US Supreme Court – losing respect amongst the public ++ Barrett, Kavanaugh, Gorsuch

With the Supreme Court’s approval rating slipping in the USA and only 28% polled recently wanting to see the pro-choice Roe versus Wade repealed, there will be a moment of truth coming. The Texas near total ban on abortions even where rape or incest are involved and a Mississippi similar one are coming before SCOTUS in November and December. It will be the first abortion case argued before the court since the nomination of three justices by former Republican president Donald Trump gave conservatives a 6-3 majority on the panel. Congress has already adopted a bill to enshrine the right to an abortion in federal law to protect it from any possible reversal but it has no chance of passing the Senate.

 The first hearing on November 1st has a tricky Sun Mars in Scorpio with Uranus in opposition and square Saturn – which will make for an aggravated mood. The aftermath with Mars closing these aspects to exact will be rancorous and bitter. John Roberts, the Chief Justice looks discouraged and he must be worried about the lack of public respect. On the Roe v Wade chart January into February 2022 look the most aggravated time. With some cheer following in February. But the issue won’t go away.

  From a previous post September 24 2020:  ‘Roe v Wade was signed 22 January 1973 at 10 am Washington, DC which gives a stalwart Aquarius Sun trine Pluto sextile Neptune in Sagittarius; with an optimistic Uranus square Jupiter Mercury; and a destructive Mars opposition Saturn. There are tremors of an upheaval this year until late December though nothing would be decided that quickly. Though an anti-abortion choice for SCOTUS might send shivers of fear through the chart. Where the major debate comes is 2023/24 with tr Pluto conjunct the Mercury with a seriously rattled and insecure Solar Arc Uranus conjunct Mars in 2024/25. Tr Pluto will also be conjunct the Sun in 2024 so that looks the most challenging time.’

The SCOTUS chart itself is on edge with tr Saturn square the Uranus and tr Uranus square the Sun; with confusion following in December as Pluto squares the Neptune – and 222 is no better with tr Neptune conjunct the Saturn and opposes the Moon. Not too woman friendly from the look of that. Disappointment will be the mood and it will be internal as well as external.

See also post September 2 2021 Texas anti-Abortion.

Add On: Amy Coney Barrett, 28 January 1972, the latest Trump and uber-religious appointee, has tr Saturn exactly conjunct her Aquarius Sun now, so sobering days till mid November. Where her chart looks super-stressed is 2023/24 when she has a serious setback from Solar Arc Saturn square her afflicted Mars; and tr Pluto in a discouraging trine to her Saturn into 2024 as well; along with a deflated-hopes tr Neptune square Jupiter in 2024.

 Brett Kavanaugh, another recent Trump appointee, is equally look devastated in 2023/24 with a panicky -failure tr Neptune opposition his Mars; tr Uranus square his Sun plus plus a couple of other negative influences.

  Neil Gorsuch, 29 August 1967, will be jostled around in 2023/24 as tr Uranus is in a helpful square to his Jupiter but also in an explosive, insecure opposition to his Mars Neptune in Scorpio – so more bad than good.

  It could be personal travails in each case but altogether it looks challenging and not progressive for the right wingers.

Zayn and Gigi – a mother-in-law spat

Zayn Malik, formerly of One Direction, has denied hitting Yolanda Hadid, the mother of his erstwhile partner Gigi Hadid in a domestic argument. The couple who have had an on off relationship since 2015 have reportedly split. Supermodel Gigi Hadid is sister to fellow models Bella and Anwar and the daughter of Yolanda Hadid, a Dutch-American television personality and former model, best known as a star of the American reality-television show The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills. Shades of the Kardashians.

Yolanda, 11 January 1964, is an ambitious Sun Mars in Capricorn with her Sun square Jupiter, trine sextile Neptune and trine Pluto; and a sophisticated, chilly Venus Saturn in Aquarius. A force to be reckoned with.

  Zayn Malik, 12 January 1993 10 am Bradford, England, is a highly-strung Sun, Neptune, Uranus, Mercury in Capricorn opposition a volatile Mars in Cancer so he probably has a short fuse. And his relationship chart with the putative mother-in-law was and is ferociously hostile with a composite Mars opposition Pluto square a tussle-for-the-upper-hand Jupiter Sun. Not a good combo with her controlling Pluto conjunct his Virgo Moon.

  Gigi Hadid, 23 April 1995 6.26am Los Angeles, is a Sun Taurus with Pluto in the 7th which will attract her to intense partners. Her mother comes across in her chart as forceful with a Moon opposition Mars; and her Moon is conjunct her mother’s Saturn for a chilly interface, plus she has the highly-strung Uranus Neptune in her 10th which also represents mother.  But their relationship chart is affectionate enough with a composite Sun Venus and only a minor spot of irritation from a composite Mars trine Saturn.

  All a fuss about nothing much in the lives of less than amiable types.

Meta – an infinite Zuckerburg universe

The Facebook parent platform is changing its name to Meta from 1 December, reflecting the company’s push to build an avatar-filled virtual world known as the metaverse – the “successor to the mobile internet” – where users can shop, game and socialise in a shared virtual space. Zuckerburg hopes to attract 1bn more users and “hundreds of billions of dollars of digital commerce a day” in the next decade. The existing individual brands — Facebook, WhatsApp, Messenger, Instagram and Oculus — will not change.

 The timing is unfortunate given the bad publicity from recent whistleblower testimony but it can be a successful business strategy, as with google and Alphabet.

 The 1 December launch date has an ultra-ruthlessly determined Mars in Scorpio in a publicity-attracting trine to Neptune and sextile an influential/controlling and seductive Venus Pluto in Capricorn. Plus a risk-taking, opportunistic Jupiter square Mars. It’s a strong chart for a go-getting enterprise.

 Below is a rerun of an earlier October 5 2021 post on Facebook and Zuckerburg.

The fates have conspired to give Facebook the week from hell with a prolonged outage yesterday, wiping billions off share prices and a whistleblower accusing the company of placing “profit over safety” on primetime TV in advance of a hearing before US senators today. The six hour break in service was deemed to be an internal configuration fault which shut down not just the internet feed but also entry into the building for engineers trying to fix it.

     Francis Haugen, a former product manager, hired to help protect against election interference, leaked a trove of internal company documents to the Wall Street Journal which have created its deepest crisis since the Cambridge Analytica scandal – and has now stepped into the open. She said FB had lied to the public, exaggerating the progress it had made tackling hate, violence, and misinformation on its platform.

“There were conflicts of interest between what was good for the public and what was good for Facebook. Over and over again, [it] chose to optimise for its own interests, like making more money.” FB’s shares have dipped 13 per cent since the WSJ began publishing its series in mid-September.

  Mark Zuckerburg, 14 May 1984 2.39pm White Plains New York, whose Taurus Sun is conjunct Algol, with Venus close by, opposing Mars Moon Saturn in Scorpio isn’t one to panic or over-react to pressure. But he’s in a long run of tr Uranus hard aspects to his Scorpio/Taurus planets, jangling him this year, more so in 2022/23/24. Even he will have to budge. The Eclipses from this November’s Taurus Lunar Eclipse and on through 2022 into 2023 will rattle up a good going series of crises, so he’ll have to change whether he likes it or not. His Progressed Mars will conjunct his 2nd house Saturn in 2022 which could see a major financial setback.

  What is odd about the FB IPO chart, 18 May 2012 11.31am is the Jupiter in Taurus which tr Pluto is trine at the moment and should be instilling confidence not the reverse. Though admittedly tr Saturn square the Midheaven won’t help and there will be disappointments with tr Neptune hitting the financial Venus and Mars/Uranus midpoint earlier this year and throughout 2022.

  There’s also a further calamity from 2nd to 10th December this year which shows up on Zuckerburg and the IPO chart.

 The original FB chart, 4 February 2004, is jolted, jangled and nerve-stretched this year and next with the disruptive and uncertain tr Saturn square tr Uranus hitting on the Neptune Sun in Aquarius; with financial woes in 2022/23 from tr Neptune conjunct the Venus; and worse problems in 2023/24 as the dead-halt tr Pluto squares the Mars in Taurus.

Rishi Sunak – keeper of the money tree

Rishi Sunak, the UK Chancellor, despite all media rumours that he and Boris did not see eye to eye has indulged in a lavish budget. It has alarmed ‘small government’ Tories and stirred up criticism for those affected by tax rises, with gloomy prognostications about financial pain to come with inflation, rising mortgage rates and the Brexit effect.

  In fact he never looked overly out of sorts with Boris on the astrology, though there’s a degree of suspicion and doubt written into their relationship chart. There’ll be some discouraging moments between them over the next fifteen months but it looks as if 2023 is when the cracks begin to show.

   Sunak, 12 May 1980, is a stalwart Sun Mercury in Taurus trine Saturn; though with his Sun on the focal point of a Yod to Neptune sextile Pluto – mega-ambitious but not always sure of himself. Though he’s had a golden run of Winchester, Oxford, Stanford University as a Fulbright scholar, Goldman Sachs and marrying a billionaire’s daughter before moving into politics. He’ll be bullish this December though behind the smiles he will have sinking moments of uncertainty with tr Neptune opposition his Saturn until mid January; followed by a run of dashed-hopes/failed-plans and confidence-undermining Neptune transits to two Pluto midpoints through 2022. He’ll have a high late in 2022 – or at least will be making a determined push to speed ahead with his Solar Arc Pluto square his Jupiter. 2023 will be disruptive and a year of sudden change with tr Uranus starting to conjunct his Sun.

  His Chancellor’s chart, 13 February 2020, is blocked and frustrated till the New Year, under discouraging stars in 2022; but it is 2023 which will see his applecart being tipped up.   

Mort Sahl – a devastating charmer

Trailblazing standup comedian Mort Sahl has died at 94. He is credited with revolutionising American comedy in the 1950s with his acerbic political satire. He was described as a cross between Lenny Bruce and Bob Hope and though he never shocked with obscenities, he aimed like a ‘heat seeking missile’ on his target, who would be a public figure of any political inclination.  One tribute said ‘pound-for-pound, [he was] the funniest, most innovative comedian of them all, throughout his entire career.’

  One of his comments was “Washington couldn’t tell a lie. Nixon couldn’t tell the truth and Reagan couldn’t tell the difference.”

  Born 11 May 1927 8.30am Montreal, Canada, he was a Sun Taurus in a creative square to Neptune in Leo, oddly enough in his communicative 3rd. He had a lucky, successful Jupiter in his career 10th in an adventurous conjunction to Uranus square a charming Venus in Gemini. Where he got his acid-edge was a ruthless and enraged Mars Pluto in Cancer in his 1st sextile Mercury and his Sun.

David Beckham – well paid for a sportswashing gig

David Beckham is under attack for taking on a multi-million pound ambassadorial role with the Qatar 2022 World Cup. 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. It punishes homosexuality with imprisonment and runs secret gay conversion programmes; and it won the right to host the tournament after allegations of corruption in the voting process.

  Beckham who has had close ties with key figures in Qatar since his time playing at Paris St-Germain insists he was working with the nation because he believes in the “power of football to inspire positive change”.

  Alternatively the rulers believe in the efficacy of ‘sportswashing’ – cosmeticising their mediaeval regimes with a western facelift.

   Beckham, 2 May 1975 6.17 am London, does look rattled with the tr Saturn square tr Uranus hitting his Taurus Sun into early 2022; and a confusing tr Pluto conjunct his Solar Arc Neptune this December. Then tr Pluto will conjunct his Midheaven through next year (birth time being accurate) which could dent his image. Plus a disappointing tr Neptune square his Venus, making him feel less than loved. He does have his Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct his Mercury now which will lift his spirits and no doubt his bank account. 2022 looks insecure and rattled with his Solar Arc Uranus square his Mars – and his Solar Arc Moon conjunct his Mars. So it’ll be arguments all the way.

 The World Cup chart, 21 November 2022, doesn’t look like anything much with the jolting Saturn square Uranus still in place; a delusional, expensive Jupiter Neptune in a showbizzy square to Mars – but nothing much joining together.

  However the Qatar country chart, 1 September 1971 looks on a confident roll with tr Pluto sextile its Jupiter in money-magnet Scorpio through 2022/23; and tr Jupiter opposition its Pluto for the World Cup. They – or at least the rulers – will be pleased enough.

 The present Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, 3 June 1980, is another Sun Gemini, widely trine Pluto opposition Neptune – and Jupiter Mars and Saturn in Virgo, which fits the present ‘whirlwind-in-a-storm’ leaders of elsewhere.  

Poland – discovering EU money comes with ties

Poland’s prime minister – a cross between Boris Johnson and Donald Trump – has been using inflammatory language about ‘guns to head’ and starting a third World War as the EU put its foot down about internal Polish moves to threaten the independence of the judiciary. The stand-off has already delayed approval of Poland’s €36bn Covid-19 economic recovery package from Brussels and further tens of billions of euros in annual EU funds paid to Warsaw could be at risk. The ruling conservative party with strong ties to the influential Catholic Church has also moved to curb independent journalism, with Poland down from 18th to 62nd place in the World Press Freedom Index — below Niger and Armenia – in the last six years.

 Despite murmurings about a Polexit it is unlikely, with nearly ninety percent of the electorate wanting to stay in the EU.

  What is clear is that the 2004 enlargement intake including Poland, Hungary, Malta, Slovenia etc is moving through a discontented and disillusioning phase with the 2004 tussle-for-the-upper-hand Pluto opposition Venus Mars being chipped away at by tr Neptune in square over the next three years. It was always going to be an intake which pressed heavy demands on the newcomers and made them feel dominated. At the moment as well – which could come to a head at New Year and through January – is the disruptive tr Uranus conjunct the 2004 Enlargement Taurus Sun.

  The PM Mateusz Morawiecki on his 2nd term since 15 November 2019 is facing an enraging, trapped 2022/23 with tr Pluto square the Mars.

  The Poland 24 August 1989 1.05 pm chart, if the start time is accurate, has tr Uranus moving across the Descendant in 202/23 which can be a relationship severing influence in the years following.  The UK had similar for Brexit. There’s also a devastating Solar Arc Neptune square the Poland Pluto hitting late 2022 into 2023, followed by discouraging Solar Arc Saturn square Pluto in 2024.

Pluto in the 12th suggests a fair amount of dirty-dealing and power-hungry manipulation behind the scenes – so it may be the shadowy forces who are causing problems will be to some degree stonewalled. Plus at the moment the tr Uranus square tr Saturn is also bouncing off the Poland hidden Pluto – until early 2022. And that Pluto is opposition the EU Moon and square its Uranus so there was always going to be a standoff.

From an earlier post on February 22 2021

  And there are Geminis as far as the eye can see. Orban (of Hungary) has a Gemini Sun; as does Mateusz Morawiecki – a Boris-like collection of Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars in Gemini square Uranus Pluto in Virgo; as does Jaroslaw Kaczynski, firebrand founder and leader of PiS and now Deputy PM with his Sun and Mars in Gemini. Who’d have thought Geminis would turn out – in some cases – to have such a dictatorial, narrow-minded, retrograde mindset. Mind you the Vatican 1929 chart has a New Moon and Mercury in Gemini which always struck me as odd.

  The modern Poland 24 August 1989 1.05pm Warsaw chart, is in a confusing phase – upheavals, disruptions, rebellions, logjammed.

The EU Accession chart of 1 May 2004 looks equally rattled with a separating tr Saturn square the Taurus Sun and tr Uranus conjunct, picking up next month and continuing on throughout the year. A totally blocked Solar Arc Pluto opposition the Saturn late 2021. And there’s an undermining tr Neptune square the Pluto and Venus before moving onto an even more panicky-failure square to the Mars in 2022/23.

  Diplomatic relations won’t be getting any easier anytime soon with the EU already threatening to withhold funds if community values are not upheld. In 2018 Poland was a net recipient of EU funds to the tune of twelve and a half billion euros.

The De Niros – destroying themselves

At the risk of overkill on Algol there is a pertinent example from the rarefied world of covetous and cosseted celebrities. Robert De Niro has been fighting a bitter divorce battle with his ex-wife Grace Hightower, with both accusing the other of extravagant spending habits. His lawyer described her demands as “rich with indulgences and waste and greed”. A judge has now ruled she is not entitled to half of his income though she’ll get $1 million a year alimony plus a $6 million house so she won’t be out on the sidewalk.

  Both have Mars in Taurus conjunct Algol – in his case square a 2nd house (financial) Leo Sun. In her case without a birth time on a 12 noon chart, she has her Mars Algol in a ferocious T square opposition Saturn square a controlling Pluto in her financial 2nd house – which seems plausible. Why they ever married is a mystery but they almost certainly deserve each other.

 Money is not much mentioned around Algol which is odd given its position in Taurus though in Arab and Chinese systems the constellation of Perseus does govern the finding of treasure and accumulation of wealth.

Below is a rerun of an April 23 2021 post on the witless de Niros.

Robert De Niro, one of the all-time Hollywood greats with a string of awards for his nine Martin Scorsese movies including The Godfather, Taxi Driver, The Deer Hunter, Raging Bull, Cape Fear, The Unotuchables as well as Wag the Dog, Silver Linings Playbook etc has gone noticeably off track over the past two decades with a string of clunkers – Meet the Fockers, Meet the Parents, Dirty Grandpa  – and lame TV adverts for a breadmaker and a car company. His lawyer now claims he is “working at an unsustainable pace” in order to support his about-to-be-ex-wife Grace Hightower and pay off all his back taxes.  Her lawyer retaliated that he had been “unfairly decreasing” the agreed-upon payments including cutting her credit-card expenses from $461,000 a month to “just” $127,000 from January.

  He hooked up with Hightower in the late 1990s with a two year marriage which split and got together again in 2004 which more or less coincides with his downturn and bad career choices.

  He was born 17 August 1943 3am New York and has a 2nd house Leo Sun square Mars in Taurus conjunct Algol; with Jupiter Pluto and his North Node in Leo in his 2nd. Money will always have been a driving force in his life with a strong tendency to profligacy and gross indulgence when it comes to spending with no limits and, on the evidence, less inclination to save for tax.

  What is astro-intriguing is his ex-Grace, born 7 April 1955, also has Mars in Taurus conjunct Algol in an extraordinarily difficult, stubborn-to the-nth-degree, and hard edged opposition to Saturn square Pluto. Her Pluto is conjunct his 2nd house Sun so she will be drawn to controlling him financially. But if ever two people should never have got hitched they are it. Their relationship chart does have an affectionate composite Sun opposition Venus with a passionate Venus trine Pluto so there would have been an attraction which ended in disappointment with a composite Sun trine Neptune. But it’s that stand out Mars Algol which has obviously wreaked destruction on their relationship and his judgement.

  When the couple finally split four years ago tr Neptune was conjunct his Pisces Moon and starting to move round his T Square of Mercury Venus squaring onto Saturn and that won’t clear till early 2024 after an uncertain tr Neptune square his Saturn is finished. In 2018 as well tr Uranus just into Taurus was aiming to square his Pluto and Jupiter which he’s not in the midst of. Tr Saturn is just into his 8th till April 2023 which will be tight financially (comparatively speaking) – and tr Saturn square tr Uranus is also tugging on his extravagant Jupiter Pluto in Leo this year.

  It’s an unedifying divorce spat which has left the judge unimpressed. He said: “I want to get these parties divorced – to go their separate ways. They will still come out of this richer than almost any human being who walks this earth. There is nothing ordinary about these expenses. For 99.9999 per cent of the world, these are extraordinary to an almost unimaginable degree.”

  It’s not clear that De Niro can untarnish his legacy any time soon with tr Neptune heading to conjunct his Midheaven between now and 2024.

  Hollywood at its worst.

Sweden – a deadly liberal dilemma

Another flare up in Sweden’s gang problem as Einar, a 19 year old rapper was shot dead in the street, days before he was due to testify in a case against the so-called Vårby gang. Last April he was kidnapped, beaten up and blackmailed by members of the Vårby gang, whose members have been convicted of murder, attempted murder, robbery, extortion, abduction and drug and firearm offences. It is led by a Tunisian man and populated by first- and second-generation immigrants from Finland, the Balkans and Africa.

 The police say there are two problems, the first of which is lack of integration with a recent study of a street gang indicating a quarter of the members were ethnic Swedes and 40 percent had been born in Sweden.  The other is the supply of surplus weapons from Serbia and Bosnia after the end of the war, and the ease with which they can cross the borders – the Denmark Sweden bridge getting some of the blame. Sweden is the only European country where fatal shootings have risen significantly since 2000, going from one of the lowest rates of gun violence to one of the highest in less than a decade.

  Einar, 5 September 2002, fits the Mars Pluto profile of the moment having Pluto square his Virgo Sun and widely his Mars; and the tr Pluto being exactly square his Mars/Pluto midpoint now.

  As to why Sweden has fallen down a sinkhole of violence and crime in recent times? 

  The Sweden 7 December 1865 3.30pm chart has three separate strands. The first is a vibrant, enthusiastic Sun Mars in Sagittarius. The second is a resourceful, restless, idealistic though not always realistic Cardinal T Square of Mercury Jupiter in Capricorn opposition Uranus square Neptune in Aries. The third is a tough-minded and battened-down Pluto in Taurus opposition Saturn in obsessive Scorpio. A complex mix of adventurous and opinionated, utopian visionary and repressed – with a free-floating unaspected sexy Venus in Scorpio thrown in for good measure.

  When separate chart configurations come together by Solar Arc directions there is usually a life-changing crisis stretching over an extended period of time. The Solar Arc Sun and Mars started to impact the Saturn opposition Pluto 13 years ago, peaked a year ago and will still be in effect.

The Solar Arc Pluto opposition Saturn collided with the Cardinal T Square of Uranus, Jupiter, Mercury and Neptune 16 and 11 years ago throwing the idealistic Sweden Neptune into a tailspin – a tolerant, laissez-faire country having to cope with having taken in intolerant and amoral elements.  That arguably is what set off this decade of mayhem. It would also be exacerbated by the tr Pluto square tr Uranus bouncing off the Neptune etc early last decade. Whether a reversal is possible is moot, though events like this one may jolt the government/police into a higher level of activity – and at some point they will get a grip. New York got cleaned up as did Glasgow over time with steady pressure being brought to bear on crime.

  The late November Lunar Eclipse will shake up the Sweden Venus in Scorpio and next year the Saturn opposition Pluto will also catch the Solar Eclipses – so old patterns will be challenged.

  If the start time is accurate tr Pluto will also move out of the trapped 8th house, which rules the underworld, after this year which may also help.