Dark conspiracy theories (which may well be true) are swirling around the involvement of US hedge-funder and computer scientist, Robert Mercer, in funding and strategising Trump’s win and Brexit – the two great astonishments of 2016 – by, amongst other things, targeting voters via social media analytics. One commentator said: “Artificial Intelligence won it for Leave.”

Mercer is one of the owners of Breitbart news, buddies with Steve Bannon and a long-time friend of UKIP’s Nigel Farage. There are legal writs flying but plenty of info on the net if you google Mercer and the DUP, for instance, as well as Mercer/Trump/Farage etc. Open Democracy has details as well.

Mercer born 11 July 1946 is a Sun and Saturn in Cancer, with his Sun square Jupiter in Libra. He was certainly on top of the world in 2016 with his Solar Arc Pluto conjunct his Jupiter – a resounding triumph (or two). Tr Pluto continues to square his Jupiter in till late 2018; though he’s not feeling quite so chipper with tr Neptune opposition his Mars this year; and a couple of tricky Solar Arcs bringing a shock or two and uncertainty.

His relationship charts with Trump, Bannon and Farage – all show varying ruptures, aggravations and splits this year and more so next. So perhaps the Make America Great and titanium-strength Brexit plans aren’t running too smoothly. Though Cambridge Analytics, the company, supposedly responsible in part for the magic wins, founded on 30 July 2014, looks on a successful roll in 2018.

Definitely one to watch, since there are moves afoot to investigate whether electoral laws on donations were broken in the UK.

John McEnroe, former top-ranking tennis champion, having managed to leave his ‘bad boy’ reputation behind, has reversed himself with remarkably silly remarks about Serena Williams. He suggested that compared to male tennis players she’d rank about 700; which isn’t that different to Williams’ comments in the past about there being a massive physical difference between men and women, in terms of the velocity of the balls being hit and the power behind players’ shots. But he still comes off sounding like a jerk.

Born 16 February 1959 10.30pm Wiesbaden, Germany, he has a flamboyant 5^th house Sun Mercury in Aquarius which opposes Pluto and squares an 8^th house Mars (conjunct Moon) opposition Jupiter – so driven by anger, a need to control and super-confident. And his Mars Moon square Pluto certainly indicates the potential for issues and aggravation where women are concerned.

Serena’s Mars in Leo is conjunct his 10^th house Uranus and her Uranus squares his Sun – so a chemistry that is likely to spark into a lively firework display at the drop of a hat. Her super-confident Jupiter Pluto also sits on his Ascendant so he will feel overwhelmed by her.

His Sun is opposed by the upcoming Leo Solar Eclipse, which hints that facing up to the fact that he’s not always right will be unavoidable and he needs to rethink his perspective. Mercury is also in opposition which seems equally apt – he’ll be running around trying to straighten things that have gone off track because someone has misunderstood what he said. Communications get garbled and have to be disentangled. Though his Mars Pluto will make it difficult for him to back down.

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There are fears that Liu Xiaobo, the renowned democracy activist and Nobel laureate, is close to death after being moved from a Chinese prison into hospital. He has served seven years of an 11-year sentence for inciting subversion of state power, after penning a democracy manifesto calling for an end to one-party rule in China and for the Communist party to uphold the constitution. He also served two years in prison after the Tiananmen Square protests and subsequent massacre.

He has late stage liver cancer and questions are being asked about why he wasn’t given treatment sooner in the notoriously punitive Chinese prison system, which has seen other activists die while still incarcerated. Republican senator Marco Rubio, has asked Donald trump to intervene and said, “Liu Xiaobo, and countless others like him who courageously seek peaceful change in China, are heroes worthy of honour, not criminals deserving to be tortured or unjustly punished.”

Since coming to power in 2012, the Chinese president, Xi Jinping, has launched a series of crackdowns on civil society in an attempt to silence feminist activists, human rights lawyers and book publishers.

Liu Xiaobo, 28 Dec 1955, is a Sun Capricorn trine Jupiter Pluto, with Jupiter Pluto square Saturn in Scorpio and Mars also in Scorpio – so confident, determined, courageous; plus a Venus opposition Uranus square Neptune making him idealistic and unhshakeable in his beliefs. His Solar Arc Pluto is conjunct that emphasised Neptune at the moment, which is devastating.

It’s unlikely that criticism will have any effect on Xi Jinping, though his Presidency chart, 14 March 2013 14 March 2013 11.51 am, does look undermined and directionless with tr Neptune conjunct the MC now and on and off till late 2018. There will be major and intense public discontent in 2018/19 with tr Pluto square the Pres Moon; and a high-voltage shock in 2019 from Solar Arc Mars conjunct the Pres Uranus.

A tainted jury pool is causing problems at the start of the Federal securities fraud trial of Martin Shkreli, infamous for raising the cost of a life-saving drug by 5000%. Comments from potential jurors who were excused included: “the face of corporate greed”; “the most hated man in America”; ”a snake”.

He’s American born of Albanian parents, 1 April 1983, and appears to be his own worst enemy, calling members of Congress ‘imbeciles’ on twitter, who had objected to his price rise; and spraying Trumpian bile over others who had objected to his methods.

He’s a Sun Aries with Mercury and Mars also in Aries, so no surprises he’s impulsive and reckless; with his Mars in a ruthless opposition to Pluto and a can-be-cruel opposition to Saturn in obstinate Scorpio. His Sun is also trine a risk-taking, relies-on-luck trine to Uranus Jupiter. With druggy Neptune opposition the North Node in a wedge/sextile/trine to Saturn Pluto and the same to Mars. Looks a hard, unpleasant and quite unbalanced man.

His luck is running out with tr Uranus conjunct his Mars, opposition his Pluto and then Saturn in 2017/18; with more discouragement in 2019/2021 with his Solar Arc Saturn conjunct his Uranus Jupiter; a huge upheaval in 2023 and then (sadly) probably reinventing himself and getting a boost by 2025 from Solar Arc Pluto conjunct his Jupiter.

Forcing taxpayers to foot the bill for the debts of failed banks was supposed to have been outlawed in the EU after the 2008 cataclysm. So no surprises there are grumbling of discontent, especially in Germany, when Italy was allowed to do just that to mop up the mess after two regional banks threatened to implode. “Hedge funds have just made a lot of money, and the taxpayers are the big losers,” said one Italian banker.

The furore over Brexit and some encouraging economic signs, have obscured the fact that the EU continues to struggle with intractable and probably insoluble fiscal problems.

The European Central Bank 1 Jan 1999 12 am chart, has tr Pluto in a trapped square to Mars exact now and repeating till late 2018; with tr Uranus in a jolting conjunction to Saturn and square the financial Venus in 2017 until early 2018. 2018 sees tr Saturn in a discouraging conjunction to the Sun and tr Uranus in a high-anxiety square to Neptune; with insecurity and crisis in 2019 and worse in 2020 from Solar Arc Mars square Uranus.

The Bank of Italy chart, 10 Aug 1893, looks unstable and undermined in 2017/18 with tr Neptune square the 8^th house Pluto Neptune and opposition the financial Venus; with a major destabilising upheaval in 2018 from Solar Arc Uranus square Pluto; which will continue to cause headaches as the Solar Arc continues to square the Pluto/Neptune midpoint, then Neptune into the early 2020s, which will bring outright panic and confusion. Plus tr Uranus opposition Uranus for more disruptions in 2019/2020.

Italy has not flourished in the EU’s fiscal strait-jacket with its GDP down 8% since 2008 partly the result of EU policies. The relationship between Italy and the EU, always uncertain with a composite Pluto Uranus opposition Neptune, and a ratchety Mars trine Saturn, will worsen over the next two years.

The key player in all this is Germany which is regarding Macron’s vision for closer financial ties between the EU 27 as tantamount to making them the deep pocket for other countries’ debts. That relationship, between Germany and the EU, is rocking and rolling ferociously through 2018/19 with tr Uranus in hard aspect to the composite Grand Cross of Venus opposition Uranus square Mars opposition Moon; plus a discouraging/separating tr Saturn conjunct the composite Sun and opposition Pluto in 2018.

The DUP/Conservative Minority Government deal was signed around 11am this morning. It doesn’t augur too well with a slippery Neptune in the house of commitments and agreements; and the enraged/trapped Mars opposition Pluto squaring onto Jupiter. So it will create hostility – already brewing with Wales and Scotland angry that they aren’t getting the same massive £1 billion handout as North Ireland. There’ll be a good deal of game-playing, which the Northern Irish are much more experienced at; and they are not renowned for their discipline, so keeping them present and voting in support may not be that easy.

The Deal Sun is square the Mars/Saturn midpoint which Ebertin describes as: “weak vitality, the inability to meet all demands or to master all situations,” amongst other things. The Sun also opposes Saturn/Pluto – which is bleak, tough, deprived, cold-hearted. With Mercury conjunct the Sun/Mars midpoint and indeed conjunct Mars and opposition Pluto – so toxic arguments.

The relationship between Theresa May and DUP leader Arlene Foster is riddled with outright dislike with a composite Sun Venus opposition Saturn square Mars. And tr Pluto is trine the composite Mars from the 16^th of this month till early September and again late October to early December, so there will be a more than normally poisonous atmosphere between them then. With September being a real low. Though there’s no saying how long Theresa May will stick around, since she’s friendless in her own party at the moment with her advisers baling out or being pushed at a rate of knots.

The Brexit talks got under way formally last Monday at 11am with a flustered David Davis emerging hours later alongside an icily urbane Michel Barnier, who is the chief EU negotiator.

The chart has North Node conjunct the Ascendant hinting at a lack of a clear sense of what exactly the talks entail; and a 7^th house Neptune pointing to disappointment in close relationships and a slipperiness about sticking to commitments. The Sun/Moon midpoint, which represents close relationships is square the Node, so running against the grain of the time; and semi-square Mars which is argumentative. What’s interesting is that the Talks Ascendant will get the full force of the August Leo Eclipse sitting conjunct – and this series of Eclipses puts pressure on personal relationships. Hasty decisions are cautioned against, since information coming in is distorted and possibly false.

David Davis is facing an increasingly depressing and obstacle-strewn passage ahead. Where it starts to really bite will be from December this year as tr Saturn starts to oppose his Uranus, then conjunct his Sun, Mercury, Jupiter in Capricorn in quick order in early 2018, repeating on and off till late 2018. Worse by far is tr Pluto conjunct his Mars and square his Venus/Saturn midpoint in 2018/19 which will see him boxed in from all sides, deeply frustrated, enraged and discouraged. Plus he has a ‘shocking collision’ Solar Arc Mars square his Sun from late 2018 into 2019.

He’s up against formidable opposition with Barnier, another Capricorn, with an 8^th house Mars in Aquarius opposition Pluto – he doesn’t budge easily or at all and will be ruthless. But for all that he looks fairly devastated himself with tr Pluto conjunct his Sun and square his Neptune in 2017/18; completely discombobulated October this year to Jan 2018 with tr Neptune square his Mars/Saturn. If his birth time is accurate then 2019 will be directionless and undermining on the career front; with considerable career losses.

Crashing out of failed talks would hurt the EU as much as the UK, since they’d lose any divorce settlement payment.

Looking at the EU chart they do have this August’s Leo Eclipse conjunct the Solar Arc MC and 12^th house Pluto – which will generate quite a negative effect. It’s likely to be a crisis of direction hitting the MC; with the opportunity for transformation and the greater likelihood of obstinacy leading to decay and stagnation (Pluto). 2019 looks highly uncertain with tr Neptune squaring the 3^rd house Saturn.

Prince Harry has been making himself unpopular with his grandmother, Queen Elizabeth by suggesting no one really wants to be monarch. Which given that she has sacrificed herself selflessly for decades is rather a slap in the face. And since he’s close to his brother, it also suggests William isn’t exactly enamoured of being next in line after Prince Charles.

The monarchy has survived this far partly because of the Queen’s unshakeable sense of duty and partly out of the mystique which comes from absolute discretion. Not something the younger Royals appear to understand. Harry does have a natal Mercury square Uranus which will tend to make him shoot off at the mouth without thinking too hard; and his rebellious Uranus has now moved by Solar Arc to conjunct his Capricorn Ascendant, so he’ll be less inclined to care how others react.

His relationship chart with HM Queen has tr Pluto conjunct the composite Mars now, and on and off till late 2018, which will spark up anger, as well as a discouraging toe-the-line tr Pluto sextile the composite Saturn – so no doubt a few firm words will be flying back in his direction via senior courtiers.

And his relationship chart with William, essentially affectionate and friendly, is moving through an unsettled and uncertain phase with tr Neptune square the composite Moon this year, and tr Uranus opposing the composite Pluto exact at the moment; with more jolts and jangles in 2018/19.

Harry isn’t in the best of times either with downbeat and muddled transits to several midpoints this year; as well as tr Saturn square his Sun and conjunct his Neptune later this year, and a panicky-failure tr Neptune aiming to square his Mars by 2019. Plus an accident prone Solar Arc Saturn conjunct his Mars exact by 2019 as well. And from February 2018 his Progressed Moon moves into his 8^th for three years, which is most often an anguished time looking for new values in life.

His relationship with Meghan Markle has a sparkle of passion with a composite Venus Mars, but also a need for space and worse an ego-clash where opposing career interests are concerned. Media reports hint he is ordering an engagement ring, but it’s a relationship that would find it tricky to settle into a steady 24/7 commitment.

I do wish the younger Royals would understand that most people have unwanted pressures in their lives and none of the gargantuan benefits that Royal wealth and privilege bestow.

The collision of the USS destroyer Fitzgerald with a 730 foot-long container ship on 17 June 2017 at 1.30am off the coast of Japan, with the loss of seven lives, has sparked incomprehension in the naval world. The freighter stacked with 1000 containers seems to have been on automatic pilot. But the Fitzgerald should have had lookouts on watch on the port, starboard and stern, scanning the horizon with binoculars and reporting by headsets to the destroyer’s bridge. Radar officers on the bridge and in the combat information centre below should have spotted the freighter’s image on their screens. And under standard protocol, the captain should have been wakened and summoned to the bridge long before the ships could come near each other. Destroyers can manoeuvre quickly so there would have been no problem in avoiding what was effectively a zombie ship. None of that appears to have happened.

The collision chart has Pluto conjunct the MC with Uranus close to the Ascendant; and a crash-prone Mars in the 3^rd in an over-confidence-leads-to-destruction square to Jupiter, and a trine to a narcoleptic Moon Neptune in Pisces. Neptune is also quincunx Jupiter in the 6^th which latter can be lazy at work and overly indulgent. The Fire Grand Trine was in place with Saturn opposition Sun, which would have the Saturnine tendency to make the cost of corner-cutting high. And last but not least Mars in Cancer was moving towards the brutal opposition to Pluto, which even out of orb can trigger events early.

The Fitzgerald was laid down on 9 February 1993 and launched on 29 Jan 1994. Normally the laying down chart is the better indicator, and it has a bleak Sun Saturn in Aquarius square Pluto; with Mars in Cancer and Jupiter in Libra, both returning at the moment to their natal position almost exactly. Tr Pluto was within a degree conjunct the Fitzgerald Neptune Uranus in Capricorn which Ebertin describes as ‘loss of waking consciousness’, confusion and losses. Tr Neptune was also conjunct the Solar Arc Sun Sun Saturn.  Were they all asleep?  Defies belief.