Marjorie

Maurice Ravel, the French composer, best known for Ravel’s Bolero and Daphnis and Chloe, who wrote opera, ballet and orchestral works, was born 150 years ago.

 He was born 7 March 1875 10pm Ciboure, France, with an engineer and inventor father and an illiterate/illegitimate, free-thinker of a mother to whom he was close. His interest in music started when he was young and after music college, his experimental approach incorporating modern elements did not meet with approval by the conservative establishment. But he appeared unbothered by criticism and by the 1920s was regarded as France’s leading composer.

 The First World War and his mother’s death in 1917 appeared to diminish his energy and motivation and a minor car accident in the early 1930s led to an early Alzheimer-like condition and he died in 1937 after a brain operation.

 He had a 5^th house New Moon in Pisces which was delightfully apt for a musical creator and performer with a trailblazing, rebellious Uranus conjunct his midheaven.  Around 1900 he joined with other innovative young artists, poets, critics and musicians in an informal group, known as Les Apaches (“The Hooligans”), to represent their status as “artistic outcasts”. Which seems singularly descriptive for Uranus Midheaven.

 His Jupiter in Scorpio was conjunct his Ascendant from the 12^th giving him an enthusiastic image.

  He never married and appeared not to have had any close relationships in his adult life. A New Moon would make him self-sufficient; and Saturn in his 4^th square Pluto in his 7^th may also have injected a sense of bleakness where home comforts and close relationships were concerned. Plus he had an independent-minded Aries North Node.

  When his mother died in 1917 which hit him badly tr Uranus was moving through his 4^th conjunct his Saturn. The taxi accident which caused his decline latterly in 1932, though he appeared to have been suffering from aphasia even before that, occurred when tr Uranus was moving through his 6^th house approaching his 6^th house Neptune; and his Solar Arc Saturn was conjunct his 6^th house North Node then as well.

Angelica Huston, happy to be cast as a character actress is still going strong in her late seventies, appearing in the recent TV adaptation of Agatha Christie’s Toward Zero. She has had a long and impressive career with an Oscar for Prizzi’s Honor, and has worked with all the top directors including Francis Ford Coppola, Woody Allen and Wes Anderson.

 She was born 8 July 1951 6.29 pm Beverley Hills, California, with a larger-than-life director father in John Huston and a  model and ballerina mother who died in a car accident when she was 17. Part of her childhood was spent in Ireland after her family fled the McCarthy witch-hunts. She always wanted to be an actress but a damaging clash with her father on her first film set shook her confidence and she retreated into modelling for a few years.

 She was in a long relationship with Jack Nicholson, whose infidelities were legendary over their on-off 17-year liaison and she finally settled into a happy marriage to the sculptor Robert Graham, until his death in 2008.  Though she is still in touch with Nicholson who phoned as she was escaping the LA fire. She said “when the chips are down, he’s there.”

  She has a 7^th house Cancer Sun so is happiest when in a relationship but she also has Mars Uranus in Cancer in her 7^th so will tend to be attracted to volatile partners. Her creative Neptune is in her 10^th conjunct her Midheaven opposition Jupiter in her 4^th square her Cancer planets. Jupiter in the 4^th indicates she came from a well-known and well-to-do family and appreciates home comforts, despite the rebellious streak in her temperament (and love life). Her Pluto in the 8^th gives her temperament weight and the ability to project an influential aura.

  Her Chiron sits in her 1^st so she would struggle to develop a strong sense of identity and self-worth in early adult life.

  Her father John Huston was a Hollywood legend, a talented director and writer, but not an easy temperament.  Born 5 August 1906 Nevada, MO, he had a Leo Sun conjunct North Node and Mars so not a shrinking violet. He was married five times and in his autobiography, described his last wife as a “crocodile”.

[Having met him once, which was not an altogether happy experience, I reckon he almost certain deserved her. I would have described him as being what used to be called ‘a man’s man’ in the sense of rough round the edges and not woman-friendly in terms of manners.]

 His Sun and Mars fell in Angelica’s 8^th house so a complicated, intense and fractious chemistry. His Pluto was conjunct her Descendant exactly so he would be controlling. Their relationship chart had a scarily dominating Mars Pluto conjunction inconjunct Saturn.

 No surprise she went on to have a couple of abusive relationships and the wandering Jack Nicholson as adult choices. Jack Nicholson, 22 April 1937 11 am Neptune, New Jersey, a freedom-loving Sun Uranus in Taurus does have a Virgo Moon like Angelica and his Jupiter Neptune fell in her 7^th so she’d be eternally optimistic about their relationship. Plus his Pluto fell in her 8^th for a deep (and controlling) connection.

 Her husband, the sculptor, Robert Graham, 19 August 1938, was a Sun Mars in Leo like her father but that was softened by being opposition to an easy-going Jupiter in Aquarius.

Friederich Merz, a Sun Scorpio with an exceptionally Fixed chart, almost certain to step up as German Chancellor heading a coalition, has a tougher temperament than the departing Olaf Scholz, a Gemini Sun trine Jupiter.

He has announced a political deal to raise hundreds of billions of euros in extra spending on defence to counter Trump’s withdrawal from Ukraine; and to plough money into Germany’s failing infrastructure.

 Born 11 November 1955 Briton, Germany, no birth time, he has an ultra-determined and stubborn Scorpio Sun conjunct Saturn with Saturn square a pushily-confident Jupiter Pluto conjunction in Leo. He also has Uranus square Mercury in Scorpio and Neptune in late Libra so will be outspoken as well as evasive and confused at times.  His Mars in Libra may be conjunct a Libra Moon but is otherwise unaspected. Such a Mars can be uncompromising and constantly on the go. He has a stronger temperament than his rather weedy ‘bank manager’ appearance might suggest.

 His Sun opposes the Germany 8^th house Pluto so he will throw his weight against entrenched attitudes especially financial ones. And with his Mars in Germany’s 1^st he will waken up the national image. Though he’s likely to arouse some hostility with his bulldozer approach especially towards the end of his term.

 His relations with attention-seeking Emmanuel Macron are likely to be volatile with Merz’s Sun conjunct EM’s opinionated 9^th house Uranus square EM’s Mars; and Merz’s Uranus falling in EM’s 7^th for a divisive interface. Plus plus other friction points. The Aries and Libra Solar Eclipses will collide with their composite Saturn right through this year so it will take self-control to keep cooperation on track.

 His relationship with Keir Starmer who appears to be rising to the occasion better than expected is less fractious than with Macron though there will be jolts and jangles in May and the early months of 2026 with tr Uranus square their composite Mars; plus reams of confusion and uncertainty all year into early 2026. Though that may be a result of having to cope with a fast-changing global situation.

  With Trump, Merz’s confident, stubborn Jupiter Pluto square Saturn collides with Trump’s Mars in Leo – with tensions erupting later this month; and more in 2026.

 Merz’s relationship chart with Putin (1952) is hostile and power struggling with tensions erupting soon and depressed into 2026/27.

  Merz’s relations with the EU and Ursula van der Leyen are under mounting pressure into 2026 and beyond.

 It is difficult to see quite what the road ahead is. This week’s headlines are all about a rousing hope of a strong Germany/France/UK response to the ultimatums from across the Atlantic.  But Germany’s relations with the EU are under serious strain over the coming years and the Bundesbank central bank is facing storm-force headwinds for a few years ahead as well.   

See previous post: Germany 24th February 2025. 

‘With Love, Meghan’ Netflix’s latest offering from the Sussex household has been met with less than rapturous reviews. One critic said the “tone-deaf lifestyle show vibrates with vacuous joylessness – packed with useless information.” It has an 11 per cent rating from Rotten Tomatoes and 2.6 out of 10 from IMDb. The Hollywood bible magazine Variety said the series was ‘a Montecito ego trip not worth taking’.

 While the first documentary Harry & Meghan about their lives in 2022 was a major success, two further productions about other subjects – Heart of Invictus in 2023 and Polo last December – slumped in the ratings.

The timing just after the devastating LA fires and in the midst of global turmoil is certainly bad luck but the content also seems a touch passé as the culture moves on from lifestyle glitz.

Meghan’s chart, 4 August 1981 4.46 am Los Angeles, California, has tr Jupiter moving through her hopeful 11th house until May this year and an ambitious Progressed Moon through her career 10^th for another 18 months. But the upcoming Aries eclipse on her midheaven hints at a challenging crisis of direction; with another jolt come October’s Libra Eclipse on her IC and close to her Jupiter, Saturn, Moon. Decisions will have to be made about changing course domestically as well as in her ambitions.

  She also has a final tr Uranus opposition her Uranus to finish her midlife crisis coming late this April. There will be chinks of good fortune and minor success ahead but there will be more minuses than pluses. A sudden change of direction from tr Uranus conjunct her Solar Arc Midheaven from late this month into April followed by a worrisome May to September as tr Neptune Saturn oppose her showbizzy Mars/Neptune midpoint and a catastrophic July as tr Uranus squares her Mars/Pluto midpoint. Those influences run on into 2026 when tr Saturn Neptune opposes her Moon for family and domestic concerns with further uncertainty in 2027. 2028 will be agitated, stuck and overly-reactive. 

 Prince Harry, 15 September 1984 4.20 pm London, will be subdued with tr Saturn opposition his Virgo Sun and square his Neptune this month and on and off throughout the year; with a disappointing tr Saturn Neptune square his Jupiter in 2026, a directionless 2027 and a log-jammed 2028/29.

  Both their Sun/Moon midpoints, their marriage significator, will be stressed in 2027. And their relationship chart will face a critical, perhaps explosive point of change, as tr Uranus squares the composite Sun and is conjunct the composite Ascendant opposition Uranus through 2026 into early 2027 which will put major strain on their togetherness.

  Prince Harry will be glad to see the back of this decade as he moves into more progressive phase after 2030.

Carl Dean, the famously reclusive husband of Dolly Parton, who maintained a steadfast presence behind the scenes for almost six decades, has died aged 82. Their long separations because of her successful career raised media comments but she insisted they were a contented and faithful twosome.

   She was born 19 January 1946 8.25 pm Little River, Tennessee, with a charming, attention-seeking, ambitious and  entertaining Sun Venus in Capricorn in her performing 5^th house opposition a hard-edged and disciplined Mars Saturn in Cancer square Jupiter in her 2^nd. A poverty stricken and deprived childhood left its mark and gave her a driving need to earn money. Her Virgo Moon was tucked away in her 12^th  inconjunct her Sun – and now that I look in a yod sextile the North Node inconjunct her Sun Venus – so she would graduate from feelings of unworthiness in early life to being able to utilize her personality in a positive way later on. She also has Uranus conjunct her Midheaven marking her out for an unconventional career and it trined Neptune and sextiled Pluto giving her influence.

 Carl was born 20 July 1942, Nashville, no birth time, with a home-loving Cancer Sun conjunct Pluto in early Leo; with Jupiter Mercury also in Cancer. His light-hearted Venus in Gemini was square Neptune, sextile a flamboyant Mars in Leo and probably trine an easy going Libra Moon. Plus a Saturn Uranus conjunction in Gemini.

  His Virgo North Node was conjunct her Moon and his Venus was conjunct her North Node so there would be a karmic connection. His Moon was probably conjunct her 2^nd house wealthy Jupiter which would help give him comfort and his Sun opposed her Sun Venus in Capricorn.  Cancer and Capricorn are a frequent mating pair. His Venus and Jupiter Mercury fell in her 10^th so her career would be important to him and he would be of assistance.

 It wasn’t the easiest  of relationships since the composite Sun was square a controlling/dominating Mars Pluto conjunction – and that can be tricky to handle without it turning hostile. The composite Venus was opposition a creative and evasive Neptune, and trine Mars Pluto, sextile Uranus – which would bring a good deal of passion of both the positive and negative variety.

  Their wedding chart, 30 May 1966 Ringgold, Georgia, was also not ideal though perhaps suited to an unconventional, independent pairing – with the Sun in an argumentative conjunction to Mars and square Uranus Pluto for constant upheavals.

 Showbiz marriages are often not what they appear to be.  

Jack Vettriano, the Scottish painter who was often dismissed as kitsch and derivative but became one of Britain’s most successful artists has died. Often compared to Edward Hopper and Walter Sickert because of his subject matter, after his sudden breakthrough in 1988 he painted prolifically.

 He was born into a mining village left school early and wandered for a few years career-wise before going to college and starting to paint without success in the early years. After his rise to prominence he was out selling Monet and Van Gogh and earning a reported £500,000 in annual royalties from reproductions of his paintings on postcards, posters, calendars and jigsaw puzzles.

 He never made ‘claims for his art, pointing to the gritty themes of film noir, the bright colours of art deco railway posters and the garish drama of pulp fiction novel covers as his aesthetic inspiration.’

  He was born 17 November 1951 Methil, Scotland, 9.30am, and had a 12^th house intense Scorpio Sun square Pluto and sextile Mars in Virgo, so drawn to undercurrents of darkness and mystery in his paintings. He also had Saturn conjunct his Midheaven and Venus opposition Jupiter square an 8^th house Cancer Moon; with Uranus also in the 8^th square a 10^th house Neptune.

 He drew his inspiration from the depths with a strong 8^th house and packed a punch in his subject matter, which seemed colourful on the surface, often light-hearted but carried undertones of unease.

His creative 5^th and 7^th harmonic charts were well aspected; as was his leaving-a-legacy-for-history 17H and his global renown 22H.

Cuba has been reinstated to the list of state sponsors of terrorism by the US government and has been punished for the communist regime’s human trafficking of Cuban doctors. The so-called Cuban Medical Brigades have a history of six decades of labor exploitation, human rights abuses and in some cases cover-up of military operations. The doctors involved sent by Cuba sometimes against their will, get little to no compensation for their services—as opposed to medical international aid from nearly any other country.

Cuba at present is going through its worst economic crisis in 30 years with falling wages, deteriorating public services, regular power outages, severe shortages and a growing black market. Hundreds of thousands of people have fled the country. The blame is placed on Cuban government mismanagement and  longstanding US economic sanctions in place since 1962.

  The Cuba 20 May 1902 12pm Havana chart with its revolutionary Uranus opposition Pluto just clear of the downbeat tr Saturn square is still facing a disruptive tr Uranus conjunct its Taurus Sun in June, December this year and March 2025. With an uncertain tr Saturn square Neptune all year into early 2026. 2027/28 look like the nadir though there will be on attempt to shore up confidence.

 The Cuba Revolution chart, 2 January 1959 1am Havana,  has its Libra Moon at 8 degrees Libra catching the March and September 2025 Solar eclipses for a crisis of public confidence.  2026/27 with tr Uranus square the Pluto could see unrest and upheavals.

President Miguel Diaz-Canel’s Term chart, 19 April 2018 points to 2026 as potentially destabilizing and 2027 starts a catastrophic run of setbacks.

 His personal chart, 20 April 1960, with his Taurus Sun opposition Neptune under assault from tr Pluto squares through the past two years and on for another three years is on a downward slide. With major turmoil in 2026/26.

 His relationship with Trump is showing aggravation in late April into early May this year (along with everyone else); with more ratchety and explosive moments in 2026/27.

 Trump’s relationship charts with both Cubas are volatile and combustible  His chart relocated to Havana puts his bombastic, aggressive Mars in his 1^st house.

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  In a grovelling attempt to curry favour with Trump, Keir Starmer produced a rabbit out of the hat in the form of a personal letter from King Charles. It not only suggested a second state visit, untypical for a returning president, but also a pre-Balmoral knees up to discuss same. It worked.

 Monarchs are used to their ‘soft power’ being utilized if politics demand it, when glazed smiles and gritted teeth are the order of the day. Queen Elizabeth 11 entertained many controversial foreign leaders, including Bashar al-Assad, Robert Mugabe, Idi Amin, Donald Trump, Emperor Hirohito and Vladimir Putin. Her Majesty was evidently not best pleased when Trump, on his last trip up the Mall in a gilded coach, walked in front of her as they inspected the guard of honour and evidently later remarked she found him ‘very rude’ as he “couldn’t stop looking over her shoulder, as though in search of others more interesting.”

  Trump’s Mars in Leo not surprisingly is a major part of the problem. When unrestrained it can be over-bearing, egotistical, inclined to dominate and believes firmly in its infallibility. Not a good match for monarchy which is firmly rooted in an ethos of respect for the Royal hierarchy. 

  Trump’s Mars clashed badly with QE11’s conscientious, dutiful Saturn in Scorpio and Midheaven and their relationship chart had an angry/irritable composite Sun opposition Mars, firmly clamped down by a sextile/trine to Pluto. But all passed by in icy calm.

  Charles won’t find Trump easy since the DT Mars in Leo squares his Scorpio Sun and there is a volatile composite Mars trine Uranus trine Moon in their relationship chart. But Charles is a softer character than his mother and has an odd blind spot for the very wealthy so it may float by as long as it does not occur within the next few months.

 The two who will really be on a back foot will be Princess Anne since her Leo Sun clashes with DT’s Mars and she is not one to back down or put on a good face when she is irked. Their relationship chart has a short-fused composite Uranus square Mars.

 The other is Prince William who really really dislikes Trump with a composite hostile Mars Pluto conjunction with a high-tension composite Saturn Pluto as well.

 Camilla will not be overly enamoured either since her Sun is conjunct DT’s Saturn but no doubt she’ll turn on the charm and turn up with a Jack Russell or two and some good book recommendations.  

Boris Spassky, the Russian chess grandmaster who against his wishes became embroiled in a Cold War east-west tussle with American player Bobby Fischer, has died.

 He was born 30 January 1937 in Leningrad, no birth time, with a military father, school teacher mother and a sister who won the Soviet draughts championship four times. He learnt to play chess on a train while he was being evacuated from Leningrad in 1942 and practised for five hours a day. When he was ten he beat the Soviet champion Mikhail Botvinnik in a simultaneous exhibition.

  He was a Sun Aquarius square a Uranus in Taurus opposition Mars in Scorpio. His Neptune in Virgo (and Moon) opposed Saturn Venus in Pisces and was trine Jupiter Mercury in Capricorn. Determined, unconventional, surprisingly emotional.

 In the famous 1972 match he lost to Fischer, there was ‘a clash of temperaments as well as the ideologies of their nations. Spassky was personable and gentlemanly; Fischer was given to histrionics and prepared to use gamesmanship.’

 Fischer’s agitated carping and complaining unsettled Spassky. Fisher’s lawyer, Paul Marshall, later recalled: “All this nonsense … all this delay … all this haggling … had an adverse effect on Boris Spassky, who was a very straightforward, decent, certainly a brilliant chessman and very nice man … I think this was against his character.” Spassky lost and was shunned in the USSR but was relieved at being out of the limelight.  He emigrated to France in 1976 and became a French citizen only returning home in recent years, some say forcibly.  

 At that 1972 match, transiting Neptune was conjunct his Mercury throwing his thinking off track.  When he lost for a second time to Fischer in 1992 tr Uranus was square his Mercury.

 Bobby Fischer, 9 March 1943 2.39 pm Chicago, Illinois, another child prodigy chess master, had a Pisces Sun trine Jupiter; and a do-or-die determined Pluto in Leo on his Ascendant opposition Mars square a 10^th house Taurus Moon.

  He became more disturbed the older he got, spouting conspiracy theories, getting paranoid, supporting the 9/11 terrorists, and running into increasing problems until he landed in Iceland where he died a few years ago.