Marjorie

William Friedkin, the film director, revered for his early successes in The French Connection and The Exorcist in the 1970s, has died.

  In The French Connection, brutal cops, Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider track a French heroin smuggler in a  raw, violent, and cynical documentary-style movie which won five Academy Awards.

  Two years later The Exorcist about a 12-year-old girl, who undergoes a harrowing Roman Catholic exorcism to free her from possession by a demon earned him another Academy Award nomination for Best Director. News media reported cinemagoers fainting and vomiting in their seats, and people leaving the theatre shaking and screaming. A cultural phenomenon and one of the highest-grossing movies of all time, it was hailed by some as the greatest horror movie ever made. He continued working for the next several decades up to his death but none ever reached the heights of his early success.

  Friedkin was born 29 August 1935 6.40 am Chicago, IL, and had a 12^th house Sun, Moon, Neptune conjunction in Virgo opposition Saturn and trine an 8^th house Uranus. His 12^th house would be good for creativity, as would his Saturn opposition Neptune and suit him for a behind-the-camera career. The Virgo emphasis making him focused, finicky and hard-working though there’s a regretful, discontented quality to that combination of planets. He also had Pluto trine Mars Jupiter in Scorpio which makes more sense of the ruthlessness in his movies and the fear. Uranus in his 8^th would give him the urge to shine light on the occult or what lies deep down in the darkness.

 His personal life was mixed with three short-lived marriages before he struck it lucky with his 4th to Sherry Lansing, former film studio executive and philanthropist, whom he married in 1991 and was with him to the end. She’s a stalwart Sun Pluto in Leo with an upbeat Jupiter in Virgo which would lift his gloomier tendencies – and her Chiron was conjunct his Neptune.

He had a marked 17^th harmonic chart indicating he would leave a  legacy behind which makes sense since he is reckoned to have revolutionized the horror genre. It links together brutality/fear with Mars Pluto – and high-grade neurosis with Saturn Neptune.  But his strongest harmonic was his 10^th indicating an individual who would be thrown high by the gods of fate and as the wheel of fortune turned would sink low again.

Pic: GuillemMedina

ADD ON: William Peter Blatty, author of the original novel The Exorcist was born 7 January 1928 4am New York, had a 2^nd house Sun Mercury in Capricorn opposition and 8^th house Moon Pluto in Cancer – which would make sense of his obsession with a dark interior world. Though oddly his earlier writing were comic perhaps due to his Mars in Sagittarius square Jupiter Uranus in Pisces. He was brought up in abject poverty by a single mother who was deeply religious.  

Roman Polanski, 18 August 1933 10.30am Paris, France, director of Rosemary’s Baby, was left on his own as a child in Nazi-occupied Poland to which the family had returned, after both his parents were captured.   He also has a starkly emphasised Pluto Moon in Cancer in his 10^th square Mars opposition Uranus – controlling, influential, a life riven with crises and catastrophes, including his conviction for under-age sexual assault.

  Stephen King, the author best known for horror fiction, 21 September 1947 1.30am Portland ME, a Virgo Sun square Uranus, with Saturn Pluto in Leo in his 1^st and Mars in Cancer conjunct his Ascendant from the 12^th. He was also brought up in poverty by a single mother.  It does not seem such a scary chart as the two above.

Mickey Mouseland is struggling to make headway with falling revenues from streaming TV and movies as well as Disneyland fun parks. Bog Iger, the go-getting boss who built up the empire on his first run as CEO buying in Pixar, Marvel, Lucasfilm and most of 21st Century Fox in 2019, then retired garlanded in success. Only to be hauled back in as Disney’s star faded and promptly doubled his projected stay up to 2026. The Hollywood strike is not improving matters nor are aggressively high prices at the fun parks.

  Iger, 10 February 1951 New York, has a turbo-charged chart with an Aquarius Sun opposition Pluto and trine Neptune giving him dizzying levels of ambition. His Neptune sextile Pluto are also on the legs of a Yod onto a high-vitality, super-enthusiastic Mars, North Node, Jupiter, Venus in Pisces – confidence, competitiveness, creativity aplenty all tied into the zeitgeist and public trends.  

  But even his grit and magical luck may not be enough to pull a rabbit out of the hat. He has tr Uranus rattling up his Sun Pluto opposition this year and next. With 2024 seeing tr Saturn damp his enthusiasm as it is conjunct his focal point Mars, Jupiter, Venus, into 2025.  And tr Pluto will trine his Saturn and conjunct his Mercury for a tough slog and considerable strain in 2024/25.   

 His Second Stint chart, 20 November 2022, is jangled and jolted this year, disappointed in 2024 and may be forced into a sharp change of direction or decision in 2025.

Disney, 16 October 1923, a Sun Saturn in Libra with a creative, money-making Water Grand Trine of Jupiter in Scorpio trine Uranus trine Pluto – will have some luck over coming months but is in for a panicky 2024 as failures loom large with tr Neptune opposition the Mars; and a dead-halt Solar Arc Mars opposition Pluto in 2025.

  Bob Iger may wish he had stayed retired.  

Please add below. Older posts under News on top bar or in SEARCH

Direction and Destiny in the Birth Chart sounds profound and portentous. Yet Howard Sasportas’s wide-ranging spiritual and psychological insights presented in a down-to-earth and sympathetic way make light of the patterns laid down at birth which provide a template for the life ahead.

  His death in 1992 aged 45 was a tragedy for his friends and for the astrological community who lost an original thinker and a bright light. His books The Twelve Houses and The Gods of Change remain along with his seminars from the Centre for Psychological Astrology which he co-founded with Liz Greene.

   This book draws together three seminar strands of lectures and discussions on Vocation, the Moon’s Nodes and Helpers.

  On Vocation – a summons from the deeper self, he impresses that we are not born expressing our sun sign, which is the heart of the chart, but need to reach out for it. “Your sun sign is given to you but also demanded of you.  We are here to become what we are meant to be.”  The First Saturn Return and the Mid-life crisis are points of adjustment along the way of becoming ourselves.  On vocation there are perceptive comments on the 10th, 6^th, 5^th houses as well as Sun conjunctions with outer planets. With a recurring theme of the usefulness of Saturn – ‘you can’t get growth with it.’

  The Moon’s Node – the path of destiny.  He remarks they are often the key to the chart, which would be my experience also.  “Usually the whole chart confirms or reiterates their theme.” He has a helpful link between the South Node and lunar energy – the pull from the past, acting instinctively, what comes naturally. As opposed to the North Node’s challenge to act rather than react, to be aware and make an effort.  And he reiterates Tracy Mark’s point that both have to be taken together and it is helpful to rework the South Node energy rather than try to delete it.

Helpers:  Moon aspects are highlighted stemming from mother/nurturing issues.

  On Chiron – an archetype that comes in pairs.  The victim is also the healer, including the one who comes looking for guidance. ‘If someone comes for help, the answers are there in the person. Something in them knows what they have to do.’ The astrologer can ‘enliven that part which already knows what to do, rather than telling what you think they should do.’

Which would also be my take – if an individual has an existential crisis the answer usually lies in the Node.

  Howard was born 12 April 1948 1.46 am Hartford, Connecticut, took a Humanistic Psychology degree, moved to the UK, won a Gold Medal on the Faculty of Astrology diploma, graduated in Psychosynthesis, studied Transpersonal Psychology, set up the CPA with Liz Greene, edited a Penguin series of Astrology Books, had a consultation practice and travelled extensively for international lectures.

  In his later years he suffered from ankylosing spondylitis, an inflammatory arthritis that caused some of the bones in his spine to fuse which crippled him and he contracted AIDs from which he ultimately died.

  He had a chart with an extraordinary mix of inspired, adventurous, risk-taking, fun-loving energy sitting alongside punishingly difficult aspects. He had an uplifting Fire Grand Trine of a quick-witted 3^rd house Aries Sun trine a friendly 11^th house Jupiter trine Mars in Leo with his Jupiter opposition Uranus – making his astrological Uranus the driving planet in the performing, entertaining 5th house. His Uranus was sextile his Sun and both were inconjunct a Yod focal point Chiron and Midheaven, giving him not just the ability to be a healer and helper but also the necessity. He said: ‘I was led by an instinct, a feeling of being pushed along by the Yod formation of the Sun and Uranus to the MC – and it affected my choice of work. It drove me. I didn’t have to make a lot of conscious choices.’

 His 4^th house Taurus Moon conjunct a nurturing Ceres opposed his Midheaven and Chiron and squared onto a truly difficult combination of Mars, Saturn, Pluto in Leo in his 7^th. His personal relationships would always present more problems than his professional life. His Fixed sign Moon square Mars, Saturn, Pluto also ruled his 6^th house of health, giving a hint of the rigidity of his spinal condition which afflicted his later years.

  My memory of meeting him was of a good-natured, charming, kindly temperament with little indication of the challenges he faced.

  When he died on 12 May 1992 5.11pm London, the astrological influences were unusually very precise.  Pluto was exactly conjunct his Midheaven, Jupiter was just into his 8^th, the Sun was only a degree into his 4^th and the North Node exactly on the cusp of his 12^th.  It would feel like a relief.

A lovely man, much missed.

www.wessexastrologer.com

Add On: Richard Idemon, another departed-too-soon astrologer, whose books The Magic Thread and Through the Looking Glass: A Search for the Self in the Mirror of Relationships were republished last year, was a contemporary of Howard Sasportas. He saw the birth chart as a labyrinth made up of a single magic thread leading through a maze to the heart of the chart. His relationship book uses astrology, mythology and Jungian psychology as ways to break free of old restrictive attitudes.

  He was born 8 February 1938 9.37 pm Akron, Ohio and lectured on psychotherapy and psychology to astrologers, he gave talks and seminars extensively and internationally and was also a part-time actor. He contracted AIDs in 1985 and died by suicide two years later.

  He had an exuberant and showy 5^th house Sun, Venus, Jupiter in Aquarius so would delight in having an appreciative audience. He had a knowledgeable, much travelled and restless 9^th house Gemini Moon; and an influential 10^th house Pluto. His Uranus deeply buried in his 8^th house was heavily aspected, being square his Mercury, Jupiter and widely Sun; as well as being on one leg of a yod sextile his Midheaven inconjunct the North Node.

  Like Howard he had complicated relationship planets with a hard-edged, can-be-victimised, can-be-destructive Mars Saturn in Aries on his Descendant trine Pluto and sextile his Moon. He had another wide yod from Pluto sextile Neptune inconjunct Venus Sun.

  I attended a memorable six day seminar in Italy that he gave with Liz Greene, when he had just been diagnosed with AIDs. The lectures were riveting but the undercurrents, not surprisingly, were very unsettling. When he died two years later tr Jupiter was trine his Pluto as he took control of his destiny. Tr Saturn was square his 12^th house Neptune; tr Neptune was just into his 4^th and tr Mars was on the cusp of his 8^th.

The Iranian state is ‘now biggest threat to UK’ was the startling headline to greet Sunday breakfast tables. The Home Secretary’s office has voiced concern that Iranian spies are attempting to recruit members of organised crime gangs to target regime opponents. “It’s a big issue because they are getting much more aggressive and their appetite is increasing. They are very defensive to anyone challenging their regime and just want to stamp it out. They are increasing their agitation.”

  MI5 warned last year that Tehran had been behind ten murder and kidnap plots, and in February this year, the Metropolitan Police said it had risen to 15. Iran International, a dissident TV channel, was forced to stop broadcasting from its British headquarters after Scotland Yard warned it could not protect staff.

 There is pressure for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to be proscribed as a terrorist organisation to make prosecutions for incitement to violence and assassinations easier on UK soil, though the Foreign Office is uneasy about a diplomatic fallout making it harder to revive the international talks on the deal curbing Iran’s nuclear programme.

 The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps IRGC) is separate from the army and mandated to ensure the integrity of the Islamic Republic which includes preventing foreign interference and crushing “deviant movements” that harm the ideological legacy of the Islamic Revolution. Currently, the IRGC is designated as a terrorist organization by Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Sweden and the USA.

  Founded on 5 May 1979 its astrology does clash with the UK chart. A Taurus Sun opposition a no-compromise, rebellious Uranus collides with the UK’s Fixed planets; and the IRGC’s ruthless Mars Mercury in Aries opposition Pluto bears down on the UK’s North Node. The relationship chart suggests that while anxiety and suspicion are rife this year with tr Saturn in hard aspect to the composite Saturn square Neptune, it is 2024/25 when the tension will rise sharply as tr Pluto squares the composite Mars and opposes the composite Jupiter in a fight for the upper hand.

  Both the Iran 7 October 1906 and 1 February 1979 charts are an uncomfortable match with the UK. The relationship chart of Iran06/UK has another power-struggling composite Jupiter square Pluto and uncooperative Sun Uranus.  The Iran79/UK has a hostile-dislike Mars square Pluto, a distrustful Saturn Neptune; and an uncompromising Sun Uranus. Both relationship charts are being pressured through 2023/24.

 The IRGC will be revving up for a determined push in 2024/25 with tr Pluto in a confident opposition to its Jupiter but will be running into a major setback by 2025 with Solar Arc Saturn opposition its Mars.

  Iran has in recent years seemed a distant menace and the UK is hardly important on the world stage so why this should be brewing does seem more than odd.  

Meghan Markle’s Solar Return from her birthday on Friday is mixed with a lucky 9^th house Jupiter Uranus conjunction and a high-vitality Jupiter trine Mars in the 1^st. So no shortage of get-up-and-go. A hidden 12^th house Sun Venus could suggest creative activities behind the scenes though it is contradicted by an attention-grabbing 5^th house Pluto.

  The two main issues would appear to be 1) money with the North Node and Chiron in in the 8^th suggesting it will take effort to cope with joint business responsibilities. And b) close relationships with a separated/critical Saturn on the Descendant and an uncommitted/disappointed Moon Neptune further into the 7^th.

  It’ll be interesting to see how her SR 12^th house Sun conjunct Black Moon plays out since it can indicate a sense of being an outcast and provoking a counter-culture urge to stand out against the conscensus.

  Detail on her chart transits etc in previous post June 26 2023.

  Harry’s Solar Return from 15 September this year is less conflicted in some ways with an Earth Grand Trine of Uranus trine Pluto trine his Virgo Sun which suggests change certainly but also an ability to pull projects together. The only downside being it is formed into a Kite by Sun opposition Neptune – idealistic at best, muddled and evasive at worst.

  A California-located Solar Return, like Meghan hints that money and relationships will be the two key areas. The North Node and Chiron in his 2^nd hints that effort will be required to get a grip and overcome past conditioning about being reliant on others.  And Sun, Moon, Mars in his 7^th hints at vulnerability and dependence on a partner with arguments along the way.

  Taking a birth place Solar Return (not that he is likely to relocate) puts a lucky Jupiter in his 10^th alongside Uranus – hinting at positive changes of direction with the potentially idealistic Neptune in the 9^th of travel, perhaps pointing to his Africa project bringing satisfaction.  Money is again an issue.

His transits, Solar Arcs etc continue to be difficult until 2027 – See previous post Prince Harry 9 May 2023.

The Hollywood dream rarely translates into domestic or family bliss. As evidenced by the tawdry drama which has left Tori Spelling living with her five children in a camper van as her multi-millionairess mother Candy instagrams about her blooming roses from her palatial pad.

 The back story starts with Aaron Spelling, renowned as the most prolific TV producer in US history with Hart to Hart, Dynasty, Melrose Place, Beverley Hills 90210 to his credit. He died in 2006 leaving his widow Candy, a theatre producer and philanthropist, seriously wealthy. She has for years evidently had a fractured relationship with her daughter Tori, 16 May 1973 1.13 am, LA, (recently split from husband Dean McDermott) and according to reports had offered to sort her out a house which she refused.

 Tori Spelling, who started as a child star aged six under her father’s guidance, had her first major role at 17 in Beverley Hills 90210. She and her brother evidently ended up with under $1 million each from their father’s $500 million estate and her second marriage to Dean McDermott, 16 November 1966, has followed a rocky road, through infidelities, five children and her mental problems.

  She has a stubborn Sun, Mercury in Taurus opposition an intensely emotional and secretive Scorpio Moon with her Moon square Jupiter in Aquarius.  She has a dreamy and unrealistic Venus in Gemini opposition Neptune in her 10^th square a whirlwind, excitable 1^st house Mars in Pisces. Her 8^th house Pluto and Uranus will give her a sense of being driven by forces she does not always understand.

 Dean McDermott was hardly a brilliant fit with his powerhouse and powder keg collection of Pluto, Mars, Uranus in Virgo falling in her 8^th house and his evasive Neptune being conjunct her Moon.

 But it is her relationship with her mother which is truly tricky. Candy Spelling, 20 September 1945 4.40 am LA, is a Sun Virgo widely square a 10^th house Uranus, marking her out for an unconventional career. She has Mars in excitable Cancer trine a 7^th house Pisces Moon and square an overly optimistic, though lucky, Jupiter Neptune in Libra in her financial 2^nd house.

   She and Tori are at cross purposes with Tori’s supercharged and high-wire Mars in Pisces conjunct Candy’s sensitive Moon; and more significantly Candy’s Pluto opposition Tori’s Jupiter setting up a power battle for the upper hand.  That translates in their relationship chart into another composite Pluto Jupiter hard aspect; a chilly Moon opposition Saturn; and a ego-clashing Mars opposition Neptune.

 Aaron Spelling, 22 April 1923 12.30pm Dallas, Texas, had a Taurus Sun on his Midheaven, with a creative Water Grand Trine of an 8^th house Uranus trine Pluto Moon in Cancer trine Jupiter in Scorpio – well-designed for a successful entertainment career.

  Tori’s relationship with him was if anything trickier than with her mother. Their relationship chart had a chilly and controlling composite Sun square Saturn Pluto; with a tough, unfeeling composite Mars trine Saturn Pluto.

  What a tangled web – family dynamics at their most damaging. Tori and her father shared a Taurus Sun, and Uranus in the 8th and also Chiron in Aries. What is also intriguing is that Tori’s South Node in Cancer is conjunct her mother’s Mars North Node and her father’s Pluto. So she would and will be constantly pulled back into her dependent Cancer South Node because of the parental dynamics.

  The recent May Scorpio Lunar Eclipse was exactly conjunct Tori’s Moon to set up her present domestic crisis. And with tr Saturn moving down through her 1^st Quadrant and heading for her 2^nd house she doesn’t look to be coping well financially or otherwise ahead. She’ll settle more happily when Jupiter moves into Gemini from the middle of 2024 onwards.

Yowls of disagreement from the Biden camp have met Fitch’s unexpected downgrading of America’s hallowed triple A credit rating. Economic numbers are always subject to vicious argument but the key to the mark down may be political rather than economic. Fitch did note there was an “expected fiscal deterioration over the next three years” and “a high and growing general government debt burden”. But also noted an “erosion of governance” over the past two decades “that has manifested in repeated debt limit stand-offs and last-minute resolutions”.

 The FT remarks: “the political ecosystem is so polarised that it is hard to imagine Congress taking the sensible steps needed to tackle America’s fiscal problems.” The ideal scenario would be Trump knocked out and Biden steps aside which could enable “centrist political forces to prevail – where sensible bipartisan fiscal policies might emerge in Congress to tackle the debt.” But if Trump remains standing and, worse, wins he could, as before, threaten the independence of the Federal Reserve, deliver unfunded tax cuts and fail to trim spending.

The US Federal Reserve chart, 16 November 1914 9am, Washington DC, is in trouble this year, next year and worse in 2025. Tr Uranus opposes the Scorpio Sun for major jolts, jangles and sudden events from the middle of this month till mid September and then on and off into early 2025. Tr Pluto has been opposing the zero degree Neptune from earlier this year as it moved into Aquarius and will be back from January 2024 on and off to the end of the year – bringing confusion and a sense of devastation. Into 2025 tr Neptune and Saturn will square the Fed Res Saturn Pluto which will raise levels of uncertainty and anxiety to new levels. And the following year SA Neptune will conjunct the Sun for an unhelpful year where financial security is concerned.

  Jerome Powell, 4 February 1953, Chairman of the Fed Reserve, looks road-blocked and discouraged with tr Pluto square his Saturn until late October, as well as panicked about failures this year, extending on till early 2025 with tr Neptune conjunct his Mars and then undermining by conjunction his financial Venus in 2025.

  Biden’s Term chart is about to hit its bumpiest patch within weeks and extending over the next six to eight months with one setback after another. There’s nothing to indicate this will be financial specifically but it could include that. The Term chart does have the North Node in the 2^nd suggesting that not relying on debt will be an imperative, though it is a celestial hint that may be ignored.

  There is also that notable Solar Arc Saturn conjunct the USA Mars by mid 2024 and then square the Neptune by 2025 on the USA country chart – which will be a time of mishaps, confusion and high anxiety.

  The last time there was a similar SA Saturn hitting the USA Mars Neptune was in 1935/36 when Roosevelt’s New Deal created millions of new jobs and his Social Security Act provided Unemployment compensation and pensions for the elderly – in the face of much Republican and business criticism. He was expected to lose the 1936 election but held on to get a second term.  And for historians to ponder the previous one was 1845/46.

Justin Trudeau, the Canadian PM, is separating from his wife of 18 years Sophie. They have been seen together publicly less frequently in recent years, though they attended the coronation of King Charles III together in May.

 He has spoken about the challenges in their marriage, writing in his 2014 autobiography: “Our marriage isn’t perfect, and we have had difficult ups and downs.” They began dating in 2003, when she was working as a TV personality and since then has become known for her charity work around mental health and eating disorders.  His father Pierre Trudeau, a former PM, also announced his separation when in office, as he split after six years from Justin’s mother Margaret.    

  Justin Trudeau, 25 December 1971 9.27pm Ottawa, Canada, has all the classic Astro-signatures for a marital separation. Neptune has been moving through his 7^th house of one-to-one relationships for several years bringing disappointment and lack of commitment. And it has been joined almost simultaneously this year by transiting Saturn which usually widens cracks and his Progressed Moon, which shows up emotional lacks – so the time had come. His Sun/Moon midpoint, the marriage significator, was also wilting last year with tr Saturn conjunct and will be upended in 2024 with tr Uranus square.

  His wife, Sophie, 24 April 1975, is a steady Sun Taurus though it is in an independent-minded opposition to Uranus. Her Jupiter in pro-active Aries is in a super-confident opposition to Pluto square a downbeat Saturn. Her Venus in sociable Gemini is in an idealistic (unrealistic) opposition to Neptune and square an excitable Mars in Pisces.

  His earthy Capricorn Sun chimes with her Taurus Sun and his Venus in friendly Aquarius is a good fit with her Venus in Gemini. But that apart it does not look too entwined a connection.  He’s an odd mix of do-or-die- determined and overly controlled with a Mars opposition Pluto; and vague/creative/neurotic with Neptune opposition Saturn.  Her Libra Moon is around his Uranus and opposes his Aries Moon with her Saturn square his Moon – much unpredictability and rigidity in their home life.

  Their relationship chart does have a hint of passion from a composite Venus opposition Pluto; but there is a disappointing/unrealistic composite Sun square Neptune; and worse a Mars square Saturn. This last suggests a relationship in which one had to suppress their identity to keep it afloat – which always leads to resentment.  Tr Saturn is conjunct the composite Sun and square Neptune this year; with tr Neptune having been undermining Mars and Saturn last year.

  Her chart has tr Pluto square the Uranus this year and square her Sun in 2025/26 so she’s on a journey of considerable change.

  Their relationship is nothing like as tempestuous as was that of Pierre and Margaret Trudeau, which regularly hit the headlines. It had a competitive, argumentative composite Sun Mars conjunction and a disruptive Uranus opposition Moon Mercury square Pluto.

  Pierre, 18 October 1919 7.03am Outrement, Canada, was a supreme charmer with a Libra Sun on his Ascendant and a radiantly hopeful Jupiter Neptune in Leo in his 10^th and an inconstant Uranus in his romantic 5^th. Margaret Trudeau, 10 September 1948 1pm Vancouver, was later diagnosed as bi-polar and had a 10^th house Virgo Sun with a volatile 8^th house Uranus trine a 12^th house Mars in Scorpio.  

ADD ON:

Justin Trudeau is heading into an unpredictable 2024 with tr Uranus conjunct his Midheaven from August 2024 onwards into 2025 which suggests a change of career direction, forced or voluntary (assuming birth time is accurate). Worse, he has a panicky-failure tr Neptune conjunct his Mars from May 2024 into 2025; and then joined by tr Saturn both oppose his Pluto in 2025. So his ruthless determination will crumble into a puddle.

 His Term chart, 26 October 2021 is also in trouble this year with tr Pluto in a paralysed, scary square to the Mars and square the Sun/Mars midpoint for more of the same into and throughout 2024. He will get some luck from tr Uranus square the Jupiter – but it won’t outweigh the negatives.   

Niger, one of the poorest countries in the world, has had yet another military coup to add to its turbulent and constantly changing political history since taking independence from the French on 3 August 1960. The largest landlocked country in Africa, it exports uranium, but faces challenges to development due to its position, desert terrain, low literacy rate, jihadist insurgencies and the world’s highest fertility rates. Prigozhin’s Wagner Group has been active within its borders and welcomed the coup, though the Kremlin expressed concern.

  Niger is the second largest supplier of natural uranium to the EU, which is needed to fuel its nuclear power reactors. An EU spokesman said the bloc had enough uranium inventories for three years in the event of Niger cutting off supplies. In that time they could diversify to production sites in Canada, Australia and Namibia and elsewhere.

 The Niger independence chart does suggest a fairly cataclysmic year with a raft of challenging influences. Tr Pluto is trine the Mars with tr Saturn opposition the Pluto and square Mars. There is a confused/devastating Solar Arc Pluto conjunct Neptune this year as well. And a rebellious tr Uranus square Uranus and Venus.  Tr Pluto is also just starting to move across the 10^th house hinting that a dictatorial government is more than likely for the decade plus ahead.

  Despite being a former French colony there were until recently ties to their colonial overlords, having a currency that was pegged to the euro and they banked half of their foreign exchange reserves with the French Treasury. In 2020 French National Assembly agreed to end French engagement, including the foreign reserve deposit requirements.

  The relationship chart between Niger and France looks set to be on an exceptionally bumpy road ahead with a separating tr Saturn conjunct the composite Saturn and opposition Sun this year. Plus a run of explosive, disruptive Uranus transits to the composite Uranus, Mercury this year and Mars square Jupiter Pluto in 2025.

 Prigozhin’s relationship chart with Niger looks well-stitched together.