Harmony of the Seas, the world’s biggest cruise liner, has been involved in a fatal accident, with one crew member dead and four injured during a safety exercise.

It was laid down on 9 May 2014 when there was an accident-prone and risky Uranus Venus in Aries opposition Mars square Pluto opposition Jupiter and a Sun opposition Saturn – so it was always going to have a crises-strewn life. Not as bad as the Titanic, whose hull laying had a Sun Saturn square Neptune and a Mars Uranus conjunction inconjunct Pluto, with a weak Jupiter – but still prone to hitches, glitches, breaks, maybe explosions and other problems.

At the moment tr Pluto has closed the square to Uranus to exact; and Solar Arc Mars will move to square Pluto and then oppose Uranus in late 2017 and late 2018 which are both edgy, insecure and prone to injury.

It is a solid chart in one way with an Earth Grand Trine of Sun trine Pluto trine a Virgo Moon, formed into a Kite by Sun opposition Saturn; and the heavily aspected Jupiter gives testament to its gigantic size as well as rescuing it from a few mishaps. But there will be more to come until the Grand Cross clears all its aspects which will take a couple of years or so.

The squabbling Brexiteers in the Cabinet are about the only sign of movement in the great unknown of the decoupling from the EU that lies ahead. PM Theresa May, from all accounts, will micro-manage the process but there’s no hint of the hows and whens. And apart from the odd fly-swat seems content to allow Liam Fox (Secy for International Trade) to shoot his mouth off, irritating Boris Johnson and the FO, and insulting business leaders.

Fox is in for a considerable shock in 2017 with a whole raft of insecure, explosive, panicky influences bringing major setbacks and muddle. He has his Solar Arc Uranus conjunct his Mars and square Saturn in 2017 – which is a major major jolt, high levels of tension, even an accident. Plus tr Uranus opposition his Mars, square his Saturn and opposition his Mercury from March onwards; and from March 2017 also till late 2018 he has tr Pluto square his Sun/Neptune which is confusion, scandals, low energy, suffering. He could even be moved from that job come next May or thereabouts as tr Uranus squares his Jupiter/Saturn.

Though having said that, Theresa May’s most problematic relationship is still with Boris Johnson (see previous post).

She’s managing quite ruthlessly to machete her way through David Cameron’s policies, and having junked George Osborne with maximum humiliation, will now no doubt be heartened by Cameron’s exit from Westminster. She disliked both of them – her relationship with Osborne has a Mars Saturn conjunction and with Cameron a Mars Pluto square – so major, though clearly hidden hostility.

Her Government chart, 13 July 2016 5.44pm London, hints at worries and uncertainty from 23^rd Sept to 6th Oct this year as tr Saturn returns to square Neptune exactly. But the major hiccups start late January through Feb 2017 when tr Uranus squares the Sun; with another jolt from April onwards as tr Uranus returns to its natal position. But for all that she looks to be powering ahead confidently with tr Pluto trine Jupiter from Feb 2017 to late 2018.

The Daily Mail is floating the idea that David Cameron may go west to New York to allow his wife Samantha to launch a fashion business. New York would suit him as a home since it puts his Sun in the 4^th there, expansive Jupiter Moon in Leo on the Ascendant and Mars in flamboyant Leo in the money-making 2^nd house. He’s got the final, heavily pressured and needs-to-transform tr Pluto square his Libra Sun through this autumn. Then tr Saturn will head in 2017 across his IC which does suggest a move of domestic base into a new phase of his life.

It won’t be a spectacular new start since he has tr Saturn square his Uranus Pluto opposition Saturn through 2017 which could be discouraging. His relationship with Samantha, was always very work-oriented with a composite Sun square Saturn; and indeed Saturn on the focal point of a composite Yod – with both the composite Sun and Saturn getting tr Uranus hard aspects from early 2017 onwards, so change definitely in the air. She’s a late Sun Aries square Mars Moon in Capricorn and all of those are being subject to upheaval through 2017/18.

Emily Thornberry, who bats for the opposing team, and is shadow Brexit minister, was born 27 July 1960 has Sun, Venus and Uranus spread through Leo, with a formidable Mars in Taurus square Uranus and square Pluto; with Mercury in Cancer opposition Saturn. So she has an edgy temper and her outburst after being asked on television about the name of French Foreign Minister, which she fluffed, did her no favours since she should have known.

Jupiter being a sky god and a seer into the future, it makes sense that prediction based on the flight or song of birds would be connected to him. Indeed he is often represented by the eagle.

I’d have to confess a personal interest since years back I had a couple of striking experiences seeing birds (magpies initially) which fitted in with outer events, so became fascinated. And I have a very strongly aspected Jupiter in my chart, tied in to my Sun, Mercury, Moon, Uranus, MC, Saturn and by minor aspect to Pluto and Mars Venus, Ascendant.

The first was connected to the death of a horse in odd circumstances which succumbed to a rare cattle gangrene. A magpie and a dead calf had appeared a few days beforehand on the road when I was exercising. Magpies are ten a penny but that one gave me a shudder and stuck in mind. The second was seeing a magpie on the back of a sheep, like a tic bird, which coincided with the death of a pet sheep, which I was only told about later. The third, more cheerfully, was when I sold a flat astonishingly and unexpectedly well, having seen six magpies that morning on the heath – ‘one for sorrow, two for joy – six for gold’. So I became hooked and read up the nature myths.

Magpies have become less birds of death for me, than indications of a traffic holdup on motorways. If I see a black and white bird then everything jams up ahead. Greenfinches are sickness, not necessarily terminal, just slump. A Greater Spotted Woodpecker – wonderful red, black and white handsome birds – turned up in my London garden for the first time the day I got a significant work opportunity. The day I bought the house I’m in now, a golden eagle flew low over the road just above my car –  magnificent and velvet brown, with a huge wingspan. Hawks which fly the highest are supposed to be messengers of the gods – and presumably a gift from Jupiter. Herons and storks are a symbol of the morning and therefore new life.

It’s not something I talk about too freely lest I sound a complete basket case. But many people (and certainly their grannies) will have had similar experiences. It’s such a shame that we are so hidebound by the Saturnine rational diktats that we don’t admit to an inexplicable layer of life that can’t all be written off to coincidence or delusion.

Jupiter, supposedly the bringer of health, wealth and happiness was conjunct the midheaven when the first plane struck on 9/11. Other disasters also have a prominent Jupiter. So it does have a dark, destructive side.

When Maggie Thatcher was unceremoniously dumped as prime minister tr Jupiter was moving through her 9^th heading for her midheaven and 10^th house, normally thought of as a success phase, during a time when she melted down. Celebrities who die often have tr Jupiter moving through their 10^th, with their image back the spotlight, but they are no longer here.

In Michael Baigent & Charles Harvey’s Working with Astrology, there’s an example of a man who over the times (every 12 years) when tr Jupiter was opposing his Sun, lost his father, his mother and a long-standing relationship. Not what you’d expect, except that his Sun natally was in aspect to his Moon/Saturn midpoint. So when Jupiter came round to trigger his Sun it also, in its expansive way, homed in on a Moon/Saturn sense of mourning and sadness. So Jupiter’s tendency to exaggerate and expand can produce bad as well as good.

Indeed at 9/11, tr Jupiter was just over the conjunction to the USA 1776 natal Jupiter, Sun/Jupiter midpoint and within two degrees of being conjunct the US Sun – so on the optimistic view of Jupiter, it should have been an exuberant and successful time. But big and spectacular isn’t necessarily better as 9/11 showed. What you also have to watch is not (as we all do) prioritise Jupiter transits over others since it feels good. It will always be outweighed by tr Pluto, Uranus, Neptune and Saturn.

Which isn’t to say that a strong natal Jupiter doesn’t bring an ‘unfair’ advantage to those that have it in their charts. It brings a combination of luck and what I once wrote off as delusional optimism. Those who survive horrendous childhoods and emerge, if not unscathed, at least as functioning, usually have a prominent Jupiter. No matter how bad life is, Jupiter always thinks there’s a light at the end of the tunnel or a guardian angel somewhere who’ll swoop in for a rescue, and hey presto, they do, though usually at the 11^th hour and 59^th minute. Sagittarians, ruled by Jupiter, have that sense, as do the other two Fire signs, Leo and Aries.

JK Rowling, a Sun Leo, of the Harry Potter juggernaut, has a focal point Jupiter in Gemini square Saturn opposition Moon Uranus Pluto in Virgo. Her struggle to get published all hinged on an 8 year old girl liking her story and getting her a toe in the door with a tiny publishing deal, which then expanded and expanded, through winning competitions to a US contract, when tr Jupiter was starting to oppose her Uranus Pluto, and triggering her T Square. Success needs talent and a huge dollop of luck.

In mythology Jupiter was a sky god, part of a triad of brothers with Neptune (water) and Pluto (underworld). He was the wielder of thunderbolts (hence the disasters), ruler of weather and the flight of birds, from which predictions were drawn (the auspices). He was the divine witness to oaths, the guarantor of good faith and associated with justice and good government. He was not a god of war who wins through fighting, but one who changes the morale of the opposing sides.

The senior god, sometimes also associated with Zeus, king of Olympus, he radiates sovereignty and triumphalism. The expression ‘By Jove’ comes from Jupiter, who was thought of as jovial, optimistic – when he wasn’t casting down thunderbolts and lightning. Zeus was infamous for his promiscuity, being serially unfaithful to his jealous wife Hera – so not great at commitment.

Although Jupiter/Sagittarius always carries an image of a mischievous, happy-go-lucky, laid-back, comedian or sporting gambler who relies on the gods of chance to make it all come right, there’s a different side. The pedant, the philosopher, pompous, narrow-minded, the know-it-all who comes across as self-righteous. Lawyers are often Sagittarius, which relates back to the mythological witnesser of oaths. Sagittarians are often well-read, think and talk about social issues, are interested in how the world ticks.

In combination with the other outer planets Jupiter is not always beneficial. Jupiter Pluto does mix positive thinking with huge determination, so can move mountains; but it can also act as if it is above the petty rules and regulations which ordinary plebs have to respect, so ends up in conflict with authority and loses everything. Jupiter Neptune has dreams of stratospheric wealth; and can be overly impressionable when it comes to believing a master/guru has all the answers. Jupiter Uranus is a gambler but usually lucky, so not a bad mix.

Jupiter Saturn is an oddity. In square or opposition it can be wobbly, veering between optimism and pessimism, scared of failure. In conjunction it can be understated as the individual tries to balance their idealism with making their way in the world. But for a few, it shoots them sky high to an iconic reputation and then crashes them down as Saturn’s all-too-human, grim reaper cuts down Jupiter’s godlike hubris – John Lennon, Princess Diana, JFK. There is a manic, messianic side to Jupiter which can get out of control.

Jupiter in aspect to the Sun or Moon usually prevents the individual from getting a realistic view of that parent. They see them as better than they actually were. Jupiter’s positivity defends against seeing the shadow side of life. The Moon Jupiter mother tends to feed sweeties/food and platitudes rather than making a deep emotional connection.

Just a stray thought – Hillary Clinton doesn’t have a heavily aspected or well-integrated Jupiter; while Donald Trump does, in trine to his Sun and Uranus, sextile his Moon. Bill Clinton’s Jupiter is trine his Uranus, sextile his Leo Sun, so it has done him well over the years.

Please post below ………

Edward Snowden, still stuck in Moscow, has given an interview to the Financial Times in which he criticizes Russia’s stance on human rights and hacking, as well as offering up a faint prayer for a pardon from President Obama as he exits. Snowden’s leaking of NSA classified material in 2013 about global surveillance by intelligence agencies attracted both vociferous condemnation and admiring praise; and his actions have certainly had an effect, not just in government policy in the US and beyond, but also across the social media world.

Born 21 June 1983 4.42am Elizabeth City, North Carolina (BCert) he’s a Sun, North Node, Mars in Gemini in his 1^st opposition a 7^th house Neptune; and trine Saturn Pluto in Libra in his 5^th and trine an Aquarius Midheaven – so do-or-die determined, has courage, grit, a ruthless streak to drive his vision. The Neptune Pluto in aspect to his Sun will lend power to his vision, can be a touch megalomaniac, but arguably also gives him the arrogance/strength of character to take on the big boys. His adventurous Uranus Jupiter in Sagittarius opposes his Mercury in Gemini. He’s quite Mutable with three Gemini and three Sagittarius planets so excitable, high-wire. Though balanced out by a Fixed Scorpio Moon and that key Saturn Pluto, which in old astrology books was sometimes associated with the black magician.

Tr Pluto moved into his 8^th house in late 2012 and stays there until 2023 which can be trapped and hidden. He has tr Jupiter now on the cusp of his 5^th so more outgoing for the next year. There may be a slight, positive change of direction when tr Uranus sextiles his MC for the final time in December/January; and his Progressed Moon is due to move out of his stuck 8^th in a couple of months’ time, so he should feel less restricted. His Solar Return set for Moscow from June 2016 for a year ahead is much more visible with Sun Venus Mercury in the 10^th and Jupiter on the Ascendant, though looking less cheerful about his home base and relationships with Saturn in the 4^th and Neptune on the Descendant.

On the other hand, really bad news is his Solar Arc Mars moving to square his Pluto, exact in six months and square Saturn in 18 months’ time, both of which are high-risk, blocked and scary; with a tricky tr Uranus opposition Pluto Saturn from mid 2017 which will bring a considerable upheaval. Plus tr Saturn opposing his Mars Sun, conjunct Neptune through 2017. So not easy whatever happens.

Contempt is the tell-tale sign of an afflicted or badly placed Pluto in a birth chart. The subtle or not so subtle put-down which makes others feel they are beneath consideration or worthless. That plus a pathologically stubborn stonewalling of any pressure to change, or gain insights. As if shifting ground would bring humiliation; and taking in feedback would mean allowing an intrusion into heavily protected, private space.  Though Plutonic types are often invasive of others themselves. Their status quo is defended fiercely, almost desperately, since it gives an illusion of stability, albeit for an essentially lonely state where there is no trust in the world or close relationships.

Power, control, possessiveness are the Pluto keywords and it really all comes down to a fear of submission, which latter would induce shame, obliteration of identity and a sense of being without value as a human being. Staying on top, which comes across as a smirking superiority and arrogance, is a defensive measure. Intimacy in relationships is tricky since deep connection feels like an invasion. “Where there is power there is not love.”

Vengefulness which is a Pluto/Scorpio trait is the inability to let go – of hurts and outworn relationships. Jealousy is a fear of loss, though often it kills the very thing that is prized. Manipulation is another trait which is a passive-aggressive way of exerting control, since it avoids confrontation which Pluto fears might lead to total destruction. There is volcanic anger inside Pluto, most often kept out of sight, being sensed by others, but not often acted out.

In mythology, Pluto is the god of the underworld (Hades) though he originally started as the god of wealth – gold, silver, diamonds. Since they came from underground he took over that realm. There was an 18^th Century Plutonic theory that the earth was formed due to intense volcanic heat acting on rocks; while the opposing Neptunist theory was that the earth was formed from water with sediment laid down forming the land.

So Pluto is definitely of the earth and of hard substance, even when melted by intense heat.

He is most associated with the abduction of Persephone, the virgin daughter of Demeter, goddess of the harvest (Virgo), whom he tempted down to his lair with pretty flowers and then wouldn’t let her go. Demeter’s maternal grief was such that the seasons stopped and nothing grew. Faced with extinction Zeus (Jupiter) stepped into and brokered a deal whereby Persephone returned to her mother for the six months of summer and went back to Pluto in winter. The paradox of this story is that although it sounds initially like rape, it was also Persephone’s induction into adult womanhood, forcing her away from her jealous mother who wanted to keep her as an eternal child. Both Persephone and Demeter were central to the life-and-death nature rituals, dying in winter to be reborn in spring. The Eleusian Mysteries, over which they presided, were carried out in great secrecy, open only to initiates.

Pluto came to stand for not just wealth, but also sex, control/possession, secret societies, elites and the transformation process which involves actual as well as symbolic death. He was not known for promiscuity – and in some myths had a helmet of invisibility.

Where Pluto is in hard aspect to Sun and Moon or in 10^th/4^th or even 8^th house, the individual grows up with a strong feeling that they have no choices in life; they are pawns on someone else’s chess board. That is a difficult pattern to break, and often for women with domineering fathers, it takes them into their forties – after the tr Pluto square natal Pluto – to step into their own identity where they are free to say ‘I am’ and ‘this is what I want’. For some the dominance/submission balance flips in early adult life and they become a control-freak themselves. But even where it doesn’t, there’s always a power play running at an unconscious level. What’s that old expression? – “There’s no one as powerful as a victim.” That’s Pluto in one of its manifestations.

Pluto by transit has a different feel since it is like being mown down by a steam-roller, completely flattened and buried in the mud, before emerging slowly to see a scarred landscape where the old has been demolished. Acute frustration and powerlessness of a scary variety can become all-consuming.

On second thoughts it isn’t different. It tells you what a natal Plutonic type is defending against all the time. In spiritual lalaland, Plutonic transformation is always talked about as if it was the ultimate desirable process. Yet it is gruesomely difficult and painful, a stripping away of everything that brought security, self-worth, identity, with only the light at the end of the tunnel (usually not visible for a long time) promising hope of a better rebuild on the far side.

The biblical myth of Job and the Sumerian legend of Inanna’s descent into the underworld are more truthful descriptions of what happens in the symbolic death and rebirth journey.

A strong natal Pluto has a significant upside – is good in crisis, doesn’t panic, gets a grip where everyone else is losing control, is often quite prescient so has ideas ahead of their time. But it has to be lived out. Overly submissive Plutonic types who were forced to be puppets on someone else’s strings early on and continue in adult life to be ‘nice’ and placatory, are continually hurt by the hostile responses they attract. They don’t understand the power signals they give out unconsciously, since they are still living with the inner image of themselves as a useless doormat. Owning power in a healthy way is not easy especially for women, and most resist turning into the controlling adult who made their childhood a misery.

The most useful motto for Pluto is – ‘influence not power’. That and finding the right lifestyle in which Pluto’s intensity, capacity to regenerate situations and cope with crisis can be used constructively.  Yet for all that there is something impenetrable about Pluto and difficult for the individual to grasp in their birth chart, which may be to do with its darkness and inherently primitive/primeval nature.

Carl Jung, 26 July 1875 7.26pm Kesswil, Switzerland, the analytical psychotherapist, was immensely influential not just on the development of psychology (along with Freud), but also on anthropology, archaeology, literature, and religious studies. He focused on individuation, the process of integrating the opposites, the conscious and unconscious, and left behind important concepts like archetypes, the collective unconscious, extraversion and intraversion. He was also interested in psychic phenomena, astrology and alchemy.  His ideas on the individuation mid-life transformational crisis in the late 30s to early 40s, which he reckoned was the crucial turning point for a life, fits with the tr Uranus opposition natal Uranus, followed by tr Neptune square natal Neptune, and tr Pluto square natal Pluto.

He was a hugely important thinker and a fairly flawed human being, marrying his wife for her money, sleeping with patients and installing his mistress in the family home as his muse.

He had a 7^th house Leo Sun and Uranus so partnerships were vital to him though he needed the freedom of unconventional ties. His Sun was exactly square his Neptune in Taurus in the 3^rd, which would give him another-worldly leaning. His Moon and Pluto were also in the 3^rd in Taurus. He talked in his books about his two personalities, so he obviously felt split between his grounded, practical self and his up-in-the-air fiery Neptunian side.

His 9^th house Jupiter (= widespread communication, philosophy and publishing) was heavily aspected being sextile Mars, trine Saturn and inconjunct Pluto. His Moon was conjunct Pluto, square Uranus, widely square Saturn and sextile Venus in Cancer – a testament to his emotionally unstable and possessive mother. His Pluto opposed his Midheaven from the 3^rd squaring onto a scientifically-inclined Saturn in Aquarius. A very Fixed and enduring as well as stubborn chart, with three Cardinal planets for initiative but only one adaptable Mutable planet. So he would expect the world and his partners to adapt to him rather than the other way round.

His 6^th house Mercury in Cancer was not much aspected, but that lack was balanced by strong 9^th and 3^rd house planets boosting his intellectual interests and ability to write.

His super-star 22^nd Harmonic (a Master Number) was very strongly marked; as was his leaving-a-legacy-for-history 17H; and his writers 21H. His genius/breaking-with-the-orthodox 13H; healer’s 12H; obsessive-dream 11H; humanitarian though questionable about money 9H; and inspired 7H were also notable.

Not an easy man by any means, but he put ideas out into the zeitgeist which were truly significant.

Renee Zellweger is getting good reviews for Bridget Jones’s Baby, third in the franchise, co-written by Emma Thompson and also starring Colin Firth and Patrick Dempsey (late of Gray’s Anatomy).

Born 25 April 1969 2.41pm Baytown, Texas, she’s ideally cast as the chaotic, emotionally dysfunctional Bridget. She has a secretive and determined Taurus Sun conjunct Saturn in late Aries, both in the 8^th house; with her Saturn on the focal point of a Yod to Neptune in the 3^rd sextile Jupiter Uranus (Pluto) – so a curious mix of confident, stressed, constantly changing, never feeling she fits in, having to be self-reliant, vague,  defensive about commitment. She’s also got a hidden 12^th house Leo Moon trine a 4^th house Mars in Sagittarius – so a complicated childhood and adult emotional life. She’s had various relationships and one six month marriage.

She disappeared off the scene in 2010 and this is her first movie since. That was when tr Saturn was moving through her lower profile first quadrant, a time when people want to rebalance their lives and find more personal space. Tr Saturn is now into her 2^nd quadrant as she emerges back into the world after a few years of anonymity.

She does have tr Pluto opposition her Sun/Jupiter through 2016/17 which will lift her confidence. Though she’s also got tr Neptune square her Midheaven which hints at a degree of uncertainty about what comes next. Her Secondary Progressed Venus is exactly conjunct her Sun now which does suggest a significant emotional relationship or event.

Tr Uranus will conjunct her focal point Saturn in 2018 which will cause quite a shake up and will put her onto a completely new track.

The film started shooting on 2 Oct 2015 with an exuberant Mars Jupiter conjunction in a successful trine to Pluto which has to augur well.

La La Land, starring Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone, has been greeted by rapturous reviews – ‘wonderfully sweet, sad, smart’ – ‘a musical romance that rushes from first love to heartache via show tunes, love songs and free jazz’ – ‘a sweet-natured drama that’s full of bounce.’

Principal Photography started on 10 Aug 2015 in Los Angeles with a frivolously flamboyant Jupiter Venus conjunction in Leo with Venus conjunct a Leo Sun; plus a few less helpful influences like Mars trine Saturn, so not all spectacular.

Ryan Gosling, 12 Nov 1980 2.34pm? London, Canada and Emma Stone, 6 Nov 1988 12.50pm Scottsdale, Arizona (astrotheme) are both Sun Scorpios and both have Venus in Libra. But they are very different types of Scorpios. She’s a controlling Sun Pluto and he’s a freedom-loving Sun Uranus. She has Uranus Saturn in late Sagittarius conjunct his Mars Neptune which would make for a rather agitated chemistry. Their relationship chart has a hard-working composite Sun Saturn but that’s in an edgy, irritable square to Mars, so not easy keeping tranquil when things went wrong.