The temperature gauge is over-heating in the Middle East with fears of a flash point coming as US and UK forces have retaliated against Houthi shipping attacks in the Red Sea and a drone attack which killed three US soldiers. There were joint strikes on 36 Houthi targets in Yemen; and the US hit 85 targets in Syria and Iraq.

 Jeremy Bowen, BBC International editor writes: “I don’t think anybody is in control over the rate at which this happens. Don’t forget: war is messy, things happen.” To date the conflicts have been with Iran-funded proxies and Biden is clearly cautious about engaging Iran directly. As indeed is Iran who have internal problems with a restive younger population. The leaders were not best pleased about the Hamas October assault since it blocked millions that was to be released by the US for a prisoner exchange. But they will have been happy enough to see the rupture between Israel and Saudi Arabia. A ceasefire in Gaza might be enough to cool tensions down pro tem.

  There are two astro-warning flags ahead – one is imminent, with Mars entering Aquarius on February 13^th to conjunct with Pluto. The other is July 2024 when many of the political ‘players’ on both sides have planets affected by the Mars, Uranus, Algol conjunction at 26 Taurus. The Hamas attack in October started on a Mars square Pluto; the Gaza Invasion of 2008 started on a Mars Pluto conjunction.

  This has been covered in previous posts. But to recap. The alarming nature of Biden’s presidency with its explosive Mars Uranus square Sun Saturn Jupiter was always going to throw up trouble at some point. The past few months with the Solar Arc Saturn closing the square to Mars Uranus in October 2023 exactly, brought matters to a head with the Hamas Attack. The SA Sun is conjunct the Saturn exactly now and by this June the Solar Arc Saturn will conjunct the Jupiter exactly. So there is a convergence of a really tricky combination of planetary influences – high tensions leading to eruptions and violence. Plus the midpoints on his Inauguration chart will be rattled severely from June, mounting in anxiety in July and aggravated in August and onwards.

  Biden’s personal chart has tr Uranus opposition his Scorpio Sun from August this year for jolts and unwelcome surprises.  

  The USA chart has the SA Saturn conjunct the Mars exactly this July which has military associations and will be a risky collision of sorts.  

 Anthony Blinken, Secretary of State, 16 April 1962, has one lucky influence in June this year and then tr Uranus square his Uranus at 26 Leo in July plus a panicky-failure tr Neptune conjunct his Mars mid May to late August this year (and further on).

  One might wonder why UK forces are involved given the parlously rundown state of the army and navy. Though disruption of shipping through the Red Sea with goods from Asia to Europe could send consumer costs soaring and affect the Chancellor’s ability to make tax cuts.

  David Cameron, the Foreign Secretary, 9 October 1966 5.30 am London, looks ominously over confident this year, no doubt grasping a chance to strut the world stage. He has tr Pluto opposition his Jupiter this year and next and has his Jupiter MC lines through the Red Sea. Usually this is successful but it could send him over the top and tempt him to imagine himself as omnipotent and incapable of failing – upon which rock of hubris many a career has perished. His Mars at 26 Leo will be on high alert in July; along with tr Uranus in aspect to two of his Jupiter midpoints, again boosting his confidence.

 The UK chart is not showing much in the way of risk from violence this year, though in 2025 the SA Uranus conjunct the Mars might.  This year and on it has swampy influences around money and the economic situation.

Michael J Fox, whose documentary Still made by Davis Guggenheim (Apple TV) has won several Emmys is now up for a BAFTA. It tells the tale of his stratospheric rise to success, moving from Canada to dumpster-diving for food in Los Angeles, becoming a yuppie teen on a smash TV sitcom Family Ties, followed by movie hits and soon he is the celebrity of the moment. Until a year after his marriage he notices his finger developing a twitch. At 29 he is diagnosed with Parkinson’s and a shortened lifespan. After an alcoholic interlude, he pulls himself together with the help of his wife and sets up the Michael J Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research which to date has distributed £2bn.

  Remarkably upbeat considering the constant pain he suffers, he is keen to dispense with any heroic notions.  He says: “It just is what it is. It didn’t defeat me. I wish it was a heroic thing. I’m not saying: ‘Yeah! Bring it, bring it!’ I hate it. It sucks. It’s a piece of shit. It’s tough to get up in the morning and keep going. But I have a beautiful family and this office with trophies.” He also thinks within the next 10, 15 years, there will be a viable solution to Parkinsons.

  Born 9 June 1961 12.15 am Edmonton, Canada, he has a 4^th house Gemini Sun sextile a lively Mars Uranus in Leo. His 12^th house Saturn in final degree Capricorn conjunct Jupiter in Aquarius in on the focal point of a T square to an 8^th house Neptune opposition Moon Venus in Taurus does suggest a capacity to find inner peace and maintain enthusiasm with Jupiter in the 12^th.

  His Pluto is conjunct the North Node opposition Chiron. Pluto connecting to Chiron does bring profound experiences and can for some  allow them to live out transformative or regenerative experiences in their lives which help others. Tied into the Pisces South Node may hint at his escape into alcohol to cope with a potentially life threatening diagnosis – but his remedy was then aimed towards the Virgo North Node which tied into influential Pluto could motivate him towards make a difference in the medical area.

  He evidently used to talk to Muhammad Ali, another Parkinson’s sufferer, 17 January 1942 6.35pm Louisville, Kentucky, whose condition was probably caused by boxing injuries. He was diagnosed when he was around 40 and died in his mid 70s. He had a 6^th house late Capricorn Sun and Moon Mercury in Aquarius; with a heavyweight 10^th house Uranus Saturn in Taurus. His Moon was in a difficult T square opposition Chiron Pluto square Mars in Taurus. His chart more obviously reflects the potential for health issues. And again Pluto conjunct Chiron.

 Billy Connolly, the Scots comedian, also has Parkinsons, 24 November 1942 4.30 am Glasgow, Scotland. He has a 2^nd house Sun Venus in Sagittarius opposition Uranus Saturn in Gemini – colourful, adventurous, mischievous, chaotic. He has a lucky, successful Jupiter in his 10^th trine Sun Venus, sextile Neptune. A living-abroad 9^th house Gemini Moon. And an influential Pluto in his 10^th which squares an intense Mars in Scorpio.  His Chiron in Leo is conjunct his North Node.  

  I am not a great believer in using astrology as a diagnostic tool and there are no startling similarities on the charts as is, or in the midpoints. Though there may be Fixed star connections which others may see. Recently more and more on celeb/political charts, I see Chiron tied into the Nodes. It is clearly worth keeping an eye on.

The actor Patrick Macnee, best known as Steed in the Avengers, had a confusing childhood after his socialite mother in an open marriage with his father had a younger illegitimate half-sibling and then contracted a lesbian relationship. He stayed with his mother and ‘Uncle Evelyn’, as his mother’s partner was, known in a house where no men were allowed with his mother insisting he wore women’s clothes. He refused but did wear a kilt. Evelyn paid his way to Eton, where he developed his acting skills before being expelled for running a gambling operation and selling erotic pictures to his schoolmates. He later said “that he had been socially and sexually confused by his upbringing and schooling” and moved to the USA which he found a less repressed environment. He was married three times.

 While serving in the Navy in WW11 a bout of bronchitis saved his life as his boat was sunk with him in hospital. He started his acting career in Canada in small roles. By his late 30s he had not had a break and was smoking 80 cigarettes and drinking a bottle of whisky a day at which point the Avenger role came along.

  He was born 6 February 1922 1am London and had a quick witted and charming 3^rd house Sun Venus in Aquarius opposition a creative, escapist Neptune in the 9^th square Mars in Scorpio in his 1^st house which in turn was opposition a 7^th house Taurus Moon.  His Moon aspects are confused with Mars and Neptune as well as the Sun Venus all tangled up. Moon Mars would certainly spark off his anger and make alcohol an escape route away from troublesome feelings.

His mother Dorothea, 30 October 1896, was a Sun Scorpio trine Mars in late Gemini with an obsessive and high-handed Saturn Uranus in Scorpio which opposed Patrick’s Moon and was conjunct his Mars – an aggravated chemistry.  Her Neptune Pluto in Gemini also fell in his 8^th house of sexuality so no wonder he was muddled.

  Their relationship chart had a controlling, possessive composite Sun opposition Pluto which was in a power-struggling square to Jupiter and a steady sextile/trine Saturn; with a needs-space Venus Uranus in a highly strung opposition to Neptune. Poor kid, he wouldn’t know whether he was coming or going. But at least he escaped after the war. She died in 1984.

 His Chiron in his 5^th would damage his spontaneity as he learned early on not to express who he really was. Though oddly it may have contributed to his later success as the cool, dapper Steed.

  He had a noteworthy combination of Saturn conjunct North Node in Libra opposition Chiron which suggests that his wounded self-image, generating guilt and shame impacted greatly on his Libran North Node, which urged him to form healthy relationships.

  I had never realised all this.  The damage some parents do is horrific. Still he made it to 93.

Northern Ireland appears to be on track to resume their power-sharing government after two years of stalemate. A new agreement has been reached over goods moving through the UK’s internal market which has apparently overcome the border problem caused by Brexit, though details have not yet been published. The Democratic Unionist party (DUP) collapsed the government at Stormont in protest at post-Brexit trading arrangements, despite having agreed to a hard Brexit themselves. As a consequence of the stoppage Northern Ireland’s public services are even worse than elsewhere. With the restoration of Stormont comes a large financial package from Westminster which would not have been needed if the DUP boycott hadn’t happened.

  Mary Lou McDonald, Sinn Fein president and leader of the opposition in the south is triumphant, declaring it would mean Irish unity was “within touching distance”. It is possible by 2025 that  Sinn Fein will soon be in government north and south of the border. Though whether the South would be keen to amalgamate is not at all clear and is anyway awash with its own immigration problems at the moment.

The Northern Ireland chart, 7 December 1922 will be susceptible to this year’s eclipses. The April Solar Eclipse will oppose the NI Saturn which suggests a heavy cost will come with the new situation and the September Pisces Lunar Eclipse will tug on the NI Virgo North Node – for a moment of destiny. Plus emotional upsets and aggravation from tr Uranus opposition the Venus and square the Mars from mid this year on into 2025.

 The DUP, 30 September 1971, won’t be immune either with both Solar Eclipses rattling up their Venus  Uranus in Libra in spring and then Libra Sun later in the autumn. Plus the September Lunar Eclipse will be conjunct their Pluto which is one of those ‘transform or stagnate (sink into decay)’ influences.  They will be facing a few existential choices this year and in 2025.

  Sinn Fein, 28 November 1905,  will be upbeat with tr Jupiter in Gemini from mid year starting with a Jupiter Return and then opposing the Sun.  But there will be tensions and eruptions from tr Uranus square the Saturn from July this year onwards into 2025; heated discussions and accusation through September and on and through 2025 as their Mercury opposition Pluto is triggered by the eclipses.

 Nothing too settled in terms of happy cooperation by the looks of it.

 Sigh. And more money for Westminster to shoal out because of the Boris Brexit screw-up with the creationist delights of the DUP thrown in for good measure.  

ADD ON:

Sinn Fein’s Michelle O’Neill was sworn in as First Minister of Northern Ireland at around 2.24pm 3 February 2024 Belfast. This puts an argumentative Mars, Mercury Pluto in the 7^th pointing to a combative relationship – maybe with the DUP opposition or with the UK, with tensions mounting to a peak towards mid 2025. There is an indecisive Neptune in the 10^th which does not augur well though there is also a lucky/successful/confident Jupiter in the 10^th as well.  Plus a reforming, rebellious 8^th house Sun square Uranus which suggests that cooperation won’t be easy. The Neptune is trine a 5th house Scorpio Moon, sextiling onto Mars Mercury, highlighting the argumentative streak.

  Her own chart, 10 January 1977, is both self-assured with a Capricorn Sun trine Jupiter in Taurus and tough-minded with Mars in Capricorn square Pluto. She’ll be upbeat through this April with tr Uranus conjunct her Jupiter but will face a disaster or two along with high risk mid June to early July, November and April 2025 as tr Uranus opposes her Mars/Pluto midpoint. Nonetheless she’ll plough on with determined confidence with tr Pluto opposition her Jupiter/Pluto midpoint through 2024/25.  

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Taylor Swift’s fans and the celeb media continue to be obsessed by the ever changing conveyor belt of her love interests. Her five year stint with actor Joe Alwyn fell to bits last year as he was replaced by a former heroin addict rock singer and now a top American footballer Travis Kelce.   

   She was born 13 December 1989 5.17am Reading, PA, USA  and is a Sagittarius Sun with an 8^th house Cancer Moon Jupiter opposition the triple conjunction in Capricorn so adventurous, highly strung, fairly chaotic as well as ultra-determined with Mars in Scorpio on her Ascendant conjunct a 12^th house Pluto. Her Sun/Moon midpoint, the close relationship significator, has been undermined by tr Neptune throughout last year until March this year – so she won’t be quite as deliriously happy as she looks in the PR pics. Plus the late September 2024 Lunar Eclipse will oppose her Sun/Moon midpoint which could make for a significant turning point.

  Her relationship with Travis Kelce, 5 October 1989, has its good points with his Sagittarius Moon chiming with her Sun; and his seductive Venus in Scorpio exactly conjunct her Mars for a sparky attraction. He is a Sun Mars in Libra square Jupiter, so confident and go-ahead. Though he is also of the triple conjunction generation so will be changeable.

  Their relationship chart is close and possessive with a composite Sun, Pluto, Mercury suggesting they have come together to transform each other. Such relationships are intense, not always easy with a tussle for control or the last word – if and when they split it can get tricky and tends to be a long drawn out and contentious affair. 2025 could bring a few aggravations with tr Pluto square the composite Mars and disappointments with tr Saturn Neptune square the composite Venus – but it may hang together for a while. Though tr Uranus moving into her 7th house from this year onwards demanding freedom may cause a problem.

Viktor Orban has caved in, allowing all 27 European leaders to agree to an aid package for Ukraine. There had been fears that Hungary’s Prime Minister would block the aid package as he had done already last December. He is known to be pro-Putin and pro-Trump and he is seeking to shift the balance of power within the EU to member states and away from Brussels, as he continues to clamp down on democratic procedures in Hungary.

 “Our plan is not to leave the EU,” he said recently. “Our plan is to conquer it.” A more immediate motive will be to release money for Hungary that remains frozen over concerns about the country’s rule of law and anti-corruption measures.     “This is primarily about blackmail, leverage and unblocking his money,” says a senior EU diplomat. In particular he appears to be waging a war against president, Ursula von der Leyen which is hardly surprising given that his controlling Gemini Sun square Pluto collides with her ultra-determined Mars in Gemini square Pluto.

  At the moment he appears to be enlivened by the prospect of a Trump triumph and far-right victories in other European countries after this year’s election.  But his future does not look too assured with tr Saturn square his Sun and opposition his Pluto this year and tr Uranus rattling up and seriously disrupting his Saturn opposition Mars throughout this year and next. He looks thoroughly aggravated.

  Saturn’s swan song in Pisces running through 2025 could be crucial since it undermines his relationship with both Hungary charts (1989, 1872). It also along with tr Neptune undermines his original prime ministerial chart from 2010 suggesting his grip on power may not be as secure as he would like.

  The Hungary 23 October 1989 chart has Pluto in the 10^th, which is why they attracted an autocratic ruler. But having being born around the triple conjunction in Capricorn modern Hungary will be unusually susceptible to the swampy currents of transiting Neptune square their Uranus, Saturn, Neptune and Jupiter from 2025 to the end of the decade.  They need EU funds so pragmatism may win.  

Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, one of Hollywood’s longest-lasting marriages of 26 years, are appearing on stage together is London in a Neil Simon play Plaza Suite. Reviews are generally good though focus on the stratospheric ticket price. She has had an award-strewn career with Sex and the City the highlight. Matthew Broderick has worked constantly on stage and in musicals as well as in movies.

 What is intriguing about their connection is that both are Sun Venus in Aries. Traditional wisdom has it that while certain signs get on with themselves not all of them do. But Gunter Sachs in his study of birth charts found that many more pick their own sign for a partner than you would expect.

 Sarah Jessica Parker 25 March 1965 9am Nelsonville, Ohio has her Sun Venus and Mercury in Aries in her friendly 11^th house with a hard-working Saturn in her 10^th (good for her TV production business) opposition Uranus, Mars, Pluto in Virgo in her 4/5^th; trine an 8^th house Capricorn Moon and an ever hopeful Jupiter in Taurus in her 12^th opposition Neptune.  She did have a fractured childhood though she speaks well of it and it is probably as well she picked a career that is constantly changing and exciting since she would not suit a sedate life. She was previously in a relationship with Robert Downey Jnr through his drug problem years.

  Matthew Broderick, 21 March 1962, no time, New York, also has a Sun and Venus in Aries and a (probably) Libra Moon; with his Saturn and Jupiter in Aquarius falling in Jessica’s 10^th house of career to help in her career. Though his Mars in Pisces conjunct her Saturn may not always be as idyllic as the press releases sound.

  Their relationship chart has a composite affectionate Sun Venus in a sparky trine to Mars.  With a fated yod of Pluto sextile Neptune inconjunct a successful, enthusiastic Jupiter. Plus a less helpful composite Mars square Pluto and Uranus – so there will be an undertow about who is in control.

  The conventional wisdom has it that Scorpios get in with other Scorpios since they need the emotional intensity that only one of their own can provide. Aquarians get on with Aquarians for the opposite reason – they both appreciate space.

Leos together was always deemed a definite no-no since both will fight to grab all the attention. Not something that Jennifer Lopez appears to have grasped having hooked up with two Leos in a row – Alex Rodriguez and Ben Affleck.

 Some other examples gleaned from the net some of which worked and some didn’t.

Portia de Rossi and Ellen DeGeneres (Aquarius)

Patrick Harris and David Burtka (Gemini)

Kamala Harris and Doug Emhoff (Libra)

Lisa Vanderpump and Ken Todd (Virgo)

Taylor Swift and Jake Gyllenhaal (Sagittarius)

Kendall Jenner and Devin Booker (Scorpio)

Brexit is about to negotiate another hurdle with new border controls on goods coming in from Europe which is likely to cause delays and additional costs, with more following in April.  Trade deals with the rest of the world which were allegedly the raison d’etre for the split with the EU are not going well. Negotiations between the UK and Canada have been halted after disagreements on beef and cheese tariffs. Deals with Japan, Australia, New Zealand, USA and India have either not happened or have brought negligible results.

  A change in voter regulations will allow ex-pats to vote in the next election, bringing another 2.3 million voters onto the roll. They are likely to be jaundiced by visa restrictions and other complications which may tilt them away from the Tories.

  The Guardian and Independent are tub thumping about all the negatives while the Telegraph is robustly defending their cause celebre. “A fair assessment should acknowledge that although Brexit has not proved to be the economic nirvana that some naive over-optimists imagined, neither has it brought the disaster that some other economists envisaged.” Small mercies.

 No one thinks the UK will even blink in the direction of reapplying since apart from anything else it would probably be rejected. But an easing of barriers, tariffs and travel restrictions might sweeten the pill.

 The Brexit Referendum vote on 24 June 2016, is due for a major disruption round about now with the Solar Arc Pluto about the close the square to Uranus to exact within weeks. Which may coincide with the new border controls. There will be a few jolts and jangles this May and the New Year to March 2025. The majority of voters now think it was a mistake which may be a factor in the next election – with the aggravated ex-pats adding their weight to the vote.

  There’s not much of cheer in the EU/UK relationship chart though the EU are sinking under the weight of their own problems.  Where there might be a chance of a reversal in policies could be starting in 2025 into 2026 with tr Uranus conjunct the composite Pluto with more in the years following.

  France would be a stumbling block to any easing of barriers since the UK/France relationship chart has always been implacably hostile with a composite Mars Pluto square Sun – and there is nothing that looks amiable in that direction for another two years. With Germany there is less animosity but any changes would wait for 2025 at least where there does seem to be a possibility of a different outlook.

  Much will depend on internal EU fortunes which are sagging at the moment -and indeed the global situation which could have a bearing.

The author Thomas Hardy is another man with Pluto in the 10^th for whom women were the central core of his life yet treated badly. He wrote some of the most memorable heroines in fiction but his first wife, who retreated to live in a dusty attic in their house for fourteen years wrote: “He understands only the women he invents — the others not at all.”

Bathsheba, the heroine of Far from the Madding Crowd is an independent farmer who rejects marriage because she hates “to be thought men’s property”. Sue Bridehead in Jude the Obscure lives in sin with her cousin and is praised as the “enfranchised woman of his imagination” (he was a supporter of the Suffragette movement). In Tess of the D’Urbervilles Hardy makes it clear that it is always the woman who pays the penalty: Tess’s exploitation is blamed on the men who let her down.

  In a different sphere of life but not dissimilar to Hefner and Guccione whose entire lives revolved around and were saturated with women yet treated by them with anything but decency and dignity.

  Hardy, born 2 June 1840 8AM Upper Buckhampton, England which gave him a Sun Mars in Gemini trine an uncommitted Neptune in the 7^th house of relationships. His Pluto on his Midheaven was square a 12^th house Cancer Moon which was conjunct Chiron.

 ADB describes his mother as assertive and elsewhere she is described as interfering, demanding unquestioning devotion from her children. She could also be cold and remote,  intolerant in her views. The Plutonic mother whom he described once as ‘his guiding star’ but also dominating and possessive. It damaged his real life relationships though inspired him to portray the pressures society brought to bear on women.  A strange dichotomy. He was obsessed with women, yet so frightened of them they had to retreat to the attic.