Prince William has earned unwelcome headlines and criticism for skipping off to Switzerland for a boozy ski-ing and apres-ski nightclubbing weekend minus wife; and in process missing a Royal turnout for the Commonwealth Day services. He’s already under fire for being work-shy, though he doesn’t give up his air ambulance job till mid year to focus exclusively on royal duties thereafter.

He does have tr Saturn exactly on his Ascendant at the moment, heading downward into his first quadrant, which is usually a time when people want to work less hard and have a more private existence. So his motivation won’t be there. Though Jupiter will move across his midheaven from this November for a year which will boost his reputation and make him more visible.

The Duchess of Cambridge has been through a tough time – even though in a feather-bedded lifestyle – with tr Pluto conjunct her Capricorn Sun from this February onwards for two years (and probably opposition her Moon in 2015/16) – so massive challenges and pressures. And that will have reflected on their relationship, so maybe he just needed some breathing space. February saw tr Pluto square their composite Saturn which would have been a heavy slog. And both of them have tr Uranus opposition their Pluto this year, so it is a time of huge disruption, perhaps with the prospect of moving at least week days into Kensington Palace in London from September.

She looks undermined from April onwards, less than confident; really crowded and frustrated again this June; and seriously aggravated in Sept/Oct this year as well. With a Solar Arc Pluto conjunct her Uranus in 6 months’ time – so she’s going through an almighty upheaval.

He’s a bit of a drama queen, like his mother, with Jupiter on his MC, though clearly not as enamoured with the publicity and parading that goes with the job.

He looks overly confident this month; and also less than ecstatic come Sept/Oct. I’d wonder about that tr Saturn into his first quadrant which lasts for several years. He doesn’t really look as if he’ll have the drive needed for a full-scale royal lifestyle during that – but since his father is aiming for 70 and his grandmother is into her 90s, he won’t have any option but to step up.

Yahoo chief executive Marissa Mayer, having been dispensed with after a takeover, is in line for a hefty multi-million dollar payoff.

Born 30 May 1975, Wasau, WI, she looks to be in a separating year with her Solar Arc opposition her Gemini Sun and tr Uranus square her Venus; and with her mid-life crisis tr Uranus opposition Uranus coming up in 2018. So time for a major change. Not that she’ll be idle for long. She’s pushing manically come Sept/Oct this year with tr Pluto square her Jupiter and opposition her Saturn. Where she hits the jackpot again will be in 2019/2020 when tr Pluto is conjunct her Jupiter/Uranus midpoint, when a whole new project will get under way.

Tunisia is the only Arab country to have moved from authoritarian rule to democracy since the Arab Spring. They now have a freely elected head of state (88 years old and an anti-Islamist) since late 2014, their first since independence in 1956. Though there have been demonstrations recently over economic problems especially in the rural areas.

The country chart, 15 June 1956 5pm Tunis, is a strong one with an 8^th house Gemini Sun trine Neptune, sextiling onto Jupiter Pluto in Leo conjunct the MC from the 9^th; with Jupiter Pluto square Saturn on a Scorpio Ascendant; with Saturn trine Uranus, sextile a Virgo Moon. There are downbeat Saturn transits to Sun and Moon for a few months; but there’s also tr Uranus trine Jupiter Pluto from May, on and off into 2018 which should bring some welcome cheer. 2018 could be unsettled and rebellious with tr Uranus square Uranus; and economic problems will take time to shift with tr Saturn in the 2^nd till late 2019. There’s an uncertain, over-hopeful Solar Arc Jupiter Pluto conjunct the Tunisia Neptune in 2020. But that will be followed by resounding success in 2021 when the Solar Arc Sun is conjunct Jupiter Pluto.

The two leaderenes are at war (if that’s not too sexist). UK PM Theresa May is spitting that Nicola Sturgeon should get on with governing properly (hear, hear) and stop playing games by insisting on an independence referendum re-run. While the Scottish First Minister spat back that at least she’d been elected which is more than she can say for the PM.

As far as I understand it the UK government would have to agree to another referendum and the suggestion is that post the 2021 Holyrood (Scottish government) election would be a more sensible time. Holding it in the middle of the Brexit fallout would be too confusing and would not allow Scots to make a sensible choice about the economic argument. [See previous post Feb 27: Try, Try Again.]

Spain for one is making mutinous noises and insisting Scotland would be way down the EU membership-joining list, since they have their own separatist problem which they don’t wish fed with hope. With oil unlikely to recover in price and Scots public expenditure being high, there’s a real possibility they’d be refused EU membership anyway without swingeing cuts to public services and tax rises.

Theresa May is certainly not doing her popularity much good up north by coming across as schoolmarmy and rigid, even if she’s right about the SNP government needing to sort out major problems under their control – NHS, education and police. TM’s Pluto falls in NS’s 10th conjunct her MC, so she will come across as controlling and contemptuous. TM’s Sun is conjunct NS’s Uranus, so she’ll regard the Scottish leader as rebellious and unco-operative; and TM’s Uranus is conjunct NS’s Mars and opposition NS’s Moon – so a flare-up combo. TM’s unbending Saturn in Scorpio is conjunct NS’s Neptune, so pragmatism meets evasion.

Their relationship chart has a composite Sun Uranus Pluto, so will be an unpredictable, erratic relationship that’s destined to live through major changes and upheavals and none too co-operative. There’s also a bad-tempered, overt-dislike composite Mars square Saturn which may be tied into the composite Moon. Where it starts to hot up and get bitter is 2019/2020 with tr Pluto trine the composite Mars.

The swamp will marinade more happily now that Trump has gone against an earlier decision and fired crusading New York US Attorney Preet Bahara. Over seven years Bahara earned a reputation as one of “the nation’s most aggressive and outspoken prosecutors” of public corruption and Wall Street crime, being even-handed about Republican and Democratic NY dirty politicians. He is the inspiration for the hit TV show Billions. He has also been key to taking down organized crime outfits and trying terrorists. Russia has him on their banned-Americans blacklist after his investigations into their human rights abuses over Sergei Magnitsky’s death. There is, of course, now murmurs that he was removed lest he stick his oar into any of the multiple investigations into Trump finances.

Born 13 October 1968 in Firozpur, India into a Sikh/Hindu family, his family moved to the US when he was two and he is a naturalized American citizen married to a lawyer from a Muslim/Jewish family – so five stars for diversity. He has some chart with a dominating Yod of Jupiter Pluto in Virgo sextile Venus Neptune in Scorpio inconjunct Saturn in Aries; with Saturn opposition a Libra Sun Mercury. He’ll have never felt he fitted in,  but once he got on track, he’d be totally focussed and find his outsider status and cast of mind an asset.

Saturn on the focal point of a Yod is a tough master to live up to and requires self-discipline and maturity. But it gives tremendous inner strength and points towards a life direction where the individual ‘can display his special capacity for social responsibility and purposeful action.’ (Bil Tierney: Dynamics of Aspect Analysis.)

Tr Uranus is conjunct his Saturn exactly now throwing his life onto a different track with a sudden jolt. He’s also got an undermining tr Neptune opposition his Mars in Virgo this year; and a challenging tr Pluto square his Libra Sun from this month till late 2018. Tr Pluto moves on to a uphill-struggle opposition to his Saturn in 2019/2020; but at the same time tr Pluto will trine his Jupiter Pluto for success and a confident push. Although he has always forsworn politics as being incompatible with being a US Attorney, it’s not inconceivable he could be a player towards the next election.

Marine Le Pen, the French far-right leader, born 5 Aug 1968 also has that focal point Saturn inconjunct Uranus Pluto sextile Neptune – and tr Uranus is exactly conjunct her Saturn over the upcoming French elections, so it’ll be instructive to see what kind of different track she’s pitched onto.

Robert James Waller, author of The Bridges of Madison County, one of the best-selling novels of all time about a brief love affair, has died. He wrote it in 11 days in his fifties, having retired from a business college teaching career. The critics crucified it as sentimental, cliché-ridden and trite, for The New Yorker “the worst book in living memory”. But it sold 50 million copies globally and was made into a successful Clint Eastwood movie. So much for critics’ sense of public taste.

Born 1 August 1939 in Rockford, Iowa, he had – intriguingly – an 8 degree Leo Sun, as does JK Rowling, whose writing style the critics have also trashed. In Waller’s case, his Sun was conjunct Pluto trine Jupiter in Aries, so he wasn’t short of confidence. He had an Earth Grand Trine of Neptune in a creative trine to Uranus trine Mars in Capricorn, formed into a Kite by Mars opposition Venus in Cancer and Pluto in Leo – undoubtedly talented and suited to the materialistic world of economics and management. His Mercury in Leo opposed an Aquarius Moon squaring onto Uranus in Taurus; with an out-of-element Grand Cross of Saturn opposition a Scorpio Node square Pluto Venus opposition Mars. A complicated man, tough-minded though obviously with a romantic streak. He left his wife of 35 years for a younger bride five years after his great success and went on to write several other books.

Could Norway be invaded by neighbouring Russia? That was the plot of ‘Occupied’, the 2014 television thriller based on a Jo Nesbo novel. Too far-fetched the studio bosses said – until Russia walked into the Crimea. The Russians condemned the drama as fear-mongering; but the Scandanavian countries are all ramping up their military and naval defences, which had been allowed to slide at the end of the Cold War.

Norway, NATO’s most northernmost outpost, is monitoring increased Russian military and submarine activity inside the Arctic Circle, with worries about the maritime choke point, the Greenland Iceland UK Gap, through which Soviet naval forces would have to cross to reach the Atlantic to stop US forces heading in to reinforce America’s European allies.

A senior Norwegian defence official said: “We are a nation of only 5 million, but we lie on the threshold of the largest non-western concentration of force in Europe. The modernised Northern Fleet is Russia’s main strategic deterrent, their main nuclear bastion and contains the capabilities to deter and attack the US. It is also the area where the most sensitive testing of Russia’s strategic hardware takes place.”

Trump’s NATO-bashing and opaque Russian ties are alarming those who sit on the frontline with Russia. What is worrying is that Trump’s Mars MC line on his astrocartography runs through Scandanavia (Sweden, Finland) up into the Arctic circle, as well as further south through eastern Europe, so it is a flash point for him. And his Pluto MC runs through Norway which will bring up his power-hungry streak, though it’s likely to backfire on him.

Norway, 7 June 1905 11am Oslo, has the confused, uncertain tr Neptune square its Gemini Sun in 2018; with a blocked, bleak, Solar Arc Saturn conjunct Pluto; though also a confident, never-give-in tr Pluto trine Jupiter in 2018/19 as well. So whatever ails them, they are pushing back. 2019 and especially 2020 look more stressed, inflammatory and insecure with tr Uranus square their Moon, conjunct Venus and opposition Mars. Relations with Russia (both the 1917 and 1991 charts) look on high-alert with extreme anxiety this year, but most aggravated in 2019/2020.

Finland, 6 Dec 1917 3pm Helsinki, also has Neptunian panicky influences through 2017 till 2020 as tr Neptune squares the Sagittarius Sun, then opposes Mars in 2019/2020; with extreme concern in 2020 from Solar Arc Neptune square Uranus. Relations with Russia, are jangled this year, sinking to a low in 2018/19 and explosive in 2020.

Sweden, 7 Dec 1865 3.30pm Stockholm, again has Neptune dissolving and undermining the Sagittarius Sun through 2018; with a dead-halt and high-risk Solar Arc Mars conjunct Pluto in 2020, followed by an explosive Solar Arc Uranus conjunct Mars covering 2020/21. Relations with Russia, are sagging and hugely unsettled this year, and working up to outright rage and frustration, again with dangerous overtones in 2018/19.

Trump’s idiocy no doubt bolstering Putin’s burgeoning aggression could have unpleasant knock-on effects on places far from the safe enclave of Mar-a-Lago, unless his military brass rein him in.

What will colour EU countries attitude to the UK over Brexit will be that one stumbling block is removed to the notion of a two-speed Europe which is now being talked up. So the UK will get the blame for opening the door by those countries opposed.

A two-speed Europe would allow closer integration for a core of countries to forge cooperation on finance, tax and security, leaving a peripheral group to stay in a looser federation, which latter group would not have the power of veto.  Italy is pushing the idea hard at the moment and France, Germany, Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands are likely to support it. Poland is vehemently against it, fearing that the inner group would start to take unilateral decisions with a continent-wide effect. The head Poland’s ruling party, Jaroslaw Kaczyński, last week warned that any move toward a two-speed European Union would lead to the bloc falling apart. It would lead he said to “the breakdown, and – liquidation, of the European Union in its current sense”. Others in the Visegrad group – Czech Republic, Hungary and Slovakia are also alarmed. Which given that they have only recently removed themselves from the USSR straitjacket and re-asserted their national identity is hardly surprising.

The latitude for the UK exploiting such rifts amid the general mayhem of the EU attempting to mount a cohesive divorce negotiation will be considerable.

The relationships of all the Visegrad countries with the EU (for Poland see previous post) are hugely unsettled, Hungary especially, and getting more so into the early 2020s, . They’ll all feel forced into changes beyond their control.

Malta looks disappointed and irritated by the UK’s decision to exit so won’t be too supportive; Cyprus even more so, though that was always a fractious relationship at best.  The EU will be fighting battles on several fronts so Brexit, at times, won’t be the major concern.  Though the substantial loss of revenue will loom large, nonetheless.

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Meghan Markle and Prince Harry continue to step out together with relatively little fuss (comparatively speaking) apart from the odd bitchy piece a la the Daily Mail today suggesting she’ll get not-invited to Pippa Middleton’s May wedding lest she steal the limelight.

I’m still not convinced it’s a together-till-eternity match with a close composite Sun square Uranus, which favours on-off, separated-by-distance relationships. There’s certainly a passionate composite Venus Mars conjunction and a tough-it-out Saturn Pluto, though that latter probably squares the composite Moon which is bleak. And there’s also a fair amount of Neptune wreathing its illusory magic around which most often ends in disappointment, especially with Mars square Neptune.

They are totally different types of personalities – she a Sun Leo and Moon Libra, he a Virgo Sun Taurus Moon. So Fire Air with Earth Earth. Admittedly her Venus in Virgo helps as does his Venus in Libra, since they resonate with his Sun and her Moon. But maybe not enough.

There’ll be some kind of an upheaval in the relationship come April as tr Uranus opposes the composite Saturn and then moves to oppose Pluto; which may well be circumstances around them changing rather than anything dramatic at an emotional level. The degree of the composite Moon isn’t known but tr Uranus will square it sometime either this year or next, which will be a genuine upset. The year end across into 2018 will also feel separated and irritable with tr Saturn square Mars Venus, which may be just a passing moment.

Prince Harry definitely is smitten and wants a settled partnership with tr Pluto square his Venus throughout this year (and last) and his Progressed Moon going through his 7^th for another year ahead. And he has tr Pluto trine his 4^th house Moon in 2018/19 which is usually domestic and family changes. He’s got tr Uranus square his Sun/Moon midpoint at the moment which quite often accompanies relationship splits, but since he’s had that since early 2016, it may point to a radical reappraisal of what he wants from partnerships and from life. The Sun/Moon midpoint is the marriage of the spirit and the soul, the conscious and the unconscious. But it does suggest a degree of inner conflict perhaps about what his public duties will be in future. And that returns double-fold when tr Pluto opposes his Sun/Moon in 2019/2020.

April shows up on his chart as an emotional upheaval and that returns on and off till early 2018.

Meghan herself looks confused through chunks of this year, edgy, insecure with some highs but more challenges; and a disappointing-in-love tr Neptune opposition her Venus in April, returning later in the year and on and off through 2018.

Just as an addendum: Pippa certainly harbours no great liking for Meghan with a composite Mars square Saturn Pluto, which is very activated through mid March/April and beyond.

Meghan’s relationship to maybe-sister-in-law Kate will be turned on its head in April and jolted mightily in 2018 with tr Uranus opposition the composite Sun.

It’s a shame for Prince Harry since he clearly wants a settled family, but he’s a very different temperament to New Moon in Cancer in the 7th William.