The French election this year is one of the major worries for the EU given the far-right, protectionist, anti-EU Marie Le Pen’s rise to prominence. Francois Fillon who was supposed to be the main block to her success, has flip flopped and backtracked on policies including a cane-the-unions and reform-labour laws which has sent even the far left-wing towards Le Pen.

Now Emmanuel Macron, a former economy minister, who is running an independent, centrist, pro-EU campaign, is now seen as capable of causing a major surprise in the spring vote. Born 21 December 1977 10.40am Amiens, France, he’s a Sun Mercury in Sagittarius opposition Jupiter and trine Saturn; with a Taurus Moon opposition Uranus square Mars in Leo in his 7^th – so definitely vocal, hard-hitting, excitable, hard-working.

He’s certainly on an upsurge at the moment with his Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct his Mars, exact at the moment, though still in effect over the two-stage election on April 23/May 7. He’s also got tr Jupiter conjunct his Pluto over the first round which should give his confidence a boost. But what is probably a sinker is tr Neptune opposition his Mars/Pluto midpoint over both rounds – which is usually bad news for election wins = being damaged by smears, suffering under attacks, lacking energy for resistance.

Actor, director Ryan Phillippe, best known for roles in Gosford Park, Crash, The Bang Bang Club and most recently the TV thriller series Shooters has talked openly about his struggle with depression. He was married to Reese Witherspoon for eight years, producing two children.

In interviews he describes himself as ‘quietly tortured at times. Depression has been a huge obstacle for me ever since I was a child. As you get older I think it decreases some, but I’m just innately kind of a sad person. Some people do have this pervading sort of sadness, or they’re so analytical that they can kind of take the fun out of things because they think too much. I’m empathetic, and I take on the feelings of others and transpose myself into the position of others. I see it in my daughter. She has it, and I wish to hell she didn’t.’ But he also said that he’s much funnier than people think. ‘It’s a dark humour, like a gallows humour. I think that’s where, if you do carry any of that sadness or depression, your humour does tend to be a little darker than most people.’

Born 10 Sept 1974 5.18pm New Castle, Delaware, he does have a heavy chart – with Sun and Mars in Virgo in his 8^th (not conjunct) and Mars conjunct Pluto and widely Mercury also in the 8^th. Mercury Pluto can veer to the negative at the best of times and compacted by Mars and in the 8^th will make him even more inclined to dwell on problems and suffer from anguished frustrations. His Sun is opposition Jupiter in Pisces which will help, and sextile Saturn in Cancer. His Cancer Moon squares Pluto Mercury, which again will anchor him into the depths of his feelings, rather than the lighter, brighter end. Though his Moon is also trine Jupiter which will give him hope to hang onto.

It’s an Earth, Water, Air chart with only one Fire sign – filmic Neptune in his 10^th. Fire gives trust in life and confidence which is his weak element.

It’s probably as well he’s American, in a culture that is therapy and self-help-oriented, since leaving all those dark energies festering wouldn’t have helped him.

He’s in a hard-working phase till the early 2020s. 2016/17 are pressured with tr Pluto opposition his 6^th house Saturn; and tr Neptune will conjunct his Jupiter in 2017, which may see some plans falling through. But Jupiter is heading for his midheaven by late 2018 for a year thereafter which will give his career a boost.

Another actor with some of the same chart markers was Marlon Brando, born 3 April 1924 11pm Omaha, Nebraska to an alcoholic mother and an abusive father. He had Pluto in the 8^th opposition Mars square a New Moon in Aries in his entertainment 5^th house. His chart certainly indicates great inner turmoil and angst. But he had a good deal more Fire with an inspirational, demanding Fire Grand Trine of Sun Moon trine Jupiter in Sagittarius trine Neptune. His emphasised Neptune, also on the focal point of a Yod to Mars sextile Uranus, would be what sent him into seclusion for many years.

UK actor Tom Hardy – Black Hawk Down, The Revenant, Mad Max, The Kray Twins, TV’s Peaky Blinders and at present in the savage BBC drama Taboo which he co-created with his father – revels in playing menacing roles. He’s even being mentioned as a future Bond.

Born 15 September 1977, he’s another Sun Virgo, like Rufus Sewell, Sean Connery, Jeremy Irons; but his chart is dominated by an adventurous and emotionally excitable Mars Jupiter in Cancer square Pluto, which gives him a reservoir of anger and a real edge of danger. His Mars Jupiter are also trine Uranus which again will stoke up his testosterone.

He had a tumultuous youth, being expelled from school, doing several short stays in prison and acquiring a cocaine habit that nearly killed him. He’s twice married and is now an ambassador for the Prince’s Trust which mentors the young.

Casey Affleck has been getting rave reviews for his starring role in Manchester by the Sea, a brooding tale of an uncle left to bring up his nephew.

Born 12 August 1975 7.38 pm Falmouth. MA, three years after his brother Ben, he had an alcoholic father, whom his well-educated and theatre-loving mother divorced when he was 9.

He’s had a chequered acting career and personal life, appearing early on in Good Will Hunting with family friend Matt Damon and his brother Ben, then acting in a string of bad movies, plus making the bizarre mockumentary with Joaquin Phoenix, his then brother-in-law; plus having two sexual harassment suits which were settled out of court in 2010 re-appearing in the headlines as this movie becomes a success.

He’s got a trickier chart than his brother Ben – 15 Aug 1972 2.53am Berkeley, CA. Though there are some similarities. Both are Leo Suns trine Jupiter in a Fire sign; with Scorpio Moons. So confident entertainers with intense emotional lives. But Casey has Pluto and Uranus in his 8^th, so he’ll be marginally more erratic, than Ben who has Uranus Pluto in his 4^th. Though in both cases it points to major emotional upheavals and disruptions in their family lives. Casey said his grandmother was also alcoholic so that may account for his 8^th house planets.

He also has a hard and determined Mars in Taurus in the 3^rd sextile Saturn in Cancer, square Mercury and inconjunct Uranus – so he will have anger and self-control issues. Neptune on his midheaven certainly suits him for the film business, and he does have a charming Sun, Mercury, Venus in his 7^th so can turn on smiles when necessary. His Jupiter opposes Uranus squaring onto Saturn in Cancer in his 6^th which will have been discouraging in the early part of his adult career, but should be mellowing now through his middle years. He’s got initiative but won’t be too good at sharing the driving seat in projects.

Another actor with Uranus Pluto in the 8^th is Kiefer Sutherland, who has the same troubled bad-boy-come-good-in-later-life pattern.

Casey Affleck should be working hard in coming years, with tr Saturn moving through his upper quadrant; with some highs this year from tr Uranus square his Jupiter; and even more success when tr Pluto is square his Jupiter. But as ever his tendency to attract the good and the bad together will be around as well.

Actress Uma Thurman – Pulp Fiction, Dangerous Liaisons, Kill Bill – is involved in a messy court custody wrangle over her daughter with French financier Arpad Busson. She was born 29 April 1970 1.51pm Boston, MA (astrotheme) – three days after Melania Trump – so has the same stubborn/enduring Sun Saturn in Taurus opposition Jupiter in Scorpio; and the same showbizzy and excitable Mars in Gemini opposition Neptune, trine Uranus.

Thurman has been around with Busson since 2007, on and off through two engagements, and this followed two short-lived marriages for her to Gary Oldman and Ethan Hawke.

It would never be an easy mix with Busson since his Sun Saturn in Aquarius squares her Sun Saturn in Taurus; with his Mars in Leo square her Saturn; and his Pluto Uranus square her Mars Venus in Gemini. So blocked every which way and angry.

Their relationship chart unsurprisingly has a composite Sun Saturn Mercury conjunction trine Neptune, which is better for business than pleasure or affection; with the composite Venus in an erratic, roller-coaster opposition to Uranus Pluto. There’s a hot composite Mars trine Venus and opposition Jupiter, so when it worked it would be a sparkling adventure. But  never designed for the long haul.

If her birth time is accurate then her Pisces North Node is in her 7^th so her line of least resistance will be to slide back into independence.

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There seems to be a softening in attitude in certain parts of the EU to Brexit. Michael Barnier, the EU’s chief Brexit negotiator has said he wants to secure easy access to the City of London, the UK’s financial centre by the 27 remaining EU countries after Brexit. “There will be a special/specific relationship. There will need to be work outside of the negotiation box… in order to avoid financial instability.”

This follows on from Mark Carney, the Bank of England Governor’s comments this week: “If you rely on a jurisdiction (the UK) for three-quarters of your hedging activities, three-quarters of your foreign exchange activity, half your lending and half your securities transactions, you should think very carefully about the transition from where you are today to where the new equilibrium will be.” Carney also said a hard Brexit would hurt the EU more than the UK. It’s tricky to establish exactly what the UK’s net contribution to the EU is since figures vary wildly depending on who is using them as rhetorical leverage. Possibly in the region of eight and a half billion pounds (having removed the rebate). Since many of the EU countries take rather than give to the EU coffers, it will have a sizeable impact.

Whether or not all the top EU bureaucrats will be on the same page as Barnier is questionable.

Der Spiegel this week described Martin Selmayr, head of cabinet for European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker, as the most powerful bureaucrat in Brussels, with some even going so far as to say that he is the true leader of the European Union. And he is determined to play a greater policymaking role in future. They described him variously as the Rasputin of Brussels and Juncker’s Doug Stamper á la “House of Cards.”

Born 5 Dec 1970, Bonn, Germany, he’s a Sun Sagittarius like Juncker, with a determined Saturn in Taurus opposition Jupiter in Scorpio which is square a devoted-to-a-cause North Node in Aquarius.

His Pluto is conjunct the EU Ascendant exactly so he’ll appreciate the prospect of controlling its image and identity; with his Venus in Scorpio tying into the EU Grand Cross, exactly opposition the EU Moon and square its’ Uranus. His Mars is conjunct the EU Jupiter Neptune, so tending to push for overly ambitious financial schemes that may end in Jup Nep bubbles bursting.

Tr Neptune will square his Sun this year until 2018 giving him a few sinking moments; with a highly strung and highly insecure tr Uranus opposition Mars and Solar Arc Uranus conjunct his Neptune in 2018. So not all going his way.

His relationship chart with the EU is under challenging pressures and sagging more than somewhat with tr Pluto sextile the composite Mars Neptune, and tr Neptune opposing Uranus in 2017 and Pluto in 2018/19. Plus a separating tr Saturn conjunct the composite Sun Venus Mercury in 2017 into 2018.

Mind you, Juncker and the EU are also not exactly singing off the same hymn sheet over the next two years (see previous post Jan 3); and Juncker’s relationship with Selmayr is also heading downhill.

Barnier and Juncker certainly don’t get on with a hostile composite Mars opposition Pluto, trine/sextile Saturn Neptune and a power-struggling Jupiter square Pluto. And the Barnier/Selmayr relationship chart is equally under argumentative, jolting and sinking influences in 2017/18.

The USA isn’t the only region in political disarray.

Kamiyah Mobley who was abducted when she was 8 hours old has now learnt that she was brought up by a kidnapper. She was born 10 July 1998 at 7am Jacksonville, Florida, and was taken from the hospital. From reports it seems she had suspicions and gave a DNA swab to the Missing Persons bureau, but still seems very attached to her ‘adoptive’ mother who is now in prison, awaiting trial.

If ever Yods made sense this is one case that certainly does with all their discomfort, strain, a sense of not fitting in and dramatic game-changers. She has three Yods: Mars in Cancer sextile North Node in Virgo inconjunct Neptune; Saturn in Taurus sextile Mars inconjunct Pluto; Neptune sextile Pluto inconjunct Mars.

At the moment she’s on her Nodal Return; with two of the Yod focal points in their Solar Arc positions picking up key transits – of tr Saturn conjunct Solar Arc Pluto and tr Uranus square Solar Arc Mars.  Usually when Yods click into gear there are heavy influences on them, pushing them into the next more focussed phase. And the challenging, transformative tr Pluto  opposition her Cancer Sun is exact this month as well, continuing on and off throughout 2017.

Her ‘victim’ 12^th Harmonic is strong; with a cruel Sun Mars Saturn; and a protective/possessive mother Moon Jupiter Pluto. So the good and not so great side by side.

It’s an almost impossible dilemma for a teenager. How do you cope with something like that? On top there’s the unanswerable puzzle astrologically. What if she hadn’t been kidnapped? She’d still have had that highly stressed chart which would have attracted other grating and sudden life changes.

Isabelle Huppert, a French screen and stage actress, with an illustrious career strewn with awards, is reckoned to have been at her best in the psychological thriller Elle this year, winning her a Golden Globe award.

Born 16 March 1953 2.40am Paris, France, she’s another Pisces with Jupiter in Taurus in her entertainment 5^th house; and an iconic Pluto in the 8^th which squares Jupiter and trines Mars in Aries, so she certainly projects a powerful image. She has a well-organised, hard-working Saturn and creative Neptune together on her midheaven.

She had tr Uranus square her Solar Arc Jupiter over the Globes; and February for the Oscars looks even more confident, successful and promising with tr Pluto starting a two year trine to her Jupiter; and tr Uranus opposes her Sun/Jupiter as well.

Anthony Armstrong-Jones, former husband of Princess Margaret, a society photographer and film maker has died aged 86. A talented designer, he also co-created the London Zoo aviary and an electric wheelchair. He himself was partly disabled from childhood polio.

The Telegraph wrote at the time a semi-authorised biography of him was published in 2008: ‘The couple had married in May 1960 and their louche and, at times, reckless lifestyle of drug- and alcohol-fuelled affairs – and their fondness for mixing with actors, artists and pop stars – meant that the couple came to epitomise the “Swinging Sixties”. There’s also a story that New York that the hostess asked Princess Margaret politely how the Queen was keeping. “Which one?” she is reported to have replied with her typically razor-sharp wit. “My sister, my mother or my husband?” He never denied being bi-sexual.

He was born 7 March 1930 6.15 am in London and had a charming and creative Sun Venus in Pisces in his 1^st – Pisces is very much a photographic and filmic sign. His Sun Venus were trine a charismatic Pluto in Cancer in the party-loving and entertaining 5^th house. His changeable, restless Gemini Moon was conjunct Jupiter and square Neptune on his Descendant, so he would like to spread himself around and find absolute commitment tricky. His 5th and 7th Harmonics were strong.

Their marriage came rapidly after Princess Margaret’s previous flame Peter Townsend, from whom she was then separated, found himself a bride.

It wasn’t a relationship that was exactly overflowing with deep affection, The relationship chart has a composite Venus Saturn in the 10^th, square Uranus, opposition Moon and trine Neptune; with the composite Sun square Neptune – so illusory, arty and ultimately disappointing, with status being important.

He was probably more enamoured at the start than she was since her Sun Venus fell in his 7^th and her Jupiter fell in his 5^th. They did produce two talented and remarkably well-adjusted children, all things considered, in Sarah Chatto and David Linley.

Princess Margaret’s relationship with Peter Townsend, was much more passionate with a Water Grand Trine of Venus trine Pluto trine Uranus, and a Moon Jupiter conjunction. A wide-ish T Square of composite Sun opposition Saturn square Pluto, was probably what got in the way of them marrying which seems now that new records have been published, to have been her decision.