Marjorie

A new world order is the hope that the BRICS alliance of nations offer as an alternative to the West. Brazil, Russia, India, China, South Africa are pinning their hopes on a New Development Bank seen as a substitute for the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund. It is open to new members with Egypt, UAE,  Uruguay and Bangladesh taking up shares and interest being expressed by Saudi Arabia, Algeria, Argentina, Mexico and Nigeria.

 Originally started as a Goldman Sachs investor ploy for developing economies that were booming, it has switched tack  since with only China achieving sustained growth. The alliance is now offering a diplomatic forum and development financing, outside of the Western mainstream. As such it stands against the G7 – Germany, France, UK, Italy, Japan, Canada, US and EU.

  On the political front since the start of the Ukraine invasion, the BRICS countries have distanced themselves from the West and are not taking part in sanctions against Russia. There is near-historic levels of trade between India and Russia and Brazil is heavily dependent on Russian fertilizer.

  A political analyst commented: “ some European and US policymakers worry that the BRICS may become less an economic club of rising powers seeking to influence global growth and development, and more a political one defined by their authoritarian nationalism.”

  BRICS held its first summit on 16 June 2009 in Yekaterinburg, Russia which gives a Gemini Sun opposition Pluto square Uranus in Pisces – such a Uranus is status-quo-upsetting and a trailblazer but erratic and perhaps inclined to be contrarian. There is a high-finance and hopeful Jupiter Neptune conjunction; plus a passionately enthusiastic Venus Mars in materialistic Taurus trine Saturn on one side and Pluto widely on the other.

  The North Node is at zero Aquarius which may give a sense of a moment in destiny having arrived. But there will be failed plans for two or three years ahead as tr Neptune wends its way round the central BRICS T square; and heavy pressures across the turn of the decade as tr Pluto squares the Venus and Mars. Where it may come into its own would be the early 2040s as tr Pluto is conjunct the Jupiter and the Solar Arc Jupiter connects with Uranus and squares the Pluto.

  The G7 group is difficult to date since it has evolved in stages from an original informal foursome. But one start-up meeting occurred on 25 March 1973 in Washington. That gives an Aries Sun and Venus in a controlling opposition to Pluto and a successful sextile/trine to a weighty and influential Jupiter Mars. If the chart is sound then the next few years will see major problems with a trapped, frustrated tr Pluto conjunct Mars in 2023/24 and tr Neptune Saturn in Aries blocking the Aries Sun and financial Venus and Pluto between 2025 and 2027. It could rise again thereafter and across the turn of this decade into the 2030s. But it could be an iffy chart.

  Looking at the IMF chart, 27 December 1945, it reflects a fairly calamitous three to five years ahead so the G7 chart may be accurate enough.

  The only thing you can guarantee is that China will use BRICS to its own maximum advantage.

Yet another Supreme Court scandal has blown up with reports that Justice Clarence Thomas apparently violated ethics laws by accepting luxury trips from billionaire and GOP donor Harlan Crow, estimated at circa $500,000, for more than two decades without disclosing them. A ProPublica report said “The extent and frequency of Crow’s apparent gifts to Thomas have no known precedent in the modern history of the U.S. Supreme Court.”

  In recent months, SCOTUS has faced increasing scrutiny over a range of ethical issues, including the lack of transparency surrounding potential conflicts of interest and a whistleblower’s claim that wealthy Christian activists sought access to justices at social gatherings to shore up their resolve on abortion and other conservative priorities. Thomas recently failed to recuse himself in a case involving the plot to subvert the 2020 election outcome in Arizona, even though his wife, Virginia Thomas, advocated for such subversion.

  A Senate investigation of this instance could help demonstrate the need for Supreme Court ethics reform with stricter rules for Supreme Court Justices.

  What is noteworthy is that the SCOTUS Pluto in Aquarius (conjunct the Sun) is at 18 degrees and therefore due for a monumental shake up come late April/into early May, so it may not be possible to sweep this one aside.  Tr Neptune is also conjunct the Venus from early May onwards, which is a continuation of tr Neptune conjunct the SCOTUS Saturn last year – a two year stretch of its reputation taking a considerable hit from a disappointed public.

  John Roberts, 27 January 1955, the chief justice who was recently sounding aggrieved at the criticism being aimed at the Supreme Court is continuing through a confusing 2023 with tr Pluto square his Neptune with jolts and jangles from this June onwards, more so in 2024.

 Clarence Thomas, 23 June 1948 9 pm Pin Point, Georgia, is a Sun Venus Mercury in Cancer with a tough-minded, extra-stubborn Saturn Pluto in Leo squaring his Taurus North Node; an Aquarius Moon on his Ascendant; and an opportunistic Jupiter in Sagittarius opposition Uranus squaring on to a secretive Mars in his financial 8th. At the moment his Solar Arc Saturn is square his Moon (birth time being accurate) putting a damper on his public image. Tr Neptune is continuing to wend round his Jupiter, Uranus, Mars T Square from last year which is not only undermining to morale and high hopes, it can drag grubby secrets out into the open. Plus his Solar Arc Neptune is conjunct his Jupiter over coming months.    Tr Saturn is moving into the lowest dip of his First Quadrant which is often when banana skins crop up, misjudgments abound and failure looms. His Saturn will also rattle up a few tense eruptions from mid May onwards as tr Uranus collides by square. Much of the same rolls on through 2024 with worse in 2025 as tr Neptune Saturn in Aries square his Sun, Mercury, Venus in Cancer and tr Uranus detonates one of his disaster midpoints.

 Ginni Thomas, his wife, 23 February 1957, is a Pisces Sun in a controlling opposition to Pluto and an evasive trine to Neptune; with her Neptune in a can-be-fanatical square to Uranus. She looks more stressed in 2024/25 than now. Though her relationship chart with Clarence does indicate that 18 degrees Fixed is a key component – with a composite Pluto opposition the North Node at 18 Aquarius. That is being upended by tr Uranus at the end of this month into May and again from mid June onwards.

  This spate of bad publicity may not bring a wholesale clean up of SCOTUS but there are rumblings in the undergrowth.  

  The wrecking ball that has knocked the SNP not just sideways but face-planted into Loch Ness has shocked supporters into appalled silence and even bitter enemies are gasping with astonishment. Gone is Nicola Sturgeon, the glory girl First Minister, deliverer of multiple election wins. Doubly diminished is her husband Peter Murrell, the power behind the throne and SNP chief executive for two decades, who was arrested yesterday over an investigation into party finances, held for over 12 hours and released without charge, though searches in their home are still ongoing.

  Their marriage always was a bone of contention, blurring the dividing line between the affairs of party and the affairs of government – and exacerbated criticism of ruling party with too tight a grip on power and lacking in transparency.

   Additional thoughts to previous posts – 19 March, 15 February, 3^rd February 2023.

  Peter Murrell, 8 December 1964, has Boris Johnson’s Jupiter in Taurus opposition Neptune in Scorpio (conjunct Venus) described by Ebertin as scandal prone due to instability and certainly has a tendency to varnish over the actualite. Murrell also has a combustible Sagittarius Sun square a volcanic Uranus, Mars, Pluto in Virgo – for a man with a public image so meek he was known as mouse, he was not what he seemed.

  He is a few weeks past his Second Saturn Return when reality bites and his Mutable Sun and Virgo planets will not enjoy the pounding they get from Saturn, planet of retribution, in 2024. At the moment he has the same influences as collapsed Boris in a heap. Uranus in hard aspect to his Jupiter and Venus Neptune which has brought him down to earth with a bump.

 Nicola, 19 July 1970 3.16pm Irvine, has tr Pluto opposing her Mars at zero degrees Leo now till mid June, and again on and off throughout 2024. That is a deeply frustrating, trapped, scary influence and mirrors Peter Murrell’s tr Pluto square his Sun/Mars midpoint running at the same time. Their woes won’t disappear in a hurry.

  Nicola looks poleaxed exactly now (mid March to early April) and again October to mid November and across the New Year and January 2024 – so one can only assume she would know in advance about the party finances investigation coming to a head now. Which raises all manner of questions about the timing of her resignation and the election of Humza Yousaf, the continuity candidate, who might not have fared so well had these events transpired before his election on a narrow margin to become leader and FM. Though it makes sense of why he was elected with tr Uranus conjunct his Mars in Taurus which usually accompanies a shock and insecurity rather than a triumph.

The SNP, 7 April 1934, has tr Uranus exactly square the Aquarius North Node now, sending their cause off track. The Solar Arc Uranus is also exactly conjunct the Pluto for a disruption and an upheaval; and the Solar Arc Pluto is exactly opposition the Mars in Aries and conjunct Jupiter .That latter often leads to an above-the-law arrogance and thinking they cannot not lose which often rebounds in conflict with authorities.

  The Scotland 25 March 1005 chart is in a discouraging year with tr Pluto opposing the Saturn; and more significantly tr Uranus opposition the Pluto at 18 degrees Scorpio – arguably a turning point in destiny.

  Life is achanging – first Boris gone, then Trump indicted and now Scotland forced to rethink its direction. Pluto in Aquarius plus Saturn in Pisces – plus that history-changing 18 degree marker of Uranus North Node from last August sending out ripples to upset the status quo ante.

Cartoon: Grateful thanks to the Telegraph.

  The full Trump circus was on parade for the court hearing with the notable exception of the two senior ladies of the tribe – Melania and Ivanka. The wifely absence may have been down to seething rage because of his humiliating infidelity with the porn star. Ivanka may not have wished to be associated with a tawdry cameo from her father’s lurid past, but she also seems to be separating herself from his political ambitions moving ahead.

 What is interesting astrologically speaking is that Saturn moving into Pisces appears to have signalled a cut-off point for both relationships. Not surprising given that tr Saturn is now just into his 7th house and staying for two years ahead.

 DT’s relationship chart with Melania has a controlling composite Sun square Pluto which tr Saturn is at the moment and through this year pulling apart. Plus tr Pluto is square the zero degree Taurus North Node making this a moment perhaps where their destinies diverge. And tr Neptune is in an undermining square to the composite Venus from the middle of next month on and off into 2024.

  Ivanka’s relationship chart with her father always was an eye-opener with a composite Sun, Mars, Saturn, Uranus conjunct – a one-sided, aggravating and damaging relationship with undercurrents of deep resentment. Tr Saturn is now into an enthusiasm-dampening and irritating opposition to the composite Sun and Mars  and next year continues to oppose the composite Uranus, Pluto and square Moon – so the gulf will widen. Ivanka is now into her forties which is often a time that women, downtrodden by their childhoods, empower themselves and exert their own identity.

  Melania has tr Pluto square her Jupiter in Scorpio at the moment and Ivanka has tr Pluto square her Sun/Jupiter midpoint – both similar influences – which will give each the confidence to push back on bullying and coercion. Both have Mars at five degrees mutable, Virgo and Gemini respectively so will run into a setback late April/early May, early August and late January 2024.

  Both are having a jangled year in 2023, Ivanka more so than Melania.

 Don Jr will follow the same trajectory as his father this year with jolting shocks and catastrophes through May, mid December to mid March 2024; and strokes of good luck through June and beyond.  He’s sagging more than somewhat across the election.

  Eric has an aggravated relationship chart with his father, with a composite Mars, Venus opposition Sun which is on a downhill slide for the next three years.

Tiffany, who did turn up in court, has a marginally worse relationship chart with her father even than Ivanka with a composite tyrannical and erratic Pluto opposition Mars Uranus. Her togetherness with papa is on a rocky ride through 2023/4 and sinking into a swamp thereafter for two or three years.

  Nothing much to add to previous Trump posts March 31 2023, 17 November 2022, 26 January 2023. Except that tr Saturn will oppose his Sun/Moon midpoint in 2025 which could suggest a marriage split though it can also indicate unpopularity for a politician.  Late August 2024 his Progressed Venus squares his Saturn making him feel unloved and unpopular; and his Progressed Moon is square his Pluto over the election month which won’t be a singing and dancing time even if tr Jupiter is moving across his midheaven. As per usual pluses and minuses.

Finland became a NATO member yesterday as a direct result of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine which was launched by Putin in the expectation it would check Nato’s expansion and weaken Western cooperation. Finland’s entry will more than double the size of NATO’s border with Russia, adding another 800 plus miles. Finnish support for Nato membership leapt from a third of the population to almost 80% last year.

  The application had been delayed by Turkey who have also blocked Sweden from joining because of its support for Kurdish militants. Sweden does not share a border with Russia and can count on bilateral security guarantees from the US and UK even without membership.

  The Nato chart, 24 August 1949 11.42 am Washington, DC, indicates a significant change of direction with some disruption as tr Uranus is exactly square the 10^th house Pluto at the moment. There are ominous signs of aggravation brewing from two Solar Arcs, exact within four months but in effect all year – Solar Arc MC square Mars and SA Mars square Uranus. It’ll be a nervy, explosive, tinderbox phase. The Finland/NATO relationship will equally be on edge from the middle of next month with tr Uranus square the composite Mars repeating mid December to mid March 2024 – which may just be Russia upping the rhetoric or being provocative.

  The Finland 6 December 1917 3pm Helsinki country chart has relatively similar planetary position to the Russia 8 November 1917 chart with both having Uranus at 20 degrees Aquarius. So both are in a status-quo-upsetting year.  One by choice and one having tripped through bad judgement into a quagmire.

  Late 2024 looks trapped and scary on the Finland chart with Solar Arc Mars opposition the Pluto but that could be for any number of reasons, including financial ones. This year is a hugely significant juncture for Finland with Pluto crossing its Midheaven, bringing an urge to take control of future direction. Pluto is also conjunct the Venus now exactly and on and off till late 2024 which will heighten emotional reactions considerably.

  The Finland/Russia 8 December 1991 relationship chart which showed up last year’s alarm and concern with tr Pluto square the composite Mars Neptune, hints that 2024 may see diplomatic relations cooling further with a separating tr Saturn in hard aspect to the composite Sun, Venus and Pluto – as well as a turbulent tr Pluto conjunct the composite Uranus into 2025 as well. 

The signing took place at 2.46/7 pm in Brussels on 4 April, which puts a heavily aspected Mercury in Taurus on the Zero Taurus midheaven square Pluto – so very much a Pluto in Aquarius event. Mercury also sits on the midpoint of a Mars in Cancer trine Saturn which has military association. There is a Sun Jupiter in the international 9^th. Saturn in the 7^th – chilly relationships with those closest.

  There is also an exact 2^nd house Virgo Moon opposition an 8^th house Neptune both in close aspect to the Fixed star Alkaid in Ursa Major at the end of the tail of the great bear. Perhaps the disappointment on the Russian side though that is probably over hopeful.

  Edgy times for those living close to the bear’s lair. Well it probably always has been but more so at the moment.

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Nigel Lawson, the controversial tax-cutting chancellor under Margaret Thatcher, has died aged 91. To Tories he was and is a ‘titan’ and a ‘transformational’ figure, who cut taxes and rolled back the state, leading the privatisation drive that put swathes of the public sector under the control of private companies.

  His policies turned the City into the world’s leading financial centre, but the “Lawson boom” ended in the deep recession and economic misery of the early 1990s and contributed later to the financial crisis of 2007-8. After he fell out with Maggie and helped force her fall from grace, in his retirement in the House of Lords he became a leading proponent of Brexit (from his home in France). He helped to force David Cameron into calling the 2016 referendum and became a prominent climate change dissenter, challenging what he called the propaganda of global warming “alarmists”.

  Pretty much on the wrong side of history at every turn.

  He was born 11 March 1932 7am (from memory) London and was a 12^th house Sun Mars in Pisces with a maverick Uranus just below his Aries Ascendant in a status-quo-upsetting square to Pluto. Plus an entertaining and grandstanding Jupiter in Leo in his performing 5^th house in a lucky trine to Uranus.

  The surprise is not that he fell out with Maggie Thatcher, the surprise is they survived together as long as they did – for his six years as Chancellor. His Uranus opposed her Libra Sun and her Uranus was conjunct his Sun – not designed for cooperation. His Saturn was also conjunct her South Node, dragging her into the past – when she finally resigned the transiting Node was also conjunct her natal South Node.

  Their relationship chart had an irritable composite Mars Saturn conjunction, suggesting one had the upper hand; plus a needs-space composite Sun opposition Moon square Uranus.

  More to the point since Maggie is long gone and the UK is still standing and bearing the scars of his decisions – his Uranus is conjunct the UK’s 7th house Aries North Node which was pivotal to the Brexit decision in the referendum. He played on the UK’s resistance to cooperative partnerships and with his Saturn in opposition to the UK’s 10^th house Jupiter, arguably dented the UK’s status and success.

  His relationship chart with the UK is chained together and festering with resentment; as well as destabilizing.

  Transformational cuts two ways.

Reparations for slavery are becoming a hot topic both in the USA and in Europe, with many Caribbean nations as well as individuals calling for compensation. In the UK a former BBC reporter whose ancestors were plantation owners has joined the campaign and the Guardian is doing a grandstanding mea culpa because their founder John Edward Taylor gained his wealth from the Manchester cotton industry.

  The history of British/English involvement in slavery has danced to the tune of Uranus Pluto with its participation in transatlantic slavery beginning in 1592 under Uranus Pluto in Aries; and taking over the slave trade to South America in 1713 under Uranus Pluto in Virgo.

  Uranus Pluto is more commonly associated with rebellions and revolutions, present during the civil rights unrest in the USA in the 1960s with Uranus Pluto in Virgo in place and over the independence from colonial rule for 12 African states. But that Uranus Pluto conjunction also oversaw Nelson Mandela’s imprisonment as well as Martin Luther King and the Kennedy brothers’ assassinations.

  During the previous Uranus Pluto conjunction in the 1840s and 1850s Natal in eastern South Africa, became a British colony and another Anglo-African War broke out. In the USA Harriet Beecher Stowe published Uncle Tom’s Cabin.

  In the eternal war between the forces of total oppression (Pluto) and the will for freedom (Uranus) sometimes one wins, sometimes the other. There is not another hard Pluto Uranus aspect until the 2040s. But it may be that Pluto moving into Aquarius, ruled by Uranus, combining as it does the two conflicting energies raises the same mood.

  The moves to abolish slavery came in stages in the UK, first with a ban internally in the UK and only after 1833 in British overseas territory.

 What is intriguing is that the two key acts – the Slave Trade Act 28 March 1807 and the Slavery Abolition Act 28 August 1833 both had Pluto square the North Node – and the 1833 Act had Uranus in Aquarius. Pluto square the NN is puzzling at first glance but perhaps a hint that the zeitgeist/spirit of the Age was moving against Pluto’s need to control and to project its hatred and contempt towards those who are different and therefore deemed inferior.

John Edward Taylor, 11 September 1791, who founded the Guardian, was for his time a liberally-minded activist. He had a Virgo Sun with a trailblazing Uranus in Leo opposition Pluto in Aquarius; and a wide hope-for-a-better-society Saturn opposition Neptune.  He set up the Manchester Guardian as a direct result of his horror at witnessing the Peterloo Massacre of 16 August 1819 when the cavalry charged a crowd of 60,000 working class protesters who were demonstrating to demand reform of parliamentary representation. [It took nearly a century before universal suffrage was voted in for men over 21 and women over 30.]

  The Peterloo Massacre happened on peculiarly difficult influences with a highly-strung Uranus Neptune in Sagittarius square Saturn Pluto in late Pisces. In the aftermath there was a crackdown on reform with journalists and protest organisers arrested.

  The Manchester Guardian was born on 5 May 1821 with a Uranus Neptune in Capricorn square Pluto in final degree Pisces; with a curiously mixed Mercury, Mars, Saturn and Jupiter in Aries – outspoken, angry, erratic.

  Whether John Edward Taylor would appreciate being castigated for his commercial connections which were not slave-owning but dependent on the cotton which slaves picked is questionable. His Solar Arc Pluto is conjunct his North Node in Libra now as his liberal credentials are tainted; and tr Uranus is squaring his Uranus opposition Pluto this year, upsetting his reputation.

 The Guardian, like most newspapers, is in for a rough ride over coming years with tr Neptune conjunct its Pluto reducing its influence in 2024/25 and a debilitating tr Neptune Saturn in Aries square its Uranus Neptune in 2025.

  This is a bit of a hotch potch as I try to unscramble my thinking about —— what? Judging the past by present day standards. How do you repair the damage done to generations of slaves with intergenerational trauma still having an effect?  And how far back do you go with historical sins? 

  Colonial is becoming one of those annoying buzz words in circulation.  Genghis Khan and son from the Mongolian steppes ‘colonised’ most of the European continent and all in between in the 13^th century. The Arabs/Moors ‘colonised’ Spain between the 8^th and 15^th centuries. The USA were never really colonialists – get in, destroy, get out – is more their thing. The Brits were territorially greedy for sure but the empire crumbled into dust 70 years ago. Why now?

  Maybe Pluto moving into Aquarius is setting up the Uranus v Pluto battle once more for a two decade tussle ahead.   

Tom Cruise may well have saved movies as he soared to the number one banking star in Top Gun Maverick, grossing $1.5 billion, but there are still puzzling questions over his complicated private life.  A celebrity magazine alleged he had not seen his daughter Suri, now 16, since he divorced her mother Katie Holmes a decade ago. The two children from his previous marriage to Nicole Kidman stayed with him in the Church of Scientology. But Katie Holmes got full custody and has refused to allow her daughter near the Hubbard cabana.

  Suri Cruise, 18 April 2006 3.26am Los Angeles has a Moon Pluto in Sagittarius trine an Aries Sun and her Pluto opposes Mars. So a highly intense and complicated relationship to both parents.

   A Sun, Pluto, Mars father would certainly indicate simmering resentment about his controlling tendencies. A strongly Plutonic father can be omnipresent and a bully – or oddly enough absent and literally out-of-control.

   A Moon Pluto mother suggests a possessive and strongly bonded (not always happily) connection with mother. Though in this case it might be partly circumstances. Katie Holmes’ Sagittarius Sun is conjunct Suri’s Pluto and Katie’s Pluto falls in Suri’s 8^th house, so the relationship will be fairly enmeshed. Katie’s Jupiter is conjunct Suri’s Saturn so she will at times act as a cheerer-upper.

  Tom Cruise, 3 July 1962, NY, a Sun Cancer in a Water Grand Trine to Jupiter trine Neptune, formed into a Kite by a  super-confident Jupiter opposition Pluto. Highly creative, headstrong, lives in his own bubble of reality. He also has a ruthless Mars in Taurus conjunct Algol in a volatile square to Uranus. His Uranus and Pluto fall in Suri’s 7^th house of close relationships which suggesting a contradictory need to control and be free.  His Mars Algol are also inconjunct her Pluto for underlying aggravation.

  She will feel trapped by both parents and the circumstances of her upbringing. While it may take time to step out of their shadow and the dynamic of the parental relationship, she will show her rebellious streak to become her own person towards the end of this decade.

Growing up in the Hollywood fishbowl ain’t easy and that is leaving aside the screwball Scientologists.

See previous Tom Cruise post January 3 2023.

An excoriating FT expose of Asma Assad, wife of the Syrian president, once hailed by western media as a ‘rose of the desert’, turns the spotlight back onto the chilling picture of a greedy profiteer who has amassed billions for herself and her family out of the bloodied ruins of starving country. She appears to control the economic levers consolidating the Assad’s grip on Syria, shaking down the rich merchant class (imprison in hotel and extort a la MBS in Saudi) and even – horrifyingly – crafting a corrupt humanitarian assistance system, monetising NGOs and the aid sector which takes in international money.

  The economy is teetering on the brink of collapse and what little still exists appears to be controlled by Asma Assad and family across multiple sectors, including real estate, banking and telecommunications. “For any new business to get done today, Asma [and her people] take a cut,” says a relative. 

  The other revenue stream to keep the family afloat evidently comes from Bashar’s younger brother Maher, head of the army’s notoriously brutal fourth division, who runs weapons, oil smuggling, alcohol and sales of the illegal amphetamine Captagon.

     Asma was born 11 August 1975 in London to Syrian parents, and after graduating in computer science worked with Deutsche Bank as an economic analyst and then JP Morgan. She is a Sun Mercury in Leo square Mars conjunct the destructive Fixed star Algol and conjunct her South Node. Algol on Mars and the South Node does sound terrifyingly brutal and primitive. She also has Saturn in Cancer on the focal point of a T Square to a ‘lucky’ Jupiter opposition Uranus – such a Saturn gives her executive, organising ability but a dislike of sharing the driving seat.

  Tr Uranus will square her 18 degree Leo Sun late April/early May for an upset though the heftier jolt will come after mid year 2024 when tr Uranus is conjunct her Mars, North Node – and on Solar Arcs she met hit the buffers come 2027.

  The Assad Presidency, 17 July 2000,  looks rattled this year with tr Uranus square the Uranus and tr Saturn in Pisces will dent a few high hopes in 2023/24. SA Neptune will square the Saturn in 2024 for uncertainty and instability; with a disruptive 2025 with tr Uranus conjunct the Saturn and more so with SA Sun opposition Uranus in 2026.

  [I had hoped it might collapse when tr Pluto was opposing the 25 degree Cancer Sun and Mars 2018 to 2021 but alas not.]

  Brother Maher Assad, 8 December 1967, a key player in the family mafia,  Sun Sagittarius with Saturn in Aries sextile Mars in Aquarius, is running into the reefs come 2027.

  Bashar Assad, 11 September 1965, a Sun, Pluto, Uranus in Virgo is also heading into a load of trouble in coming years as his Solar Arc Sun Uranus Pluto cross over his Mars Neptune in Scorpio with his Solar Arc Saturn in opposition – and that could be terminal for his ambitions and regime.

  The most recent modern Syria chart of 1 January 1944 does hint at a degree of relief in 2024/2025 as its Jupiter is activated but it will be a long haul to rebuild the wreck left behind by a brutal civil war and a mafioso regime.  Both Asma and Bashar’s relationship charts with Syria have control-freak, destructive Mars Pluto composite aspects. No surprise there.

  A spate of negative publicity in 2021 about Asma Assad, describing her as a ‘cheerleader for evil’ led to calls for her to be stripped on British citizenship. She herself was sanctioned in 2020 for accumulating “ill-gotten riches at the expense of the Syrian people”.

  Algol has a lot to answer for in its negative manifestation – and hers also squares the Black Moon.