Contemplating the UK’s about-to-self-destruct-financial -services industry on Brexit, a thought struck me. Pluto moved into Capricorn in 2008 whose purpose is to bring about a complete transformation of the way governments are run and money is handled at a macro-economic level.

The Lehman Brothers/sub-prime/banking collapse happened in 2007/08, sending countries globally into a downward spiral for a few years. But the banksters didn’t end up in prison, power-hosed out of the Augean stables. They kept their bonuses, prospered and the taxpayers took the pain.

Pluto is around till 2024 and its action, as anyone who has suffered under its yoke knows, is very slow and results only come after considerable angst. It razes old structures down to ashes, leaving devastation, and only then can new growth begin. Transformation is a scary process which sweeps away old certainties and leaves what feels like a vacuum before the rebuild starts. You have to die symbolically before you can be reborn.

The UK was always going to be more at risk in this operation since it is heavily dependent on the financial sector – its industrial and manufacturing capacity having been decimated during Maggie Thatcher’s time.  Until recently it was known as the financial capital of the world.

So it may be that the UK is unwittingly leading the field into the next stage of Pluto’s deconstruction. Tearing down the old, tossing what was once great (for some) onto the scrapheap. Hopefully in preparation for making the wholesale changes that are necessary. Don’t ask me how!

Given that Brexit was as much a vote against the political establishments in Westminster and Brussels as anything, it is also the other facet of Pluto in Capricorn. Of which, to a ludicrous extent, Trump is also an example and the far-left and far-right uprisings all over Europe. All expressions of the mainstream kicking against an outdated status quo.

Seen in the broader context of Pluto in Capricorn, it begins to make more sense. Which isn’t to say it will be a) be easy; or b) turn out well. Russia tried for Perestroika and fell back into the bad old ways; Egypt went for revolution and got landed with a military dictator. Pluto’s power hungry ways are not easily diverted.

I don’t use Ingress charts much, but for what it’s worth. The Pluto Ingress of 2008 set for London has the tr Neptune square tr Saturn hitting on the MC exactly now. With a focal point Mars in the 8^th square a Moon opposition a 4^th house Uranus – the effect will be financial and governmental with a highly rebellious, angry population. Three planets in the 2^nd also amplify the financial effect.

Set for Brussels, the midheaven moves on 5 degrees which will catch the tr Saturn square later this year, but not get the tr Neptune opposition MC until 2019.It’s still financial though less markedly so; but with an even more restive domestic population since Uranus is within a degree conjunct the IC.

Washington, DC, gets a different slant with the emphasised focal point Mars on the MC and less domestic unrest.

Along the way of Pluto’s majestic and destructive sweep through Capricorn we have Uranus moving into materialistic Taurus in 2018 for seven years though never actually making the trine to Pluto.  More pertinently there is the Saturn Pluto conjunction of 2019/2020. Saturn Pluto is a winter phase, repressive, a bringer of hardship. But it is joined in 2020 by Jupiter in Capricorn which attracts material bounty.

The benefits of Pluto in Capricorn may only turn up very late in the game.

As expected (astrologically speaking) the revamped BBC Top Gear with Chris Evans in the driving seat has hit major problems with sagging ratings and now media stories of an ultimatum from co-host Matt Le Blanc that Chris Evans be removed because he shouts at staff.

Media tales need to be taken with a pinch of salt. But two things were and are abundantly clear from the astrology. Firstly that Chris Evans, 1 April 1966, with tr Pluto square his Mars in Aries was going to be facing huge frustrations, aggravation and deadlock throughout 2016/17. He’ll have a few ups in 2017 but not too many.

Matt LeBlanc, 25 July 1967 4.18 am Newton, Massachusetts, is also facing irritations and challenges though of less magnitude. What is significant is that tr Pluto is hovering on the cusp of his 7^th house, moving forward from this December onwards. This is often when relationships get to breaking point, either personal or professional.

There are some things going for their relationship since CE’ Leo Moon is conjunct ML’s Jupiter. But CE’s Saturn in Pisces is conjunct ML’s Moon and MC which will have a dampening effect. CE’s Aries Sun (boosted by Mars) is also conjunct ML’s Saturn in the 10th house. So his wild and wayout approach will unsettle ML’s more disciplined approach to work.

Their relationship chart has a friendly composite Sun opposition Venus, in a sensible sextile/trine to Saturn which is fine for work. There’s also an adventurous Mars opposition Jupiter. But some difficulty communicating clearly with each other with the composite Mercury opposition Neptune and Mercury in a Grand Trine to impatient Mars trine an explosive Uranus Pluto.

Into 2017 tr Pluto will oppose the composite Jupiter which often coincides with one-upmanship struggles; at the same time it trines the afflicted Mercury which will bring intense and possibly deadlocked discussions between them. Then tr Uranus will square the composite Mars in April when there’s likely to be an explosion.

Top Gear which used to make the BBC gzillions when Clarkson was stomping around, was never a great fit for Evans. It launched 22 April 1977 and the Top Gear Pluto opposes Evans’ Sun Mars so will make him feel restricted and trapped; plus Evan’s Saturn is conjunct the Top Gear Mars which will bring a bad chemistry.

The Top Gear/ Chris Evans relationship chart has a composite Sun at 21 Aries which will get a sharp elbow this November and again in Feb 2017. That can often be a separating aspect. And may indeed come before then depending on the degree of his Moon.

UK politics is in meltdown with the Tory leader/prime minister on his way out the door and the opposition leader, Jeremy Corbyn, facing mass resignations from his shadow cabinet and open mutiny for his lack-lustre campaigning.

Just one more thought on the UK chart. The September Virgo Solar Eclipse at the same degree as over Princess Diana’s death, falls in the UK’s 12^th house – as the country goes into the throes of what feels like a national nervous breakdown.

Of the front runners for the keys to No 10, who will be elected by Tory MPs not the electorate, the two on the face of it with most uplifting influences are Boris Johnson and Theresa May (a quiet Remainer).

TM, 1 Oct 1956, (no birth time) has a successful and confident tr Pluto trine her 17 degree Jupiter through 2016/17. That doesn’t come exact again until next January, which may be too late for an October election. Though she does have tr Uranus opposition her Jupiter/Node at the moment through till early September. Depends when the election is held, pre or post the Tory Party Conference.  She has a setback tr Saturn square her Mars in mid October; and worse from April 2017 she has tr Neptune conjunct her Mars which is panicky failure, running for a year thereafter. Mind you if she did get the job, she’d be facing several mountains to climb with a fractured party and country, and a hornets’ nest in Brussels.

Boris Johnson, 19 June 1964 2pm New York, does have tr Pluto trine his Jupiter mid June to early September and again mid October to late November. But that also pulls on his Neptune which is natally exactly opposition his Jupiter – so could be high hopes which have to sober up fast. He looks blocked and panicky for the next three months with tr Neptune in opposition to his Pluto and tr Saturn square, as he contemplates how to make good on his electioneering promises to Brexiters.

His relationship chart with the UK looks in for disappointment and unpopularity as the tr Neptune square tr Saturn and the September Solar Eclipse all home in on the composite Moon.  There’s a composite Mars opposition Neptune on this chart which suggests the relationship is good for publicity and glamour, a bit of showbiz pzazz, less so for mutually beneficial support. Though his Midheaven does sit on the UK’s midheaven so he or his ambitions will have a significant effect on the UK.

His relationship chart with the Tory Party has as much positive as negative – a friendly composite Sun Venus, though with a fair amount of irritation from Mars; some uplift from Jupiter but also a chained-together and resenting it Saturn opposition Pluto. That relationship does not look at all happy through this summer and beyond with the tr Saturn square tr Neptune hitting on the composite Sun (and the Eclipse exactly); and tr Pluto conjunct Saturn.

They may be landed with him, loose cannon or not, since it’s difficult to see how a Remainer PM could sort out negotiations with Brussels, let alone Parliament, of whom the vast majority of members are Remainers. Indeed at this stage it is difficult to see how the complex acts needed for exit will get passed by MPs who fundamentally disagree with them.

Of the others, George Osborne, 23 May 1971, looks crushed with tr Pluto conjunct his Solar Arc Jupiter Neptune opposition his SArc Sun across the next few months.

Michael Gove, 28 Aug 1967, says he won’t stand. Like Boris he looks shell-shocked over coming months with the Eclipse bouncing off his Venus in Virgo and the tr Neptune square tr Saturn hitting his Sun/Uranus and Sun/Pluto midpoints. For a winner he looks pretty disconsolate.

Jeremy Corbyn’s leadership chart, 12 September 2015 11.42am, looks undermined certainly at the moment with the composite Moon getting the tr Neptune square tr Saturn and Eclipse all hitting it across the next few months. But the really de-stabilising influences don’t pick up until after tr Saturn square the composite Sun this December; and more so when tr Pluto starts to square the Uranus from March 2017 onwards for two years.

His personal chart, 26 May 1949, is due for a major upset from Uranus square his Sun, any time from late 2016, into 2017.  No birth time so exact date not known.

Northern Ireland, having voted 55% to remain in the EU, (part of Belfast 75%), looks exceedingly unhappy over the coming two to three years.

There are two Northern Ireland charts – 7 Dec 1922 3.28pm Belfast, on joining the UK; and 28 September 1912.

The 1922 chart has a double whammy shock at the moment from Solar Arc Uranus opposition Sun; and tr Uranus square the Cancer Moon. The tr Saturn square tr Neptune and the September Solar Eclipse are all homing in on the NIrel Uranus at 9 Pisces over coming months – so high anxiety.

Tr Pluto is square the NI Saturn through 2016/17 which looks economically and emotionally depressed; with Solar Arc Saturn also opposition the Moon in 2017. And an undermining tr Neptune square Sun Mercury in 2017/18.

2018 sees the deprived/hardship Solar Arc Pluto conjunct Saturn which does not look upbeat as a major change of direction comes with tr Uranus square MC. 2019 is a financial slide with Solar Arc Neptune conjunct Venus.

The 1912 chart has a trapped, frustrated, angry tr Pluto square Mars in 2016/17; with a nervy tr Uranus square Neptune in 2017. 2018 sees tr Uranus square Uranus for a major change at the same time as the Solar Arc Pluto is conjunct Mars, which is a total roadblock.

Northern Ireland is in a different situation to Scotland, since there is the ever tendentious problem of the Eurozone Republic of Ireland. With the memory of the 20^th Century troubles still looming large, the prospect of a united Ireland is a non-starter.  Economic woes plus the risks attendant on installing a ‘hard’ border with the south will no doubt be preying on their minds.

Nicola Sturgeon isn’t just calling for another independence referendum, she’s contacting Brussels to see how to negotiate Scotland staying in the EU. What a horlicks of a mess.

The Act of Union between Scotland and England/Wales became a reality on 1 May 1707 JC (OS). There’s substantially more aggravation on this chart than even for the IndyRef Mark 1 in 2014. Tr Uranus is conjunct the Neptune and square Mars right through into early 2017; with tr Pluto opposing Mars for implacable hostility in 2018/19. By 2018 the Solar Arc MC is conjunct the Union Moon and Solar Arc Sun will oppose the Moon by 2019 which does suggest divergent paths.

Nicola Sturgeon is aiming for a major lucky break from mid 2017 as tr Uranus opposes her Jupiter and oddly enough her relationship chart with the EU has the composite Jupiter at the same degree/sign, so they may hand her a get-out. She’s also got tr Uranus trine her MC now so a positive change of direction, with much heavy negotiation through 2017 when her Solar Arc Mercury is conjunct her Pluto.

The continental media, especially German and French, are putting the blame for the Brexit debacle squarely at the feet of the EU bureaucracy and saying it’s a wake-up call. Whether that will sink into the feather-bedded, gold-plate-pensioned civil service mentality is questionable.

What is showing on the EU chart at the moment is Solar Arc Uranus square the Sun within 6 minutes of a degree (one tenth) – which is certainly a severe enough jolt. The tr Saturn square tr Neptune is also hitting on the 10 degree Pisces EU Sun/Moon midpoint this year. Tr Saturn can mean separation or divorce here; and Neptune the undermining of associations. Tr Saturn hits it one more time in July this year and tr Neptune continues on into early 2017. So it could loosen more relationships along the way.

The UK 1801 chart on a more considered look does have Solar Arc Sun exactly square the 8^th house Mars, exact in three months’ time.  The anxiety is that Brexit will hit the financial services industry, in London and also Edinburgh badly. Tr Saturn is quincunx that Mars at the moment and tr Neptune will soon sextile Mars.

Mars in the 8^th does represent business and international finances, but also at a psychological level points to a good deal of buried anger, which is clearly getting a sharp elbow at the moment.

The Solar Arc Midheaven will square Mars late in 2017 for another sharp shock.

What’s interesting astrologically is there is little happening to the UK MC or Solar Arc MC for such a momentous event. What is being keyed up is the Aries North Node in the 7^th which at 14 Aries is opposition the UK Sun/Moon midpoint in Libra – tr Pluto returns for a final time this September/Oct to square both. That finishes a longish run of tr Uranus and tr Pluto in hard aspect so there has been an upsurge of wanting to cast off relationships which demand too much compromise. With a 7^th house Node, the UK is not good anyway at one-to-one commitment, especially in Aries, which suggest soul development comes from standing alone.  Plus tr Uranus is now moving through the 7^th till 2018/19.

Since the Node is on the focal point of a T Square to a 10^th house 19 degree Cancer Moon opposition a 4^th house 10 degree Capricorn Sun, it means that the tr Uranus square tr Pluto has been pounding right round these planets now since 2013.  The UK like the EU has an incredibly Fixed chart so doesn’t find change easy.  It took a long time for the elastic to snap.  Tr Pluto  in 2017/18 opposes the 10^th house Moon which represents the ruling classes and also monarchy. So there will be huge and emotionally angst-ridden pressure for change running through this period.

Not the least of which will come from Brexit voters who now say they feel lied to and wish they could change their minds. What was Cameron thinking about?  He could at least have put a 60% threshold of voters for an exit. Two per cent isn’t enough.

Please post below, chirpy and cheerful as well as political.

David Cameron’s ‘lucky’ Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct his Uranus, exact in three months’ time, is obviously his Papandreou moment when he walks away from a horrendous mess in sheer relief. Today on the news of a Brexit win the pound and the markets made historic falls; there’s talk of UK’s credit rating dropping a notch or two; Scotland who voted for Remain is talking of another referendum to leave the UK and stay in the EU which they might well win this time; Northern Ireland also voted Remain and are now facing the prospect of a ‘hard’ border with the Republic which could brew up the old troubles again. Finance houses and banks may well relocate; businesses will stagnate in the interim two or more years of exfiltration. The leaders of the Brexit campaign may find this is a victory which proves to be a poisoned chalice.

The Bank of England, 27 July 1694 10 am, is looking jangled from late November this year with tr Saturn opposition Uranus and the financial Venus; and appears to be in meltdown in 2017 with tr Saturn square Mars and Neptune; and even worse the Solar Arc Sun squares Mars and Neptune in 2017. All of which is panicky and sliding downhill.

David Cameron’s chart, 9 October 1966 5.30am?  London, has another couple of hits of the forced-to-change tr Pluto square his Libra Sun this year and the deeply frustrating tr Pluto square his Solar Arc Mars now till 2018 as he tastes his legacy of failure. However he also has tr Jupiter about to move across his Ascendant in August or thereabouts which will buck him up. Though he’s got the tr Neptune square tr Saturn hitting two of his Mars midpoints and his Sun/Moon through into 2017.  2017 will pick up more Jupiter for him.

His Second Term chart, 8 May 2015 12.30pm, did have Mars conjunct the destructive Fixed star Algol in the 10^th which never sounded like good news. The Term chart hasn’t much of note exactly now though picks up the de-stabilising tr Pluto square Uranus from early 2017 for two years; and if it survives till 2018 the Solar Arc Pluto square Uranus. The government will continue with a new leader, to be announced/elected.

If Article 50 is invoked this year which the sulky EU leaders are calling for, then the UK/EU divorce happens two years thereafter. Tr Saturn will conjunct the EU and UK and composite Sun in late 2018 which could fit the timetable.

The problem for the EU is that other countries now want to follow suit into a referendum, egged on by the far right. The EU chart, 31 December 1957 11pm Brussels, does have a bubble-bursting Solar Arc Pluto conjunct the Jupiter/Neptune midpoint within four minutes of a degree exact now (one fifteenth of a degree); moving on to conjunct Neptune in 2019 which is ditto and ditto and ditto.  Next year they have tr Neptune back to square the Mars/Saturn midpoint, which is around this month, which has a nasty sagging feel to it.

The EU/UK relationship chart has the separating tr Saturn opposition the composite Moon this year; and disappointing tr Neptune square the Moon in 2018/19.  Plus tr Saturn conjunct Sun in 2019 for the final separation. There will be a fair amount of one-upmanship through the next few months as early negotiations begin with tr Pluto trine the composite Jupiter.

There’s a magical story about a little gypsy girl whose mother ran a brothel in Barcelona. She lived as a street kid never attending school, ended up in an orphanage at 10, and was adopted aged 12. Her new parents introduced her to Goya’s paintings in the Prado in Madrid, as well as getting her educated. She is now one of Spain’s most successful artists, her portraits selling for $100,000 and more.

Lita Cabellut was born 24 October 1961 and she’s a Sun Scorpio square Jupiter in Capricorn, sextile Uranus – so determined, lucky, adventurous. She’s also got a showbizzy Neptune Mars in Scorpio sextile Pluto Her Taurus Moon may oppose Neptune, perhaps even Mars – so not an easy emotional life or relationship to her mother.

She has an idealistic Saturn Jupiter conjunction in Capricorn with Saturn 5 degrees before Jupiter, so her life pattern will always be difficulty before success.

When her grandmother died at 10 and she went into the orphanage her Solar Arc Uranus was conjunct her Pluto which would make for a significant change and with her Solar Arc Sun conjunct her Neptune would be confusing. Two years later her Solar Arc Jupiter was square her Neptune, restoring her hope.

A grim 100^th anniversary falls on 1^st July of the Battle of the Somme, the biggest battle of World War 1 between the British and French against the Germans. It was the bloodiest in human history with one million killed or wounded. It started 1 July 1916 and ran until 18 November.

The transiting Saturn Pluto conjunction in Cancer which made its first exact aspect two months after the start of WW1 in 1914, stayed in orb through 1915/16 and Saturn exited Cancer in mid 1917.  When the Battle of the Somme started the Cancer Sun was sitting exactly on the Saturn/Pluto midpoint; Uranus was exactly opposition the Mars/Saturn midpoint with Pluto semi-square Mars/Saturn. Ebertin describes these two as ‘ brutality, the rage and fury of destruction, death of a great many people, test of nervous strength.’ And Saturn was conjunct Neptune/Pluto which Ebertin describes as ‘grievous emotional suffering.’

There was also a Yod in July 1916 of Mars sextile Saturn inconjunct Uranus – so obviously a time of high stress, disruptive and catalytic. German forces were demoralised by their losses which were marginally higher than the allied casualties, and it led to their collapse in 1918 when the war ended with their defeat.