All the signs are that Bashar Assad is winning the war in Syria against insurgents, with the assistance of Russia, Iran and Lebanon’s Hezbollah movement. Many western countries have ceased calling for him to step down. He was cautious in a recent televised address, saying that after six-and-a-half years of civil war, the “battle continues”, but his forces have pushed to retake territory almost to the border and he is starting to look forward to reconstruction.

In the light of this, it’s curious that his Presidency chart seems under the most devastating and destructive pressures from early 2018 onwards as tr Pluto opposes the Mars, moving across the opposition to Sun/Mars midpoint and then the Sun in 2020/2021.

His own personal chart, 11 September 1965, has a run of swampy, undermining transits of Neptune conjunct his Saturn this year and then opposing his Uranus, Pluto and finally Sun up to late 2020. Thereafter there’ll be a major collision as his Solar Arc Sun, Pluto, Uranus move across the conjunction to his Mars Neptune through from 2022 for several years. Nothing that looks too settled.

A birth time for the Duchess of Cambridge has been kindly supplied by Nathalie Delahaye, obtained by her from close friends some years ago for their wedding. See: http://www.astro.com/astrology/aa_article170904_e.htm

9 January 1982 7pm Reading, UK gives her a Leo Ascendant which fits with a fashion-conscious image and colourful dress sense for Royal occasions. It gives her a late 5^th house party – and children-loving, ambitious Capricorn Sun almost exactly opposite a family-oriented Cancer Moon in the friendly 11^th – so a real Full Moon baby, which suggests she had parents of very different temperaments, almost incompatible. That opposition squares onto Saturn Pluto in Libra adding a bleaker note – rigid, overly-controlled, low self-esteem never feeling she comes up to expectation, especially since Saturn squares both her Sun and Moon.

What’s strange is her 3^rd house of siblings with Mars Saturn Pluto there, suggesting not altogether easy relationships. Yet she has a 4^th house Jupiter in Scorpio, so she’s aware she came from a secure, well-heeled family and will attract the same in adult life. Her Neptune is in her 5^th which often indicates musical or artistic talent and also sensitive children. There could be confusion around children, lack of commitment or a Neptunian air of mystique about them.

Her 6^th house Venus Mercury in Aquarius squares her MC and Jupiter, forming a Fixed T Square – making her fairly stubborn and not good at taking in feedback, though a good long-term planner, emotionally uncompromising, ultimately good at public relations.

Neither she nor William have planets in the other’s 7^th or 1^st houses which would be usual for a marriage. But they do have a strong bond of friendship and have relatively similar charts. His Venus falls in her 10^th so he brings her social status – and an over-complicated everyday schedule. William is a New Moon in Cancer; while she is a Full Moon.  Camilla has her Sun and Moon both in Cancer, while her first husband Andrew Parker Bowles is a Capricorn with a Cancer Sun; and Prince Charles is a Scorpio with a Taurus Moon.  The New Moon tends to be more self sufficient, the Full Moon looking for the Other.

When she married her Solar Arc Sun was sitting on her Descendant; and as she moves through her third pregnancy, her Progressed Moon is going through her 4^th house of home and family until 2021 so her focus will be on her intimate surroundings and those closest to her. What is clear is that she’s in a peculiarly heavy phase with tr Pluto opposing her Moon and conjunct her Sun in 2017/18; as well as being square to her Mars/Pluto and Sun/Moon midpoints; and then tr Pluto will be square her focal point Saturn in 2018/19 – which all looks like a considerable challenge, emotionally and in other ways, and quite a slog since it pulls on all legs of that T Square; with tr Uranus bringing upheavals as it continues to oppose her Pluto into early 2018. So a fairly punishing transformation, not accomplished without a good deal of difficulty and internal conflict. If this time is accurate then she’ll have a sharp change of career direction around 2019 with tr Uranus conjunct her midheaven and afterwards moving through her 10^th, which may be when heavier duties are placed on William.

Almost a third to a half of the population of 1 million Rohingya people have fled Burma into Bangladesh in the face of widespread, burning, killing and rape by Burmese forces and Buddhist youths. The de facto leader, Nobel peace winner Aung San Sui Kyi, is coming in for widespread criticism for her failure to either stop or speak out against the violence. She claims it is ‘fake news’ and the real problem are Rohingya militants. They are a stateless people living in extreme poverty, mainly Muslim but some Hindu, who have been persecuted over decades and refused citizenship. A 2016 UN report described the “devastating cruelty” of Burmese soldiers in a previous crackdown.

Aung San Sui Kyi, 4 January 1948 Yangon with an unverified 12 noon birth time, has a Sun and Uranus in Gemini, with Moon and Neptune in Libra. What stiffens her spine and gave her the endurance to stick out long years of house arrest is a tough-minded Mars in Taurus conjunct Venus, sextile Saturn and square Pluto – that has the capacity to be cruel and ruthless as well as persevering and inordinately stubborn. She looks confident enough in 2017/18 with tr Pluto trine her Jupiter. Where she runs into trouble will be 2019/2020 when tr Uranus is conjunct her Mars and then square her Pluto, which will bring major upheavals and disruptions.

When she was released from house arrest the tr Uranus Jupiter in Pisces was conjunct her Descendant and square her MC, so the birth time may be feasible.

Of the Harmonics which are notable. Her 10^th Harmonic – ‘the seed of the rise and fall’ has a stressed Yod linking Mars and Pluto. The 11^th Harmonic – a difficult number to live up to, can be idealistic but also obsessive, fanatical and unreasonable. It warns against hidden trials, disloyalty and betrayal from others. And her 18^th Harmonic – it gives strength, but also conflicts and enemies, “war & revolution”, which links together Mars, Saturn, Pluto as does her 9H. (See post Aug 29 2017)

Both the Burma charts – 1 April 1937 12 am and 4 January 1948 4.20am Rangoon – are relatively similar. Sun in aspect to Mars; Saturn to Pluto; and Jupiter to Pluto. Martial, bleak, controlling and confident.

The 1937 chart will be hard hit by the tr Saturn Pluto conjunction in 2019 as it clamps down on the Jupiter in Capricorn opposition Pluto, with rebellions from tr Uranus on its Return. The 1948 chart looks financially undermined in 2018 with tr Neptune square the 1^st house Jupiter and a directionless tr Neptune opposition the MC as well. It’s 2^nd house financial Capricorn Sun Mercury will pick up the deprived tr Saturn conjunction by 2019.

The 1948 date and time were supposedly picked by astrologers as auspicious. Heaven knows why. There’s not much to recommend it as a start chart.

Mexico has suffered an 8.2 earthquake, the strongest in a century, as Hurricane Irma and a couple of others following behind lay a trail of devastation across the Caribbean.

Mexico, 15 Sept 1810 11pm Dolores Hidalgo, had the August Solar Eclipse, like Texas, conjunct the midheaven; and their Mars in Leo was also being rattled. At the moment the tr North Node is closely conjunct the Mexico Mars; with the tr Sun opposition the 10^th house Pluto; with tr Saturn moving to square the Mexico Virgo Sun within three weeks as they mop up the damage.

Charts for the Caribbean Islands are difficult to pin down given their complicated history. But Puerto Rico, 25 July 1952 1.36pm San Juan, which missed the eye of the storm have a shocking, disruptive Solar Arc Mars opposition Uranus exactly now. They also have Mercury Pluto in last decan Leo catching the Eclipse.

Irma is heading for Florida, 3 March 1845, which, like Texas, has a Pisces Sun being directly undermined by tr Neptune; with a ‘collision’ Solar Arc Mars square Sun still in orb; and its Mercury Venus Neptune in Aquarius were opposed by the Leo Eclipse so a high-stress time.

Kate Millett, the feminist writer whose Sexual Politics was a catalyst for progress in women’s rights to abortion and equality has died. She was a fervent campaigner for human rights, civil rights, peace and the anti-psychiatry movement and was described as ‘difficult, brutally honest, and tenacious’.

Born 14 September 1934 7.40pm St Paul Minnesota, she had an alcoholic and violent father, who abandoned the family when she was 14. Despite her childhood traumas, she graduated at university with honours and a wealthy aunt paid for her to attend Oxford University. Through an academic career she grew to become a leader of the second-wave feminism.

She had a rebellious Uranus in Taurus on her Ascendant, so was custom-built to upset the status quo; with a hard-working and communicative 6^th house Virgo Sun and Mercury in Libra. Her 4^th house describing her childhood and relationship with her feared father had Pluto on one leg of a Yod in sextile to her Sun inconjunct Saturn in Aquarius in her 11^th – in some ways bleak, but she rose to the challenge of that Yod to make a serious difference out in society. Her performing 5^th house had Mars in Leo and Venus Neptune in Virgo, so she undoubtedly appreciated entertaining an audience. Her North Node in Aquarius would also give her the impetus to devote herself to humanitarian causes.

She would not have an easy emotional life with her controlling 4^th house Pluto square Uranus opposition Jupiter; or her 8^th house Moon in Sagittarius trine Mars – she’d be domineering at times, overly secretive and inclined to blow a fuse when crossed. But she certainly created a few waves. Her leaving-a-legacy-for-history 17^th harmonic is strong; as are her two creative harmonics, 5^th and the inspirational 7^th.

The young princes Harry and Will are about to learn the hard way what their mother Diana never grasped – you can’t use the media to publicise what you want and expect them to back off when it comes to celeb snooping and raking up embarrassments. Harry’s squeeze, Meghan Markle, an undoubtedly beautiful but not hugely talented actress, has been front-covered in a Vanity Fair fashion shoot and given space for a long gush about how in love they are. Harry and Will talked on television about their grief at losing their mother which undoubtedly helped other sufferers; but then went over the top in their celebration of Diana, without mentioning their father’s support or taking on board the damage she’d done to the monarchy. Channel Four are reportedly putting together a Meet the Markles show introducing Meghan’s family, not all of whom are huge fans of hers, with a disgruntled sister writing a tell-all memoir about her social climbing tendencies. It’s going to get nasty.

Harry is an earthy and intense 8^th house Sun Virgo trine a 4^th house Taurus Moon, which roots him firmly into his family line; with his Sun in an impulsive square to Mars in Sagittarius. He looks emotionally enraptured 2016/17 with tr Pluto square his 9^th house Venus, which would point to an ‘abroad’ romantic partner. That runs out in early this December. Late Sept/early Oct tr Saturn squares his Sun which will damp his enthusiasm; and tr Neptune will square his Mars from May 2018 into 2019 which will bring a sense of panicky failure. In 2018 as well tr Uranus opposes his Pluto, for a complete upheaval in his life. Tr Jupiter moves through his 10^th in 2018 which suggests a rise in status, more public attention and success. 2019/2020 has tr Pluto square his Sun/Moon midpoint, which is the significator for one-to-one relationships, so he’ll be going through inner turmoil working out what he wants; at the same time from 2019 onwards tr Saturn moves across his Ascendant into his lower-profile first quadrant, which will give him a desire to be away from the limelight into a phase where he turns the focus on his personal life.

There’s a tentative time for Meghan Markle 4 Aug 1981 4.46 am Los Angeles (astrotheme) though it should be treated cautiously. She’s a Sun Leo with a Libra Moon conjunct Jupiter Saturn with only one Earth planet so the opposite of Harry.  Her Venus in Virgo will resonate with his Sun and her Libra Moon with his Venus, though these are not conjunctions. Her flamboyant, entertainer Leo Sun squares his Saturn in Scorpio, so his sense of duty will put a barrier between them; and her filmic Neptune squares his Sun, so her career will prove a slippery obstacle as well. Their relationship chart is a mix of hot passion, adventure, emotional blockages and worse an ego-imbalance which suggests differing ambitions with two careers that won’t live happily together. And Neptune square Venus Mars and trine the composite Sun hinting at an illusory quality to their connection, which when the shine wears off will bring a let down.

The relationship will undergo a fairly jolting change come this December with tr Uranus opposition the composite Saturn, then Pluto and maybe square the composite Moon; with a definitely cool patch as tr Saturn squares the composite Mars Venus. That could just be external circumstances but it looks a sticky time ahead.

Harry doesn’t look entirely settled with the rest of his family. The Queen is frustrated and irritated by his behaviour through 2017/18; his father also, as is Camilla. Even Will, with whom he has an affectionate if competitive bond, looks disappointed with increasing separation between them this year and more so in 2019/2020.

Will has a soft spot for Meghan, but that is being overtaken by aggravation that she isn’t toeing the Royal line, and being submissive enough. Equally the Queen has a friendly feeling towards her but that, as ever, is over-ridden by weightier concerns which will come to the fore in early 2018.

If they do go ahead and announce an engagement there’ll be some dismay in his family, with Charles especially looking sour towards the New Year.

It’s a shame since Harry deserves a wife and children, but this one, alas, doesn’t look a recipe for long term contentment.

President Trump ordered an end to the Obama-era Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals programme that shields young undocumented immigrants from deportation this week. He and Jeff Sessions, argued that those in the country illegally hurt native-born Americans by usurping their jobs and pushing down wages. And then handed the matter over to Congress to sort out. Around 800,000 ‘Dreamers’ could be deported from next March to countries which many will have no connection to, if it goes through.

Obama’s scheme was launched on 15 August 2012 which has a Venus in patriotic and very American Cancer opposition Pluto and trine Neptune, so intensely felt and sympathetic. The Moon is also in family-oriented Cancer. The Pluto square Uranus hints at constant upheavals in its path; and there is an exact strewn-with-setbacks Mars Saturn conjunction. The Leo Sun caught a crisis with the recent Solar Eclipse; and tr Uranus moves to oppose the Mars Saturn in December/January 2018 which suggests vicious arguments, much provocation, succumbing to brute force. The midpoints transits through this Sept/Oct also suggest violent interventions, acts of brutality and the breakdown of relationships. And general discouragement till late 2018. 2019/20 will dash hopes; but there will be some hope of resurrection in 2020/21 after an almighty and bitter struggle. It’ll be a really uphill protracted battle.

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Singer/songwriter Louis Tomlinson has moved from humble beginnings to become one of the most influential people in the UK before he is 30, according to Debretts. A child actor, a solo then group singer with One Direction (Harry Styles, Zayn Malik and others) which has sold 35 million albums globally, a footballer, now record label owner, supports childrens’ hospices and UNICEF – his interests seem to spiral in all directions.

Born 24 December 1991 1.47pm Doncaster, England, he has an intensely ambitious 8^th house Capricorn Sun. With a 9^th house Uranus Neptune conjunction trine Jupiter in Virgo in the performing 5^th, sextile a seductively charming Venus Pluto in Scorpio. Highly-strung but very focussed. A well-organised Saturn in his 10^th hints at a business career ahead.

His 4^th house Leo Moon squares his Venus Pluto, perhaps a hint of his fatherless childhood and a large family of step-sisters from his mother’s next marriage. His 7^th house Mars Mercury in Sagittarius will help him sell himself with vigour and make for feisty relationships given the trine to his Moon; both square his Jupiter giving him the courage to take risks.

He did have an arrest earlier this year after attacking a paparazzi which with his Solar Arc Pluto approaching a conjunction to his Mars would bring on a surge of enraged frustration. That’s around for another year or so.

He had a son last year from a brief fling though is not with the mother.

He’s in a mixed patch with some disappointments this year, sudden changes of direction, with more discouragement late 2018, though he’ll push on regardless. In general he’ll keep climbing career-wise for years to come, though his life will always be filled with drama and unsettled relationships at least until his forties.

A new Swedish Royal baby arrived the day before Serena Williams’. Prince Gabriel, second son of Prince Carl Philip and former glamour model Sofia Hellqvist, arrived on August 31 at 11.24 am in Stockholm.

He’s way down the succession order so should be free to throw his considerable energy into the world on his own terms. He has the Fire Grand Trine of a 10^th house ambitious and flamboyant Mars Node in Leo trine Uranus descendant trine Saturn, formed into a Kite by Uranus opposition a 12^th house Jupiter. He’s a Sun Virgo opposition Neptune, with his Sun trine Moon and Pluto in Capricorn, so a mix of dreamy and determined. Like his elder brother Alexander, he has Uranus in his house of close relationships and Neptune in his 5^th, which doesn’t suggest an entirely settled adult married life.