The protest movement in France by the gilet jaunes (yellow vests) is escalating. There has been significant violence in Paris, and more peaceful anti-government demonstrations at barricades on roads and at fuel depots across France, with students now joining in to blockade their schools. An opinion poll found 72% of French people still support the protest movement that began in response to a rise in fuel taxes but is rapidly becoming a full-on challenge to President Emmanuel Macron, seen as favouring the rich.

Comparisons are being made with the student revolt of 1968 when civil unrest not only at the universities but also in the factories effectively brought the economy of France to a halt. The protests reached a point where political leaders feared civil war or revolution; and President Charles de Gaulle secretly fled France for a few hours. It started as a protest against capitalism, consumerism, American imperialism and traditional institutions, values and order and then spread to involve almost 22 million workers. As today there were no leaders, just a widespread series of wildcat strikes.

France was born out of a bloody revolution by the proletariat and the spirit of Robespierre and the later Les Miserables runs deep in their veins. The problem for Macron is that every previous president succumbed to public pressure and retreated from much-needed reforms. Which is why the economy remains sclerotic and the state-sector with its eye-poppingly generous benefits schemes stays as is.

The France chart has a fearsome T square in Fixed signs of a rebellious Uranus opposition Pluto square Mars and Midheaven in vengeful Scorpio (opposition Algol). An odd mix of revolutionary and utterly immoveable. That T Square has moved by Solar Arc to catch tr Saturn in hard aspect through December/January 2019; and tr Saturn will also square the 8^th house Venus over the New Year – so a discouraging cloud will hang around for a while.

Paris is seeing a sharp downturn in business with shops and restaurants suffering badly and as the protests spread that will be repeated elsewhere damaging an economy struggling to grow even in miniscule amounts.

The central Bank of France chart, 18 January 1800, is being severely jangled through December to mid February 2019, and pretty much sinking till late 2019 with tr Neptune square its Mars.

Macron’s personal chart, 21 December 1977 10.40 am Amiens, France, has Solar Arc Neptune conjunct his Ascendant now with tr Uranus square both for the next two and a half month as his image takes a pounding. On midpoint transits he’s also in crisis through December to mid February, worsening from mid December till mid January. There’s a minor uptick then, but he looks fairly crushed moving ahead from the spring 2019 onwards.

His relationship chart with France has an explosive Mars Uranus square Saturn to start with and that’s catching the early January Solar Eclipse to mark this confrontation. With nothing that looks like a détente thereafter. Like Hollande, he may limp towards the end of his term.

This protest is not as serious as the 1968 one which occurred when Uranus Pluto in Virgo were conjunct the France North Node and moving to conjunct the France Sun; and tr Neptune was conjunct the Midheaven for a paralysing few weeks. But Macron’s image is unlikely to recover.

His Presidency chart, 14 May 2017 11.25am Paris, was launched on a reform platform with Uranus in the 10^th trine Saturn; but has a questionable Neptune in the financial 8^th in an over-hopeful quincunx to Jupiter and a publicity-seeking but can-be-paralysed square to Mars.

It’s another outburst from the ‘forgotten many’ which is becoming an epidemic in Europe (and beyond). But one to which the EU has no answer. And France especially appears incapable of overcoming truculent public sentiment to enforce the kind of root-and-branch reform which long term would improve the economic situation for all.

Actress Priyanka Chopra married singer, songwriter Nick Jonas in a three day extravaganza in India over this weekend.

She’s one of India’s highest-paid and most popular celebrities, best known in the US for playing the lead in Quantico, also acts as a producer and is a UNICEF ambassadress for children’s rights.

His father conducted a Christian ceremony on Saturday in Jodhpur, India with an enthusiastic and colourful Sun Jupiter in Sagittarius in place square a glitzy, showbiz Mars Neptune in Pisces. Venus in sociable Libra was opposition Uranus and square the North Node – so it’ll be a quirky, unconventional and adventurous match.

She was born 18 July 1982 at 1.05am Jamshedpur, India, (astrotheme) with two army physician parents and has a quick-witted 3^rd house Cancer Sun square a formidably determined Pluto Mars Saturn in Libra. Her Moon and Venus in Gemini give her a lighter-hearted side; and with an independent-minded Uranus in her 7^th, she’s her own person. A film-star Neptune in the 8^th gives her an aura as it opposes her Venus and is inconjunct her Sun.

Nick Jonas, 16 September 1992 3.39am Dallas, Texas, formerly of the teen band the Jonas Brothers, is an enthusiastic and hard-working Sun, Mercury, Jupiter in Virgo in the financial 2^nd; with a 10^th house Taurus Moon, good for a public career, widely opposition Pluto in the 4^th square a 7^th house Saturn in Aquarius. He has a 6^th house Uranus Neptune in Capricorn and suffers from diabetes.

Both of their 7^th house and Moon aspects are tough – her Moon is in an overly-disciplined and angry trine to Saturn Mars, and his Moon is tied into bleak Saturn Pluto. To some extent they’ll understand each other’s backgrounds and emotional glitches but it won’t be all sunshine and roses. She has a needs-independence Uranus in her 7^th house of close relationships; while he has Saturn in his 7^th, maybe why he’s opted for an older partner but partnerships will mean hard work for him. His Venus in Libra is conjunct her Saturn, Mars, Pluto which looks fairly downtrodden.

Their relationship chart, however has a wonderfully exuberant and affectionate composite Sun, Venus, Mercury, Mars conjunction trine Uranus; with a happy-home Jupiter in the 4th.  Admittedly the composite Moon is hidden and squaring Mars which will make for some heated moments, but overall it could be fun.

This is thinking in progress about the swings and roundabouts of fate which seem (to me) to dance Theresa May and Donald Trump’s respective fortunes to the same rhythm, despite them being massively different personalities with widely divergent agendas.

Both profited from the Saturn square Neptune in 2016. She, by serendipity and neat footwork slid into No 10; and he by megaphone promises to the forgotten many who felt ignored by the political elite. That both were and are duplicitous is a tragedy but nonetheless their presence on the global stage was the consequence of a deeper seismic shift of which they became the unwitting agents.

Jeremy Warner in a cogent Telegraph piece argues that Brexit: ‘was a popular rebellion that united elites and “left behinds” in grievance against a system seen to be failing on multiple fronts.’  ‘It was never about trade. It was about the need to belong and for people to have some sense of control over their own lives.’ A scream of despair and a massive protest vote ‘over the failure of political leaders to in any way challenge the status quo and make fundamental changes to people’s lives.’

Saturn Neptune, amongst other attributes, crops up for peasant uprisings, workers’ revolts and accompanies rumbles of discontent from the underdogs of society, including women. On the back of the revolutionary Uranus square Pluto running since 2012, it fostered the populist movements which have been burgeoning elsewhere in Europe. And where Brexit is concerned, it eroded the old left-right political split, bringing together those of different ideological beliefs.

Even more significantly, running powerfully in parallel is Pluto in Capricorn, battling since 2008 to transform old systems of government and collapse structures that were past their sell-by date to clear the ground for better to rise from the ashes. For this brief pivotal moment in 2016 the Saturn Neptune square turned up to edge the process along since Neptune dissolves and undermines the status quo which Saturn rules.

Standing back to see Trump, not as the deformed personality he undoubtedly is, but as a necessary instrument to fuel the changes that are ongoing isn’t easy but is revealing. He is, ironically, for example fostering the entry of many more women into political office; and the #metoo movement gained from the outrage about his pussy-grabbing comments. A million miles from his intention but a definite result.

He is also in his narcissistic rage running roughshod over the USA political system and constitution, with different results to the UK/EU, but the damage he is doing may well be irreparable.  Looked at one way that is a catastrophe. Looked at another way, his wrecking-ball presidency may be what was needed to kick-start the reduce-to-ground-zero-and-rebuild process. I go back to Kissinger’s thought that Trump is the sort of personality who unknowingly turns up at the end of a phase. In his words ‘an accident’ or put another way a necessary evil. May is much the same given her wobbly pedestal overlooking the most important moment in UK politics for more than half a century.

Pluto still has five or six years to run in Capricorn, with what is effectively a triple conjunction with Saturn and Jupiter in 2020. So wide-ranging shifts are likely – politically and financially/economically – of more than the usual run-of-the-mill variety.

To go back to May and Trump – both are opportunists, one politically, the other in business. Chancers whom fate tossed up on the crest of a wave against all the odds. Both are incredibly stubborn and secretive. Trump is certainly paranoid and therefore untrusting, which is also a facet of Saturn Neptune. And May is as well otherwise she wouldn’t withhold information from her Cabinet never mind the electorate. In different ways both are control freaks. [As an aside I’m starting to get seriously irritated by her autocratic approach to any possible Plan Bs. A flat NO to any other option isn’t in her gift as minority leader. And refusing to publish the full legal advice on Brexit is beginning to smell like Blair and Iraq.]

There’s a risk on this line of argument in assuming their blundering will ultimately turn out for the best. It may not. The astrological influences have no moral intent, nor do they always end in a satisfactory closure. Uranus Pluto rebellions can end up in anarchic chaos, or with savage repression as power-hungry Pluto regains its grip. Peasant revolts most often ended with total defeat and executions. On which note I heartily recommend CJ Sansom’s Tombland, just out, a historical novel set against Ketts Revolt of 1549, which is too long but excellent. Over the centuries English society did become more civilized. But it was a teeth-grindingly slow process with no defining moment of enlightenment for the elites.

Trump may outlast May but both are in the mire at the moment and facing increasing setbacks and failures in 2019.  A victory won on the back of Neptune was always going to run the risk of turning into a mirage; or put another way have foundations built on a swamp. That’s especially true of May since her 2017 Term chart has a Full Moon square Neptune.   On her personal chart her Mercury is conjunct her Neptune/Pluto midpoint – unable to think independently, plans incapable of realisation. And her Neptune is conjunct her Mercury/Saturn midpoint which says much the same.

Yet both are pivotal to their country’s destiny. May’s Libra Sun is conjunct the UK 1801 Ascendant. Trump’s midheaven is conjunct the USA First President MC, with his Mars exactly conjunct the USA First President Ascendant. And Trump’s Saturn Venus in Cancer sits on top of the USA 1776 Mercury in Cancer opposition Pluto – which latter will be key to the tumultuous events in the USA around 2020 and on to the Pluto Return in 2022/23. He’ll either be a central player or his actions now will be the trigger for what will happen then.

Plucked out of obscurity to strut and fret their role as puppets of the influences which will dictate their country’s destiny.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2018/11/30/brexit-has-completely-failed-left-behinds-angry-dismal-status/

Aftershocks are still shaking Anchorage in Alaska after the major 7.0 magnitude earthquake which was reported yesterday November 30 at 8.29am local time.

The Quake chart had the destructive Fixed planet Algol conjunct the Descendant with Uranus square the North Node and opposition Venus for a shock and upheaval. The Sun Jupiter was also in a panicky square to Mars Neptune in the 3^rd house of transport, roads and communication.

The August 11 Leo Solar Eclipse located to Anchorage had Saturn on the Descendant and Mercury New Moon on the IC – so the angles very marked, suggesting unforeseen events. The upcoming 5 January 2019 Solar Eclipse has Pluto on the Descendant and Neptune on the MC – so there may be more problems to come or a difficult aftermath.

The Alaska 18 October 1867 chart is under assault from tr Pluto conjunct Sun/Neptune which is a classic natural disaster indicator; tr Uranus square Mars/Neptune suggesting crisis/collapse and high anxiety; and tr Pluto sextile the Mars/Saturn midpoint which is catastrophic though milder since a soft aspect – there appear to be no casualties at the moment. January 2019 looks very edgy with tr Saturn opposition the Alaska Uranus and square Neptune.

The Great Alaska Earthquake of March 27 1964 of 9.2 magnitude, the most powerful ever recorded in North America and second in the world, happened on the spring Full Moon tide, with the Sun and Moon almost exactly square the Nodes. Over 100 died in Alaska, some from the tsunami which followed.  The preceding January Solar Eclipse had the disruptive Uranus Pluto straddling the Ascendant located to Anchorage. The allied Lunar Eclipse had the Full Moon on the MC/IC axis square Jupiter on the Ascendant for an amplified effect.

The Alaska 1867 chart has an exact natal Mars opposition Pluto and in 1964 it had moved by Solar Arc to square the Alaska Saturn for a destructive and dangerous event.  The Lunar and Solar Eclipses were also rattling the Alaska Uranus Moon in Cancer and the Solar Arc Uranus. The astrology certainly flagged it up though nothing would have stopped it.

George HW Bush has died aged 94, less than eight months after Barbara, his wife for almost 75 years. He once described himself as ‘not a very articulate emotionalist’ which is a fair description of a Gemini Sun in an Air Grand Trine to Moon Saturn in Libra trine Mars in Aquarius; formed into a talented Kite by Mars opposition a leadership Leo North Node and Neptune.

He was born 12 June 1924 10.30am Milton, Massachusetts, into a WASP family of East Coast achievers with a banker/Senator father and married the daughter of the Chairman of MacMillan’s Publishing. He volunteered at 18 in 1942 to become a navy pilot, was badly shot up and returned a war hero, eventually taking a Yale economics degree and then moving into the oil business. He tried unsuccessfully to move into politics and was eventually made US Ambassador to the UN by Nixon. On his return he skated round Watergate; and went as liaison to China, returning to head the CIA with a remit to clean up its dirty tricks ethos. He became VP under Reagan, managed to steer clear of the Iran-Contra scandal; and stood successfully for President in 1988 on a ‘no-tax rise’ ticket. He oversaw the end of the Cold War, liberated Kuwait from Saddam Hussein in the first Gulf War and prudently refused to invade Iraq but was knee-capped politically by the tax increases he was forced to put in place, losing out to Clinton in 1992.

His Mercury in steady Taurus was in his 10^th square Mars and square his Ascendant, so he would be stubborn though his mental endurance would be marked especially in long term planning and organizational matters.

He had an extraordinarily varied career with more extensive foreign experience than most; and a fair few political failures and setbacks. His Gemini Sun would give him a wide range of interests and his Fixed T Square the staying power to keep on going. His Venus Pluto square Moon and 4^th house Jupiter inclined him towards a strong wife and a stable home life, though his marriage to Barbara would not always be easy.   See post April 16 2018.

His get-it-together 5^th Harmonic was tough-minded; his ‘perfectionist’ 7^th Harmonic determined and unyielding; even more so his ‘obsessive’ 11H. His global-figure 22H was confidently successful as well.

His Term chart as President, 20 January 1989, started on the tumultuous triple conjunction of Uranus, Saturn, Neptune – and Venus – in Capricorn in the 9^th so was always going to be a significant time especially for foreign policy. Mars was trine Uranus Saturn and square the Sun for two military excursions, one against Panama to depose Noriega and the other in the Middle East.

George W Bush, who carried on the dynasty, shared his Libra Moon and Leo Ascendant, but was a different type altogether – with a 12^th house Cancer Sun and 12^th house Saturn – which slightly suggests lack of a good male role model in his childhood. George, the younger, leant more towards his mother, the formidable Barbara.

Update:  Isaac Starkman has rectified a from-memory birth time to 11.31 am (chart above). Makes more sense for him to have a Virgo Ascendant and an emphasised Mercury in the 9th, given his interest in foreign policy and time spent abroad.  [Thanks Morris for the info]

Glowing reviews have greeted the movie Green Book, a comedy-drama about a tour of the Deep South in the 1960s by African-American classical pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) who ropes in Tony Vallelonga (Viggo Mortensen), a white Italian-American bouncer as driver and security. Box office is slowish but talk of possible Oscars will probably lift it.

Viggo Mortensen, 20 October 1958, New York, – Lord of the Rings, Captain Fantastic – is a Sun Libra conjunct Neptune in Scorpio and sextile Saturn in Sagittarius; with a tough-minded Mars in Gemini square Pluto. He has some minor lift around the Oscars but also a setback, so unlikely to be a major winner.

Mahershala Ali, 16 February 1974, Oakland, CA, – Hunger Games, Remy Danton in House of Cards, Moonlight – has a very Airy chart with a Sun Jupiter in Aquarius trine Uranus trine Saturn, formed into a Kite by Saturn opposition Node and maybe Moon in Sagittarius – talented and communicative.  He doesn’t look too enthusiastic around the Oscars.

Director Peter Farrelly, 17 December 1956, PA, is a Sun Sagittarius opposition a Gemini Moon with a disciplined, determined and innovative Saturn trine Mars, square Pluto and trine Uranus.

The filming must have been fun with all that Air and Fire.

Farrelly is marginally disappointed and marginally cheered up at the Oscars so maybe gets some nominations or wins in other categories.

The unsavoury past of Palm Beach multi-millionaire paedophile Jeffrey Epstein could be back in the headlines this week, shining a spotlight on the extraordinary deal done by the Miami prosecutor Alexander Acosta which let Epstein off with a 13 month sentence rather than life and silenced over fifty abused underage girls. In theory it was because he spilled some info about investment bank Bear Stearns for another federal case.

Epstein’s friends included former President Bill Clinton, Donald Trump and Prince Andrew. Acosta, was appointed by Trump as secretary of labor, overseeing amongst other things human trafficking and is on a list of possibles to replace Jeff Sessions.

The authorities at the time pulled together a 53-page federal indictment, but the deal gave Epstein a ludicrously short sentence. “This was not a ‘he said, she said’ situation,‘ said retired Palm Beach Police Chief Michael Reiter. ‘This was 50-something ‘shes’ and one ‘he’ — and the ‘shes’ all basically told the same story.’

The deal essentially shut down an ongoing FBI probe into whether there were more victims and other powerful people who took part in Epstein’s sex crimes. Immunity was granted to four accomplices and even more unusually to “any potential co-conspirators”. Despite a federal law to the contrary, the deal would be kept from the victims.

Even his 13 month sentence was a cakewalk, being spent in a private wing of the County jail, and he had work release privileges, so six days a week, for 12 hours a day, he worked in his own comfortable office outside.

An unrelated civil lawsuit this week on December 4^th will give Epstein’s victims their day in court, and several of them are scheduled to testify. A second lawsuit, still pending, seeks to invalidate the non-prosecution agreement. It alleges that federal prosecutors, including Acosta, not only broke the law, but they conspired with Epstein and his lawyers to circumvent public scrutiny and deceive his victims in violation of the Crime Victims’ Rights Act.

Epstein, born 20 January 1953, Coney Island, New York, is a Sun final degree Capricorn or zero Aquarius square Saturn Neptune in Libra; with an emphasised Jupiter in indulgent earthy Taurus, on the focal point of a mini-Grand Trine to a passionate Mars Venus in Pisces trine Uranus. His Moon is Aries possibly square Uranus.

He does look rattled at the moment and swamped with tr Uranus square his Sun and tr Neptune conjunct his Venus Mars through till late 2019; with the devastating and confused tr Pluto square Neptune in 2019/2020.

Acosta, 16 January 1969, a Sun Capricorn trine Pluto, is looking less than chipper at the moment and ahead for a couple of years – though that could be unconnected political wrangles.

For more grim details of the extent of Epstein’s crimes see: https://www.miamiherald.com/news/local/article220097825.html#storylink=cpy

Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, will be sentenced on 18 December, more than a year after he pleaded guilty to lying to the FBI about his contacts with Russia during the presidential transition. Flynn has been a key co-operator in Mueller’s investigation but prosecutors have yet to reveal the extent of his cooperation, which will probably come out this coming week. Flynn admitted to lying during an FBI interview about the content of his conversations with Sergey Kislyak, Russia’s ambassador to the US. According to his plea, he discussed US sanctions with Kislyak on Trump’s behalf during the presidential transition and said members of the president’s inner circle were aware of, and in some cases directing, his efforts.

There’s now a possible birth date for Flynn – 5 December 1958 (net sources) Rhodes Island. That makes him a Sun Sagittarius conjunct Venus with Mercury Saturn also in Sagittarius. He’s also got a pushily determined and opportunistic Mars in Taurus opposition Jupiter square Uranus, which is reckless and risk-taking.

Tr Neptune is in an undermining square to his Sun through this month and December until the New Year as he hears his fate; with a devastating Solar Arc Pluto conjunct Neptune coming anytime soon as well. And not looking cheerful ahead.

His relationship chart with Trump (data being accurate) is in a state of high confusion from mid December, on and off till late 2019; with further dips from April 2019 onwards with tr Neptune opposition the composite Sun.

Harry Leslie Smith shot to an unlikely social media stardom in his 90s after publishing his bestselling memoir-cum-polemic in defence of the welfare state, Harry’s Last Stand four years ago. He won a mass following in Britain’s left, became a regular commentator in newspapers and a fixture at speaking events in Britain and Canada. He sent more than 80,000 tweets and had over quarter of a million followers, sharing his views on fighting austerity and privatisation, opposing western military interventions, and challenging racism and fascism. He became known as the conscience of the Labour Party.

Born on 25 February 1923 in Barnsley, Yorkshire, into acute poverty, he had a troubled childhood, fought in WW11, saw the misery and carnage of Hamburg, and took a German wife, with whom he emigrated to Canada in the early 1950s, where he worked selling and designing Oriental rugs. After she died in 1999, he backpacked around Europe, visiting places he had known during the war.

He was a Sun Pisces conjunct Uranus with a ‘healing’ and creative Water Grand Trine of Uranus in a revolutionary trine to Pluto in a confident and adventurous trine to Jupiter in Scorpio; with an enduring Fixed T Square of Mercury in Aquarius opposition Neptune square Jupiter. Such an accentuated Jupiter would make him idealistic and give him the ability to have an impact on thinking out in society. His Mars in pro-active Aries was in a hard-edged opposition to Saturn square Venus in Capricorn – Mars Saturn describing his punishingly difficult childhood. His humanitarian 9^th Harmonic was exceptionally strong; as was his ‘obsessive dream’ 11H; and his leaving-a-legacy 17H.

https://www.theguardian.com/books/2018/nov/28/harry-leslie-smith-obituary

Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign manager, already convicted on 10 felony counts including financial fraud and conspiracy to obstruct justice, was facing a second trial on different counts that might land him in prison for life. He was hoping to gain a lighter sentence by co-operating with Robert Mueller but is now accused of breaching his plea agreement and that he “committed federal crimes by lying to the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Special Counsel’s Office on a variety of subject matters.“ More on Manafort’s unsavoury past in the URL below.

Trump has hinted he may pardon him.

Born 1 April 1949 in Connecticut, Manafort is a go-getting Sun Mars Venus in Aries opposition Neptune and trine Pluto – not short of ambition, the art of smokescreening or determination. His stars are mixed with tr Saturn square his Aries planets and Neptune in December/January 2019; though he also has some relief from tr Uranus square his Jupiter through December to early February 2019. Further ahead and over 2020/21 he looks crushed.

His relationship with Trump is panicked in the middle week of this December and is on a fast downhill slide from April 2019 onwards as tr Neptune opposes the composite Mars, then Mars/Uranus, then Uranus into the early 2020s. Though there are hints Manafort may rise again as his Solar Arc Jupiter is conjunct his Mars and then Sun into the early 2020s.

https://www.salon.com/2018/11/28/mueller-is-not-after-manafort-he-is-after-trump/

Trump’s former lawyer, Michael Cohen, 25 August 1966, has pleaded guilty to lying to Congress in relation to the Russia inquiry, misleading lawmakers about talks over a Trump property deal in Moscow during the presidential race. Trump said he was “lying” to seek a reduced sentence. In August, Cohen pleaded guilty to violating finance laws during the 2016 presidential election by handling hush money for Mr Trump’s alleged lovers.

Cohen looks discouraged over the next three months, suffering a shock in March and generally feeling dis-empowered and overwrought through 2019/2020 though he may pick up a head of steam again from 2020. His relationship with Trump looks jangled till February and more disrupted come May 2019.

There’s no indication yet that the new Deutsche Bank investigation for money laundering will involve Trump, but it was the one bank which stuck with him through his troubled times. The bank was fined $600 million last year for laundering $10 billion in Russian currency,

Steve Bannon said in early 2018 that Mueller’s investigation into Trump’s campaign will largely deal with the president’s finances with the bank. The probe, he said “goes through Deutsche Bank and all the Kushner shit. They’re going to go right through that.”

Deutsche Bank has two dates  – 22 January 1870 and 10 March 1870. The relationship charts with Trump on both of these highlight upsets through this December to mid February 2019; with major anxiety in the days surrounding this New Year.

Trump’s personal chart is slipping and sliding through till the New Year with his confidence undermined. But where he plunges into a variety of sinkholes will be from mid February 2019 onwards for two years, which he’ll no doubt respond to with his usual bullish bravado but it won’t last.

See post Trump Timeline August 22 2018.