‘There is no one reality’ – is the best I can do to reduce postmodernism to a soundbyte. Described as a movement characterized by broad skepticism, subjectivism, or relativism and a general suspicion of reason as well as a sensitivity to the role of ideology in maintaining political and economic power. Infiltrated into the mainstream, it leads to as much value being put on ‘my truth’ as on ‘your truth’ (or the actual truth) (if I have understood it correctly) which suggests a nihilistic belief about humanity locked in a Tower of Babel with no possibility of genuine communication. Which ideology appears to have taken root in academia and led to polarization in recent cultural arguments and divisions.
Jean Francois Lyotard, 10 August 1924 12.15 am Versailles, France, a philosopher and sociologist, who came to prominence in the 1970s, is deemed the founder of Post Modernism. A nebulous Sun, Neptune and North Node in Leo inconjunct Uranus in Pisces – which is similar to Judith Butler’s Uranus inconjunct = erratic, wilful, contrary, intolerant, a trailblazer, with a tendency to create irrevocable shifts in their environment.
His college thesis focused on indifference and detachment in Zen Buddhism and Taoism and he had a strong interest in aesthetics (which is one of the more rarified and amorphous ends of philosophy). His mindset will have been affected by the devastating effects of World War One in which the French dead and wounded amounted to a staggeringly high percentage of the population. He helped out as a medic in the liberation of occupied Paris at the end of World War 11 and then taught in Algeria. So he grew up with national loss, the damage of fascism and violence and was university educated in the aftermath of WW11, trying to make sense of a world gone mad.
At the risk of psycho-analysing him what that makes me think of is the shattered self. Trauma leads to a fragmentation of identity/personality which in turn leads to a desperate search for meaning to try to fit the broken pieces together. He then projected that inner brokenness out into society/the world.
Some of his philosophical forebears came out of the fantastical, mystical Neptune Pluto in Gemini like Ludwig Wittgenstein (another Uranus inconjunct) and Heidegger, but Soren Kierkegaard, 5 May 1813 Copenhagen, came well before with Pluto in Pisces. Nietzsche had Pluto in Aries and Husserl had Pluto in Taurus. So I am none the wiser about the astro-development of thought that led to the cul-de-sac of Lyotard.
Lyotard did/does have a global influencer 22nd harmonic but also a rise and fall 10H. With some help from the fates his ideas will collapse in a heap on the floor as Uranus moves into Gemini. Life is but a subjective dream – is a lovely theory for a Buddhist sitting up in a mountain cave but is of zero help in the real world.
NHS England has confirmed children will no longer routinely be prescribed puberty blockers at gender identity clinics. The decision comes after a review found there was “not enough evidence” they are safe or effective. Puberty blockers will now only be available as part of research. This puts England in line with several European countries who have been putting strict eligibility requirements, usually in the context of a tightly controlled research setting.
A 2022 Swedish report concluded that the “scientific basis is not sufficient” to continue to conduct hormone treatments on children without further research. The risks are likely to outweigh benefits. In Denmark youth referrals no longer get a prescription for puberty blockers, hormones or surgery; instead they receive therapeutic counseling and other support services. In France, it is recommended the “greatest reserve” when considering puberty blockers or hormone treatments, with a risk of “over-diagnosis”.
Finland has adopted the Dutch Protocol for pediatric gender medicine which has a strict set of criteria for treatment eligibility with psychotherapy throughout. A Finnish review of evidence indicated support of hormonal interventions for adolescents are of “very low” certainty. Dutch clinicians who pioneered the use of puberty blockers have subsequently observed that some patients who transitioned under a strictly adhered to version of the Dutch Protocol appear to have substantial reproductive regret, body shame and sexual dysfunction.
Stonewall in contrast has voiced its concern about the new NHS policy. “All trans young people deserve access to high quality, timely healthcare”, a spokesperson said. “For some, an important part of this care comes in the form of puberty blockers, a reversible treatment that delays the onset of puberty, prescribed by expert endocrinologists, giving the young person extra time to evaluate their next steps. We are concerned that NHS England will be putting new prescriptions on hold until a research protocol is up and running at the end of 2024.”
The NHS connection with Stonewall has an intriguing synastry given that the NHS has been cravenly submissive to Stonewall’s coercive control for years.
The NHS, 5 July 1948, is a caring Sun Cancer square Neptune; with a Gemini stellium including the Moon and an enduring Saturn Pluto in Leo square the Taurus North Node/Scorpio South Node opposition.
Stonewall, 24 May 1989 also has a Gemini stellium including the Sun; and the triple conjunction of Uranus, Saturn, Neptune in Capricorn opposition Mars in Cancer; with Mars trine Pluto – custom-built for determined action and reform, but not always sensible or compassionate as crusading zeal (Aquarius North Node) goes too far.
Stonewall’s Mars is conjunct the NHS Sun for an argumentative interface with Stonewall’s Neptune Saturn in opposition the NHS Sun hinting at uncertainty and a degree of smokescreening? – and Stonewall’s Pluto is conjunct the NHS’s South Node pulling it backwards.
The relationship chart has a controlling, power-imbalance composite Sun Venus square Pluto which has been undermined recently and will continue to be so by tr Neptune hard aspects into 2025. Tr Pluto is exactly square the composite Saturn at the moment and will continue to sextile the composite Uranus till late this year. With a highly strung (probably argumentative) tr Uranus opposition Neptune from July this year onwards.
This month’s Lunar Eclipse is also conjunct the composite South Node giving a wake-up call about the joint direction chosen.
Stonewall is facing an uncertain path ahead especially from 2025/6 onwards as tr Neptune starts to square the triple conjunction hitting Uranus first and tr Uranus will square the Sun. It is likely to fade towards the end of the decade altogether.
Haiti has collapsed into violent mayhem with violent gangs in control of the capital, dead bodies piling up and 4000 criminals roaming the streets, freed after an attack on a prison by the gangs. The acting (unelected) prime minister/president Ariel Henry is out of the country and unable to return, but is anyway suspected of being behind the assassination of the previous President Moise in 2021. The EU has evacuated its diplomats, while the US have sent in military personnel to protect their embassy. Commentators say Haiti is facing its biggest humanitarian crisis since the 2010 earthquake.
The BBC: ‘The instability in Haiti is a problem for the entire Caribbean community, and for Washington too. The idea of a nation of some 11 million people being run by gangs is of huge concern, particularly the potential impact on outward migration during an election year in the US.’
Haiti, 1 January 1895 7.17 am Gonaives, Haiti was under acute pressure in 2010 when the quake struck with an estimated death toll well over 100,000. At that point tr Pluto in Capricorn square tr Saturn in Libra collided exactly with the Haiti Mars in Capricorn square Saturn. Pluto Saturn brings deprivation and hardship and hitting on the prone to disasters and setbacks Mars Saturn it was a catastrophe of epic proportions.
At the moment tr Pluto is square the Haiti Midheaven blocking progress, pulling down the country’s reputation and in Plutonian fashion reducing all to rubble. Tr Pluto will continue squaring the midheaven and square the Jupiter, hinting at a tussle for the upper hand extending on till late 2025. In 2026/27 tr Neptune and tr Saturn will oppose the Haiti Saturn and square the Mars, moving on in the years thereafter to undermine the Sun etc. It won’t be as devastating as the 2010 quake but will be swampy, directionless and undermined.
Ariel Henry, 6 November 1948, is a controlling Sun Scorpio square Pluto, who looks unlikely to continue. What is interesting astro-wise about him is his takeover chart as prime minister, 20 July 2021 which has a troubled and aggressive yod of Neptune sextile Pluto conjunct Mars (Venus) in Leo; with a controlling Sun opposition Pluto. His government looks liable to complete capitulation in May/June as tr Uranus squares the Mars focal point, if not before.
Caricom, 1 August 1973 Trinidad – the Caribbean Community intergovernmental organisation that is a political and economic union of 15 member states – is meeting to try to see a way ahead. It looks substantially disappointed and uncertain with a confused, indecisive SA Neptune opposition the Mercury at the moment and more so in 2025 with tr Neptune square the Saturn. Though that may not all because of this issue of Haiti.
Prince Edward, the new Duke of Edinburgh, has been heaped with praise as he sails through his sixtieth birthday – by his wife in a heartfelt tribute as well as admirers who point to his hardworking Royal schedule of engagements and unassuming manner.
The youngest of Queen Elizabeth’s children and like Andrew blessed with more attention from his mother in early childhood than the older two, his first love was the theatre and television though that ended badly as did his short-lived military career. His marriage to public relations expert Sophie Wessex surprised many and tripped through a few scandals before settling into a lower key charity-focused existence. His closeness to Prince Philip, his father, seemed surprising early on but as he has aged he looks physically more like him and has taken on the mantle of the Duke of Edinburgh awards scheme.
Born 10 March 1964 8.20pm London, he has a hard-working Pisces Sun in his 6th house conjunct Mars in Pisces in his entertaining 5th which was in part no doubt what attracted him to showbusiness. His Saturn in Aquarius is also in his 5th suggesting an interest in the organisational side of the entertainment business. Like Andrew he has a 4th house Sun, though in his case in Aquarius as opposed to Andrew’s Scorpio – but the house placing does suggest a strong emotional attachment to family and roots. His Mars Mercury opposition Uranus Pluto in Virgo hints at a rebellious streak was perhaps behind his early missteps. But with an enthusiastic Jupiter in Aries and Venus in Taurus in his 7th he has overcome criticism to settle into a steadier lifestyle.
He shares his Venus in Taurus with his father and both have a Mutable Sun Mars conjunction so there would have been an understanding between them.
His wife Sophie is generally assumed to be the driving force in their marriage. “She wears the trousers,” says one who has visited them. “He makes the tea.” His 7th house Venus and Jupiter would be a help in attracting a supportive and affectionate partner. Though his Sun/Moon midpoint conjunct his Saturn would suggest it would require hard work to make it work, with duty taking precedence.
Sophie was born 20 January 1965 maybe 12.46pm, Oxford, giving her a zero degree Aquarius Sun with a complicated stellium in Virgo of Moon, Uranus, Pluto conjunct and opposition Saturn and trine Jupiter, with a hard working Mars also in Virgo.
Her Aquarius Sun and Virgo Moon linking across to his Pisces Sun and Aquarius Moon give a sense of a fairly emotionally detached connection. Their relationship chart has the hallmarks of a good working relationship with the composite Saturn conjunct the Sun and Venus; with a dash of attraction from Venus Pluto but also a need for constant changes and space with Venus Uranus – and some irritations about the power imbalance with a Mars square Pluto.
The charts of their two children – Louise and James – both have hard Sun Moon aspects hinting at parents of entirely different temperaments. Louise has a 10th house Taurus Sun opposition a Scorpio Moon square Neptune. James has a Pisces Moon square is Sagittarius Sun.
Edward’s relationship with his two much older siblings don’t suggest much closeness. Charles, born 16 years before, has a peculiarly tricky relationship chart with him – a composite Mars opposition Uranus square Neptune which at the best of times will be edgy and uncertain. And since the Coronation it has been confused; and hotting up for high tensions in 2025/26 with tr Pluto hard aspects to Mars and Uranus. Which suggests either a few disruptions in private or external events bearing down on their relationship. Edward’s Solar Return from birthday 2025 for a year after does look highly stressed.
Andrew he is pulling away from noticeably this year, more so next.
Trying to track an astro-timeline through the heated gender argument which appears to be on the turn starts way back in the late Nineteenth Century as Pluto moved into Gemini with the birth of Harry Benjamin. He was an endocrinologist who had a lasting influence on gender medicine. His foundation was renamed WPATH (World Professional Association for Transgender Health) in 1979 with Pluto in mid Libra. It has become the global standard for the care of transgender children, though not for much longer as leaked files this week indicate their ‘experts’ knew the damage that puberty blockers do in causing infertility and cancer and went ahead anyway. And that they knew that in some cases patients were too young or too mentally ill (multiple personality disorder??) to fully appreciate the consequences of their treatment.
For years, WPATH has been cited as a source of “best practice” for trans healthcare by numerous medical bodies, including the British Medical Association and the General Medical Council – and still is. The Royal College of Psychiatrists refers to WPATH in its own recommendations for care.
Harry Benjamin, 12 January 1885 5.30am Berlin, Germany, followed on from sexologist Magnus Hirschfield, 14 May 1868 Kolberg, Poland, born twenty years before with Sun and Pluto in Taurus who was a transvestite and homosexual. Hirschfield perhaps because of his orientation kicked Darwin’s notions of evolution to the kerb and wrote that male and female were abstractions, invented extremes. To which end he set in train a movement for trans-surgery and transformation of body chemistry. (See Gender post 1 June 2024)
Benjamin saw a chance to make his professional name on the back of Hirschfield’s theories and with all the passion of a revolutionary ideologue – Pluto at zero degrees Gemini trine Uranus in Libra – he set in train an interventionist approach.
A later member of his foundation and even more vociferous advocate for surgical intervention was John Money, at one point a glittering name from John Hopkins University, who routinely advised abnormal male patients to be castrated and raised as girls. His surgical interference with a boy twin who had been badly circumcised, transforming him into a girl, was lauded (by him) as proof of his theories, until the tragic truth came out, wrecking his reputation and, worse, both twins committed suicide in adult life. Money, 8 July 1921, was a Sun, Mercury, Mars, Pluto in Cancer trine Uranus, with Jupiter Saturn conjunct in Virgo – inhumanely determined, destructive. See previous post 26 June 2023 John Money – manipulating gender boosted his career.
New theories to boost a professional reputation were not only in evidence in the scientific/medical fraternity but academia was also awash with a fervour for postmodernist thinking which began to take hold in the early 1970s in France and thence to the USA universities as Pluto moved into Libra. The new philosophical worldview made rational debate on any subject not just difficult but well-nigh impossible.
[I must admit to total ignorance on the subject but it explains a good deal about the gridlock in arguments.] In Post modernism, objectivity is impossible; language is taken to shape reality, not describe it; oppression is brought into existence by discourse; and binary sex is an artefact of Western colonialism.
Judith Butler, an American philosopher and gender studies scholar whose writings have been influential in questioning the male female approach to humanity, is finding less acceptance with her recent book heavily slated. All critics of gender ideology, according to her, desire “the restoration of a patriarchal dream-order where a father is a father; a sexed identity never changes; women, conceived as ‘born female at birth’, resume their natural and ‘moral’ positions within the household; and white people hold uncontested racial supremacy”.
[I feel as if I have gone down the rabbit hole into topsy turvy land. It is hardly a surprise that some people hold weird views but that they are listened to and become influential in the mainstream is scary.]
Helen Joyce’s recent book Trans: Gender Identity and the New Battle for Women’s Rights on the other hand is a tour de force of clarity, common sense and useful information as she disentangles the history and various factions furthering the present debate for their own ends. She makes the point that ‘transactivists purport to speak for trans people but they serve their interests poorly’. ‘Transactivism can be exploited by those who would harm children’. She is not arguing remotely that trans people want to harm children, any more than gay people did, but the homosexual liberation movement was infiltrated by paedophiles.
She describes a coterie of individuals and groups who benefit from transactivism. Rich powerful males who want to be classed as women funding the cause. Everything else – harm to children’s bodies, loss of women’s privacy, destruction of women’s sports, perversion of language – is collateral damage. ‘Policy capture’ leading to a distortion of policymaking is aimed to benefit a minority at the expense of the general public. Big pharma have an eye to profits from drugs. Some activist parents would rather their child was transsexual than admit they are homosexual.
There seems to have been/be a split amongst sexologists between those who were against surgical intervention like Alfred Kinsey and Richard Green whose ‘sissy boy syndrome’ studies over 15 years, indicated that the overwhelming majority of effeminate boys were likely to become adult homosexuals.
My interest is always about why certain ideas grip a culture and become mainstream. What was the astrological driver of the ideology, damaging and otherwise.
Sexuality has always been on a spectrum with a fluidity, more accepted in some cultures than others, but it was never, and still is not, an issue. The oddity about this toxic debate has always seemed to be about something other than the small numbers of genuinely gender dysphoric people who appear to be quiet living and far removed from the aggressiveness of the argument.
I hesitate to add a footnote which may sound extreme – and is in no way intended as any kind of analysis or diagnosis of genuine gender dysphoria; but is a possible hint of one aspect of the social madness on the topic of gender which has been swirling for the past few decades.
Skipping across psychobabble, French analyst Janine Chasseguet-Smirgel focuses on the writings of the Marquis de Sade. De Sade’s hero becomes a god through a process of destruction and the creator of a new kind of reality. Nature becomes a melting pot where there are no boundaries – between ages (children/adults) or sexes. She refers also to the Dionysian Rites involving intersexual disguises. ‘Their aim is regression to the primordial confusion and their goal is the symbolic restoration of “chaos”, the state of unity without differentiation that preceded the Creation. This return to confusion manifests itself in a supreme act of regeneration and an enormous increase in power.’
Hubris in denying and manipulating nature. She ties it into perversion but in less loaded language it refers back to early omnipotence.
De Sade, 2 June 1740 5pm Paris, France had an 8th house Sun Jupiter Chiron conjunct in Gemini, which would give him a leaning towards entanglements, boundary crossing and taboos. He also had Neptune opposition Uranus South Node in Capricorn. As well as a sadistic/masochistic Mars square Saturn. His Uranus Neptune fits thoughts from the previous post 1st March 2024 on Gender – deny the past, self-create the future ++ more Uranus Neptune + Neptune in Pisces.
The Dionysius reference also ties in with Jane’s comments about Neptune added onto the above post.
Apologies for the hotch potch, length and absence of much astrology but Pluto moving a new sign, in particular into Air, is of interest given where we are at. It does give rise to a ferment of ideas, not all of them grounded in reality which drive cultural trends over the subsequent decades. The late 19th Century in particular spawned Freud and Hirschfield whose thinking took hold as Pluto and Neptune were together in Gemini – which brought great inspiration as well as off-the-wall confusion. And produced some exceptionally murderous dictators as well – Hitler etc.
Add On: Judith Butler, 24 February 1956 Cleveland, Ohio, is a Sun Pisces square a (can-be-know-it-all) Saturn in Sagittarius. She has a supremely confident and pushy Jupiter Pluto conjunction in Leo in an unyielding square to Saturn and an ultra-determined trine to an outspoken Mars in Sagittarius. Not a chart that suggests subtlety or nuance.
Her Mars is inconjunct Uranus and in a very wide yod involving her Sun. A yod focal point Uranus can be contrary, wilful, erratic, but also has the ability to act as a catalyst and trailblazer. Though that in turn can lead to irrevocable rifts within the individual’s environment. Her Mercury in Aquarius is conjunct Chiron and square Neptune.
I did attempt to wade through her wiki page with summaries of her writings and thinking – and got depressed. I did philosophy at university, though decades before this stuff, but it has the same feel of playing with language and concepts in a lofty, intellectual word salad that bears little relation to real life. Terrifying that it actually slanted a culture.
Porn star Stormy Daniels is back in the headlines with a documentary about her life – and the ‘hush money’ case involving Donald Trump in New York scheduled for March 25. The theory is that Trump falsified business records as part of a scheme to buy Daniels’ silence to keep her from going public with claims that they had an affair years before. Since that payment was made on the eve of the 2016 presidential race it was arguably in violation of campaign-finance law.
The case has ‘always been an awkward mix of the serious and the profane, based around a seamy of extramarital sex, business records and presidential politics.’ Trump’s aides say he particularly hates this case given the nature of the story that prosecutors intend to put in front of the jury.
Born 17 March 1979 1.10am Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Stormy Daniels had a rough childhood in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with an absentee dad and neglectful mother; and thence into the porn world. When she first met Trump she said she didn’t take him seriously as he was a reality star and said she reminded him of his daughter.
She has always described their encounter as both technically consensual and something akin to abusive coercion. When the story broke in 2018 she said “ I was completely sure that I was going to die,” as she was attacked by MAGA supporters after a TV appearance.
She is disarmingly straightforward about her motives. “I wasn’t trying to be a champion for #MeToo or for any other movement. Originally, I just did this for purely f—– selfish reasons. I wanted to stand up for myself and save my own ass, not everyone else’s.”
But she has ended up as an accidental crusader who’s been compelled by indignation, online death threats, and by mounting legal fees and financial scams that have left her in dire straits — to keep going. “I won’t give up, because I’m telling the truth.”
She has a quick witted 3rd house Pisces Sun with a 3rd house Mars in Pisces which would help with her stripper/dancer talents. Her hard-working Saturn in Virgo opposition her Mars gives testament to her tough life and maltreatment.
Her Sun is in an innovative trine to Uranus and trine a lucky 8th house Jupiter – so she has a guardian angel looking over her. And with a Water Grand Trine she will be self-protective. Her controlling, influential and determined Pluto in her 10th house is trine her Venus in Aquarius in her 2nd – which would help her earn money from a Venusian business and make a name for herself. Her intense Scorpio Moon is square her Jupiter so I would suspect a supportive mother figure of sorts, a grandmother perhaps.
She has been logjammed recently with tr Neptune conjunct her Sun and her progressed Mars opposition her Pluto. But tr Pluto is opposing her Jupiter for the 2nd year running which will keep her optimism high and may even bring in money. Plus she has the tail end of her mid life crisis with tr Uranus opposition her Uranus from now till early April. It may be unsettling but it could also free her up for the next phase of her life.
Her Saturn falls in DT’s 1st house so she has the ability to cloud his image. Her Pluto is conjunct his 2nd house Jupiter so there is a money tussle ongoing. Her Neptune is conjunct his South Node Moon and opposition his Sun so she will giving him a sinking feeling.
Interestingly his Chiron is opposition her Pluto – and her Chiron is square his Pluto – so their respective wounds/damage brought them together in a karmic entanglement. Too much to hope it will heal anything about DT but good on her, whatever her motives, for standing up for herself.
Few in Israel think that Hamas can be eliminated totally despite Netanyahu’s unwavering insistence it can. He is ploughing ahead with no end in sight to the return of hostages or a cessation of the bombing of Gaza which is rapidly heading into famine. Biden’s few bleated entreaties about taking care are having no effect apart from losing him votes in the US from younger concerned Democrats.
Netanyahu’s Government chart, 29 December 2022 4.30pm, is not showing any signs of imminent collapse though it will get jolted late April/early May, perhaps as internal political tensions flare up. There is pervasive undercurrent of failed plans through this year and next; with outbreaks of violence/argument in June and more so in July, October and November and early in 2025. There is an obscure yod on this chart of Sun sextile South Node inconjunct Mars which is being activated through the next year as it shifts to exact aspects which suggests a feeling of hopelessness and being stuck. There is one blip of luck after mid 2025 but by that time tr Neptune and Saturn will be conjunct the Government Jupiter which will undermine confidence and forward progress.
Netanyahu’s personal chart is sagging badly through this month with tr Neptune opposing and undermining his warrior Sun/Mars midpoint. High risk comes late April/early May from tr Uranus square his Mars/Pluto midpoint. June will see his nerves overstretched and in July tr Uranus will make an explosive square to his Mars in Leo which does suggest a flare up (and appears on several Middle Eastern and political charts) which suggests a hot spot of increased activity and perhaps reckless moves on his part to prop up his self-esteem.
His relationship chart with Israel shows up August and onwards as aggravation/ risk points with tr Uranus square the composite Mars – with more angst through 2025.
The Israel chart flags up more disruptions as tr Uranus returns to conjunct the 8th house Sun this May and again late December to mid March 2025; with danger spots mid March through till early May with tr Uranus square the Mars/Pluto, Mars/Saturn midpoints and opposes the Israel Chiron.
Joe Biden’s relationship chart with Netanyahu shows a tight connection with an exact composite Sun square Pluto so not much daylight between them despite Biden’s words of caution. But at the end of the day the relationship is not mutually supportive with a composite Mars Neptune conjunction – one wins the other loses.
Evidently Biden has been a firm supporter of Israel since 1982 after Israel invaded Lebanon in retaliation for cross-border attacks by the Palestine Liberation Organisation. Biden was supportive of the Israeli attack to the point the prime minister Menachem Begin later expressed surprise at the vehemence of Biden’s position particularly the senator’s attempts to justify the killing of women and children. “I disassociated myself from these remarks,” Begin told Israeli reporters. “I said to him: ‘No, sir, attention must be paid. According to our values, it is forbidden to hurt women and children, even in war’.”
Biden’s relocation chart to Tel Aviv puts his inordinately stubborn Sun, Venus, Mercury in Scorpio in the 8th with a supportive Jupiter in the 4th. But for all that Biden’s relationship chart with Israel does show a rupture from mid June onwards with tr Uranus square the composite Sun and that repeats on and off into early 2025. Which may be the temporary port being mooted to send aid into Gaza.
The Rise and Fall of Boris Johnson, a four part documentary series, is unnerving viewers and reviewers since it seems too previous. The question lurking – will he come back?
Well put together, it covers ground known and unknown about his years of fumbles, bumbles and seemingly unstoppable rise on the back of mishaps, failure and scandals. Underneath the buffoonery there is a friendless and self-doubting individual. ‘His biographer Andrew Gimson remembers Johnson trying to buy him out of writing the book – a comic take would be fine, said the subject, “but nothing could be more damaging than a book that told the truth about me”.
His column in the Daily Mail since his ousting is a damp squib unlike William Hague’s stately utterances in The Times. He feels like a spent force but his jack-in-the-box temperament, fuelled by desperation for prominence and a win is unlikely to see him lurking in oblivion for ever.
This year and throughout 2025 however he is contending with tr Pluto trine his 8th house Mars which is trapped, infuriating and stuck – and this year the continuation of tr Pluto square his Moon from last year which will be emotionally stressful. Plus he has the undermining tr Neptune square his Sun Venus in Gemini from this April on and off into early 2025 which won’t be progressive. He does have one lucky break through this May and late December to March 2025 plus tr Jupiter going through his financial 8th, birth time being sound, now for a year ahead – both of which might suggest money so he could be signing publishing deals or grabbing other lucrative opportunities.
His relationship chart with Rishi Sunak looks downbeat this year which might suggest rumours of an invitation from that quarter are a touch fanciful. His relationship chart with the UK is also separating and edgy so the country would not be overly pleased to see a rerun.
But he is by no means down and out permanently. There is a fair amount of steam left in him with Saturn moving upwards in his chart for the next decade and a half. And tr Jupiter as well as his SA Jupiter are aiming for his midheaven after mid 2025. Into 2026 he will be through his emotional and marital dramas which peak in 2025; his Mutable T square and Sun Venus will be free of transiting Saturn; and the general feel of Air and Fire with Pluto in Aquarius, Uranus in Gemini and Neptune in Aries should suit his 9th house communicative Gemini, Sun, Mercury, Venus thereafter.
A sad clown.
Add On: Carrie, his wife, 17 March 1988, has been through a droopy time recently with tr Neptune conjunct her Pisces Sun, perhaps a consequence of having three young children under the age of four. That rolls on till early 2025 but she will get an uplift from tr Pluto square her Jupiter in Taurus this year and next, boosting her confidence. Like Boris she has an excitable temperament though for different reasons. She has the triple conjunction in Capricorn conjunct Mars so will be overflowing with restlessness and initiative though inclined to leave a trail of chaos behind.
Tr Neptune Saturn starting to square her Capricorn planets from 2025 inwards, first Uranus and then Saturn, will put her on edge and make for an uncertain mood. Her relationship chart with Boris is rocking and rolling at that point with tr Pluto in hard aspect to the composite Saturn square Uranus. And in 2025/26 tr Uranus will square Boris’s Sun/Moon midpoint. So a few storms in the paradise garden.
Rupert Murdoch, 93 this year, is aiming back up the altar for the fifth time with a new fiancée biologist Elena Zhukova. Last year, he broke off his engagement to his previous fiancée, Ann Lesley Smith, just two weeks after he proposed.
Full marks for optimism and persistence.
This is only en passant but of interest is his 7th house possessive Pluto close to ever hopeful Jupiter in Cancer. Plus surprisingly his Sun/Moon midpoint, the marriage significator, is conjunct his Venus suggesting he will have a knack of attracting affectionate partners. Though his 7th house Pluto square a 4th house Uranus does suggest rolling changes on the relationship and domestic front. His marriages to date have lasted 11 years, 32 years, 14 years and 6 years respectively.
Looking at other much-married celebrities. William Shatner (4 times) has his Sun/Moon midpoint conjunct his disruptive, freedom-loving Uranus North Node and square Pluto with evasive Neptune in his 7th.
Nicholas Cage (five times) has his Sun/Moon midpoint square Uranus and North Node in his 7th hinting that constancy in close relationships is difficult for him. Mickey Rooney (8 times) also has his Sun/Moon midpoint square Uranus. Billy Bob Thornton (6 times) has his Sun/Moon midpoint conjunct his irritable Mars (Pluto) with evasive Neptune ruling the 7th
Larry King (8 times) has his Sun/Moon midpoint opposing an 8th house uncommitted Neptune. Zsa Zsa Gabor has her Sun/Moon midpoint conjunct her Venus for a true romantic though the opposition to Saturn hints the reality will be a let down. Neptune rules her 7th.
Kenny Rogers (5 times) has Uranus in his 7th square Mars; with his Sun/Moon midpoint conjunct Pluto – both of which in different ways will lead to conflict.
Different personalities with different relationship needs (and antipathies). Not always, but very often the Sun/Moon midpoint can home in on the key influences in picking a partner and staying the course – or not. Along with 7th house aspects. Transits to the Sun/Moon also tend to be pressured when splits occur.
