NATO’s plans to deploy military units to Eastern Europe in numbers unmatched since the Cold War are pitched as a defensive measure to protect against further incursions by the Russians. The Russians, including former premier Gorbachev, say it is an offensive measure.

After Moscow’s seizure of Crimea in 2014 and military intervention in Ukraine there has been growing unease in NATO’s Baltic member countries, where the ranks of civilian volunteer militias has swelled, and the politicians and populations seem to consider war with Russia a real possibility. A US state department spokesman said: ‘“A Europe whole, free, and at peace rises or falls with Ukraine.” “Ukraine’s frontline for freedom is ours as well.”

Others see Europe’s security crises as part of a return to regional power struggles, as well as an anti-globalization movement, which has rejuvenated nationalism worldwide. “Everything is connected; basically what we are seeing is the collapse of the world order as we have known it since World War II, and we — politicians, intel and security agencies — still struggle to understand it.” http://goo.gl/RmBzeQ

Lovely, something else to worry about.

The NATO chart, 24 Aug 1949 11.42am Washington, DC, does look edgy in Feb 2017 when tr Uranus squares the Mars in Cancer, which will be a shock leading to insecurity and perhaps hasty decisions. It’ll be considerably worse in 2018/19 with tr Pluto opposition Mars and Solar Arc Saturn square Pluto also in 2018. This September’s Virgo Solar Eclipse will conjunct the NATO Moon Saturn in Virgo bringing a time of weighty responsibilities, where the price for actions has to be paid.

The NATO/Russia 1917 relationship chart is panicky and suspicious with the Virgo Eclipse conjunct the composite Neptune for a few months ahead; but it really starts to agitate from Feb 2017 onwards, destabilising badly from April 2017 for eighteen months thereafter with tr Uranus square the composite Pluto and conjunct Uranus. Intensifying as tr Pluto hits on those planets and not really settling till after 2022/23.

The USA interface with Russia is in disarray through the next few years with tr Pluto square the composite Uranus Pluto till late 2017. Tr Saturn is in a separating square to the composite Sun Saturn this autumn; with an undermining tr Neptune to follow in 2017/18; and an edgy, explosive tr Uranus square Mars in 2018.

The EU/Russia relationship chart has much the same though involving different planets – a complete turnaround in diplomatic relations through 2015 continues till the end of this year; with serious confrontations come Jan 2017, worsening through to late 2018 with tr Pluto square Saturn Mars. As well as tr Saturn square tr Neptune in hard aspect to the composite Sun, which in Neptune’s case runs till early 2018.

The Ukraine chart, 24 Aug 1991 2.31pm Kiev, looks under assault at the moment with Solar Arc Sun conjunct Mars; nervy and strung-out this September; and on high-risk alert from early 2017 for two years; with 2021 looking very trapped, enraged and dominated by forces beyond their control. Their relationship with Russia is blocked at the moment, sagging badly in 2017; with a tussle for the upper hand ongoing; panicky and unstable right through 2018.

David Cameron’s ermine-lined presents to his buddies as he flounced off may well prove to be the final nail in the coffin of the House of Lords, though it won’t happen instantly.

The (still unelected) House of Lords was the ruling body of England in the bad old days of autocratic monarchs and nobles; and its power was very gradually eroded in a series of moves over the centuries. Hereditary peers were edged out; it was prevented from blocking House of Commons (elected members) legislation etc etc. But it remains as a depository of Prime Ministerial and Opposition Leaders’ favours; and on occasion does put a much-needed brake on hot-headed Commons decisions – elected members bringing no guarantee of common sense.

Major changes to the UK legislature would involve the UK 1801’s 11^th house Saturn in Leo. There’s some movement on this in 2017 with tr Uranus trine Saturn; but it might have to wait till 2024 when tr Uranus in Taurus is in square. Though it could come earlier, since the UK Saturn is tied into other planets at earlier degrees. And tr Pluto opposition the 10^th house Moon in 2017/18 may begin to chip away at the populations’ attitude to their rulership.

There were two Acts in the 20^th Century which had a significant effect on the House of Lords – 18 Aug 1911 and 16 Dec 1949.

There is significant pressure on both these charts at the moment – a nasty sinking feeling – and more so through a teeth-gritting few years ahead, when pressure for change escalates against heavy resistance. Both these charts indicate 2024 as game-changers. So that would fit with the UK chart.

Please post below, on whatever ………..

Emma Jung, the long-suffering wife of psycho-analyst Carl, is the subject of a biography – finally, after all her years as the neglected one, forced to suffer his infidelities and the humiliation of the menage a trois he set up with his ‘muse’ Toni Wolff.

Born 30 March 1882 10.45pm Schaffhausen, she was the second richest heiress in Switzerland, which was of great assistance to a young professional struggling to make his name. Her early married life she spent at Burgholzi, an asylum for the insane and through all the years that followed she kept the domestic ship afloat since she loved him and wanted to keep the family of five children together.

She had an Aries Sun and Venus in the 5^th (her nickname was Sunny) square an intense Mars in Cancer in the 8^th; with a powerful Jupiter Pluto on her Descendant which was what she attracted as a partner. And given that her Node fell on her Ascendant she would have problems forming a strong identity of her own. Jupiter Pluto squared her Leo Moon, so she’d be possessive and inclined to look on the bright side. Uranus on her Midheaven certainly designed her for a life out of the ordinary and she herself was a therapist.

Her relationship chart with Carl Jung (26 July 1875 7.26pm Kesswil, Switz) had an affectionate Venus Sun conjunction in the 5^th house of children; sextile an expansive Jupiter in the 7^th house of relationships – so enough positive to keep the flame alight. But there was also an unkind (cruel) composite Saturn opposition Mars square Moon; and a disappointing 4^th house Neptune. On the synastry there are Saturn Moon crossovers which leads to coldness and longevity.

Carl Jung did have a Leo Sun Uranus in his 7^th with Uranus square his Taurus Moon – so he was never likely to settle to 24/7 domesticity.

Toni Wolff, another wealthy Swiss and initially Jung’s patient, also subsumed her life to his, publishing little herself, but was pivotal in helping him to define and refine his ideas. She had Neptune Pluto in the 10^th opposition a 4^th house Mars Jupiter squaring onto a 7^th house Pisces Moon – emotionally sensitive and fragile, dependent, other worldly.

Her Mars Jupiter was conjunct Carl Jung’s midheaven she would help his career; and her Virgo Sun Venus Mercury Uranus fell in his 8^th so she would tap into his deeper layers.

Her relationship with Emma was not surprisingly difficult with a buried-anger Mars in the 12^th square Saturn conjunct Sun – teeth gritted. The composite Moon conjunct Neptune and Pluto was in the 8^th – so there would be a vast reservoir of resentment that went unspoken.

Being married to a great man comes at a price.

Matilda Rapaport, an extreme skier, has been killed in an avalanche in the Andes, having already survived another avalanche two years ago in Alaska. Freeriding skiers go onto natural (usually precipitous mountain) terrain without any obvious route down, often in unpredictable weather conditions.

Born 30 Jan 1986 in Sweden into a skiing family, she married an Alpine slalom skier three months ago.

She had a charming Aquarius Sun Venus Mercury in an intense square to Pluto in Scorpio, trine Saturn in Sagittarius so used to hardship, and sensible as well as determined. She also had Mars in even more determined Scorpio, widely conjunct Saturn and square Jupiter in Aquarius, making her attracted to danger and adventure.  There’s also that odd mid Aquarius emphasis on her chart which often shows with athletes and sportspeople.

Tr Neptune was conjunct her Solar Arc Sun when she died; with Solar Arc Pluto conjunct her Saturn; and tr Pluto exactly conjunct her Sun/Uranus which Ebertin describes as ‘tragic experiences’.

She would always know the risks of her sport were off the Richter scale, but sad all the same.

Dubai has been lurching from one crisis to the next since the crash of 2009, with falling oil prices recently hitting any recovery badly. There have been several major fires in their shiny high-rise blocks since 2012, six this year so far;  and last week a plane crash landed at the airport, which isn’t only a bad omen, it also costs around $1 million per minute that the airport is closed.

There are two charts for Dubai – 8 January 1820 and 9 June 1833. Earlier charts are usually better and the 1820 chart has a 17 degree Capricorn Sun and Libra Moon; and Saturn Pluto in last decan of Pisces trine Mars in Cancer and square Uranus Neptune Mercury in Sagittarius.

The economically-challenging tr Saturn in Virgo opposition Uranus in Pisces was bouncing off the Dubai Saturn Pluto and Mercury Uranus Neptune in the post-2008 years. Then discouraging tr Saturn in Libra would conjunct the Moon and square the Sun; more recently tr Uranus has been square the Sun, opposition the Moon at some point; and now tr Pluto is conjunct the Sun in 2016/17 and again square the Moon.

So it’s had a long run of difficult influences, especially tr Pluto conjunct the Sun which presages a need for a major rethink and reconstruction in attitudes and lifestyle. Often disasters go along with this, as a kind of external warning.

In the aftermath of tr Pluto challenging the Dubai Sun, will come tr Uranus in an insecure square to Mars in 2018; and then 2021 to 2024 tr Pluto will be in a dreary sextile to Saturn Pluto and finally in a really blocked opposition to Mars. So there’s a fair few bumps on the road to come.

The Rio Olympics starts tonight with even more trepidation than normal. Horror stories abound with sewage and corpse-strewn waters for some events; unsafe and unfinished accommodation and stadiums. And poverty stricken Rio’s crime rate, bad at the best of times, is escalating wildly. A man claiming to be a Russian vice consul (denied by the Russians) shot and killed a robber on the motorway yesterday; a Moroccan boxer is being held on suspicion of sexually assaulting two cleaners; the Chinese say their fencers were robbed; ditto other athletes. The Brazilian President won’t attend since she’s suspended under impeachment charges. And that’s not even getting to the zika virus or doping furore which nearly saw Russian athletes banned altogether.

The Opening Ceremony chart, assuming a 8pm start, has a friendly, expansive 7^th house Moon Jupiter in Virgo trine Pluto – so there should be a warm welcome from the hosts. The problems may all come from the Neptune opposition Node Mercury square Mars Saturn in Sagittarius – a focal point of Mars Saturn is will bring high-level irritation, is accident-prone, has associations to the military and sometimes to killings.

Mercifully the exact Mars Saturn conjunction only occurs three days after the Olympics finishes. But the Moon in transit will make two hard aspects to Mars Saturn, conjunct on the 12^th and square on the 19^th. So the whole event will be conducted on tenterhooks.

The IOC (International Olympics Committee), 23 June 1894 Lausanne, Switzerland, certainly looks nerve-wracked and edgy with tr Saturn square the Solar Arc Uranus throughout, and will face a decidedly sinking post-mortem with tr Saturn square tr Neptune hitting the Pluto and Neptune in the aftermath; with an uphill, discouraging slog through 2017/18.

The UK’s much troubled Child Abuse Inquiry has claimed another scalp with the THIRD chairman resigning. Butler-Sloss and Woolf went after publicity about their establishment links, and the NZ Judge Lowell Goddard has now baled after a Times story about her three month absence in the past year on a £500k a year salary.

Part of the problem (astrologically speaking) is it was first announced – 7 July 2014 circa 4.40pm London – on a Cardinal Grand Cross of Cancer Sun opposition Pluto square Mars opposition Uranus – and that was guaranteed to be followed by rolling crises. Grand Crosses tend to involve firefighting in four different directions at once and that’s without throwing disruptive Uranus and impulsive, argumentative Mars and Pluto into the mix.

It finally got under way on 9 July 2015 at 10am which wasn’t much better on the astrology with a Sun Mars opposition Pluto square North Node and square Uranus Moon in Aries. All of those planets continue to shift by Solar Arc and transit to close to exact aspects over the next three years so it will continue to rock n’ roll its way along – completely stuck at points and turned upside down at others.

Part of the problem may be the extreme resistance in the UK chart to any unearthing of murky secrets. The deeply buried Mars in Taurus in the 8^th is tied into a Fixed T Square, opposition Neptune square Venus (in the 5^th house of children) with Venus in another Fixed T Square opposition Saturn square Neptune.

When child abuse started to emerge in the 1980s tr Pluto in Scorpio was opposition that Mars; and in this last round of post-Savile horrors tr Pluto in Capricorn was trine the UK Mars. That has now passed on, but there is all manner of activity around the UK Mars now and in the coming years. Solar Arc Sun square Mars, exact in 2 months; Solar Arc MC square Mars just after mid 2017. Tr Uranus then moves into the UK 8^th, shining a light on hidden places from 2020 for 7 years, along the way crossing the conjunction to Mars in 2021; and Solar Arc Uranus is conjunct Mars in 2024.

So whether this Inquiry collapses altogether or not – though it’s difficult to see how it could disappear – there will be continual eruptions well into next decade.

Although there are murmurings about the Republicans finding a replacement candidate after Trump’s day of disasters with one gaffe tripping up the next, there’s no mechanism unless he first withdraws.

He accepted the nomination at 12.13am on 22 July 2016 in Cleveland, Ohio which put an aggravated Mars in Scorpio in the 8^th trine a Cancer Sun; with maverick Uranus conjunct the Aries Ascendant; a hidden 12^th house Neptune opposition a 6^th house North Node square Saturn in the 8^th – that might suggest health issues and cash shortages, with much behind-the-scenes goings-on. With a dictatorial Pluto in the 10^th (which can backfire) in a confident trine to Jupiter, square Ascendant; and a showy Venus Mercury in Leo in the grandstanding 5^th.

What will be interesting to watch is when Mars moves to conjunct Saturn by August 24^th, with the Sun in square a week later. At the moment the Moon is square Mars and moving to square that Saturn today.

There are two charts for the Republican Party, 20 March 1854 6.30pm Ripon, Wisconsin; and 6 July 1854 Jackson, MI. But I’m not convinced either works especially well on election prediction, tracking back over past wins and losses.

Trump’s relationship with both charts looks inherently negative. With the March chart, there’s a chained-together and resenting-it Saturn Pluto in a panicky opposition to Neptune; and an explosive Uranus square Mars. The July chart is cold, suspicious, again explosive. It looks very agitated at the moment with tr Uranus square the composite Mercury; and in general undermined this year with tr Saturn square tr Neptune hitting on the composite Mars, though nothing exact again till October. There’s nothing that looks like a parting of the ways. Which doesn’t mean it won’t happen.

The March GOP chart looks panicky up to the election though also relieved with tr Uranus square the Jupiter in early November – though that could mean blessed relief they aren’t saddled with him or a win. The July GOP chart is sagging badly at the moment with tr Neptune square the Saturn (returning across the Inauguration); and in a state of upheaval with tr Pluto trine Uranus; with immense pressure through September with tr Pluto opposition the Sun.

UKIP, the UK Independence Party, should be lyrical over the Brexit vote. Instead they appear to be melting down. A popular MEP has been ruled ineligible to stand for the election of leader after Nigel Farage stepped down by the NEC. As a result there have been resignations from the NEC, saying the party’s governing body “is no longer fit for purpose”.

UKIP was kicked off on 3 September 1993 in London giving the chart a 10 degree Virgo Sun and 15 degree Mercury in Virgo. Tr Neptune is in a sinking and sliding opposition to the Sun till early 2017; with a discouraging tr Saturn square both Sun and Mercury through the autumn. And a blocked, intense Solar Arc Pluto square Mercury just to add to the joys of discussions. It looks chaotic ahead with tr Pluto square Mars Jupiter till December and then tr Pluto conjunct Uranus Neptune in 2017/18.

Talk about snatching defeat from the jaws of victory.