Marjorie

Gavin Newsom, sworn in as the replacement for Jerry Brown as Democratic California Governor in 2019 is in trouble. There is increasing pressure for a recall election as he faces a storm of bad news, mainly over his handling of the pandemic, but also about high taxes, homelessness, wildfires and summer blackouts. It’s not clear whether those pushing the threshold of 1.5 million signatures needed for the initial vote will be successful and even after that, it is a complicated process. In 2003 a recall election saw Arnold Schwarzenegger step in as Governor.

  Gavin Newsom, 10 October 1967 5.13 am San Francisco, has a background in a successful winery, restaurant and hotel business and has been in politics for 25 years, becoming the youngest Mayor of San Francisco along the way. He has a Sun Libra on the cusp of his financial 2^nd house opposition a self-reliant Saturn in Aries square a Capricorn Moon – hard-working, designed for a pubic career. More significantly he has the innovative and scattered Uranus Pluto in Virgo sitting on his Ascendant in a volatile and super-determined square to Mars opposition his Gemini Midheaven.  Tr Neptune is doing him no favours in 2021 as it returns to the undermining square to his Midheaven and Mars from later this month, which was around last year, bringing a panicky sense of failure. Tr Neptune is then moving to oppose his Pluto; and tr Pluto will trine his Uranus from late this month for upheavals on and off till late 2022 – all of which adds up to a pile of problems none of which he looks like overcoming for some considerable time.

  His Swearing In chart of 7 January 2019 12.07pm isn’t a total disaster but it has a road-blocked Saturn, Sun, Pluto on the Midheaven which doesn’t suggest easy progress; with Saturn square Mars which was guaranteed to bring setbacks.  And an over hopeful Jupiter square Neptune.

  He’s not as good a fit with California as Jerry Brown, who was the golden state’s longest running Governor from 2011 to 2019. Brown, 7 April 1938 12.34pm San Francisco, is an Aries Sun with Cancer Moon and a dynamic Mars Uranus in Taurus which trines the CA Virgo Sun.  Newsom’s Uranus Pluto square Mars hits the California Virgo Sun awkwardly – arguably hinting he may be a bringer of crises. His relationship chart with CA has two Yods – one Mars Saturn and the other Mars Pluto; with a more than challenging Neptune opposition Uranus Pluto square Saturn. So maybe he was always destined to lead through a time of rolling disasters – not his fault but he’s landed with the responsibility and will take the brickbats, deserved or otherwise.  

California is in an exceptionally bumpy patch of several years at the moment with tr Pluto moving in square to the Saturn/Pluto and Saturn/Uranus midpoints and then squaring Pluto Uranus in 2023/24. So whether Newsom stays or goes it’ll be a time of rolling challenges.

 Keir Starmer, the UK Opposition Leader, isn’t having a good week with murmurs surfacing that he is too cautious, a misheard accusation from Boris Johnson that he hotly denied and then had to retract; and leaks about making the Labour Party more Union-Jack friendly and patriotic. All this as the PM is revelling in unexpected popularity over the vaccine coup.

  Born 2 September 1962 (no birth time) Starmer has a talented and well-knit-together chart with a Water Grand Trine of Jupiter in Pisces trine Mars in Cancer trine Neptune, formed into a Kite by Jupiter opposition Sun Pluto in Virgo. He’s not short of confidence or drive, though may be a touch overly controlled with such an emphasised Pluto on top of a Virgo Sun. He’s also got a cool Saturn in Aquarius opposition a leadership North Node in Leo squaring onto Neptune – such a Neptune will make him elusive at times, hesitant to commit.

  Tr Saturn is square his Solar Arc Sun Pluto this month for a few setbacks; though tr Uranus is also sextile his Jupiter and conjunct his Mars/Jupiter for lucky breaks also this month. March looks crisis-ridden with a few disasters around. Late April and May will perhaps see a repeat of mis-speaks with a confused tr Neptune opposition his Mercury/Pluto and that repeats later in the year and into 2022. Not all plain sailing, but politics never is. He does have worrisome influences towards 2024/5 when the next election is due and before.

  His Leadership Term, 4 April 2020 10.45am has a directionless Neptune in the 10^th, so won’t always be great at setting out a route map. Though there’s a confident and usually successful Jupiter Pluto in the 7^th, indicating persuasive skills and selling an upbeat message.  What’s isn’t easy or helpful is a Mars Saturn conjunction in the 8^th square Uranus –  which suggests setbacks, disruptions and unexpected distractions or predicaments, which will come to a head and cause major aggravations in two years’ time when aspects close to exact.

Christopher Plummer, acclaimed for a wide range of standout stage performances as Lear and Iago amongst many others, became a household name because of his role as Captain von Trapp in The Sound of Music alongside Julie Andrews. He loathed the movie and the indelible imprint it made on his image describing it as like being beaten to death by a Hallmark card. He has just died aged 91 after a fall.

  His long career was marked by periods of excessive drinking and boorish behaviour but he staged a late revival in his 80s with an Oscar for Beginners and other creditable movies.

  Born 13 December 1929 in Toronto, Canada, no birth time, he had a fiery and outspoken Sagittarius Sun Mars conjunction; with Venus in Sagittarius opposition Jupiter square Neptune and Venus trine Uranus in Aries. Lively to say the least. His Moon was in heavyweight Taurus conjunct the North Node.

  When The Sound of Music premiered the tr Uranus Pluto in Virgo opposition tr Saturn in Pisces was moving to hard aspect his Sagittarius planets and his Jupiter – for highs and lows. He wasn’t the easiest mix for Julie Andrews with his Uranus falling in her 7^th house of relationship and his chilly Saturn in her 4^th. Though his Jupiter would smooth over a few rough edges. There is a slight crossover of each of their North Nodes which is probably significant for such an iconic movie – his Moon North Node in Taurus fell in Julie’s 8^th opposition her Moon; and his Pluto opposed her North Node.  

  He was married three times, the first two only lasting a few years each, and the third cleaned up his act and survived for 53 years. His third wife Elaine Taylor was a Libra like Julie Andrews – and both ladies had hard Saturn Mars aspects allowing them to put up with difficult men.

Actress, writer and producer Michaela Coel’s ‘I May Destroy You’ a semi-autobiographical TV drama series about her own experience of sexual assault got rave reviews – “universal acclaim” on Metacritic. So there were yowls of outrage when it didn’t get a nod at the Golden Globe nominations though the show has subsequently in the SAG Awards.

 Michaela Coel was born in London on 1 October 1987 to Ghanaian parents, went to university but left when she became a full-immersion Pentecostalist, then went to drama school, gave poetry readings; and in her late twenties wrote and starred in her own breakout TV vehicle Chewing Gum, a BAFTA-award winning comedy about a sex-starved immigrant kid in London’s public housing.  She moved into serious drama in the TV mini-series ‘Black Sun Rising’, playing a survivor of the Rwandan genocide fighting for justice at the international criminal court. Her performance was described as “mesmerising” and having “incandescent intensity”.

  In 2016 she had her drink spiked and was assaulted by two men which became the inspiration for ‘I May Destroy You’.  In it she is less concerned with the failures of the justice system than with ‘the psychology of the self: How do you become whole again after trauma breaks you open?’ It’s her attempt to make sense of the senseless.

  She’s a Sun Libra in a creative square to Neptune; with a highly-charged, super-intense Mercury Pluto in Scorpio; and an angry and adventurous Saturn Uranus in Sagittarius square Mars and trine Jupiter. Her charming Venus in Libra opposes Jupiter and probably squares a workaholic Capricorn Moon.

  Her midpoints indicate passionate enthusiasm, a turbo-charged communicative Mercury, creative talent and an explosive need to upset the status quo.

  When the assault took place in 2016 she was on her First Saturn Return with a disorienting square from tr Neptune; tr Pluto was around the square to her Venus, perhaps conjunct her Moon and conjunct her Solar Arc Saturn for an emotionally damaging and distressing time. With an explosive tr Uranus opposition her Solar Arc Mars.

   She’s on a confident and successful roll this year and next with tr Pluto square her Jupiter; though with some challenges and aggravation from tr Pluto trine her Mars.

   Her creative and seeking-soul 7^th Harmonic is strong as is her ‘obsessive dream’ 11H.

A force to be reckoned with.

Pic: JustJohal

Toyah Wilcox, venerable punk pop star, actress and all-round entertainer, has been one of the pandemic hits with her wild and wayout YouTube Sunday Lockdown Lunch videos with her husband Fripp, musician and founder of the rock band King Crimson – 4.3 million views.

  They’ve been together extraordinarily for 35 years given that both have exceptionally challenging temperaments and charts. The past year has been the longest stretch they have spent together. In normal years, both are touring or working away, and they lived in separate houses until 2001. Even now they exist together as two strongly independent people, not having joint bank accounts and each doing their own laundry. She reckons it works because both are passionate about their careers and don’t cling.

  She was born 18 May 1958 11.57 am Birmingham and has a self-sufficient Taurus New Moon in her 10^th house of career squaring onto Pluto, so she will be resistant to being controlled or crowded. Her childhood was difficult with medical problems galore including a twisted spine and developmental problems with her feet and hip sockets, requiring surgery and physiotherapy. She was bullied at school for her disabilities and her lisp; her father went bankrupt; and her relationship with her damaged mother was difficult. Despite her physical problems she started running away aged 12 and onwards and became famous young. She said in a recent interview: “I am deliberately, relentlessly happy because my mother deliberately, relentlessly tried to stop me being happy.”

  Her New Moon is also on the focal point of a Yod to Jupiter sextile Saturn which would set her on a unique path in life. Her Mercury in Taurus opposes Neptune and squares a 12^th house Uranus fuelling her innovative and rebellious, oddball tendencies.

  Her husband, Robert Fripp, 16 May 1946, no birth time, is also a Sun Taurus with probably a Scorpio Moon which sits on top of her New Moon square Pluto – so quite a potent and challenging combination. He has a do-or-die-determined Mars Pluto in Leo which is conjunct her Uranus; and his Uranus Venus in Gemini oppose her Saturn and square her Mars. No one could say it’s an easy combo.

  Their relationship chart has a fiery composite Sun Mars which squares onto Pluto and probably the Moon which is more than tricky, but also fairly locked together.  There’s a Pluto square Venus for a hint of passion and a Pollyanna-ish, gloss- over-the-difficulties Jupiter Neptune conjunction which may trine the composite Moon.

  Just goes to show that context can be all for relationships. A constantly separated lifestyle will soak up a good deal of the stress and strain. But still it’s amazing it has stood the test of time.

Jordan Peterson, the controversial Canadian psychology professor who became a love-hate figure for his anti-political correctness views, condemnation of academic “safe spaces” and his refusal to use transgender preferred pronouns, has a new book coming soon. At one point he was described as an “icon of white supremacy and hate speech.”

   In a publicity interview he described his recent spiral into drug addiction and suicidal thoughts, having become hooked on benzodiazepines prescribed to counter a violent reaction to a cranky diet and anxiety over his wife’s cancer. Along the way he was misdiagnosed as a schizophrenic. He then underwent a Russian treatment that put him into an induced coma for eight days to clear his system of drugs.

  Born 12 June 1962 2.49am Edmonton, Canada, he has a complicated and highly charged chart. He has a 2^nd house Gemini Sun and Mercury square Jupiter in Pisces opposition a grandstanding Pluto in the 5^th – keen on money, pushily-confident with Jupiter opposition Pluto and highly strung with a focal point Mercury.  Such a Mercury will make him scattered with a fairly disorganised mind.

   He also has a talented Air Grand Trine of Saturn in Aquarius in his 10^th trine a Libra Moon trine Mercury so is custom-built as a communicator but it adds to the pressures on his over-active mind which easily gets over-stimulated.

  Plus he has Mars in Taurus in the 12^th opposition Neptune square Saturn opposition a ‘leadership’ Leo North Node, which is stubborn to the nth degree, keen on publicity, will tend to attract angry reactions and is quite neurotic.

  His 6^th house of health holds both Neptune and his Moon so not messing around with his health will be crucial, which includes weirdo diets. His emotional state will also affect his physical health more than most.

  His Progressed Mars was conjunct his Sun around the time he was in his Russian coma and emerged unable to walk or remember; and at the same time his Progressed Mercury was conjunct his Uranus.

   Tr Neptune will square his Sun this year for a less than energetic phase with certain plans not working out; and tr Pluto is now just into his 10^th house, staying for many years, which suggests a long search for a new direction in life. Th is year tr Saturn square tr Uranus will batter his Mars and Neptune as well as Saturn this year along the way of his Second Saturn Return.

  He may have passed his moment.

Pic: Gage Skidmore.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the progressive Democratic Congresswoman, has been describing her fear of being killed in the January 6th Capitol invasion and how it triggered an earlier trauma in her life when she was sexually assaulted.

  She hit back at conservative Republicans like Ted Cruz for denying what she described as their responsibility for the storming of the Capitol complex, which left five people dead.

   Born 13 October 1989 at 11.50am Bronx, New York (from memory), she has an assertive and fiery Sun and Mars in Libra with her Mars on the focal point of a pro-active and restless Cardinal T Square to Jupiter in Cancer opposition Neptune Saturn (Uranus) in Capricorn and an Aries Moon. With such an emphasised/afflicted Mars in square to Saturn Neptune she’s more than likely to have run into abusive situations in her life.

  And tr Saturn moving through the nadir of her First Quadrant at the moment is likely to bring up old unresolved psychological issues to be faced and healed.

  There was nothing too dramatic showing on her chart over January 6^th, apart from a couple of confused, uncertain and stuck Saturn hard aspects to a couple of her midpoints; and a run of Neptunian transits through the year which will make her more emotional and vulnerable than usual.

  Both Ted Cruz and Josh Hawley, being Capricorn will trigger her highly strung and reforming triple conjunction. Cruz’s Uranus is conjunct her Mars and Hawley’s Pluto conjunct her Sun so both will make her agitated and feel crowded or manipulated.  Both also have crossovers with her Pluto – Cruz with his Mars conjunct causing aggravation and power struggles; and Hawley’s Saturn being in opposition so he’ll continually try to block her.

  She’s not at her most successful through this phase of several years and hasn’t the best of relationships with either Biden or Kamala Harris (see previous post November 10 2020.) But she has decades ahead of her so will come into her own at some point in the future.  

Northern Ireland is feeling the cold and turbulent wind of Brexit more than most with community tensions rising and border staff at ports now withdrawn because of safety fears from paramilitary threats. The Good Friday Agreement so critical to peace could be in jeopardy.

  A combination of Boris Johnson’s indifference to the implications of Brexit and triumphalist lies, exacerbated by Ursula von der Leyen’s recent crass actions over vaccines have stoked fuel on the fire of local feeling.  A councillor said: “This is the sad reality of those who imposed terms on Northern Ireland without the consent of the delicate community balance which exists here. The protocol was bound to end in tears and here we have society’s structure falling apart.”

Since 1 January, traders in Northern Ireland have been subjected to a litany of checks on goods and food being sold from Great Britain. Haulage firms have hiked prices by 12 per cent this week and hospitals, schools and prisons have warned of looming problems obtaining food. People are having to pay additional costs to bring food in to Northern Ireland and they are going to be passed onto some of the lowest-paid people in the UK.

  The Good Friday Agreement was signed on 10 April 1998 at 5pm in Belfast bringing closure, albeit fragile, to the Troubles which had plagued Northern Ireland for three decades and brought terrorist attacks on the UK mainland.

  It has a starkly difficult and violent, though suppressed 8^th house Sun, Saturn, Mars in Aries. This has been under strain for some years but tensions mounted sharply after the shock of Brexit in 2016 when tr Uranus in Aries was moving across those planets. And the pressure hasn’t lifted since with tr Pluto moving in square.

  Tr Pluto is now square the Mars/Saturn midpoint for this month, and that crises-ridden influence with the additional of high-risk and angry tr Pluto square the Sun/Mars midpoint return from July till the New Year. From early 2022 through till late 2023 tr Pluto will square the Mars which will be aggravating in the extreme.

  Relations between the North and the South will deteriorate sharply from this June, on and off till January 2023 with tr Neptune conjunct the composite Mars and opposition the composite Saturn. With a chill and separation in 2022 from tr Saturn conjunct the composite Sun. And 2023/24 is showing a sharp divergence as well with tr Uranus square the composite Sun. That’s from the Ireland 1949 and Northern Ireland December 7^th 1922 charts.

  For more detail: see previous post: September 17 2020.

  The only ray of sunshine is that Joe Biden may step in and bring down the heavy hand about fixing the problem.

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Pious sentiments about ‘democratising finance’ and sticking it to the rich guys may come badly unstuck for small chat-room investors who sent share prices soaring recently for a moribund Gameshop and lacklustre AMC theatre group. In the process they cost short-sellers a small fortune, before moving on to send the price of silver soaring to its highest level in a decade.

None of the moves had much to do with underlying economic fundamentals which left analysts fearing a sharp reversal for investors similar to the dot-com craze tanking in 2001 and the housing market collapsed in 2008.

  On Monday, shares in GameStop, the struggling retailer championed by Reddit investors declined by 30 percent, sliced in half from their peak but still over 1,000 percent higher than where they began the year. One broker said “It’s pump and dump in a totally new, viral format and there are huge risks that need to be looked at right now.” He said it had the markings of a market mania that historically ends in big losses for small traders.

  Robinhood, a financial services company, whose game-like approach facilitated much of the rise in GameStop and AMC shares, then had to pull back sharply sparking off criticism. Robinhood may struggle to hold on to its outsider identity as it is forced to play by the rules, industry participants say.

Elizabeth Warren sounded a note of caution. “We actually don’t know who all the players are in all this — whether there’s big money on both sides.”

  Robinhood was founded 18 April 2013 in California by Vlad Tenev, a Bulgarian-American, and Baiju Bhatt, an Indian-American. It has a fiery, adventurous, pro-active and go-getting Sun Mars in Aries; with an excitable Uranus Mercury also in Aries square Pluto amplifying its innovative, not to say disruptive streak in bucking the status quo. There’s also a more materialistic Venus in Taurus opposition Saturn in Scorpio, so making money will be in its DNA.

  This year they will be seriously jolted from mid to late March with tr Uranus opposing its Saturn. But it’s 2022/23 when they will run into the buffers as tr Pluto squares their Mars and Sun to bring them to a grinding halt. With Solar Arc Sun Mars opposing the Saturn in 2023 as well.

It’s not that the finance big boys don’t need a serious sorting out but this could end in tears.