Donald Trump is either descending into paranoid psychosis or he’s up to his usual game of diversionary tactics to render reality irrelevant; plus his narcissistic urge to keep attention focussed on him. Although his return in private to obsessive conspiracy theories about Obama’s birth certificate, Hillary not winning the popular vote and it not being his voice on the Access Hollywood sex tapes, might hint at the former. Both are also possible since even the mad can be smart and devious. He’s under growing pressure, possibly more than we see, with the Mueller Russia investigation circling closer to the family; sex allegations against himself and Moore; his hotels losing business; and generally being unloved except by his fan base who continue to cheer even his most rancid and ludicrously unbelievable tweets.

From this weekend tr Uranus moves to square three of his key midpoints until early February. His Sun/Mars – even more impulsive than usual and given to reckless macho reactions; over-strain (cardiac troubles). His Mercury/Pluto – fanatical pursuit of plans, nervous breakdown through overtaxing strength. Venus/Saturn – lonely, quarrelsome, high-tension. Plus his Progressed Moon will conjunct his 12th house Pluto over this New Year – pent up pressures, power-struggles, opening up old psychological wounds, resentful.

It won’t ease up in early 2018 for him,  with February seeing tr Saturn square his 2^nd house Neptune, bringing financial concerns, forcing him to face a sobering reality, returning till late 2018, worse in 2019 with tr Saturn square his 2nd house Jupiter. Tr Saturn just before in this coming January moves into his 5^th house of children, fun and speculation – so all three areas will have Saturn’s repressive and separating hand landed on them for three years ahead. February also has tr Neptune opposition his Jupiter/Pluto midpoint bringing disappointment, undermining his bullish confidence/social standing and brewing up more deceit than usual, returning late in the year. And the explosively disruptive Solar Arc Uranus conjunct his Mars grows ever closer, exact in six months’ time.

His relationship chart with the USA 1776 will continue at high tension through 2018; and with a sense of a growing gulf from mid this December as tr Saturn squares the composite Neptune and more so in mid January with tr Saturn opposition the composite Sun, which returns on and off till October 2018. 2019 is when the more challenging upheavals show up with tr Saturn opposition Venus, Mercury, Mars and conjunct the composite Moon; and tr Uranus opposes the composite Pluto and trines Saturn. 2019 is also when tr Uranus squares his Solar Arc MC and his Solar Return is beyond horrible from June 2019 onwards with Saturn Pluto in the 10^th opposition a 4^th house Mars.

Mars moves to oppose Uranus in the zodiac this Friday which is a touch like a volcano about to explode. It tends to stir up an argumentative, intolerant mood with everyone kicking against restrictions and flaring up over other people’s actions and behaviour. Mars is assertive not to say aggressive when confronted or hemmed in; and rebellious Uranus adds a thunder bolt of lightning to the mix. Often when the pair merge or clash what is experienced is a threat to one’s ego. In order to bolster self-esteem, the immature (or normal) response is to leap into reckless actions or words in a display of machismo which prove to be unwise, even leading to accidents on occasion.

So general frazzle, stresses, strains and emotional tensions. It does come round maybe twice a year so isn’t terminal, but very irksome all the same. There has been a run of aggravation and challenges recently since Mars squared Pluto on the 19th and for the days in the run up before that, so it has been a testing time for nerves.

It can coincide with computer and tech failures as Mars Uranus overloads circuit boards with bad temper; or surgical operations; and usually with violence somewhere in the world (when is there never not?) but more marked than usual.

There is an upside, as the high energy levels can lead to unusual achievements, though it is trickier to handle in an opposition.

Davina McCall, the UK television presenter, has split from her second husband with whom she has three children. She had a difficult childhood, being sent to grandparents very young when her parents split, had a fractious relationship with her French mother, and a serious drug and alcohol problem as a young adult. Born 16 October 1967 she’s a Sun Libra with an exuberant Mars in Sagittarius sextile her Sun and trine Jupiter in Leo. Though her Mars also squares Pluto Uranus in Virgo, which would give her anger/angst issues and major challenges. Her Saturn in forced-to-be-self-reliant Aries may be conjunct her Moon.

Her about-to-be-ex Matthew Robertson, also a TV presenter, is a Sun Sagittarius with an Aries Moon, and Jupiter Uranus Mars in Libra; so it isn’t, at a simple level, that bad a match. Though his Saturn in Aries does oppose and block her Sun. Their relationship chart has a passionately affectionate composite Sun, Venus Mars sextile Jupiter; with Uranus Pluto sextile Mercury Neptune; and a tricky, strained Yod of Pluto sextile Mercury Neptune inconjunct Saturn. There are certainly a fair number of pluses which held them together for 17 years. And it will have been under pressure in recent years with tr Pluto square tr Uranus hitting on that focal point composite Saturn.

Usually what holds relationship together over time are 1. Affectionate Sun Venus aspects; 2. Enough Saturn for endurance and longevity but not so much it puts a damper on feelings; 3. Jupiter aspects as a morale booster to smooth out rough edges; and sometimes a composite Sun Moon which makes the two feel more whole when together. Composite Saturn Pluto aspects can also help to bind couples together though it doesn’t always feel comfortable.

Johnny Cash was with his wife June for 35 years; and their relationship chart has a composite Sun Venus trine Saturn and sextile Jupiter; and Saturn opposition Pluto. I can’t imagine it would be an easy relationship but there was enough glue to hold them together. He was a Sun Pisces with a Scorpio Moon while she was a Sun Cancer with a Capricorn Moon.

Catherine Zeta Jones and Michael Douglas who split and came back together have a composite Sun Venus Jupiter trine Saturn; and Saturn square Pluto. They are both Sun Libras with her Moon in Pisces and his in Capricorn. There may be a blip or two coming up for them with Saturn moving into Capricorn.

One couple who were married for 66 years and died within 8 days of one another, Aurlo Bonney, 4 March 1916, and Virginia, 10 Nov 1918, didn’t have that great a relationship chart. It had a competitive, argumentative composite Sun square Mars; a cool and suspicious Venus opposition Saturn Neptune; though it did have an adventurous Jupiter square Uranus (Moon) and trine Sun. Their synastry was better with her Scorpio Sun Venus trine Jupiter in Cancer which connected to his Pisces Sun and Moon. But those were different days, when people were more inclined to hang on in there through the good and the bad.

The classic example always quoted was Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward, married for fifty years, since he was a Sun Aquarius with a Pisces Moon and she was a Sun Pisces with an Aquarius Moon, so their yin and yang were balanced. But their relationship chart wasn’t that straightforward. There was a composite Sun Moon, which is very positive since they would complement each other, and that opposed Neptune which is good for the movie business and creating an aura, but not necessarily for everyday living. There was a lively composite Jupiter midway between Mars and Uranus, so fun and adventure; but the Mars was trine Pluto and square Saturn, so I’d imagine one side had to grit their teeth and fit in rather than assert their individuality.

Most relationships that survive just need more pluses than minuses. And much goes back to the individual charts involved. Bad relationships do survive because one side has a no-choice or stubbornly-enduring or overly-submissive chart. Whereas a strongly Uranus person will be an uncompromising bolter. It takes two to tango and if only one partner wants to relate then it requires a masochistic of a high order to stick around.

Happy news day – a spring Royal wedding up and coming to distract from the drear. The UK chart does look enlivened from late March to late May so the country will be in a jubilant mood.

Prince Harry does have tr Jupiter criss-crossing his midheaven in early 2018 so he’ll be on a high with admiration coming his way; and with tr Pluto trine his Taurus Moon in 2018/19 he’ll be not just moving house but also making positive changes in his emotional life. He has tr Pluto in a passionate square to his 9^th house Venus (= bride from abroad) exactly now; with his Progressed Moon moving through his 7^th house of marriage which is often when people settle down. Though it will be into his 8^th by the time of the marriage which will see two years thereafter of wrestling with himself about what he really values. Tr Uranus opposes his Pluto from mid May onwards for a radical change in his lifestyle; and with tr Saturn heading for his Ascendant from 2019 onwards he’ll want a less pressured life for several years ahead with more time for personal interests, such as children and a family.

Meghan, 4 August 1981 Los Angeles has a birth time from astrotheme of 4.46am though I’m not sure how sound that is. She’s a Sun Leo with a Libra Moon, so very different in personality type to Harry who has a Virgo Sun and Taurus Moon. She’s Fire/Air giving her lively enthusiasm with his more practical Earth. But her Venus is in Virgo chimes with his Sun; and her Libra Moon with his Venus, so there will be an affectionate cross-over. Her Mars in his 7^th suggests a lively relationship with frank exchanges of view; her Sun and Venus in his 8^th for passion and a deep connection.

She has been looking understandably unsettled this year with the prospect of such a dramatic change to her life’s direction, but is jubilant through this December/January. Born a few days after the not-altogether-positive Eclipse which oversaw Prince Charles and Diana’s wedding, she has a Jupiter Saturn conjunction in Libra close to her Moon. So she will be idealistic as well as ambitious, evidently now wanting to focus away from acting onto her charitable efforts in Africa.

Their relationship chart has a passionately affectionate composite Mars Venus conjunction (undergoing a minor dip later this December); a chained-together Saturn Pluto conjunction, suggesting the burden of duty will be weighty; a needs-space or needs-an-unconventional-lifestyle composite Sun square Uranus – both need to retain their individuality so she won’t just be arm-candy and walking submissively behind him; and Neptune square Venus Mars which is a minor worry, suggesting when the shine wears off there will be some disappointment and perhaps a clash of conflicting ambitions. The composite Jupiter may be trine the Moon (if her birth time is sound) which will help smooth out problems and foster mutual support. Tr Jupiter will give the composite Jupiter a boost in late April which would fit.

I wouldn’t have said it was absolutely ideal, but relationships need to be cut from a different mould to withstand the rigours of a Royal marriage, with a rabid tabloid press and tricky internal family dynamics and rivalries.

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China’s infiltration abroad is escalating stealthily to a scary degree with multi-pronged strategies. Offers of infra-structure investment to central and eastern European countries (16+1) are causing alarm in Brussels; with Africa’s development being largely fuelled by China. The NY Times headline this morning – Beijing Hinders Free Speech in America – points out the degree to which Chinese students abroad are being threatened into silence. “Chinese students who are seen with political dissidents or dare to publicly challenge Chinese government policies can be put on a blacklist. Their families in China can be threatened or punished.” In Australia journalists have detailed how Chinese money has infiltrated the political process. And back home, the Xi regime is tightening its grip over its own people with a planned Citizen Trustworthy Score, collecting personal info about all areas of life, interests and activities – described by a commentator as “Amazon’s consumer tracking with an Orwellian political twist.” Or as Wired put it ‘Big Data meets Big Brother’. (Urls below.)

Xi Jinping’s initial Presidency chart, 14 March 2013 11.51am Beijing, showed every indication of being a game-changer with a status-quo upsetting 10^th house Uranus square a 7^th house Pluto, which latter wants to remake others in their image. But more pointedly there is a Yod of a determined Saturn in Scorpio sextile Pluto inconjunct Jupiter in the 12^th – which certainly has the urge to influence the masses. Tied into Saturn Pluto it does suggest social fanaticism, since an afflicted Jupiter rarely doubts the rightness of its belief. It can trip itself up through allowing a personal ego-trip to get out of hand.

There’s another Yod of Jupiter sextile Uranus inconjunct Saturn, which is tough to handle well, and will get a mighty jolt in 2021 as tr Uranus opposes that Saturn.

China itself is deeply secretive and determined with a Sun, Mercury, Neptune and Saturn in the 8^th and Jupiter in the 12^th; and belligerent with Mars Pluto in Leo in the 7^th, so prone to hostile and bullying relationships. It looks to be bouncing to even more prominence in 2018 with its Solar Arc MC conjunct the Ascendant; and roaring ahead in terms of finance and confidence in 2019/2020 with tr Pluto conjunct its Jupiter. Although 2019 also has tr Uranus square the China Moon, suggesting an unsettled population which impacts on the country’ image. Where the real problems crop up are 2021 to 2023 with tr Uranus squaring the 7^th house Mars Pluto, which looks agitated, explosive, and a radical upheaval both in diplomatic relations and internally.

Add on: Contemplating Pluto in Capricorn and its tendency to produce strong leaders: On the previous run after the mid 18^th century, the Chinese Emperor Hongli was a capable and cultured ruler running a thriving empire. During his reign the Qing Empire reached its most splendid and prosperous era, boasting a large population and economy, with military victories which expanded the dynastic territory to the largest extent by conquering and sometimes destroying Central Asian kingdoms. Although after Pluto in Capricorn moved on the empire started to stagnate.

https://www.ft.com/content/16abbf2a-cf9b-11e7-9dbb-291a884dd8c6

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/26/opinion/beijing-free-speech-america.html?action=click&pgtype=Homepage&clickSource=story-heading&module=opinion-c-col-left-region&region=opinion-c-col-left-region&WT.nav=opinion-c-col-left-region

http://www.wired.co.uk/article/chinese-government-social-credit-score-privacy-invasion

Spot the bad guy from their chart. You think? The old joke was that very little separated criminal barristers from their gangster clients. They both exist in the same environment, tap into the same energies, but one directs their inner darkness towards justice while the other flouts it.

A wonderful example has just cropped up. Carla del Ponte, the Swiss anti-mafia prosecutor led the hunt for Ratko Mladic, the ‘Butcher of Bosnia’ when she was with the UN International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia. She was born 9 February 1947 in Bignasco, and is a Sun Mars in Aquarius, with her Mars in an Air Grand Trine to Neptune Moon in Libra trine Uranus, formed into a Kite by Mars opposition Pluto (Saturn) in Leo.

Ratko Mladic, convicted this week, see post below) also has an Air Grand Trine of Mars in Aquarius trine Uranus Saturn Moon in Gemini trine Neptune; formed into a Kite by Mars opposition Pluto. Both have the brutally repressive Mars opposition Pluto as the driving rod of their charts, but one experienced it as an observer and the other as the perpetrator. Both have their Mercury in Pisces, their Jupiter in a Water sign and their Suns in aspect to Jupiter. Mladic’s Saturn is marginally more afflicted being trine his Mars, conjunct Uranus, sextile Pluto and trine Neptune which would incline him to cruelty.

Tone-deaf, insensitive and suffering from foot-in-mouth disease are the hallmarks of Lena Dunham, actor-writer-director who created and starred in Girls. Proud of her feminist credentials, her most recent blotting of her copybook came from suggesting that an allegation of sexual harassment against a male friend of hers was probably not to be believed. She’s losing fans on social media by the bucket load since it’s now also being seen as racist.

Born 13 May 1986 in New York, she’s a Sun Taurus conjunct Mars in Capricorn so heavyweight when it comes to asserting herself. Her Mercury also in Taurus is in a dogmatic opposition to Pluto and an argumentative trine to Mars; as well as a can-be-confused trine to Neptune. Her Venus in Gemini opposes Uranus squaring onto Jupiter in Pisces, so she’ll mean well but be erratic in her attitudes, and prone to jumping into self-righteous pronouncements.

She’s in an angry, frustrated, trapped two years in 2017/18 with tr Pluto conjunct her Mars; and hitting a lacklustre patch following in 2019/2020 with tr Neptune conjunct her focal point of Jupiter.

Tricky when a friend is accused but she should know better.

George Clooney’s latest directorial movie Suburbicon starring Matt Damon has got blisteringly bad reviews – ‘an embarrassing Coens-inspired trainwreck’; ‘not as smart, clever or funny as it seems to think it is.’ His previous outing behind the camera ‘Monuments Men’ also fell between two stools as it tried to be a caper and serious at the same time.

All this with tr Saturn starting to move across his midheaven when he should be reaching a peak. He does have a Jupiter Saturn conjunction in his chart, which yearns to find a balance between his activist ideals and commercial success, but he seems to have fallen down the gap between the two and ended up with neither.

Tr Neptune is now crossing his Ascendant giving him a minor identity crisis which won’t disappear in a hurry. Is he part of a celebrity couple, now blessed with twins; or a silver fox star; or a serious movie creator? He looks confidence-dented at the moment with more jolts, jangles and setbacks in 2018, some of which may be family related as tr Uranus squares his Moon and Saturn in late Capricorn and also squares his 5^th house Mars, increasing his sense of insecurity. Luckily all is not lost. He’ll bounce back in 2019 as tr Uranus squares his Jupiter and is conjunct his Mars/Jupiter midpoint and Jupiter also moves through his 10^th house of career and reputation for glowing reviews and a sigh of relief from his ego.

Al Franken, the Democratic Junior Senator from Minnesota, has issued another apology after two more women made allegations of inappropriate touching. He said “I’m a warm person; I hug people. I’ve learned from recent stories that in some of those encounters, I crossed a line for some women — and I respect their feelings about that.”

Born 21 May 1951 6.15pm New York, he was a comedian and writer before turning to liberal politics in 2009. He has a 7^th house Sun Mars conjunction in Gemini, so is a communicator, sociable and feisty; with his Sun Mars opposition his Sagittarius Moon; and Pluto on his midheaven trine his Moon – he will be fairly controlling with that Pluto with some issues around women from Moon Mars as well. His Venus Uranus in Cancer square Jupiter in Aries which will make him quite fickle emotionally and given to turning on the charm when it suits him.

He looks confused and uncertain at the moment with tr Pluto square his Neptune until early December and his Pluto is being rattled by the recent August Eclipses as well as those next Jan/Feb, so he’s having to rethink his approach. He isn’t standing on solid ground till early January, with his confidence dented, though he says he won’t resign. And despite a few blips next spring will be pushing ahead after a few lucky breaks through 2018/19. Though with tr Saturn moving through his 1^st quadrant he’s not as successful as he was and is having to face unresolved psychological issues.

Renowned news broadcaster, Charlie Rose, 5 January 1942 5.50pm Henderson, North Carolina, isn’t faring as well, having been fired by CBS and now having various awards and honours being revoked. He has an ambitious, pro-active Mars in Aries in his 10^th trine a Leo Moon; with his Moon opposition an 8^th house Venus in Aquarius squaring onto Saturn Uranus in Taurus. Emotionally intense and changeable; and a stressed Moon in aspect to Mars, Saturn and Uranus does suggest issues around women.   Tr Saturn has been opposing his Solar Arc MC as he fell from grace; with tr Uranus in an insecure conjunction to his 10^th house Mars through 2017 and early 2018. He looks understandably discouraged this December; and worse after mid 2018, with a ‘shock’ Solar Arc Mars opposition his Capricorn Sun in early 2019, which could be a health issue.