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.

Astrology isn’t always a helpful diagnostic tool when it comes to labelling psychological conditions or developmental disorders, since it works within its own framework. But it can track similarities between the charts of known sufferers, bearing in mind that the chart influences can manifest in different ways in different individuals depending on life circumstances and other variables.

One of the best known high functioning autistics is  Temple Grandin, a Doctor in Animal Science, consultant to the livestock industry in animal welfare and a spokesperson for autism.

She was born on 29 Aug 1947 at 2.30pm Boston, MA, USA so is a 9^th house Sun in Virgo conj Venus, Mercury which fits with high education and communication. She also has serious Saturn Pluto in Leo in the 9^th.  Her chart is bucket shaped with all the energy funnelled through the handle which is Moon in Aquarius in the 3^rd. A singleton Moon is highly sensitive emotionally, rather overloaded, and in her case is blocked by an opposition to Saturn Pluto.

I haven’t researched enough autistics’ charts to be definitive. But two thoughts from this and other charts below – one is the 3^rd house and indeed Mercury, both of which rule the rational mind. Conditions like Autism and Aspergers though they do result in significant emotional disengagement, do suggest a brain-wiring problem which impacts on the ego wall. Obviously with high-functioners there’s nothing wrong with their brain per se, more to their ability to function amongst people. That’s not well explained but it doesn’t seem to me emotional damage at the root of it, that’s more of a secondary outcome.

The second thought is afflicted Moons. From an old discussion I recollect that a number of autistic examples had Saturn Pluto Moon.

Of the famous Asperger sufferers (a milder version of autism) Moon Mars crops up in quite a few.

Susan Boyle, the Scottish singer, has her Moon square Mars; and a difficult Uranus, Pluto, Moon in her 4^th. Prince John, the Queen’s uncle, who died young, 12 July 1905 3.05am had a Moon Mars conjunction square Mercury; and North Node in the 3^rd. He had epilepsy, a learning disability and was thought to be autistic.

Of others listed as famous Aspergers – Daryl Hannah, like Susan Boyle, has Uranus Pluto in the 4^th, and a heavily afflicted Mars in the 3^rd opposition Saturn. Robin Williams had Moon trine Mars Uranus; Bill Gates has a singleton Moon opposition Mars Mercury. So afflicted Moon and Mars.

All of this is speculative. And what you have to watch with diagnostic labels is they can sometimes be ‘trashcans’ into which people suffering from a variety of conditions get dumped because not enough is known. There is always a broad spectrum for any condition especially affecting the brain or the mind; and there may be other factors involved – so brain-wiring plus environmental emotional damage. Initially when autism was diagnosed ‘freezer’ mothers were blamed, which notion then became discredited. Though there may be a genetic component involved.

What we know about the brain/mind interface is remarkably limited, let alone how conditions are passed down through generations either via DNA or psychologically. The nature nurture argument has never been resolved and the likelihood is that both play their part.

Also to remember the logical fallacy – just because the grass is green, not everything green is grass. If you have a tricky Moon Mars or Moon Saturn Pluto it doesn’t mean you have an undiagnosed condition. You’ll have lived it out in a different way.

Add on:  Thanks to Jed for the data of her son with ‘high functioning autism (not aspergers), 15th July 1998 3.19am London. He had a main stream education and is now working. Although shy he has a handful of very good friends and is a gentle and lovely soul.’

He has Mercury in the 3^rd opposition Uranus; with his Moon square Mars, trine Pluto, semi-sextile Saturn and sextile Neptune. So some similar markers to above.

Stacey Abrams made history Tuesday night by being the nation’s first black woman nominated for governor by a major political party, the Democrats in Georgia. She won by huge margins, all the more surprising since Georgia was once known as all white. At this stage she’s still the underdog, but if she does win in November, she would be the first woman as well as the first African American elected governor of Georgia, and the first black woman to govern any state in the US.

Born 9 December 1973, she is a fiery Sun Sagittarius widely trine Mars in pro-active Aries, so definitely willing to have a go. She has a tough-minded Saturn square Pluto and sextile Mars, so she’s got grit won from hard experience. She’s also got a charming and confident Pluto trine Venus Jupiter in Aquarius, sextile Mercury Neptune in Sagittarius. Venus Jupiter is handy for politics giving an ability to turn charm on to order; Mercury Pluto is deep thinking and persuasive; a focal point Mercury is communicative and able to multi-task; Neptune makes her idealistic though not always easy to pin down.

She’s a long shot to win but she does have tr Pluto conjunct her Sun/Jupiter midpoint in early November which is a definite plus point so she might just make it. 2019 won’t be a picnic but she looks to be coming into her own through the 2020s.

Philip Roth, who has just died, became known as one of the best writers of the 20^th Century, after a controversial early novel Portnoy’s Complaint. It saw him labelled as a Jewish anti-Semite and literature’s dirtiest old man. A recent novel American Pastoral won the Pulitzer. He saw himself as a chronicler of American life in ‘all its shameless impurity.’

Born 19 March 1933 1am Newark New Jersey, he spent most of his life as an academic and writer after a stint in the army. He was married twice, latterly to actress Clare Bloom.

He had a 3^rd house Sun Venus in Pisces and Mercury in Aries – quick-witted, intelligent, a good communicator; with Mars Neptune Jupiter in Virgo in the communicative/publishing 9^th house, which would give him a philosophical slant. 9^th house tends to be interested in society and what motivates it.

His Sun was trine an influential and deep thinking 8^th house Pluto. He also had an unaspected Saturn in Aquarius; and a Capricorn Moon square Mercury, trine Mars. An unaspected Saturn can incline to solitude and be disinterested in anything that lies beyond the sphere of the individual’s interest. He also had a changeable 4^th house Uranus square Pluto.

It’s not a chart that hangs together well. Except in his 21^st Harmonic, associated with great writers – it has a powerful Neptune Saturn opposition Jupiter square Pluto widely opposition Mars; with Sun trine Neptune Saturn and opposition Venus. Writing was what brought his life together and gave him focus.

Anthony Hopkins, a towering talent but like many actors not an entirely together human being, has been baldly saying he doesn’t know and doesn’t care if he has a grandchild. When told he sounded rather cold, Hopkins replied: “Well, it is cold. Because life is cold.”

While in the throes of alcoholism, he abandoned his first wife and only daughter Abigail as a toddler, and his fractured relationship with her sent her into a drug spiral and nervous breakdown in her late teens. They got together briefly in the 1990s but he hasn’t had contact with her in almost two decades.

Born 31 December 1937 9.15am (from memory) Port Talbot, Wales, he was hopeless at school and bullied, ending up latterly in boarding school. He says his drive to become successful was to show all those who had poured scorn on him that he had made it.

He has Sun, Mercury, Venus in the reclusive 12^th house trine Uranus, sextile Mars in Pisces – ambitious, private, pro-active, restless and volatile. He also has Jupiter opposition a 7^th house Pluto making him pushily confident, keener on importance than emotional connection; and in the 7^th house a dislike of being dominated.

His outspoken Sagittarius Moon is on the focal point of a T Square to an 8^th house Neptune opposition Saturn, so a confused and suspicious relationship to mother, domestic life, family. A focal point Moon would attract him to a career providing an audience. One relationship would not give him all the nurturing he craves. Neptune in the 8^th is often a super-star placing giving him the ability to project a filmic aura.

His North Node is in his 10^th so career would be key to his development, not a home and family life.

His daughter Abigail, 20 August 1969, had made a career as a singer-songwriter, actress and theatre director, under a different name. She’s a Sun Leo square a Moon Neptune in Scorpio, so both parents would have that Neptunian inaccessibility. Five of her planets are in her father’s 8^th house, so it is a deep though difficult connection. Her Pluto is square his Moon, opposition his Saturn and conjunct his Neptune so she would bring up all the confusion of his childhood and make him feel trapped.  Their relationship chart is understandably tricky. The composite Mars is inconjunct Pluto, and opposition Uranus square Saturn opposition Neptune – which is an unsolvable mess of bad feeling.

Ironically Anthony Hopkins is due to star in the BBC adaptation of King Lear, airing this month. The first trailer shows the aged king cruelly disowning his youngest daughter Cordelia.

What a shame for his daughter. Sagittarian Moons can be crassly direct with never a thought for the effect on others.

Add on: He has recently come out as having Asperger’s.

When his alcoholism threatened to destroy his life he had an epiphany, a voice in his head, which told him to give up drinking which he did overnight. That was December 29 1975 just before his 38^th birthday. This is the start of what Carl Jung talks about as the mid life crisis, stretching from the late 30s through the early 40s, where it is crucial to find the deeper self and ensure the second half of life has meaning and purpose. If the transition is not made, then there’s a slide into stagnation.

Astrologically it coincides first with the Uranus opposition to its natal position, then Pluto square Pluto and Neptune square Neptune.

When his moment of enlightenment came there was a deal of activity around his 3^rd house Uranus. His Progressed Moon was conjunct for a jolting flash of lightning with tr Uranus moving to oppose his Uranus in 1976. Tr Uranus was also opposition his Solar Arc Saturn which itself would conjunct his natal Uranus in 1976/77. Plus tr Saturn was moving conjunct his Pluto and opposition his Jupiter, bringing reality to bear on his delusional sense of invulnerability (rules aren’t made for me.) Plus his Progressed Mars was square his Progressed midheaven for a real jolt; and his Solar Arc Neptune was square his Pluto. When life changing events occur there are always several influences all coming in from different directions, building up a critical mass of pressure for what a major transition.