Trump’s vengeance spree against Sadiq Khan

 

Another of Trump’s unseemly hate-festes has been unleashed against London Mayor Sadiq Khan. It’s a spat that has been running since Khan spoke out against the Muslim ban and Trump retaliated with glee on twitter over the London terror attacks in 2017 which left 7 dead and many injured, using it to justify his travel ban and misquoting Khan. Khan has since retaliated by speaking out against Trump and his state visit.

Now stoked up by the beyond-appalling Katie Hopkins, Trump is slating Khan for London’s crime killings. In reality the murder rate in Baltimore is a 31 times higher per capita, New Orleans is 22.4 times higher and Detroit 22 times. London has half New York’s murder rate.

What’s astrologically on point is the cross over between the charts. Khan, despite being a mild-mannered Libra, has a megaton, forceful Mars Pluto in Virgo which squares Trump’s Sun and Moon; and Khan’s Saturn in Taurus is conjunct Trump’s midheaven with his Neptune opposition and both are square Trump’s bombastic Mars. Active dislike runs rampant and Khan would crush him if he could.

Their relationship chart has a composite Mars Pluto which leads to bitter power struggles; and a needs-space, differing-agendas composite Sun Uranus. It’ll flare up again in November and next February as tr Uranus trines the Mars Pluto, if not before in July.

Franco Zeffirelli – creativity ran in his blood

 

Franco Zeffirelli, one of the great film and opera directors, has died. He was known for his Taming of the Shrew with Liz Taylor and Richard Burton, Romeo and Juliet and the miniseries Jesus of Nazareth starring Robert Powell as Christ. He worked with Maria Callas and some of his operatic designs and productions have become worldwide classics. He was also latterly a senator for Berlusconi’s Italian centre-right Forza Italia party and a staunch Catholic.

He was born 12 February 1923 12 noon Florence the result of an affair between a fashion designer and a wool dealer and could trace his lineage back to Leonardo da Vinci’s family.  His mother died when he was six and he grew up in an English expatriate community. He fought as a partisan and an interpreter for British troops, went back to architectural studies after the war and then switched to theatre, working with Luchino Visconti, Roberto Rossellini and Vittorio De Sica.

He had a 10th house Aquarius Sun opposition a filmic and creative Neptune squaring onto an expansive, confident and lucky Jupiter in Scorpio. He also had a restless, high-initiative Cardinal Grand Square of a Capricorn Moon and Venus opposition Pluto square Mars in Aries opposition Saturn in Libra – so no slouch when it came to hard work and dreaming up new projects. But he had a hard-edged and ruthless streak which would make him tricky to get along with. He also had a creative Water Grand Trine of a maverick Uranus in the 10th trine Pluto trine Jupiter, formed into a Kite by Pluto opposition Moon. Not designed for an ordinary life – the driving planet Moon would propel him towards a public career as would a 10th house Sun.

His creative and musical 7th harmonic was confident and strongly marked; as was his obsessive-dream 11H; his leaving-a-legacy 17H; and his superstar 22H.

Sarah Huckabee Sanders – null points for communication

Sarah Huckabee Sanders, Trump’s (alleged) press secretary has resigned, though in recent times after being caught out in a litany of lies, obfuscations and misspeaks, she has rarely spoken to the majority of the media.

Born 13 August 1982 in Hope, Arkansas, she is the daughter of Mick Huckabee former Republican Governor of Arkansas and twice candidate for the presidency.  She’s got an idealistic/slippery Leo Sun trine Neptune, sextile an unyielding Saturn Pluto in Libra; with a sugary-sweet, good-for-PR, insincere-charm Venus in Cancer square Jupiter Mars in Scorpio which masks a steely core.

Her relationship with Trump is genuinely affectionate/friendly and supportive with a composite Sun Venus square Jupiter; though it was always going to be a  bond that moved through changeable times with composite Saturn Uranus and Uranus conjunct Pluto.

I thought it might blow last year when tr Uranus was square the composite Sun and Venus though that may have loosened the ties that bind. Tr Pluto has been opposing the composite Sun this year; and both tr Uranus and tr Neptune are pulling on the need-for-change planets. Mueller may have been the straw that finally made the difference as she is recorded as having lied about the FBI and James Comey, though she won’t admit to anything other than a slip of the tongue.

On her own chart she looks relieved with tr Uranus opposition her Jupiter though also a touch insecure and agitated with tr Uranus opposition her Mars, with a deluge of bad press on her exit. She also has a massive upheaval from her Solar Arc Pluto conjunct her Uranus now, which would certainly give her a sharp nudge.  Her road ahead looks uncertain, insecure, confused and fairly catastrophic for the next three to four years with tr Neptune opposition her Sun/Saturn midpoint in 2020/2021 and three Pluto hard aspects to three separate Saturn midpoints this year and on till 2023. Though that won’t hold her back with tr Pluto square her Jupiter in 2021/22, so she’ll respond – some of the time – with her usual tone-deaf confidence.

Kellyanne Conway – brazen and enraged

 

Kellyanne Conway, Trump’s top aide, is under warning from an independent federal agency that oversees compliance with the Hatch Act that she has repeatedly violated the law by criticizing Democratic presidential candidates while speaking in her official capacity. They recommend she should be removed.

Previously, when asked about the issue in late May, she replied, “blah, blah, blah. … If you’re trying to silence me through the Hatch Act, it’s not going to work. Let me know when the jail sentence starts.” A senior administration official said the president had no plans to discipline or remove Conway and is standing behind her, while a spokesman criticized the Office of Special Counsel for kowtowing to liberal organizations.

It’s the problem when you have a shameless administration with little knowledge of constitutional niceties and utterly no respect for the law. And the system doesn’t appear robust enough to slam the brakes on them.

Born 20 January 1967 8.58 am Washington, DC, she has a 12th house Capricorn Sun trine a Taurus Moon and square an 8th house Mars in Libra; with a Water Grand Trine of Saturn in Pisces trine Jupiter in Cancer trine Neptune in Scorpio formed into three Kites by Jupiter opposition Sun, Saturn opposition Uranus Pluto and Neptune opposition Moon. A very complicated lady, lucky in certain respects, but also chaotic and driven by deep subterranean anger.

She’s got a blocked, frustrated, enraged tr Pluto square her 8th house Mars exact at the moment and repeating till late 2020, indeed it is exact over the 2020 election. Tr Pluto then move on to conjunct her Sun in 2023/24 so a long phase of grinding pressure some of it psychological, though her Jupiter will come to her rescue at times. She has three downers from Solar Arcs to and from Saturn in 2020 and 2022, with only one upper in 2021 from Jupiter.

Her relationship with Trump will have its hiccups and surprises from this July onwards with tr Uranus conjunct their Solar Arc Venus and square the Uranus which is the same time tr Uranus is square her Solar Arc Midheaven which could suggest a career change; and with Trump she is under exceptionally gloomy challenges from early 2020 to late 2021.

The real mystery is her marriage to George Conway, one of Trump’s most vehement critics. Though with Uranus Pluto in her 7th she was always guaranteed to find an unconventional partner. He’s a Sun, Uranus, Pluto in Virgo so has his own degree of chaos. And his Saturn in Aquarius is conjunct her Venus and square her Moon which might make one wonder why they ever got together. Their composite Mars is under great strain this year and next – aggravated and stuck.

Boris Johnson – a Trumpian teflon coating ++ Extra

Boris Johnson looks a shoe-in for the Theresa May replacement in No 10, Leader of the Tory Party and from the polls a certainty for winning a large majority at a general election.  Unless he messes up between now and mid-July when the final vote is taken by the party. And it would have to be said his astrology isn’t remotely encouraging despite the raptures being voiced by the right wing press.

He’s got tr Saturn opposition his Mars/Uranus midpoint until mid June which is lack of adaptability, a loss or injury according to Ebertin.  He also has tr Pluto opposition his Mars/Pluto midpoint from July 11th onwards for a few weeks which is completely blocked and irritated. And no Jupiter uplift except from the July Cancer Eclipse which is conjunct his Solar Arc Jupiter and, birth time being accurate at 2pm, his Midheaven, which latter isn’t necessarily a sign of progress, more likely a crisis.

Lynton Crosby, 23 August 1956, who is running his campaign, has a couple of ominous transiting Saturn blocks for the next few weeks which don’t normally bring moments of cheer. But he does have tr Pluto square his Jupiter/Node midpoint from 11 July onwards which will be upbeat – so there’s faint hope from that for a good result from his point of view. Though he may also just be pleased to be cut loose and off elsewhere.

Boris’s relationship with the UK chart is fairly horrific in essence with a gritty, bad-tempered composite Saturn Mars and Mars opposition Neptune which latter would leave the suspicion that putting the country first wouldn’t be on his agenda.

His relationship with the Tory Party 1834 chart is equally grim with a composite Mars Pluto opposition Neptune Saturn.  So no love lost there. The 1912 Party chart is marginally better with him though there’s a delusional, high-hopes-lead-to-disappointment feel about it.

If by some weird mischance he does get in, the immediate future isn’t encouraging from late September to late January 2020 which looks like a swampy downhill slide, riddled with failure.

What is so puzzling is that he has a Trumpian knack of sliding out from under any number of massive missteps in the past and his manifest character flaws don’t appear to register on his seeming popularity. Two slippery Geminis. If it didn’t matter so much it would be an interesting wait and see exercise.

When he became Mayor of London to everyone’s surprise in May 2008 he had his Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct his Sun and then Venus in the first year thereafter so it was a peak of good fortune in his life. There isn’t anything similar around at the moment as he pitches his sights even higher. He does, of course, have his Jupiter opposition Neptune natally, so his confidence will tend to over-shoot and he then goes off into lies, delusions and general mayhem.

His Solar Return for 2019 does not look like an overwhelming success with the accident-prone and hugely frustrating Mars opposition Saturn Pluto anchoring it down.

Esther & Lorraine – a tale of two sofa sisters

The tragi-comic pantomime mid Brexit of the Tory leadership election has thrown up colourful, criminal misdemeanours on the drug-taking front and now an unseemly spat between a breakfast television presenter and one of the contestants who was once was a sofa colleague. There are whispers of professional jealousy. It’s all a storm in a teacup but entrancing the media who are bored witless by the rest of the shenanigans.

Lorraine Kelly, 30 November 1959 10.45 am Glasgow Scotland has been a breakfast screen presence since the early 1980s. She’s an enthusiastic Sun, Jupiter, Mercury in Sagittarius in a determined square to Pluto with a sharp-tongued Mars Mercury in Scorpio in her 10th in a risk-taking square to Uranus.

Esther McVey, 24 October 1967, was a GMTV presenter during her media career and then stood for parliament, latterly taking over George Osborne’s safe seat, and becoming a Cabinet member. She’s a Sun Scorpio on the focal point of an exuberant mini-Grand Trine to Jupiter in Virgo trine Mars in Capricorn; with a hard-edged Mars square a self-reliant Saturn in Aries.

It’s definitely an abrasive relationship with Esther’s Mars conjunct Lorraine’s Saturn; Esther’s Sun conjunct Lorraine’s evasive Neptune; and Esther’s Jupiter Mars Sun hitting on Lorraine’s 8th house controlling Pluto.

The relationship chart has a power-struggling composite Mars square Pluto and a suspicious composite Sun Neptune square Saturn. Not well designed to be best mates, for sure.

There’s nothing much on Esther’s chart (minus birth time) to suggests success ahead this year or next. Though tr Pluto square her Solar Arc Jupiter will give her the confidence to keep pushing.

Pic Chris McAndrew

Hong Kong – standing out against tyranny

 

Hong Kong demonstrators against the new deeply unpopular extradition law to mainland China have given Chief Executive Carrie Lam her greatest crisis so far. Many hundreds of thousands were out on the streets demanding the amendment be withdrawn with violence breaking out as the police respond. The government is still backing the bill and although now delayed it is expected to pass on June 20th.

She was sworn in on 1 July 2017 at 9am and since then has had several run-ins with pro-democracy activists. Her Term chart has an argumentative Sun, Mars, Mercury in a ruthless opposition to Pluto square Jupiter – so was always going to bring rolling and high-risk situations.  Tr Saturn is at the moment exactly in a bad-tempered opposition to the Solar Arc Mars, moving back soon to a blocked conjunction to the Term Pluto – and repeating on those influences off and on into 2020 – with the Eclipses also rattling it up this year.

But she’s a stubbornly unyielding Sun Venus in Taurus square Pluto and trine Jupiter, so giving way won’t be an option.

The Hong Kong chart doesn’t look settled ahead. The 1 July 1997 12 am chart of the handover from UK to China has a grinding tr Pluto conjunct the Solar Arc Midheaven in 2019/2020, suggesting a forced change of direction. With the 8 degree Cancer Sun being zapped by the Eclipses this year, especially the up and coming July one.

False hopes and overly high expectations will be dashed in 2020, financially as well as politically, as the Solar Arc Neptune is conjunct the Jupiter; with more ructions come 2022 as the Solar Arc Mars is square the Uranus with tr Pluto in hard aspect to both as well which is a considerable whammy of disruptive and violent influences so that will be a key make-or- break point.

It’s difficult not to say impossible to see the Chinese backing down. But it’s also an indication of the strength of young Hong Kongers feelings about China – and short of turning the former colony into North Korea something’s going to have to be worked out.

See also December 30 2018 post.

Chris Froome – Mars Saturn accident

The bone-breaking, accident-prone Mars in Cancer opposition Saturn, exact this Friday, has claimed its first high profile victim as the UK’s four-time Tour de France cycling champion Chris Froome suffered a serious crash with a reported broken femur. During a practice ride in France in a time-trial he crashed in the downhill section at high speed and hit a wall.

Care and caution in general will be needed for everyone for another week since Mars is also tied into the opposition to Pluto exact next Thursday  June 20th. The violent demos in Hong Kong will also be part of the astro-scenario, and Sudan.

Froome, born 20 May 1985 in Nairobi, Kenya is a dourly determined, high-endurance Taurus Sun opposition Saturn in obsessively conscientious Scorpio; with a dogged Mercury in Taurus opposition Pluto in Scorpio. And a high-octane, excitement-seeking Mars in Gemini opposition Uranus in a talented Half Grand Sextile to Venus in Aries and Jupiter in that odd athletic-superstar mid-Aquarius degree.

That latter configuration has moved by Solar Directions to have tr Saturn exactly opposition the Solar Arc Mars which is classic for accidents involving breaks, and in a jolting conjunction to Solar Arc Uranus at the moment. Tr Saturn is also exactly opposition his Progressed Mercury for a down moment.

He’s not in a great phase in general with tr Neptune moving in square to his Mars opposition Uranus which was around last year and early this and returns late this year into 2020. Recovery may be slow.

July Eclipses – over the top and argumentative

The Total Solar Eclipse at 10 degrees Cancer on 2 July is in a Saros series which is prone to being overly-excessive, either of obsessive worry or large-scale plans that get out of control. It was around in this series previously in 2001 (at zero degrees Cancer), 1983, 1965, 1947.

The Eclipse is opposition Saturn, with Saturn conjunct Pluto so the mood will be sombre anyway. It will have special significance for the UK, EU and Germany all of whom have their Sun opposition this degree in Capricorn or very close. The USA 13 degree Cancer Sun will also be affected.

An Eclipse conjunct the Sun usually indicates a good going crisis, a time at the crossroads where decisions need to be made about whither and how for the future. In opposition it points to the individual/country not always being right and having to rethink their attitudes and approach. It can blast fresh air through a stuck situation.  The events need not occur on the day itself but any time over coming months.

The Eclipse does have a volatile Uranus square Mars Mercury which for the UK hints at significant domestic changes and argumentative relationships. For the USA with Uranus on the Descendant it points to partnership rifts.

Its path is mainly across the Pacific and Chile and Argentina.

The July 16th Partial Lunar Eclipse at 24 degrees Capricorn is likely to be felt most clearly in the USA since it collides with the fanatical, dogmatic Mercury in Cancer opposition Pluto in the USA 1776 chart; and also in Saudi Arabia with its Sun Jupiter in Capricorn (conjunct Saturn) at that degree. It will be especially heavy since the Moon will conjunct Pluto and Saturn and the Sun oppose.