Marjorie

The Oscars are back round again on February 28^th.

Leo di Caprio, who has already won the BAFTA leading man award for Revenant is hotly tipped. Born 11 Nov 1974 2.47am Los Angeles, his chart is oddly short of clues even for the BAFTA win. He’s a secretive Sun Venus Mars in Scorpio; with Pluto Moon conjunct in Libra in his 1^st house. His recent UK win came with tr Neptune conjunct Jupiter which is often not that good – high hopes, disappointment.

What he has over the Oscars is tr Jupiter sextile his Venus = minorly sociable; and tr Uranus square his 10^th house Saturn which can be jolting and tension-inducing.   He certainly looks cheerful later in the year as tr Jupiter crosses his Ascendant. It may be he doesn’t put much store on the Oscars and he certainly seems to dislike being too much on the celebrity trail.

Brie Larson, 1 Oct 1989, up for leading actress for Room, is a Sun Mars in Libra square Uranus Saturn Neptune in Capricorn opposition Jupiter in Cancer – so quite a high-wire personality, and overflowing with initiative, restlessness and luck. Again there’s not much showing apart from tr Uranus trine her Solar Arc Venus; and a mildly positive tr Jupiter sextile Mars/Uranus.

Sylvester Stallone, 6 July 1946 7.20pm New York, is up for best supporting actor for reprising his role as boxer Rocky in Creed. He has tr Uranus opposition his Jupiter at the Oscars which is definitely a lucky break; but he’s also got tr Neptune opposition his Mars which is usually not good news. His Jupiter may triumph since his Pluto is moving by Solar Arc to conjunct his natal Jupiter, exact in 8 months but in effect before then.  What’s certainly true is that his career and confidence are getting a considerable lift this year with his Solar Arc MC conjunct his Ascendant and tr Jupiter aiming to cross his midheaven in 2017.

A hate mob of incontinent diatribers has seen Stephen Fry flounce off Twitter (again) saying the ‘fun is over’ after a stray comment of his at the BAFTAs evoked an avalanche of hyped-up outrage.

Twitter is also in deep trouble over revenues, lack of popularity and falling share prices. It has only 300 million users in contrast to Facebook’s 1.6 billion and even Instagram has overtaken it now.

When it sent its first tweet on 21 March 2006 at 9.50pm PST the Aries Sun was in the entertaining 5^th. But what is really eye catching is Mars in Gemini in the 8^th opposition Moon Pluto in Sagittarius – Mars Pluto all too easily falls into black rage. It’s often seen in the charts of shock-jocks who mouth off at the blink of an eye.

I was pondering on quite what general influences have stoked up the outpourings of often misdirected anger that have been obvious over the past few years. Several newspapers have now rowed back on having comment boxes below columns because of immoderate, insulting and slanderous posts left anonymously. The net was supposed to bring greater access to the public but it seems to have degenerated into mob rule by the screamers. Ditto the brainless student protests against anyone who doesn’t toe their very PC line.

Maybe it is the ugly side of Uranus Pluto leading to anarchy and chaos; platformed on the IT era’s Aquarius underpinnings. Uranus brings the underdogs to the surface, those who have felt powerless in the past, tramped underfoot by the Plutonic forces of power and the status quo. If it tips too far then Uranus can be a wrecker and the revolution ends up causing its own destruction. Indeed Uranus/Aquarius can have quite a fascist streak which is what some of this feels like.

Pope John Paul had a close friendship with a married woman for 30 years. Letter detailing his feelings have been hidden away in the National Library of Poland since his death but will be the subject of a BBC TV Panorama programme tonight.

Anne-Teresa Tymieniecka, 28 Feb 1923, was a Polish-born American philosopher and academic who helped him at times with his books and seems to have been in love with him, testing his faith. There is no suggestion that he broke his vows of celibacy.

Born 18 May 1920 5.30pm Wadowice, Poland, he had a charming and tactile 7^th house Venus Mercury in Taurus; with an 8^th house Taurus Sun so celibacy wouldn’t come easy to him. He also had an 8^th house Gemini Moon on the focal point of a Mutable T square to Uranus opposition Saturn so fairly erratic emotional impulses.

Her Sun Uranus in Pisces fell in his 5^th close to his Uranus and opposition his Saturn – so she’d cheer him up though he’d also block her out with his dutiful Saturn.  Her Jupiter opposed his Venus which is also friendly and light hearted; though her Saturn was conjunct his Mars which would put her own blocks on his enthusiasm.

Their relationship chart did have a possessive composite Moon Pluto conjunction; a passionate Venus trine Mars; but also a defensive Venus opposition Saturn – so a complicated, blow hot blow cold relationship with simmering undercurrents.

Her husband, economist Hendrik Houthakker, 31 Dec 1924, whom she married 17 years before she met John Paul, was determined and controlling Sun Jupiter in Capricorn opposition Pluto square Mars in Aries.

The conventional wisdom is that he was friendly with John Paul through his wife, but the HH/John Paul relationship chart has a hostile composite Pluto opposition Mars square Saturn – so again undercurrents, this time of unspoken dislike at the situation.

Another head rolls – or is blown up – as North Korea’s unpleasant leader Kim Yong Un summarily gets rid of his most recent Chief of General Army Staff. To date he has had killed over a 100 senior figures in what is being described as an ‘extreme reign of terror’. The wisdom from outside is that at some point the military will turn against him.

His took over his role on 29 December 2011 at 11.57am, when there was a 10^th house dominating Sun Pluto in Capricorn; but that squares Uranus, wherein could lie his downfall.  Uranus will have moved by Solar Arc to close that square to exact in early 2018, though in effect late 2017.  Through 2017/18 as well there is a high-risk, enraged tr Pluto trine Mars. In 2018 as well tr Uranus moves to oppose the regime Saturn which will bring a massive jolt.

More than 200,000 signatures have been garnered calling for a vote of no confidence in UK Health Secretary Jeremy Hunt after he said he would impose  new junior doctor contracts in the light of failure of negotiations. The NHS certainly needs reforming and being made more cost-effective but whether patients will benefit from exhausted, de-moralised doctors is questionable. And many hospitals say they will refuse to implement the new contracts. So a screw-up all round.

My recollection was there was an avalanche of criticism when Jeremy Hunt was Culture Secretary over the Murdoch bid to retake BskyB. Trouble seems to follow him around.

Born 1 Nov 1966 he’s a charming, determined Sun Venus in Scorpio in an over-hopeful square to Jupiter in flashy Leo. He also has the Uranus Pluto in Virgo opposition Saturn; with Mars also in Virgo conjunct Pluto – so quite chaotic and inclined to attract hostility with Mars Pluto.

His Saturn in Pisces opposes the NHS’s Mars in Virgo (5 July 1948) and squares the NHS Uranus Venus Mercury and Moon – so an aggravated chemistry between them. His Neptune squares the NHS Saturn and his Sun Venus squares the NHS Pluto – all in all a disastrous mix.

However bad it is at the moment, it’s going to get worse with tr Neptune opposing Hunt’s Mars from early April till early June which is panicky failure; and tr Neptune also opposing the composite Sun in the NHS/Hunt relationship chart. With a bad-tempered tr Pluto trine composite Mars from early March on the latter as well.

David Cameron has shown no sign in the past of being worried by Hunt’s mishaps, perhaps because they are relatively alike. Both have Jupiter in Leo and similar outer planet placings. Hunt’s Sun Venus are conjunct DC’s Mercury in Scorpio; and Hunt’s Gemini Moon trines DC’s Libra Sun Venus.

Though their relationship chart does show signs of an upheaval from early May with a tr Uranus opposition the composite Venus.

Cameron’s administration is sagging on several fronts at the moment with the EU negotiations going badly as well.

Tr Neptune will move off the Mutable T Square in his Govt chart after mid this month which will help.  But on his personal chart, he’s got the insecure tr Uranus opposition his Solar Arc Mars now; followed by a trapped tr Pluto square SArc Mars from March onwards till late 2018, and some tr Neptune sinkers all year as well as tr Pluto square his Libra Sun.

What will save his bacon or perhaps release him from purgatory is his Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct his Uranus, exact in 7 months’ time, though in effect before then.

Where his greatest pressures come is in 2017 onwards with tr Pluto moving to trine Pluto Uranus and ultimately sextile his Saturn – that will bring forced changes and perhaps bring out a side of him which doesn’t equate with the normal bland charm. It’s more than possible he could go before the end of his term since the Govt chart hits a major period of instability in 2018.

Richard Dawkins, the scientist, pro-atheist and anti-astrology pontificator, has suffered a minor stroke, causing cancellation of a speaking tour.

Born 25 March 1941, he’s a Sun Aries trine Pluto; with a heavyweight Jupiter Saturn in Taurus. His Uranus also in Taurus is in an Earth Grand Trine to Neptune and Mars in Capricorn, formed into a wide Kite by an angry, bulldozer Mars opposition Pluto.

An Earth Grand Trine will ground him in the material realm and a reality he can connect via his five senses; but will limit his imagination.

His Neptune in Virgo trines his Uranus for eureka scientific discoveries; and opposes a surprisingly sensitive Venus and maybe Moon in Pisces.

At the moment his Solar Arc Saturn is opposing his Mars which will bring a major-road-block.  Though I’d imagine he’s had a few warning signal in recent years with his Solar Arc Mars conjunct his Sun two years back; and Solar Arc Uranus conjunct his Pluto just before that.

Antonin Scalia, one of the Supreme Court’s most conservative members has died. With what was a five-four conservative/liberal split, his successor will be of vital importance to both major parties. Obama’s nominee is likely to be filibustered in an attempt to shunt the decision off till after the election in the hope of a Republican victory.

Scalia, 11 March 1936 8.55pm Trenton, New Jersey, was a vocal opponent of abortion, gay rights and gun control; pro-death penalty and supportive of business interests.

He had a grandstanding 5^th house Sun in Pisces trine a controlling Pluto in the legal 9^th conjunct the MC – so influential and attention-grabbing. His Sun was conjunct Saturn; and opposition Neptune square Jupiter in crusading and lawyerly Sagittarius. His Scorpio Moon opposed Uranus in his 7^th so both stubborn and contradictory.

Tr Pluto square tr Uranus had been in hard aspect to his 6^th house Mars in Aries recently, putting pressure on his health. His Solar Arc Pluto was also moving to oppose Mars over the coming year, bringing further challenges.

The Supreme Court was founded on 2 Feb 1790, making it a determined Sun Pluto in Aquarius; with Pluto opposition Jupiter Mars in Leo giving it supreme confidence though not always common sense.

Apart from tr Uranus sextile Pluto from late this month for three weeks which could cause an upheaval, there’s not much showing on the chart until 2017.

Actor Idris Elba is now a fully-fledged A-lister with an enviable track record of good movies and TV – The Wire, Luther, Mandela in Long Walk to Freedom, and most recently Beasts of No Nation which fuelled the recent Oscar diversity furore by being omitted, though it won at Venice and is BAFTA nominated.

Born 6 September 1972 in London, he has a sexy, dynamic Sun Mars in earthy Virgo which is in a hard-edged square to Saturn in Gemini. Custom-built for playing tough guy roles. Quite a few leading men are Virgo – Sean Cponnery, Jeremy Irons, Rufus Sewell

His Venus in late Cancer is trine Neptune, sextiling onto Pluto – charming, creative and controlling. Plus Pluto is also square Jupiter giving him the confidence to push. And his Venus is also quincunx Jupiter – so indulgent.

His Uranus in mid Libra is picking up the tr Pluto square in 2016/17 so a time of enormous change in his life.

Tamara Mellon, co-founder of Jimmy Choo shoes and style queeen of New York always sounded like one of these women who had it all, at least in material terms. The shoe connection sold out for mega-millions and although her most recent fashion business filed for bankruptcy with board/court room battles, she hasn’t been left short personally.

But her life story reads like a Greek tragedy with an abusive, alcoholic mother, a serious drug habit in her twenties and further vicious trust battles with her mother after her father died.

Born 7 July 1967 in London she is – not surprisingly – for a fashion designer with her finger on the pulse of public taste – a Cancer Sun and indeed Moon which square onto a forced-to-be-self-reliant Saturn in Aries. Her Sun is trine Neptune and sextiling onto a midpoint Uranus Pluto in Virgo – so creative and capable of pushing back the boundaries.

Her Sun is also widely square Mars in Libra. So overflowing with Cardinal signs and initiative, marked by a cold childhood which would induce depression but also sowed the seeds of determination and discipline. A North Node in Taurus hints at a rolling lifetime of financial battles.

Her Venus in flamboyant Leo likes the five-star lifestyle, as does her Jupiter also in Leo.

The first direct detection of gravitational waves is being hailed as ‘one of the most remarkable scientific breakthroughs of our time’ and proof of a prediction made by Albert Einstein a century ago. My knowledge of cosmic physics amounts to zero but the science community is abuzz with talk of astronomy and other fields of science now entering a new era.

Einstein, born 14 March 1879 11.30am Ulm, Germany, had a 10^th house Pisces Sun – Pisces oddly enough being one of the commonest signs amongst scientists and mathematicians. He also had a ‘eureka’ moment, inspired- innovation Uranus trine Neptune. Plus an utterly determined Mars in Capricorn sextile his Sun and trine Pluto in Taurus.

His leaving-a-legacy-for-history 17^th Harmonic is immensely strong with an Earth Grand Trine/Kite focused onto a North Node; and a T square focused onto Jupiter. His 11H is also notable.

It may just be coincidence but on his chart the Solar Arc Jupiter is about to cross the Ascendant, giving his image a considerable boost.

Two notable modern day physicists who have devoted their professional lives to pursuing gravitational waves are Rai Weiss, 29 Sept 1932 and Kip Thorne, 1 June 1940. Thorne also has a Uranus trine Neptune; and Weiss a focal point ‘breakthrough’ Uranus, with his Neptune in minor aspects to Uranus, Pluto and his Sun.

Nobel Prizes to follow.