Saturn Pluto trine Mars which will create aggro down the line. Plus an ego-clashing, mutually unsupportive composite Mars opposition Neptune squaring onto the composite Moon. Plus a needs-space composite Venus square Uranus. Possibly more minuses than pluses.

He’s got a very see-saw chart with his Sun opposition Saturn Pluto; Venus opposition Uranus Jupiter; and Neptune opposition Node – all planets separated in two groups on opposite sides of his chart, so he won’t find relationships easy to maintain. She on the other hand has a very bunched together chart with all planets within a trine, so will be fairly self-sufficient – and certainly very work-oriented.

The other wedding this week was in prison between the UK’s ‘most violent inmate’ Charles Bronson, an armed robber who has been behind bars for 41 years, 37 in solitary confinement after repeatedly attacking prison staff and has spent time in high-security psychiatric hospitals. His second marriage also occurred when he was inside, and this his third is to a small-time actress. They were married at 2pm on 14 November at 2pm in Wakefield, England. That wedding chart has fittingly a hidden 8^th house Scorpio Sun as well as Jupiter Venus in Scorpio; with the Moon conjunct Mars in the 7^th square Pluto; and Saturn conjunct the MC. The Mars Pluto square makes more sense of a criminal marriage.

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Explorer and adventurer Benedict Allen has been found in a remote part of Papua New Guinea after being reported missing by his wife. He was on a solo expedition without phone or GPS tracker to find an indigenous people who may be headhunters. The location is only accessible by air, after the road bridges were cut due to tribal fighting.

Born 1 March 1960, with a test pilot father, he has previously crossed the Amazon Basin on foot and in a dug-out canoe, been shot at by hitmen, caught malaria and participated in a six-week male initiation ceremony in which crocodile marks were carved onto his body. On one trip he had to eat his own dog to survive. He has made six TV documentary series for the BBC, is an author and motivational speaker.

He is a Sun Pisces – like Ranulph Fiennes, another intrepid, seemingly fearless and very lucky explorer, and several other famous explorers from the past; with his Sun opposition Pluto and sextile Saturn making him determined and tough, used to deprivation. His Pluto is also inconjunct a stubborn Mars in Aquarius which will draw him compulsively towards danger and make him argumentative and overly stubborn. His wife complained about him not taking any communication equipment with him and said it was hard on his three children. His Venus in Aquarius opposes Uranus and square Neptune, so he will be emotionally detached, needing freedom, quite fanatical at times with Uranus Neptune, and not always sensible.

Tr Pluto is conjunct his Mars/Jupiter midpoint at the moment which would give him protection and the ability to succeed. He’s certainly not short of guts or enthusiasm with his Mars conjunct his Sun/Jupiter midpoint; and his Pluto = Mars/Jupiter.

The Brexit bullet having been fired is due to hit its target on 29 March 2019 at 11pm London time, which may (or may not) see a divorce decree absolute, given the amount of foot-shuffling going on. But it’s what Theresa May is rigidly clinging onto, at least for today.

It would make sense astrologically since tr Saturn in Capricorn is exactly opposition the UK Moon then for a sense of mourning, and it returns on and off till December 2019. Tr Uranus is square the UK Jupiter for a monumental sigh of relief – jubilation from those who want out; and for those who didn’t, at least the boring haggling is over so we can get on with making the best of a bad deal. The Solar Arc Pluto is within 6 months of being exactly conjunct the UK Libra Ascendant, which is usually a time of taking control. The Solar Arc UK Moon is opposition the UK natal 11^th house Saturn bringing a sense of loss and perhaps popular displeasure with the legislature. The Secondary Progressed Moon is conjunct the UK natal Moon, so on a Progressed Return, which is a significant marker. (see below)

The Brexit chart itself for 2019 looks argumentative, stressed and fraught with a 7^th house Mars in Taurus trine Moon Pluto (Saturn) in Capricorn. It’s a very lower hemisphere chart so inward looking, concerned with self rather than others. The only upper hemisphere point if the Node in Cancer in the 9^th – so it’ll be a struggle to connect to the wider world, with pride getting in the way. The tendency will be to get entangled in complications – can’t see the wood for the trees.

The Jupiter trine Uranus suggests a leap of faith with costs attached; and Saturn also in the 2nd will require teeth-gritting decisions about money.

Add On: Looking back on the UK’s previous Progressed Moon Returns they have coincided with game-changing events, most often connected to the Royal Family. That isn’t surprising since the 10^th house where the Moon sits is associated in mundane astrology with the rulership of the country.

The previous one in late 1991 saw the UK in an economic depression, worsening in November 1991 and leading to the UK crashing out of the ERM in 1992 to great embarrassment and loss of money; described as the most significant event until Brexit 2016. The aftermath also saw the Queen’s Annis Horribilis with three of her children divorcing or separating in 1992 and Windsor Castle going on fire.

One back in November 1964, the Return foreshadowed Winston Churchill’s death in January 1965. During the three days of lying-in-state, 321,000 people file past the catafalque.

The Progressed Moon conjunct the UK Moon in mid 1937 coincided with the Coronation of George V1 in May. And on the previous occurrence in February 1910, King Edward V11’s health was worsening. He died in May 1910 with a state funeral, and was succeeded by George V.

Real Madrid footballer Cristian Ronaldo has had his fourth child on 12 November 2017 at 9.15pm in Madrid, this one with his girlfriend Georgina, the previous three being born to surrogates.

the new arrival, Alana Martina, has an intensely emotional and party-loving 5^th house Scorpio Sun and an equally powerful 7^th house Pluto, so she won’t go unnoticed. Her hard-working and hard-worrying Virgo Moon is in the 3^rd house of siblings, so she’ll be preoccupied with those around her growing up. Indeed siblings may provide more nurturing than her rather vague mother with Moon opposition Neptune. Her home life will be indulgent and noisy with both Mars and Venus Jupiter in her 4th house.

Although she’ll bring Ronaldo a real lift with her Venus Jupiter in his 10^th, it won’t be the easiest of relationships. Born 5 February 1985 5.25am Funchal, Portugal, he’s an Aquarius Sun with a Leo Moon with Venus in Aries which is the exact opposite of her highly emotional Scorpio Sun and Venus and earthy Virgo Moon. Different temperament types. He has a controlling 10^th house Pluto which is conjunct her Venus Jupiter and his Saturn is conjunct her Sun, so it will be a tussle for control at times. The relationship chart has an argumentative/competitive composite Sun Mars and a chained-together Saturn Pluto, so not always harmonious.