A new Vincent Van Gogh exhibition at London’s National Gallery has been described as a “once-in-a-century” show with rave reviews from critics. It opens on 14 September and features more than 60 pieces painted by the Dutch artist, who died in 1890 aged 37.
Lurid tales of his psychosis, ear cutting off episode, brothels and brawls and suicide by shooting compete for as much attention as his vibrant paintings. But the Times art critic takes another view. “While madness may be a good story and a better headline, it simply doesn’t tally with the exhilaration of the early Arles letters. Surely, too, it is more psychologically interesting to encounter a man working with such clarity, certainty and unbounded creativity, only to be felled at intervals by doubts, nightmares and melancholy beyond endurance. It makes the breakdowns, the ear-cutting and the gunshot all the more random and cruel.”
He was born 30 March 1853 11am Zundert, Netherlands, into a middle class family and showed signs of mental instability from his teens onward, suffering from depression and delusions. He had seven planets in his career 10th – an ambitious and unaspected Aries Sun with an inventive, trailblazing Uranus Pluto conjunction in Taurus plus Saturn in Taurus. His Mercury also in the 10th was conjunct Pluto giving him dark moods and extreme reactions at times. Most notable was his Jupiter Moon in Sagittarius in his creative 5th house opposition his North Node square a passionately enthusiastic Mars Venus in Pisces in his 10th.
His emphasized Mars Venus in Pisces would give him unbridled enthusiasm and for some reason makes me think of his appreciation of colour.
“He is fantastically receptive to light, the seasons, the “pale orange sunsets making the fields look blue” and “the glorious yellow suns”. Van Gogh found a landscape of “sky blue, pink, orange, vermilion, brilliant yellow, bright green, bright wine red, violet”.
An unaspected Sun would make him less dependent on outer relationships for validation. His Gemini North Node would also make him a free spirit.
When he shot himself his Progressed Moon was conjunct his Pluto intensifying his emotional reactions; his Progressed Mars was less than a degree conjunct his Mercury for a surge of anger. His Solar Arc Mars Venus has crossed his Pluto just before and were aiming to his Uranus – so even by his standards it was a high stress time. Perhaps most notable of all his Solar Arc Saturn had moved to conjunct his North Node and trigger his Mutable T Square of Jupiter, Node, Venus, Mars – which would damp his confidence. Tr Jupiter was also within a degree of being square to his Uranus – so maybe for a fleeting moment he wanted the relief of not being subject to dark and turbulent thoughts.
His posthumous ‘ghost’ chart at the moment for this exhibition has the upcoming Solar Eclipse opposition his Sun, tr Pluto square his Pluto and tr Neptune conjunct his focal point Mars Venus in Pisces.
Justin Trudeau may survive as Canada’s prime minister into next year, political analysts say, despite the withdrawal of support from a small left-wing party. Though he can no longer be sure of surviving confidence votes in the House of Commons chamber, where the Liberals only hold 154 of the 338 seats. In that case his government would fall before its term expires at the end of October 2025, forcing an early general election.
Trudeau, 25 December 1971 9.27 pm Ottawa, Canada, is on a slide of panicky failure with his Mars in last degree Pisces being undermined by the tr Neptune conjunction right through till January 2026. Plus tr Uranus is conjunct his Taurus Midheaven exactly now hinting at a change of career direction, which repeats in May 2025; followed by a high-tension, jolting tr Uranus conjunct his 10th house Saturn from July 2025. The Saturn Neptune conjunction in Aries is also poised to move into his 8th house from mid 2025 onwards – financial scandal?
His Mars is also catching the next two Lunar Eclipses this month and next March as well as next September’s Virgo Solar Eclipse. He’ll be on high stress mode right through.
What may give him minor uplift is tr Jupiter through his 10th until July 2025 though even that may not be enough to stave off disaster.
His Term chart from 26 October 2021 has a completely-blocked and frustrated Solar Arc Pluto square the Mars now and not improving ahead.
Focal point planets can be the key to resolving tensions whether on the point of T Squares or the apex of yods or as the driving planet of a Kite from a Grand Trine. They can harness the energy of the planets in aspect to produce a dynamic thrust. Though it can depend on the planet involved and the element (Cardinal, Fixed, Mutable). And like anything else in a chart can be mishandled and end up accentuating the negative properties of the planet.
Oppositions in a chart pull in two diametrically opposite directions. Without a unifying focal point in square to both ends, the individual is left to hop from one end of the opposition to the other seeking and never finding a balance. James Earl Jones and Edna O’Brien born in the tough early 1930s with Saturn opposition Pluto giving them grit to endure hardship, though with a dollop of Jupiter close to Pluto for luck and confidence, were able to find an outlet for early angst through their Uranus in Aries on the point of a T square in forging an unconventional lifestyle. Rupert Murdoch has similar placings though his road-less-travelled has tended to be divisive as well as trailblazing.
Cardinal T squares are marginally easier to handle since they are driven by initiative and good at self-motivation.
Actor Jack Nicholson has a charming, creative Venus in Aries on the point of his Pluto opposition Jupiter, softening his go-getting determination.
Princess Catherine has a surprisingly tough Saturn Pluto on the focal point of a Sun Moon opposition. From early on as a Full Moon baby her heart told her to do one thing and her head another, so she’d be constantly unsatisfied whichever end of the opposition she tried to lean on. She learnt to put duty and submission first (Saturn + Pluto) above all else, moulding her for the Royal life to come.
Likewise Queen Elizabeth 11 had an adventurous Mars Jupiter in Aquarius opposition (Moon) Neptune in Leo and could have ended up an escapist dreamer but since that opposition squared onto Saturn in Scorpio on her Midheaven, duty became her watchword. Her Saturn channelled a complex mix of Mars Jupiter and Moon Neptune and forged it into a momentous life of sacrifice and commitment. Fixed T squares can be problematic since they tend to be inordinately stubborn – on the upside enduring and steady but not flexible.
Mutable T squares can be scattered and frenzied since too much flexibility/susceptibility to outside influences jacks up the nervous, highly-strung energy – as with Liam Gallagher with his Saturn opposition Jupiter square Mars Sun in Virgo. In his case all that high-tension opposition energy is not balanced but more detonated through his Mars in Virgo.
Even Mars on the focal point of a Cardinal T Square can be overly aggressive initially. But the tension of the opposition is better with an outlet as long as it is handled in a mature way – and not going off like a scattergun.
Yods also have apex or focal point planets which can be marginally more awkward to get aligned since the inconjuncts pull together by aspect two inherently different and contradictory elements and modalities. For example Aries with Virgo or Scorpio – a Cardinal Fire trying to make friends with a Mutable Earth or a Fixed Water. The two ends basically don’t understand one another and don’t see how to cooperate. Where a square strives to find a solution, there is more difficulty in containing the contradiction of a quincunx so life may be divided to allow different arenas to live out the separate energies. But that way the individual never feels completely whole and is constantly cutting off part of themselves to honour one planet or the other.
Along the way fate usually intervenes with a surprise and unwilled set of events which channels the focal point planet onto a singular trajectory. Prince William with his Venus on the apex of a yod was an uneasy social mixer initially and emotionally awkward but once he found his calling (or in yod fashion it was found for him), he has an innate capacity for engaging at a feeling level and has the ability to make a difference out in society where children (5th house) or culture is concerned.
His uncle Prince Andrew has a prominent yod onto Uranus in his 1st which managed properly would have made him a trailblazer, both inventive and creative. Instead he has followed the less desirable Uranian route of defiance, rebellion, lawlessness and ended up as a disruptor.
The mathematician Alexander Grothendieck has Pluto on the point of a yod and a T square and likewise Bernard Riemann, another leading mathematician has Pluto on the point of a T square. Pluto raised to its highest game gives a penetrating insight, often bringing ideas well ahead of their time.
Less helpfully Gary Oldman has Pluto on the point of a yod which may give him gravitas in acting but will make his controlling tendencies tricky to live with.
Grand Trines on their own can bring an easy flow of energy but often they get stuck in a comfortable rut. What is helpful in finding a constructive way of using the Grand Trine is a planet in opposition to one leg of the Grand Trine and sextile the two other legs forming a Kite. The planet at the end of the opposition becomes the driving planet of the Grand Trine’s talented, lucky energy. Keir Starmer has a Water Grand Trine of Neptune to Mars to Jupiter which on its own might make him inward-looking, a dreamer and unrealistic but it is sprung into gear by Jupiter opposition Sun Pluto. His controlling Sun Pluto drives a good deal of the energy of his chart.
Actor Richard Burton had similarly a creative Water Grand Trine of Sun Saturn and Uranus and Pluto, with Pluto opposition Jupiter. So Jupiter, planet of luck, confidence and excess became his driving planet.
King Charles 111 has a Grand Trine of Moon trine Saturn trine Jupiter with Moon opposition a 4th house South Node – lucky, talented, designed for a public career but his Achilles Heel is his 4th house South Node hinting at family difficulties.
Someone once worked out that a birth chart contains 2500 pieces of information which is ways too much to absorb. It is helpful to prioritize – and focal point planets are one stand-out marker.
James Earl Jones scaled the heights for decades on stage and on screen but what he is most remembered for is his voice. It was once described as the sound that “Moses heard when addressed by God.” He was the voice of Darth Vader in the original Star Wars trilogy, summoning the full power of the mystical ‘Force’. “That great rumbling basso profundo was like a thunderstorm surmounting the horizon, an almost supernatural voice of wisdom and power.” He was also the voice of Mufasa, father of princeling cub Simba in The Lion King.
What was all the more extraordinary was he had a debilitating stutter as a child, rendering him effectively mute for several years until a teacher encouraged him to read his poetry compositions out loud in class. He discovered his stammer eased when he was speaking from memory.
He was born 17 January 1931 6.05 am Arkabutia, Mississippi, with his father abandoning the family shortly after his birth, Aged 5 he was sent unwillingly to live with his grandparents where his stammer appeared.
His Mercury in earthy Capricorn felicitously is conjunct his Ascendant, Moon and Saturn – so his image and his style of communication were inextricably interwoven. His Moon (Mercury) Saturn were opposition Jupiter Pluto square Uranus – giving him supreme confidence and a determination to mark out an unconventional path in life. His 8th house of grandparents had a deeply buried and formidable Mars trine Uranus and inconjunct his Saturn; with creative Neptune also in his 8th trine his Mercury. He came across as surprisingly mellow given his troubled Mars,
The Princess of Wales has released a video marking her all clear from chemotherapy which is reassuring news. Though its schmaltzy, over-produced, soft-focus in a wheatfield Instagramy-feel is not to everyone’s tastes.
She has no verified birthtime though 7pm 9 January 1982 Reading, England, fits well enough with her recent health scare. Tr Pluto moved into her 6th house of health on this birth time from 2020 onwards and was joined by the Progressed Moon ten months ago. Plus her Solar Arc Neptune was conjunct her 6th house Venus in 2023 so there has been a build up of pressures. Her health will be a continuing preoccupation for a while if the birth time is sound.
What will be keeping her morale high this year and next until January 2026 is tr Pluto square her Jupiter/Pluto midpoint on and off. She will be overly-emotional at the moment with tr Pluto square her Venus/Node midpoint till late this November; with a few minor setbacks at the same time (probably not health).
Her Mars like William’s is in Libra and will catch this October’s Solar Eclipse and be opposed by the Aries Eclipse next late March. She may be running around and trying to do too much from this October onwards as Mars revs up her forward gear and she will be assertive, at times competitive or argumentative. And with William in the same mood it will be lively chez the Wales residence.
2025 looks a year of sudden surprises with her Solar Arc Sun square her (maybe) 4th house Uranus, which if the houses are accurate could be a house move or family upheaval. Tr Uranus into Gemini from mid 2025 will be overly-excitable or argumentative into 2026 when her Solar Arc Uranus is conjunct her Sun – so it will be a time of rapid change and none-too settled.
The upcoming Libra Solar Eclipse at 10 degrees Libra hints at closure, completion, a parting of the ways, separation, over-straining energy. It will be mirrored by the late March 2025 Aries Solar Eclipse at 9 degrees Aries, which is in a Saros series that is physically expressive though also over strenuous and accident prone. These eclipses were around previously in 2006/7, 1988/89, 1970/71, 1952/53, 1934/35.
In between, this month’s Lunar Eclipse at 26 degrees Pisces, is followed next March by a Lunar Eclipse at 24 degrees Virgo and then a Solar Eclipse in September 2025 at 29 degrees Virgo.
Sun Aries individuals around this degree include Samuel Alito, Nigel Farage, Piers Morgan, Celine Dion, Elle MacPherson, Al Gore. A Solar Eclipse opposition Sun hints the time has come to get out of a rut, admit mistakes and move on. A Solar Eclipse conjunct the Sun hints at a crossroads being reached in life with significant decisions ahead. Ambling along sticking to old ways won’t work any longer.
Mars in Aries or Libra types – Angelina Jolie, Prince William, Hunter Biden, John Roberts, Tim Walz – will be in a competitive, not to say combative mood, racing around at speed and in no mood for compromise. Hunter Biden in particular will be jolted in a significant fashion with his Mars opposition Uranus getting the full blast of these two eclipses over the coming twelve months.
Netanyahu has his Mercury in Libra getting rattled so will be running round in circles trying to straighten out confusion and reach agreements.
France has its financial Venus at 11 degrees Libra hinting at financial upsets. In individuals it is more likely to bring emotional ups and downs.
Outer planets being impacted by an eclipse is not always obvious but worth watching for – Clarence Thomas, Elton John, Camilla, Queen Guitarist Brian May all have their Neptune in Libra conjunct/opposition these two Solar eclipses.
Melania has her Chiron in Aries being rattled by both Eclipses – interesting to see how that turns out. Independence? Exerting her power?
The Palestine – 11 June 1967 chart – has Saturn at 10 degrees Aries with South Sudan Independence having its Saturn at 10 degrees Libra. Both of them in different ways will be facing a tough year ahead. Saturn conjunct an Eclipse points to a need to restructure and take responsibility, which can be discouraging, even fearful and requires effort.
The UK British Medical Association is embroiled in ructions having mystifyingly decided to ignore the Cass Report on puberty blockers etc and triggered an internal civil war. Its’ Pluto in Aries is being elbowed which can be a hint at a choose between transforming or stagnating.
These are only a few of the ones which caught my eye recently – feel free to add
The surprise coming together of the two Gallagher brothers is partly put down to the exit of Noel’s wife Sara MacDonald from the scene who not surprisingly took a dislike to Liam. Likewise the George Clooney Brad Pitt bro-romance resurgence is attributed to Angelina Jolie no longer being present since she evidently did not get on with Amal Alamuddin. One-on-one relationships are tricky enough but add together two couples or a family and the stress dynamics mount.
Following on from previous post 22nd August 2024: Uranus – liberator or wrecker – Yoko, Wallis, Meghan + Camilla.
Sarah MacDonald, 22 October 1971, who divorced Noel early last year had a definite needs-space relationship with her rambunctious brother-in-law Liam with a composite Sun Uranus and a definite-dislike Mars opposition Saturn.
Angelina Jolie and Amal Alamuddin together had a composite power-struggling composite Sun opposition Pluto; with a high-tension, chilly composite Venus opposition Uranus square Saturn and a simmering-resentment Mars trine Pluto sextile Saturn.
Wallis Simpson also had a fractious relationship with her brother-in-law King George VI who was landed with the burden of monarchy because of her relationship with the Duke of Windsor. Their relationship chart had an aggravated, resentful composite Saturn square Mars with Mars trine Neptune Pluto – serious dislike.
Meghan Markle has a power-playing composite Jupiter Pluto square Sun Venus in her relationship chart with Prince William. A tussle for the upper hand and last word.
Any more sister in law/brother in law examples welcomed.
A bloated Henry V111 in his final years with a 54 inch waist, needing nine men and a mechanical device to get his 28 stone bulk aboard a horse, is not an intuitive role for the winsome Jude Law. But his performance in the movie Firebrand about Henry’s declining years is described as a show-stealer – incendiary, ruthless, revolting and boorish – so he clearly pulls it off.
Given that Henry brought about the split with Rome and set in motion the English Reformation as tr Pluto moved into Aquarius, two Pluto cycles ago, and tr Neptune was in final degree Pisces, he is a key historical figure. Law describes his character not as a great religious reformer but as ‘a gangster — a former golden boy who’s rotting’, symbolizing the downfall of a man who soared through life with great success, got drunk on power, abused it and fell.
Henry was born 28 June 1481 JC 8.45 am London, and had a Cancer Sun and two yods of Pluto sextile Neptune inconjunct Midheaven Venus, and Uranus sextile his IC inconjunct Jupiter, with Jupiter opposition Neptune. His Jupiter was also in an impulsive, opportunistic square to Mars and trine Pluto as well as being on the focal point of a yod – supremely confident, though as ever with Jupiter it carries the seeds of its own downfall in excess, arrogance, hubris and carelessness. The upside of Jupiter is an ability to make a strong impact on society.
He did have a revolutionary Pluto square Uranus in his romantic 5th; and his Sun/Moon midpoint was conjunct his Midheaven which fits his reputation for multiple wives to promote his ends.
There is little to suggest any serious beliefs in his chart though Chiron in his 9th does suggest a wound around the subject of religion.
When the Pope’s refusal to grant him an annulment of his first marriage to Catherine of Aragon led to the split with Rome he was heading for his Uranus half Return, signalling his mid life crisis which often leads to impulse decisions. It was still in force two years later when he had the jousting accident that led to his deteriorating health. In his declining years tr Pluto in Aquarius was moving through his 6th house of health.
When the parting of the ways with Roman Catholicism came in 1534, on the England 11 May 973 JC chart, the Solar Arc Uranus was exactly conjunct the Taurus Sun Mars and heading to square the England Pluto so a history-changing moment. After Henry died he was succeeded by a Regency for the young prince Edward, then briefly by Mary and finally 11 years later on a Saturn Neptune conjunction (which favours women) in Taurus by Queen Elizabeth 1.
Jude Law, 29 December 1972 London maybe 6am, is a suitably regal Sun, North Node, Jupiter in Capricorn. His North Node and Jupiter are opposition Henry’s Cancer Sun – and his Pluto, like Henry’s is in Libra.
