Fritz Haber, known as the father of chemical warfare, won a Nobel Prize for chemistry for his method of producing nitrogen fertilizers on which the food production for half the world’s current population depends. He also pioneered weaponizing chlorine gas for use in World War 1 and was proud of his achievement though it probably led to the suicide of his pacifist wife. He also developed Zyklon-B, a cyanide-based pesticide, which was used in the concentration camps during WW11. Though he was not a supporter of National Socialism and had left Germany before he died in 1934.

Born 9 December 1868, Breslau, Poland he was a rigid Sun Sagittarius conjunct Saturn in an inspirational, attention-demanding Fire Grand Trine to North Node in Leo trine Neptune  (ruler of poisons); with Neptune perhaps opposition a Libra Moon. He also had a Yod of an inventive Pluto sextile Uranus inconjunct his Sun. A Yod focal point Sun can lead to ‘a tendency to abuse personal will and authority’. He has the same Yod as the Marquis de Sade, so driven to dominate by whatever means.

The French also manufactured chemical weapons in WW1, which were used by the Brits and Americans, though even then it was considered a war crime. The French chemist Victor Grignard, 6 May 1871 11pm Cherbourg, France, has a more obviously brutal chart with a Sun Pluto in Taurus trine Mars in Virgo widely trine Saturn in Capricorn.

Vladimir Putin’s macho-Christian-nationalist rule begins to make sense or at least have coherence reading reviews of a new book out on his philosopher-hero Ivan Ilyin. Putin had his remains repatriated and made Ilyin’s essays required reading.

Ilyin, born 28 March 1883, disliked Bolshevism and, in exile, gravitated towards Hitler and Mussolini, from whom he developed the notion of Russian fascism.  This perceived a Russia under a strong masculine leader where individualism amongst the populace would be subdued, allowing the country to speak with one voice. ‘Alien influences’, ie. anyone who disagreed or held different beliefs, would be suppressed – Muslims, homosexuals etc. The Russian spirit would therefore prevail.

‘In this culture war, disinformation was critical. The more outrageous the official lie was, the more it allowed people to demonstrate their faith in the Kremlin.’ ‘Russian power is displayed in a relativist blizzard of alternative theories, delivered in a vaguely absurdist spirit, as if no truth on earth is really provable.’ (Guardian URL below) And not only at home, Putin’s disinformation campaign abroad has been geared on the same principles towards undermining democracy – in supporting Le Pen and Farage, RT suggesting the Scottish referendum had been rigged etc, never mind Trump.

Ilyin was a Sun Aries; with Saturn midway between Neptune and Pluto in Taurus trine Uranus. Uranus would make him a reformer, and Saturn Neptune Pluto would give him a tendency to dabble in strange ideas, part mystical. Saturn Pluto is bleak, repressive; Saturn Neptune is concerned with re-ordering society; Neptune Pluto has overtones of megalomania. His Uranus also opposed Mercury in Pisces squaring onto Jupiter in Gemini – confident with grand ideas, idealistic about social order, impractical, philanthropic.

Putin shares Ilyin’s Saturn Neptune conjunction, though in his case it’s in Libra; and Ilyin’s Saturn Neptune is conjunct Putin’s confident Jupiter in Taurus, giving Putin a template for his political strategy. Their relationship chart has a powerfully connected and transformational composite Sun Mercury opposition Pluto; though also a bizarre collection of Saturn Neptune opposition Mars, sextile/trine Jupiter which will get a sharp elbow come 2019/2020.

Perhaps the guru will fall off his pedestal. Certainly explains those odd Putin as John Wayne bare-chested on a horse pics.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/apr/15/the-road-to-unfreedom-russia-europe-america-timothy-snyder-review-tim-adams

The attack on Syrian chemical weapons research and storage facilities by US, backed by France and UK, was launched at 3.55am today. Mars in Capricorn is exactly midway between Saturn and Pluto which does point to violence. Mars Saturn is military; Saturn Pluto is war; Mars Pluto is brutality – and the last is still to come to reach the exact conjunction on the 26^th. To date there has been no indication of direct retaliation from either Russia or Iran.

Neptune is just below the Pisces Ascendant which could tie in with poison gas being the trigger. As well as to the myriad conpiracy and other theories swirling. Craig Murray appears to lean towards blaming Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia for the Skripal nerve agent attack as well as the chlorine/maybe sarin Douma atrocity, as false flags to inflame western opinion against Russia and thence against his greatest rival for Middle Eastern supremacy – Iran. Or it could be Russia actually did do a Litvinenko job in Salisbury; and Assad, backed by Russia and Iran, decided he was invulnerable and could suit himself.

Other voices say the West has done nothing about the seven year carnage of the Syrian Civil War – ’a human tragedy of near-biblical proportions. Upwards of 700,000 civilians have been killed, with an estimated 13m displaced – over half the population.’ (Guardian). But decided to get morally indignant over another form of destruction.  Though after Iraq and Libya, it was a case of damned if you do (interfere), damned if you don’t. And indeed  did little has been done about Israel’s use of questionable weapons in Gaza, ditto US with white phosphorus in Iraq, though I don’t think the latter is proscribed under International Treaty.

Trump, au naturellement, was looking for any distraction from the Mueller/Cohen/Comey debacles. Macron equally thrives on military pomp and wittingly or otherwise would find a foreign escapade diverted attention from domestic unrest.

What is worrisome is that both James Mattis, Secretary of Defense, and Joseph Dunford, Head of the Joint Chiefs of Staff look unnerved and undermined. Mattis, 8 September 1950 has tr Neptune opposing his Virgo Sun starting this month, on and off till late 2019 as he fends off aggravated panic from Trump. Dunford, 8 December 1955, also has tr Neptune in hard aspect to his Sagittarius Sun, running for the same time frame.   Military men tend to be more cautious about launching into gesture attacks since they are more aware than most of the damage war causes and the risks of escalation.

What was always clear was that Bashar Assad’s Term was moving into its most dangerous few years, despite the war having been ‘won.’ Tr Pluto picked up the opposition to his Term Mars last month, sticking around till late 2019, which is cornered and very high-risk, before moving on to oppose the Sun/Mars midpoint and finally the Sun in 2021/2022. So it’s not over by a long shot.

Katie Holmes,  star in Dawson’s Creek, former wife of Tom Cruise, has had a sporadic career since exiting the high-profile marriage in 2012, allegedly over her concerns about bringing their daughter Suri up in Scientology. She has been in recent years highly praised for her role of Jackie Kennedy in a TV series, was in Soderbergh’s acclaimed Logan Lucky last year and has started directing as well as acting. She’s been together with the actor, singer, comedian Jaimie Foxx for some years.

Born 18 December 1978 9.32pm Toledo Junction, Ohio with a lawyer father, who organized her pre-nup and her quickie divorce after 5 years, with full custody of Suri, she was brought up Roman Catholic. According to reports, Cruise hasn’t seen his daughter for several years, so Katie has been single-parenting. With scientology, you’re either in or you’re out. The two adopted children with Cruise’s former marriage to Nicole Kidman, opted to stay in, so Kidman has little contact.

Katie Holmes has a 5^th house Sun in late Sagittarius conjunct Mars in early Capricorn, so is designed for the spotlight and for performing. Apart from that, her Sun isn’t well integrated into the rest of her chart. She has a 12^th house Moon Jupiter in Leo sextile Pluto and square Venus Uranus in Scorpio. With her Venus Uranus sextile Saturn in Virgo. She’ll be happy in her own company, fairly secretive and quite intense.

When she married Cruise, tr Saturn was moving just below her horizon so a less ambitious and less successful time career-wise. She’s coming out of that now and will gradually start to become more visible and find her prospects brighten.

There was a good deal of affection with Cruise with a composite Sun Venus in their relationship chart but that was also conjunct Uranus, so one or other would feel their individuality was being stifled. Plus an argumentative Mercury opposition Mars; and a see-saw up and down Jupiter opposition a suspicious, doubt-ridden Saturn Neptune. Her relationship with David Miscavige, leader of the Scientologists (the third item in their marriage) wasn’t great.

Suri, the daughter, 18 April 2006 3.26am Santa Monica, California, has a heavy chart and a troubled relationship with her out-with-her-control father. Her Aries Sun is trine Pluto which in turn opposes Mars in Cancer. Like her mother she has an emotionally changeable Venus conjunct Uranus, in her case in Pisces. Her Moon in Sagittarius is conjunct Pluto, so close to her mother.

Speaker Paul Ryan’s surprise announcement of his resignation come November to spend more time with his family has sent shivers down the GOP, already facing sagging poll numbers.

Born 29 January 1970 2.37pm Janesville, Wisconsin, he was never a good fit with Trump, but hung around to see the tax cuts through.  He has had tr Saturn moving below his Ascendant since late 2015 which always ushers in a few years of old ambitions fading as well as lowered motivation, energy and less success. Finding a better balance with personal life is always part and parcel of Saturn through the 1^st Quadrant.

He has a sharp-witted, communicative 3^rd house Aquarius Sun Venus on the point of a T Square to Jupiter in Scorpio opposition Saturn in Taurus – does have stamina, is charming though ego-centric, fairly up and down with Jupiter Saturn in opposition. He’s also got a controlling and influential 10^th house Pluto which is square Trump’s Sun and Moon, so Ryan would find being a submissive courtier rather than an equal partner in the US political system difficult to swallow. His Pluto and Uranus in early Libra both oppose Mars in Aries, so he does have a steely backbone at times and a volatile streak. Trump’s 12th house Pluto opposes Ryan’s Sun so it would be a tussle for the upper hand with underhand tactics from the 12th house.

Tr Neptune is moving to oppose his midheaven come 2019/2020 so he’ll be directionless. Even   before then with tr Neptune square his Sun/Moon midpoint from May this year onwards into 2019 he’ll be lack lustre, less motivated to co-operate and be feeling unpopular and discontented. Tr Uranus conjunct his Saturn will give him a jolt come July onwards; though with better luck in 2019 when tr Uranus opposes his Jupiter.

His relationship chart with Trump has a mutual-dislike and unfair-treatment composite Mars Saturn conjunction which is being eroded by tr Neptune in square from 2017 to 2019; with upsets come July and more in 2019. Maybe he’ll write a spill-the-beans memoir to add to the pile.

Mark Zuckerburg has been gritting his teeth through two days of Senate hearings on Facebook misdemeanours over data, his delivery described as ‘robotic with a smile that looks as though he’s more used to using emojis.’

Born 14 May 1984, White Plains, NY with a putative time of 2.39pm (astrotheme), he’s got a very locked-down, intensely secretive, stubborn to the nth degree and enduring temperament. His Sun and Venus in Taurus oppose Mars, Moon, Saturn in Scorpio with Pluto also in Scorpio. Very see-saw but not much give in there and he will have great difficulty with change.  He assumes the world will adapt round him.

His get-it-together, can-be-dominating 5^th Harmonic is strong though strained with a Uranus focal point Yod – which fits with Uranus ruling all things high-tech but it can be unstable. His ‘obsessive dream’ 11H is also heavily aspected but a difficult one to live up to. Interestingly his 10H is possibly his strongest – “The wheel of Fortune”. Contains innovation and creativity bringing prosperity and abundance, but it also contains the seed of both rise and fall, of the good and the bad.

He’s getting a jolt from Uranus as it moves first to conjunct his Mercury in Aries late this month and then as it goes into Taurus mid May it starts to oppose his Pluto for an uncomfortable and jolting year ahead. His Solar Arc Jupiter is moving over the next few years to form a T Square to his Venus Sun opposition Moon Mars, which could suggest more humanitarian activities – though it could also point to over confidence leading to a fall.    Tr Neptune is undermining his confidence from May this year, on into 2019; and then dissolving high hopes and plans in 2019/2020. He’s got endless stamina but it won’t all be going his way.

Like a bad penny which keeps boomeranging back, Tony Blair pops up again with thoughts from his lofty perch about Brexit, the Good Friday Agreement, Syria. There also word that his son Euan is involved in a potential new centrist party, hoping to launch. The Blair name would be the kiss of death before it got off the ground.

Blair senior is ploughing through heavy seas 2018 to 2020 with tr Pluto square his Neptune Saturn – confused, devastated, discouraged. Though he does have a gung-ho tr Pluto trine his Sun/Jupiter midpoint in 2019/2020 as well so he won’t be totally deflated. And he does have tr Saturn ominously moving upwards in his chart, heading for his next career peak from early 2020 onwards for eight years thereafter. 2020 has the Jupiter Saturn conjunction moving through his 10^th which should be successful; though 2021/2022 sees tr Pluto conjunct his MC which can mean a fall from grace, loss of reputation and having to find a new path. 2023 however will see tr Pluto trine his Jupiter in Taurus giving him renewed confidence. The old rubber ball will bounce back again,

He’s got a pretty unbudgeable chart with Sun Jupiter in Taurus, Pluto in Leo and Moon North Node in Aquarius. Plus a Cardinal T Square – so he’ll be constantly reinventing himself and stubbornly trying to make his mark.

Euan Blair has quite a chart though less well tied together than his father’s.  He’s a late Sun Capricorn with a ferocious determined Mars Pluto in Scorpio and Saturn also in Scorpio, some of which may square a Leo Moon. Plus a high-finance, head-in-the-clouds Jupiter Neptune Mercury conjunction.  He’ll be shaken up from this July with tr Uranus opposition his Pluto and then Mars in 2019 so quite a rocky ride ahead; with hints this year of a dream that may prove a mirage as his Solar Arc Jupiter Neptune squares his Mars.

Fleetwood Mac have fired Lindsey Buckingham, their lead guitarist and a vocalist, who had already baled out once before for a decade only to come back.

Fleetwood Mac described by Rolling Stone: ‘The crew that loves breakup drama more than any other six or seven bands combined.

It’s a new dysfunctional chapter for the fivesome who wrote the book on packing up and shacking up.

Any band can explode a time or three, but only these guys could break up continuously for 40 years, putting each other through untold agonies and then always coming back together for more punishment.

Permanently mismatched, yet permanently linked.’

They are a strong-minded and argumentative bunch. Mick Fleetwood, 24 June 1942, a Sun Jupiter in Cancer has Mars Pluto conjunct in Leo. Christine McVie, 12 July 1943, also a Sun Cancer has Jupiter Pluto in Leo square Mars in Taurus maybe opposition a Scorpio Moon. Stephanie Nicks, 26 May 1948, a Sun Gemini square Mars in Virgo, has a Saturn Pluto conjunction and her Mercury conjunct outspoken Uranus. John McVie, 26 Nov 1945, a Sun Sagittarius trine Mars Pluto in Leo.

Lindsey Buckingham, 3 October 1949 1.53am Palo Alto, CA is a Sun Libra with Mars Pluto in Leo on his Ascendant.  He’ll be fine, indeed bouncing come 2019/2020 with tr Pluto conjunct his Jupiter in Capricorn. His relationship with Mick Fleetwood was always fraught with a hostile composite Pluto, Mars.  He was solo for his missing decade and will no doubt be so again.

As to the others, it looks a bumpy ride through 2028/19. But for them that’s normal.

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‘A Quiet Place’ has had an astonishing opening for an original horror movie with rave reviews and a hugely successful box office.

Directed by John Krasinski and starring himself and his wife Emily Blunt, it’s about an Apocalyptic earth over run by sightless aliens with hyper-sensitive hearing who are on a mission to kill remaining humans. Essentially it’s about parents protecting their family and having to do so without talking or making any noise. An almost silent movie.

John Krasinski, 20 October 1979 8.44pm Brighton, Massachusetts, is best known for The Office, and is clearly now making his name as a director. He has a New Moon in Libra in the performing 5^th house which also contains Pluto in Libra and Venus, Mercury, Uranus in Scorpio. He has a flamboyant Mars in Leo in the 3^rd; and Jupiter, North Node and Saturn in Virgo in his 4^th. Entertainment will be his passion with a tendency to slide away from domestic concerns. This sees him taking a step upwards with tr Saturn moving above his Descendant and he’s got a long run of work ahead.

Emily Blunt, 23 February 1983, is a Sun Pisces square an adventurous and lucky Jupiter Uranus in Sagittarius; with her Sun falling in his 10^th house of career; with her Mars in Pisces conjunct Venus in Aries also in his 10^th – so designed to be a working partnership with her motivating him. Her Pluto is conjunct his New Moon in Libra with her Saturn in Scorpio also conjunct, which will be possessive but very work oriented.

They are very different personalities since she has a Water Cancer Moon and a Water Sun, while he has an Air Sun Moon. Her Venus is in Aries while his is in Scorpio.

Their relationship chart does have a power-couple composite Jupiter Pluto square Venus; but there are (maybe) tricky Moon aspects with a volatile Mars opposition Uranus probably square the composite Moon. Not an intuitive match and not all sweetness and light.