The bewildering alternative universe of crypto currency which makes hedge fund derivatives look sane in comparison has taken a knock with the collapse of Sam Bankman-Fried’s FTX.

   Bankman-Fried, a week ago was among the most respected figures in the sector with a $24bn personal fortune and close links with Wall Street and celebrities. He advertised during the US Super Bowl, was a leading donor to the Democratic party and  spent tens of millions of dollars over the past year trying to reshape how Washington and the world think about finance and his crypto exchange. The company he founded FTX, had become an industry-dominating business in just three years, valued at $32 billion as recently as January. It had less than $1bn in easily sellable assets against $9bn in liabilities before it went bankrupt last week. 

 The Washington Post remarked: “Just a few months ago, Bankman-Fried was toasted as crypto’s Warren Buffett; now he’s drawing comparisons to convicted fraudster Elizabeth Holmes.”

   He was born 6 March 1992 with two Stanford University law academic parents and is a Sun Pisces in a confident, expansive opposition to Jupiter, trine an influential Pluto and sextile Uranus Neptune in Capricorn.  The Uranus Neptune marks him out as a poster-child of his generation – highly-strung, inventive, not always good at listening to advice. He also has a hard-edged, determined and unsentimental Saturn Mars conjunct in Aquarius with Venus nearby.

  His 10^th harmonic is the strongest – it refers to the wheel of fortune – what rises high also falls low.

  If his birth date is accurate then the full impact of his failure may not become obvious for a few months or there will be significant repercussions.  From March 2023 onwards he has tr Pluto in Aquarius bearing down on his Mars/Uranus and Mars/Neptune midpoint and his Saturn/Uranus and Saturn/Neptune midpoints. Followed in 2024/25 by his Solar Arc Mars Saturn conjunct his Sun.

 FTX was founded on 8 May 2019 in the Bahamas/Antigua giving it a Taurus Sun which caught the recent Lunar Eclipse. It was trine the tough and can-be-self-destructive Saturn Pluto in Capricorn, which had moved by Solar Arc to close the conjunction this year. There was also an ‘adventurous’, risk-taking Mars opposition Jupiter square an unrealistic/slippery Neptune. Mars Jupiter in hard aspect can be associated with the misuse of others’ money and is being undermined by tr Neptune in square this year and next.

   Pluto in Capricorn started with hedge funders running riot and tripping up and may well be about to finish with the next generation of money magicians falling flat on their face.

Joe Biden has been giving every indication of standing again in 2024 which makes the Democrat Mid Term surprise results a victory with a price. A poll before the midterms found that more than half of Democrat and Democrat-leaning voters wanted a different nominee, a figure that rose to 75 per cent among those under 40. Exit polling showed that two thirds of all Americans don’t want him to seek a second term.

  His lucky Sun/Jupiter midpoint stood him in good stead for these elections but runs out early this December. The Solar Eclipse opposition his 5^th house Moon appears (as yet) to have had no obvious effect.

  Moving ahead his 2023 will be blighted by tr Pluto square his Sun/Neptune midpoint from mid February 2023 onwards running on and off till late 2024. Ebertin describes this as emotional or physical suffering, or a tragic deception. It could be illness or a devastating scandal and whatever else it accompanies there’ll be a general sense of chaos and lack of clear thinking.

  He does pick up a Jupiterian surge of confidence and success from late February 2024 with tr Pluto opposition his Jupiter/Pluto midpoint which repeats through the year and is exact over the 2025 Inauguration. But it runs alongside a series of disappointing and disaster-prone influences as well. If he did run and get in which isn’t a racing certainty he will run into the buffers in a major way in 2025.

  The Democratic Party chart from 13 May 1792 has a Taurus Sun Mercury square Pluto (Moon) in Aquarius. Tr Uranus will be exactly conjunct the Pluto and square the Sun over the 2025 Inauguration. The previous times there were hard aspects from tr Uranus was in 2001 with Uranus in Aquarius square Saturn in Taurus – over George W Bush’s first term. And before then when Gerald Ford took over from Nixon – both republican presidents.

NB: Can everyone remember this is an astrology forum not a political one. While some background can be illuminating, personal political preferences should be saved for elsewhere.   

For a man who won convincingly in the race for Governor in Florida and is being talked up as the Republican presidential nominee for 2024, Ron DeSantis is not looking overtly happy. Either the lack of a red tsunami is causing him concern or he’s wincing at Trump’s sneers.

  He’s a practical and communicative Sun Virgo in a not-always-realistic and can-be-slippery square to Neptune with an outspoken Aquarius Moon; and a persuasive Venus Uranus in Scorpio with good-for-PR Venus square Jupiter.

  Without a birth time there’s precious little on DeSantis’s chart, 14 September 1978, to suggest a triumphant surge at the moment. He has a trapped, frustrated tr Pluto square his Mars till early December alongside a confused Mercury/Neptune and teeth-gritting Mercury/Pluto; with Uranus hitting his career-loss-making Jupiter/Saturn.

  From February 2024, he’ll be raring to go with tr Pluto square his Jupiter though in for a fairly ferocious battle with tr Pluto trine his Mars/Saturn midpoint at the same time, throughout 2025 as well.  2028 will be a high point of success and confidence with his Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct his Sun.

  Trump is throwing a textbook display of narcissistic rage at being blamed for GOP failures in the Mid Terms, is outraged at being dumped by the Murdoch media and has been sneering contemptuously at DeSantis. 

 He has a dead-halt and totally-trapped Solar Arc Mars within minutes of a degree in square to his Pluto so it is exactly on cue. His Solar Arc Pluto is also moving to square his Saturn, exact in April/May 2023 which won’t have him leaping for joy either. If his birth time is accurate, by the 2024 election he has Uranus just putting a toe into his 10^th with tr Neptune on the cusp of his 8^th and tr Pluto on the cusp of his 6^th – so his life will be facing a major transition on several fronts. He does have Jupiter moving through his 10^th from May 2024 which can be successful or it can be a period of grandstanding. But he looks in shock in October 2024 with tr Uranus square his Mars; and down in the dumps over the Inauguration.

  His relationship with DeSantis which always was designed for a oneupmanship battle with a composite Jupiter Pluto conjunction is sagging badly understandably through 2023/24.

  For what it is worth – since I don’t rate political party charts much – the Republican Party, 12 October 1853, has a blocked Solar Arc Mars square Pluto now and the recent Solar Eclipse opposition the Pluto in Taurus – as they contemplate their regrets about not dumping Trump and indeed for having packed SCOTUS with right-wing ideologues out of step with the electorate.  There is also a forced-reform Solar Arc Uranus opposition Pluto now. So it does look reasonably OK as a chart for accuracy. 2024 has the Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct the Rep North Node which will help. It is not as obviously upbeat as it was for GWB or Reagan’s inaugurations but doesn’t have any majorly blocked influences either.

  Trump will continue to slide in popularity with the party through 2023 into 2024. There’s a degree of confusion about DeSantis in 2023 but overall he looks a better fit and in good fettle with the GOP over the 2024 election.

ADD ON: Ron DeSantis’ wife Casey, 26 June 1980, mother of his three children, is a former TV presenter, his close confidante on political matters and is rumoured to have ambitions to become the next Kennedy-clone family to inhabit the White House.

  She does have leadership abilities with a Leo North Node and strong, not to say dogmatic opinions with Mercury in Cancer square Pluto and trine Uranus. Her family-oriented Cancer Sun is in a lucky sextile to Jupiter. But what is striking in her chart is a hard-edged Mars Saturn in Virgo square Venus opposition Neptune (Moon) in Sagittarius. Emotionally she’s all over the place – unrealistic at one level and prone to becoming a victim but capable of giving as good as she gets as well, the older she becomes. She’ll be passive-aggressive, gritting her teeth and then letting fly.

  Her synastry with Ron is not all sweetness and light with his Virgo Sun conjunct her Saturn Mars for irritations and eruptions; and his Saturn dampening her enthusiasm as it is conjunct her Jupiter. Plus his Mars makes an argumentative square to her Mercury.

   Their relationship chart works marginally better – with a composite Sun conjunct a supportive and lucky Mercury Jupiter trine Neptune sextile Pluto – high ambition, grandiose hopes and good fortune. Though with the Sun Jupiter square Uranus it only works as long as there is constant outside stimulation and not too much 24/7 togetherness. Jupiter in Gemini at the 2024/25 election/inauguration will give them both a boost.

  Her personal chart looks panicked and undermined through 2023 with tr Neptune opposition her Mars and a Jupiter midpoint. Though she’ll have upbeat phases as well. Late-ish 2025 looks to be her glory time of supreme confidence as her Solar Arc Jupiter is conjunct her Pluto.

Sweden signed in a new centre-right coalition government on October 18th which represents a sharp shift to the right ousting the centre-left Social Democrats who had been in power for 8 years. Ulf Kristersson, the new prime minister, promised expanded police powers to fight violent criminal gangs that have grown more powerful in recent years and also indicated a “paradigm shift” on immigration, ending decades of liberal immigration policies. About 20 percent of Sweden’s 10 million residents are foreign-born, many of them refugees from war-torn countries including Syria, Iraq, Afghanistan and Somalia.

  Opposition politicians have accused the new coalition of shattering Sweden’s international reputation as a tolerant, welcoming nation. He aims to expand nuclear power and backed the bid by Sweden and neighbouring Finland to join NATO.

  The Government chart, 18 October 2022 12 noon, has a charming Sun Venus in Libra in the 10^th in an ideologically-inclined Air Grand Trine to Mars in the financial 8^th trine Saturn in Aquarius. Mars is inconjunct Pluto which along with the Sun Pluto square hints at a controlling administration which will take an aggressive and perhaps subversive approach to law and order.  And face financial headaches (along with everyone else).

 Kristersson, 29 December 1963, is a Capricorn Sun with Mars Mercury in Capricorn and Uranus Pluto in Virgo – ambitious, conservative, ruthless and confident. He’ll run into a swamp by 2024/5 with his Solar Arc Neptune conjunct his Mars.

 The Sweden 6 June 1523 chart is sagging somewhat through 2023 with tr Neptune square the Gemini Sun and undergoing radical changes with tr Pluto trine the Uranus in 2023/24.

 The Sweden 7 December 1865 chart is also wilting in 2023 from Solar Arc Neptune square the Sun. And like the Bank of Sweden chart will be further undermined when Neptune moves into Aries from 2025 onwards.

The culture clash that was inevitable after Qatar was handed the 2022 World Cup has turned into a smash with one of the country’s ambassadors describing homosexuality as “a damage in the mind”. Sepp Blatter, former FIFA head, also admitted publicly that it had been a bad decision with murmurs of political pressure from the French and allegations of corruption in the voting process.

Qatar is an absolute monarchy with an appalling record for human and women’s rights, for mistreating migrant workers, more than 6500 of whom have died since Qatar was granted the World Cup. Homosexuality is illegal in Qatar under Islamic Sharia law and is punished by imprisonment.

  Western ambassadors such as David Beckham have been heavily criticised for taking large sums of money to give a veneer of respectability to the event. See previous post David Beckham: 25 October 2021.

  It kicks off at 7pm on 20 November and runs until 18 December. The start chart is a curious mix of confident and successful with a Scorpio Sun trine Jupiter sextile Pluto – though with an over hopeful, scandal-prone Neptune thrown in for good measure.

  Though there’s also a high-tension Saturn square Uranus as well. And more problematic, a volatile Mars in Gemini on the focal point of a strained Yod to Pluto sextile Sun. There’s no real chance of major unrest since the authorities will no doubt deal firmly with any who step out of line. But resentment will simmer.

  The ruler Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, 3 June 1980, is a Sun Gemini square Mars Saturn in Virgo and trine Pluto so fairly rigid and austere in his attitude. He took over on 25 June 2013 when there was an insular and controlling Water Grand Trine/Kite of Saturn in Scorpio trine Neptune trine Sun opposition Pluto. That chart looks emotionally ramped up until early December with perhaps a restive population and disappointments in January 2023. 2024/25 through till 2027 look to be more on a downhill slide with tr Neptune square the Jupiter then the Sun on one leg of the central Grand Trine.

  Qatar itself, 1 September 1971, has an inward looking 4^th house Sun Venus and controlling Pluto with a dogmatic-beliefs Mars in Aquarius in the 9^th.  It looks upbeat through 2023 with tr Pluto sextile the Jupiter and trine Pluto.  

Sport and money – bad combination.

Princess Martha Louise, eldest daughter of the King of Norway though only fourth in line, has relinquished her royal duties to focus on her alternative medicine business with her fiance, Durek Verrett, an American  shaman who has claimed to be able to cure cancer/covid and reverse ageing and is bisexual. The palace said that once the princess and Verrett were wed he would become a member of the royal family but would not have a title or represent the monarchy. They have agreed to refrain from any association with the royal family in their social media channels, media productions and commercial activities.

  Her first husband, an author and artist, died in 2019 by suicide. He had struggled with alcoholism and mental health problems.

  She was born 22 September 1971 at 5.07 pm in Oslo, Norway and has a chart where her ancestral legacy looms large with an 8^th house Virgo Sun conjunct Pluto and Venus in Libra with Uranus and a Scorpio Moon also in her 8^th. Intense, secretive, driven by unconscious forces she doesn’t understand and indeed by circumstances outwith her control, she herself claims to be clairvoyant.

  She has a determined, defiant Mars in Aquarius on her Ascendant; and a head-in-the-clouds Jupiter Neptune in Sagittarius in her 9th in a creative though also neurotic opposition to Saturn in Gemini.

  Her unaspected Moon will make her vulnerable, feeling under-supported and can be traumatizing. She was not handed an easy hand of cards to play in life.

  Durek Verrett, 17 November 1974, is an intense and charming Sun Venus in Scorpio with an ultra-determined Mars Mercury also in Scorpio. He will resonate with her heavy 8^th house chart, though their relationship chart is horrifyingly difficult. There is a needs-space Sun Uranus conjunction square an adventurous Jupiter – that latter often pops up in unlikely romances that seemed a good idea initially but don’t stand the test of time. More difficult by  a multiple of a hundred is a one-sided, controlling, can be unkind/cruel composite Saturn opposition Mars square Pluto. That is nasty.

Unless his birth date is way out – this one is unlikely to survive as a happy-ever-after union.

  Her first husband Ari Behn, had a Libra Sun, Pluto and Mars in late Virgo conjunction falling in her 8^th as well as his Mercury Uranus so another tricky match.  

Pic: Twitter

Mastodon is being talked up as a replacement for twitter users upset by Elon Musk’s arrival. It is an open-sourced, decentralized federated social network platform with “stringent anti-abuse and anti-discrimination policies”. It was started in 2016 by a young German software developer, Eugen Rochko (born 1993) who had become disappointed with Twitter. ‘Toots’ as opposed to tweets allow for twice the length at 500 characters.

  Despite an upsurge in users it will have a long way to go to match Twitter’s 300 million or thereabout foot traffic.

  Mastodon was launched on 16 March 2016 and in stable version on 26 May 2016 – with both charts being highly mutable. The original launch chart which is probably the best guide has no enduring Fixed planets in contrast to Twitter’s four and has a Pisces Sun plus three other Pisces planets with Jupiter in Virgo and Mars and Saturn in Sagittarius – such a scattered chart does fit with a federated set up and although Pluto trine Jupiter will be successful it might not have the staying power.

  It will have to contend with tr Neptune conjunct the Pisces Sun in 2023/24 which will be lacklustre plus discouraging tr Saturn in Pisces in hard aspect to the other Mutable planets through 2023 and 2024.

  Twitter will sag also through 2023 with tr Neptune square the Pluto, pulling away its influence; and will be hardest hit by tr Neptune Saturn conjunct the Sun by 2025. It isn’t heading into a successful rebirth under Musk.   It’s a brave new world ahead waiting on completely new outlets for venting.

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Guaranteed to light up the tabloids the ‘theatre of cruelty’ that is I’m a Celebrity in the jungle is back watched by millions and sneered at by the critics.

  Early notables are Mike Tindall, the ex-rugby international husband of Zara, Princess Anne’s daughter, and the not-yet-appeared Matt Hancock, another laughing stock Tory MP, whose TV appearance has led to his ejection from the Parliamentary party.

  Tindall, 18 October 1978, is reckoned to be in with a shout to win. He is a stalwart and personable Sun Pluto in Libra with a heavyweight collection of Venus, Mars, Uranus and Mercury in Scorpio, a Taurus Moon and a sensible Saturn in Virgo. On the upside he has a fortunate tr Pluto trine his Jupiter/Uranus midpoint all month and tr Jupiter opposition his Mars/Jupiter at the exit – though that latter may also be relief at having escaped more or less in one piece. His temper will start to fray from mid month onwards with tr Saturn square his Mars which will also be accident prone.

   Word from viewers is he looks likely to cross swords with soap opera actor Owen Warner, 8 June 1999, which seems not unlikely with Owen’s Mars conjunct Mike’s Sun and their Saturn and Pluto at odds. Their relationship chart has a hostile Mars Pluto conjunction  and a suspicious Saturn opposition Saturn.  

Matt Hancock, 2 October 1978, only two weeks older than Tindall, is another Libra with his Sun, Mercury, Moon and Pluto there; and three volatile Scorpio planets with an impulsive Mars square Jupiter. He looks emotionally on edge and feeling less than loved and appreciated with the tr Saturn square tr Uranus hitting on his Venus and Venus/Uranus midpoint and will be generally nerve-stretched and off balance.

  Singer Boy George, 14 June 1961, has also taken his life and dignity in his hands to be a camp inmate. He is a Sun Gemini sextile a lively, uncompromising Mars Uranus in Leo with an emphasised Jupiter in Aquarius on the focal point of a Fixed T Square to Venus in Taurus opposition Neptune. He’s in the mood for an adventure with his Solar Arc Sun conjunct his Mars Uranus around now but may wonder if he’s bitten off more than he can chew. Tr Neptune is square his Sun exactly this month which can be debilitating though he’ll have some(admittedly minor) upbeat moments later this month.

  His Mars Uranus in Leo may clash somewhat with Tindall and Hancock’s heavy Scorpio planets though their Airy Suns will chime.   

Gavin Williamson, the Tory cabinet minister, regularly lampooned by commentators as a bad joke, has used up his nine lives and more. He has over the years made repeated gaffes, two of which saw him ousted from May and Johnson’s cabinets and he now looks to be going the same way from Sunak’s round table. The astonishment is he was ever there in the first place. He has a reputation as an inveterate plotter and knows where the  bodies are buried from his time as Chief Whip. But the bullying allegations he now faces show no signs of going away.

  Born 25 June 1976 in Scarborough, he has a Sun Venus in Cancer square Pluto and trine Uranus – charming, controlling and defiant with his Uranus also in a can-be-autocratic Saturn in wannabe important Leo. His Mars in flamboyant Leo is in an opportunistic and risk-taking square to Jupiter.

  This coming January looks like his downfall with tr Saturn throwing a significant setback in his way as it opposes his Mars plus a trapped, enraged tr Pluto opposition his Sun/Mars midpoint. He will recover to  push ahead with full brass-neck polished by late March but from April runs into career losses, one and off into 2024.

  His relationship chart with Rishi Sunak isn’t great at the best of times with a bad-tempered/mutual dislike Mars Saturn conjunction and a oneupmanship Jupiter square Pluto. It runs into the buffers come February 2023.

  He’ll no doubt bounce back in his usual brazen way but will crash into an obstacle even he can’t climb over easily by 2024 when his Solar Arc Mars is conjunct his Pluto.