Not only is the present Saudi Royal family facing threats of rebellion from a different branch of the family, there appears to be growing rivalry between the two anointed successors to King Salman who is in declining health. It’s like a re-run of the Tudors from mediaeval England.
Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef, the king’s nephew, 30 Aug 1959, is interior minister. While Salman’s son Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, 31 Aug 1985, is Defence Minister, pursuing an ill-advised, expensive and destructive war in Yemen (see previous post).

It would explain why King Salman’s Reign chart, 23 Jan 2015 1am Riyadh, has an undermining 4th house Moon Neptune Mars conjunction in Pisces square Saturn – a family which is not mutually supportive. Tr Saturn is squaring that conjunction at the moment till this December; and tr Neptune is conjunct the Mars through 2016. So it’s not getting better. Indeed Saturn will move by Solar Arc to square the Moon by 2018 which may see a cut-off point, if it doesn’t come sooner.

Both the Crown Princes have their Sun at 6/7 degrees Virgo so both are sagging badly and uncertain at the moment with the tr Neptune opposition. If anything Mohammed bin Salman looks to be having most problems with his Solar Arc Pluto square his Mars this year as well as his Solar Arc Saturn conjunct his Uranus. Both of which look dangerous and devastating. Mohammed bin Nayef has tr Neptune opposing his Venus through 2016 so not feeling popular.

Their relationship chart is atrocious with an argumentative composite Sun Mars conjunction square a distrusting and aggravated Neptune Saturn. That again is being chipped away by tr Saturn and tr Neptune through the next year.

There’s an intriguing comment in today’s Independent that the UK may be guilty of war crimes in selling munitions to the Saudis who are killing civilians in the Yemen. It would take an earthquake to stop the present UK government foregoing those massive defence contracts that fill the treasury coffers. But public and media pressure is beginning to build against Saudi executions, abuse of human rights and funding of jihadists.

The relationship chart between UK and SaudiA is under considerable strain in the time ahead with tr Pluto conjunct the composite Sun from early 2016 through till late 2017. With a definite upheaval from mid 2016 with tr Uranus conjunct the composite Pluto.

Woody Allen is 80 on 1 December and still going strong with several movie projects running ahead. Though his most recent got slated by the critics. ‘Half asleep’ and ‘lacking in humour’ were two comments.

Born 1 December 1935 10.55pm New York, he has a 4th house Sun Jupiter Mercury in Sagittarius square a 7th house Saturn in Pisces – which is where he’ll get his neurotic, inadequate image and his tendency to be up and down, sometimes enthusiastic, at others negative. Marriage for him means hard work and his first two were short-lived. There was then a long gap before he married Mia Farrow’s adopted daughter who was 27 to his 62 when they got hitched in 1997.

His Sun is also square a 1st house Neptune making him creative though also evasive. What always astonishes me about his chart is a hugely powerful, ruthless Pluto opposition Mars in 11th/5th houses, which you’d never guess looking at him.

He looks lack lustre in the year ahead with the tr Neptune in 7th square tr Saturn in his 4th hitting on his Sun, which looks like domestic/relationship problems.

It looks an edgy, insecure year ahead with tr Uranus square two of his Mars midpoints; and tr Pluto conjunct his Sun/Moon and Sun/Saturn midpoints – so again marriage strain and a heavy slog to keep up motivation.

He said recently he enjoyed taking a paternal role with Soon-Yi his wife, but it may be the tables are about to be turned and she gets more of the upper hand as sometimes happens with a huge age gap. Their relationship chart shows a good deal of affection; but also an underlying power struggle.

Born 8 Oct 1970, she’s a Sun Uranus in Libra with a Capricorn Moon, Venus Neptune and Jupiter in Scorpio; and a Mars Pluto conjunction in Virgo. So charming but quite maverick, seductive, and highly determined.

Sean Connery’s wife Micheline is in trouble with the Spanish authorities over the sale of their Marbella villa 16 years ago with allegations of tax fraud. They want to prosecute her next year with the possibility of prison time and a swingeing fine. SeanC was initially investigated but is not to be charged. She says it was a simple sale and nothing more.

His chart, 25 Aug 1930 6.05pm Edinburgh, is being rattled at the moment by the tr Pluto square tr Uranus – hitting on his Cardinal Grand Cross. Tr Pluto is square his 3rd house Uranus on and off till late 2016 so a time of mental strain. With tr Uranus opposition his Venus now and again in early 2016, and square his 7th house Pluto in 2015 till spring 2016 -emotional upsets involving a spouse.
Plus tr Saturn has been square his Virgo Sun and Neptune a few weeks back. His Solar Arc Mars will conjunct his Virgo Moon in 2017 when tr Saturn will square both and oppose his natal Mars in Gemini. So all in all a troublesome time.

According to net sources (which may be dodgy) Micheline was born 2 September 1929 so if accurate would also be a Sun Neptune in Virgo. Two Virgo Suns together. It would give a composite Sun Neptune Venus Moon in the relationship chart which does look affectionate and complementary if a little Neptunian.

On this birth date she looks undermined in 2016 with tr Saturn square tr Neptune hitting on her Sun throughout; with a shock in 2017.

But both are elderly so there may be other factors involved.

The larger and louder than life Grace Jones, Jamaican supermodel, singer and actress has produced her memoirs, in which she devotes a chapter to her resolute lateness for all appointments and even concerts.

Born 19 May 1948 she’s a Sun Taurus square Mars in Virgo – so feisty, stubborn, determined. She’s got an adventurous Jupiter in Sagittarius opposition Uranus; Saturn Pluto in Leo square a Taurus North Node; and a surprisingly sensitive Moon Neptune in Libra square Venus in Cancer. Under that brash exterior is emotional vulnerability. She was brought up initially by religious grandparents and then moved as a teenager to join her parents in New York.

She evidently revels in keeping people waiting – power issues maybe from Saturn Pluto – and then getting more attention from a late entry.

Her Venus which should make her more sensitive to the needs of others has harsh midpoint aspects – conjunct a controlling Sun/Pluto and chilly Sun/Saturn as well as = a ruthless Mars/Pluto = not always kind Mars/Saturn; and a quarrelsome Mars/North Node.

Marlene Jobert, is a French actress and author of children’s books and others on classical music. She was an Algeria-born pied-noir – 4 Nov 1940 6.15pm Algiers -came to France as a child, married a Swedish dentist and has twin daughters, one of them an actress – Eva Green.

She has a very earthy and Fixed chart with a hard-working 6th house Scorpio Sun opposition Jupiter Saturn in Taurus square a 4th house Pluto – so controlling, tough. She also has an Earth Grand Trine of Uranus in Taurus trine a 9th house Capricorn Moon trine a 5th house Neptune; with Uranus opposition Mercury in Scorpio. So practical, talented, a good communicator, creative, lives away from her country of birth (Moon in 9th).

She has Venus in Libra beside Neptune in her performing and child-loving 5th; with Mars in Libra in the 6th square her Moon. She’ll be volatile with that Moon Mars, argumentative at home; plus the emphasised 4th house Pluto making her not the easiest of people to live with.

Her actress daughter Eva Green made her debut with Bertolucci in The Dreamers in her early 20s and has worked constantly since including in Casino Royale. She was born 6 July 1980 (according to her website and Facebook) at 10.05 am in Paris.

She has a friendly 11th house Sun and Mercury in Cancer trine a 4th house Uranus sextiling onto Saturn in Virgo – so a changeable home life, with the emphasis on work. Her 9th house Aries Moon opposes Pluto and squares onto Mercury – so like her mother funnels a good deal of her energy into communication. Her Sun is also square Pluto – so she’d feel fairly controlled by both parents.

She has a charming 10th house Venus in Gemini opposition a 4th house Neptune square Saturn (Mars in 2nd) in Virgo – quite complicated dynamics around family, career and money.

She’ll live abroad (away from France) in her adult life and has a long career ahead of her. Her Sun is conjunct Sirius which promises fame and wealth, though not always happiness. And her Ascendant is conjunct Regulus which also indicates wealth and prominence.

Benjamin Clementine has won the Mercury Prize 2015 for music with his debut album. Born in Ghana, 7 Dec 1988, he grew up in London, then left his family to sleep rough in Paris busking to eat before he made his first album. His vocal range has been compared to Nina Simone and his passionate vocal delivery to Edith Piaf.

He’s another of the triple conjunction generation of Saturn Uranus Neptune in Capricorn, like Adele and several of the Paris terrorists. It was always going to produce an individualistic set of people – chaotic, highly strung, with potential for fanaticism, and for some tinged with genius.
He has a Sun Mercury in Sagittarius trine Mars in Aries. Piaf – same Sagittarius Sun trine Mars in Leo. And an intense Venus Pluto Moon in Scorpio. His Mars is square Neptune Saturn Uranus – so quite volatile, suited to showbiz but used to a tough life and a rule-breaker.

His Pluto is trine a Pisces North Node, sextiling onto Neptune – so creative and musical.

Kamel Daoud is an Algerian journalist and novelist whose first novel The Meursault Investigations won the Prix Goncourt amongst others. He’s had a fatwa issued against him for his writings on Islam (see Saudi Arabia below).

Born 17 June 1970 in Algeria, he’s a Sun Gemini square Pluto, trine Jupiter in Libra; with Pluto in a tough trine to Saturn in Taurus; and a high-adrenaline Mars in Cancer square Uranus. So a mix of communicative, determined, fair-minded and used to risk.

He’s got creative quintiles linking Sun Venus and Pluto in his 5th Harmonic. His even more creative 7th Harmonic is exceptionally strong with two Grand Trines. His ‘obsessive dream’ 11th is also marked; as is his leaving-a-legacy-for-history 17H.

He’s got a fairly tough 2016/17 ahead with tr Pluto trine his Saturn and into 2017 tr Saturn opposition his Sun and square his Pluto.

There’s an outspoken (and much-needed) piece in yesterday’s New York Times by Algerian novelist Kamel Daoud. It became their most emailed story, so the pressure is building on Saudi Arabia.

‘Black Daesh, white Daesh. The former slits throats, kills, stones, cuts off hands, destroys humanity’s common heritage and despises archaeology, women and non-Muslims. The latter is better dressed and neater but does the same things. The Islamic State; Saudi Arabia. In its struggle against terrorism, the West wages war on one, but shakes hands with the other. This is a mechanism of denial, and denial has a price: preserving the famous strategic alliance with Saudi Arabia at the risk of forgetting that the kingdom also relies on an alliance with a religious clergy that produces, legitimizes, spreads, preaches and defends Wahhabism, the ultra-puritanical form of Islam that Daesh feeds on.’ http://goo.gl/Bz1xI8

In military terms Saudi Arabia is training Syrian troops to combat ISIL and has suffered attacks within its own borders. But it still practices an extreme form of Islamism, this week condemning a Palestinian poet for apostasy (abandoning the Muslim faith). It also has the highest rate of executions, in the world, usually beheadings; one of only four countries that carries them out publicly.

The relationship chart between Saudi Arabia 1902/DAESH 2006 does show distinct signs of slump and separation with the tr Neptune square tr Saturn hitting on the composite Sun at 7 Sagittarius at the moment; and tr Saturn then continuing to conjunct the composite Mars Jupiter Mercury Venus in 2016/17; as well as tr Uranus conjunct the composite Neptune.

Which doesn’t mean that Saudi Arabia will abandon Wahhabism or move into the 21st Century. They may just regard Daesh/Isil as a troublesome neighbour but it may become more difficult for Western leaders to offer unconditional support to Saudi Arabia in return for stratospheric defence sales, if public pressure grows.

Further thought on Daesh/Isil: Next year their Uranus at 11 degrees Pisces will be hit by a tr Neptune conjunction and squared by tr Saturn; and critically will be triggered by the September Virgo Eclipse which falls closely opposition their Uranus squaring Mars in Sagittarius. That plus tr Uranus opposition their Sun Mars will be violent and exceedingly challenging.
Not that destroying them will be the answer to all woes since there is likely to be: 1) a vacuum in Syria and Iraq which will require a political strategy of a robust variety unseen in any previous Western interferences in Afghanistan or Iraq or Libya. 2) The disaffected who won’t be fighting in the Middle East will come back/or not leave to wreak havoc on Europe and elsewhere.

As light relief and to ensure normal life continues:- singer Adele has a new album out, which is amazon’s most pre-ordered ever. Given that her last album sold 30 million it looks good for her.
Born 5 May 1988 2.02am London (astrotheme), she’s mouthy, talks constantly, swears a lot, jokes and has been written off by critics as singing boring music. She should care.
She has Sun Jupiter in the 3rd opposition Pluto square a 1st house Mars in Aquarius so quite a heavyweight personality, pushily-confident, uncompromising and determined to go her own way.
She’s also got the triple conjunction in Capricorn with Neptune trine her Sun Jupiter; and Saturn Uranus and a Sagittarius Moon all opposition Venus square a North Node in Pisces. Emotionally quite volatile. Her Venus is in the entertaining 5th.

Tr Saturn is now moving through her 10th so a peak for her, stretching on till 2020. With tr Jupiter moving through her 8th at the moment and on till late 2017 giving her business finances a boost.

Her first hit album when she was 20 came with tr Pluto conjunct her Uranus and then through what must have been dizzying and stressful success tr Pluto crossed her Saturn and more recently Neptune with tr Uranus pitching in as well. It can’t have been easy for her.

At the moment tr Pluto is trine her Jupiter and will continue off and on to trine her Sun till late 2016 – so very progressive for her.