A shoot-off-at-the-mouth Sagittarius temperament is getting a US politician’s newly-wed wife into trouble. Louise Linton, recently spliced to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin has been forced to apologize over an Instagram dustup. She posted a look-amn’t-I-wealthy pic with her designer outfit itemised when on an official trip, and when an Oregon woman responded with a critical comment, she let fly with condescending cracks. It’s not her first faux pas by a long way. Her self-published book about Zambia called In Congo’s Shadow was met with a shower of condemnation including #lintonlies, and racked up predominantly negative reviews on Amazon where it currently has a one-star rating.

Born 21 December 1980, Edinburgh, Scotland, she is an actress though with one CS1:NY and one Cold Case appearance plus a zero-rated by Rotten Tomatoes horror movie Cabin Fever amongst her career highlights, she was clearly not a storming success.

She’s a last degree Sun Sagittarius with Mercury Neptune also in Sag as well as her Venus. Her Pluto is in a forceful square to Mars in can-be materialistic Capricorn. Her Moon is probably Gemini. Rather like Trump in reverse.

Mnuchin, 21 December 1962 is also a final degree Sagittarius trine Mars in Leo, so quite a showman himself. His Venus is in Scorpio which doesn’t chime too well with her Venus in Sagittarius or her Gemini Moon.

Their relationship chart has a composite Sun Jupiter so they’ll egg each other on; though the composite Venus is conjunct Neptune, which usually wears the shine off. She’s certainly pretty over-confident at the moment with tr Pluto square her Jupiter/Pluto midpoint. But from late September tr Saturn starts to conjunct her Neptune, then Mercury, then Sun up to December, which will put her flame at a peep. 2019/2020 sees tr Pluto conjunct her Mars, which will feel boxed-in and acutely frustrating.

Their wedding in late June this year attended by the entire Trump dynasty and VP Pence had an ostentatious though high-tension Mars opposition Pluto square Jupiter – which could end up in bitterness at some point.

Angela Merkel is sailing high in the polls as the German election of September 24^th approaches and she seeks her fourth term. Yesterday she said she thought she got better the longer she stayed in office. That’s tempting fortune given the insoluble migrant problem which she partly stoked up, a German economic slowdown, and murmurs about crumbling infrastructure after years of austerity, saving and too little investment, never mind other EU criticism about the north/south imbalance.

The election will be held on a panicky-failure Mars opposition Neptune; though the Fire Grand Trine/Kite onto Jupiter is still in place which will produce a bubble of enthusiasm (which may not last).

Merkel does not look as happy as she had expected over the election with tr Neptune opposition her Solar Arc Jupiter, though that is a mild enough influence. She’ll bounce up confidently from late October and across into the New Year.

Her relationship with Germany has mainly been highly positive all the way through, not surprising given that her Jupiter sits in Germany’s 10^th house, giving the country a successful lift. But relations may be sagging ahead especially from this New Year with her popularity sliding – tr Saturn will oppose the composite Jupiter Pluto from late this December, on and off through 2018; and will be confused and disorientated in 2018/2019. So it looks rocky for her domestic popularity.

What’s key in her chart is tr Saturn moving below her Ascendant through her 1^st quadrant which is when erstwhile successful leaders most often lose their mojo, if they haven’t had the sense to retire. Banana skins become longer and more frequent, as do misjudgements. She’ll be at the lowest ebb of this phase right through her next term (if she’s elected).

And Germany is heading into a less bullish few years. The Bundesbank (Central Bank) looks pressured in 2017/18 and devastated in 2019. The Germany chart has the bubble and enthusiasm-bursting tr Neptune square Jupiter in 2019. The country chart also has tr Pluto square the 7^th house Neptune in 2017/18 which suggests that neighbourly relations are sinking into a swamp – which may be the EU, or bordering countries like Poland, Czech Republic, Austria, France. Merkel’s relationship with the ebullient French President Macron is deteriorating sharply now and through 2018. And her interface with the EU is similarly strained and then thoroughly undermined from mid 2018 into 2019.

She might have been better to stick to her original plan and leave when she was on a high.

A huge brand name in the tarot market has given it up in a conversion to Jesus and has now denounced all her former extremely lucrative books, cards and courses. Doreen Virtue (I confess I had never heard of her) is now pushing a presumably equally money-making line in more religious guidance. From google searches I can’t work out whether her fairyology courses are old or new incarnation but she seems to be punting a Devotional Prayer book hard on her twitter.

Born 29 April 1958 1.13am? Burbank, California, into a Christian Scientist family, she had clairvoyant experiences from childhood, speaking to spirits; and has been married and divorced four times. She’s a Taurus Sun opposition Neptune conjunct her Scorpio MC square Uranus in her 7^th. Uranus Neptune can be fairly fanatical in beliefs which are not always conventional. Uranus in the 7^th is a pointer to multiple relationships.

Neptune in the 9^th conjunct Midheaven makes sense of a psychic/spiritual career. She’s also got an entrepreneurial Fire Grand Trine of Pluto in the hidden 8^th trine Saturn trine Mercury in Aries, with Mercury opposition Jupiter in the 9th, forming it into a Kite. So all that heavyweight Saturn Pluto fiery energy is being pushed into publishing (9^th) and communication (3^rd). She’s also got an ambitious-for-money Mars in her 2^nd house of personal finances opposition Pluto in the business chart area. Her chart is a curious mix of deeply buried pointing to interests in what lies beyond/beneath reality and materialism. So making money out of a psychic/spiritual approach does fit.

I’m not sure when her epiphany/conversion on the road to Damascus occurred. Though her career seems to be moving seamlessly into another success, at least for the next two years, if her birth time is accurate. In 2019, however, she picks up tr Uranus in hard aspect to her Fixed T square of Neptune (MC) opposition Sun square Uranus, which points to another radical shift in her path.

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A maverick inventor, a sunk submarine and a dead female journalist all add up to quite a mystery off a Copenhagen island. Initially Peter Madsen claimed he dropped Kim Wall onshore, but now says she died in an accident onboard his vessel, and that he dumped her body in the sea. A torso minus head, legs and arms has now been found though not yet identified.

Madsen, 12 January 1971, has now been accused of negligent manslaughter and police suspect he scuppered his privately-built and crowd-funded submarine deliberately. He has a reputation as a loner, hot tempered especially with journalists who give him a bad press, but not violent.

He’s a Sun Capricorn in a controlling trine to Pluto, sextile an ultra-determined and unforgiving Mars in Scorpio, square Uranus and trine Saturn in Taurus – so a heavyweight chart. With a short-tempered, hard-edged Saturn opposition Mars square an Aquarius Node – channelling his aggression into a cause. His Mars is in an enterprising conjunction to Jupiter, which in turn is conjunct Neptune Venus in Sagittarius. And his Mercury in Sagittarius in an intense, dogmatic square to Pluto. A talented man with a strong craftsman/builder 5H; and unorthodox/genius/breakthrough 13H – but not an easy temperament.

Kim Wall, 23 March 1987, was a highly respected freelance journalist, who had worked in dangerous spots in the world, and was researching a feature about Peter Madsen. She had written for the New York Times, Guardian, Vice and the South China Morning Post.

An intrepid Sun Jupiter in Aries square Neptune Uranus,  she had Mars in stubborn Taurus inconjunct Saturn in Sagittarius – certainly go-ahead, drawn to a high-adrenaline lifestyle, and could be gritty. She wasn’t a great combination with Madsen, with her Mars conjunct his Saturn and trine his Sun, so it would be a sparky mix. Their relationship chart has a competitive and fairly explosive composite Sun Mars square Uranus and trine Pluto – not well-designed to be together in a confined space.

He’s not looking too happy ahead with various Mars midpoints getting elbowed into 2018 and then tr Pluto conjunct his Sun in 2018/19.

Jerry Lewis, the comedian, actor, screenwriter, producer, director has died aged 91. He was a ‘defining figure in American entertainment’ on Broadway, in films, nightclubs and on television, adored by some and disliked by others for his zany performances.

Born 16 March 1926 12.15pm Newark, New Jersey, into a vaudeville family, he was often left as his parents went touring. He became successful early in a duo nightclub act with singer Dean Martin and later after they split branched out on his own to a prolific and long-running career, which had its ups and downs but he always bounced back.

He had Sun Uranus in Pisces on his midheaven, so definitely quirky and went his own independent way; with his Sun Uranus in a pro-active sextile to Mars in Capricorn. His Mars was square a 10^th house Taurus Moon and his 10^th house Mercury in Aries was square Pluto – he could pack a fair verbal punch. He was also blessed with an 8^th house Jupiter in Aquarius conjunct Venus opposition Neptune square Saturn in Scorpio in his 5^th – lucky and obsessively conscientious especially about the organisational side of showbusiness. He was a complicated, multi-talented man with a chart replete with creative quintiles and inspired though not always stable septiles (5^th and 7^th harmonics.) His unorthodox/genius 13H was also especially heavily aspected.

The New York Times wrote: “A mercurial personality who could flip from naked neediness to towering rage, Mr. Lewis seemed to contain multitudes, and he explored all of them. His ultimate object of contemplation was his own contradictory self, and he turned his obsession with fragmentation, discontinuity and the limits of language into a spectacle that enchanted children, disturbed adults and fascinated postmodernist critics.”

Eclipse excitement is at its height across the USA, as it was with the UK August 1999 Eclipse. Despite fears of momentous events, if this one follows the 1999 one, nothing much of significance may happen immediately. Though it’s interesting to look at what events occurred close to a previous USA Total Solar Eclipse on 29 July 1878, seen across southern states. There was a tornado in Connecticut 10 days later which killed 34. More tragically that year there was an outbreak of yellow fever in the Mississippi Valley which killed over 13,000.

The previous winter had been abnormally cold and was followed in Texas by a plague of grass-hoppers. Politically the USA was sinking into the ‘gilded era’ so called satirically by Mark Twain which was a period of serious social problems masked by a thin gold gilding. It was a time when political corruption, the spoils system, and back-room deals contributed to a weak federal government. So called Reconstruction after the Civil War came to an end, and the African-American people in the South, formerly slaves, were stripped of political power and voting rights and were left economically disadvantaged. Republican Rutherford Hayes had become president in 1876 in a contentious and controversial USA elections, despite have polled lower than the Democrat candidate, who won a majority of the popular vote.

The 1878 Eclipse was at 6 degrees Leo, so exactly conjunct the USA North Node, which should have been a wake-up call. But an attempt at a more progressive era took another decade plus to come into being. The Eclipse did coincide with a brutal and disruptive Pluto square Mars Uranus; as well as New Moon opposition Jupiter square Neptune, perhaps pointing to its slippery financial effect.

James Garfield who became Republican President in March 1881 was assassinated four months later. When his death occurred on 2 July 1881, on the 1878 Eclipse chart the New Moon had moved by Solar Arc to square the Neptune; and Solar Arc Pluto had moved to close to the square to Uranus to exact, with Solar Arc Mars square Pluto – that’s perhaps a touch obscure since you’d drown in data if you plotted all Eclipse charts for years after. But intriguing enough for major Total Eclipses on their path.

For previous posts on the August 2017 Eclipse see August 14 2017 and November 11 2016.

Image is of a drawing made at the time of the 1878 eclipse.

‘I’ll do what I want and you’ll do what I want then I’ll be happy’ appears to be Trump’s Make America Great again strategy as the Canada, Mexico, USA NAFTA trade agreement, now 25 years old, opens for renegotiation. Trump has called NAFTA the worst deal ever and threatened to tear it up unless a better agreement can be negotiated for American workers. North of the border, a top Canadian union boss said; “ We’re a polite nation, but we’re not a stupid nation” to the suggestion that the USA wants more access to government procurement contracts in Canada and Mexico, while restricting businesses through so-called Buy American laws. South of the border, Mexican hatred of Trump is escalating, so any Mexico comes-second deal is likely to accelerate an anti-USA government being voted in, which will have other consequences, not least on border control.

The NAFTA agreement came into force on 1 January 1994 and has a productive chart with a Sun Mars Mercury Venus in ambitious and commercial Capricorn sextile Jupiter in Scorpio; and an enduring Saturn opposition Moon square Pluto. But it is undoubtedly moving through sticky times. Tr Saturn is moving to conjunct the Capricorn planets from early 2018, and worse tr Pluto will conjunct Neptune Uranus in Capricorn also from early 2018 to late 2019 which look highly confused and devastating, so it’s not beyond the bounds of possibilities it ends up in a heap on the floor. Though two things in its favour. That Saturn Pluto square is fairly unbudgeable and tr Uranus opposition Jupiter in 2020/21 might see a revival.

Relations between both Canada and Mexico and the USA are extremely fractious now and until 2020.

The Canadian/USA relationship chart is stuck at the moment, discouraged through the fall, and explosive from March 2018 onwards, with increasing coldness and separation as well as major jolts into 2019.

The Mexico/USA relationship chart is on a knife-edge of insecurity in 2018; and much worse in 2019/2020 with tr Pluto opposition the composite Mars, which will bring up extreme aggravation.

The Mexico 15 September 1810 11pm Dolores Hidalgo chart looks irritable and blocked at the moment, downbeat in late Sept/Oct and facing a serious setback with losses in 2018 from Solar Arc Mars opposition Sun and tr Neptune conjunct the 10^th house Pluto, so not in a good phase.

Bringing leprosy under control was the lifetime achievement of German doctor and nun, Ruth Pfau, known as Pakistan’s Mother Teresa. She has died aged 87, leaving behind 150 clinics treating the disease which she set up over her 50 years in the country, and was given a state funeral.

Born 9 September 1929 in Leipzig, Germany, she suffered her home being destroyed during WW11, escaped to the west when Stalin moved in and studied as a doctor. She felt a religious calling and converted to Catholicism in the 1950s when tr Pluto was conjunct her Neptune; and was sent to India where chance stuck her in Karachi and she stayed.

Like Mother Teresa she had a Virgo Sun,  an earthy Taurus North Node and oddly enough for two women who lived in poverty Venus in flamboyant Leo. Ruth Pfau also had an unafraid-of-danger Mars Mercury in Libra opposition Uranus square Pluto. She’d be immensely resourceful in crises as well as drawn to high-risk situations. Her Sun was square an optimistic Jupiter on one side and Saturn in scholarly Sagittarius on the other. Quite a force to be reckoned with given her determined Pluto and emphasised Sun.

She had the healer’s 12^th Harmonic well aspected; as well as a leaving-a-legacy for-history 17^th harmonic.

Robert Redford, actor, movie producer and environmentalist, best known for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Sting, All the President’s Men and Out of Africa, as well as for launching his Sundance Festival for Indie films, is 81 this week.

Born 18 August 1936 at 8.02pm Santa Monica, California, he’s always looked like a golden boy but has had a fairly tumultuous life. His first child died of sudden infant death, his son has had life-threatening health problems and his daughter was involved in a near-fatal car crash. His late teens was marred by the death of his mother which turned him to drink and lost him his college education, after which he moved into acting.

He has a hard-working 6^th house Sun, with Venus, Neptune, Mercury, Moon in Virgo also in his 6^th. A 12^th house Saturn in Pisces above his Ascendant opposes Neptune Mercury Moon squaring onto an enthusiastic, crusading Jupiter in Sagittarius in the 9^th. The Saturn Neptune is highly creative. He also has an influential, ultra-determined and attention-grabbing Pluto conjunct Mars in Leo in his performing 5^th house, which is a pointer not only to his charismatic personality but also the dramas he has undergone with his children. There’s also an Earth Grand Trine of Uranus trine Venus trine North Node in Capricorn on his midheaven, so he’s got a good business head on his shoulders.

His most memorable partnership was with Paul Newman in Butch Cassidy. Newman, 26 January 1925 6.30am Cleveland Heights, Ohio, has his Jupiter in Redford’s 10^th house. And Newman’s Neptune trine Mars in Aries connects with Redford’s Leo Sun.

Both of them have strong, creative 5^th Harmonic charts (quintile aspects); enduring 11H; actor’s 15H; and super-star 22^nd Harmonics. So talented and marked out for fame.

They don’t make them like that anymore.