Marjorie

The messy Syrian War may be at a tipping point over coming months according to Patrick Cockburn in the Independent (URL http://goo.gl/AkVhL3). At the moment it looks like stalemate with the Russians supporting Assad and the other major players not wanting to lose credibility but not wanting to get stuck in a decade long, expensive quagmire.

There’s nothing overly hopeful on any of the charts instantly. The Syria 1 January 1944 12am chart has semi-survived majorly difficult influences over the past three years. It gets a lift in 2017 from tr Uranus trine its Jupiter from May 2017 onward. But before then it still has Solar Arc Saturn square the Syria Mars Uranus, exact in eight months’ time and thereafter for several months, which will be devastating and probably violent.

Bashar Assad’s Presidency chart, 17 July 2000, is facing more insecurity with tr Uranus square Mars from April, and then progressing through tr Uranus square Sun/Mars, onto square Sun in 2017. So highly unstable.

Assad’s relationship with Putin is sagging through this year as high hopes are dashed with the Russians discovering it wasn’t the easy fix they had hoped for.

Assad’s personal chart is under continuing heavy pressure from tr Pluto trine Uranus Pluto Sun in 2016/17/18 – so a grinding run of forced changes.

According to reports, ‘Isis is now almost sealed off within its self-declared caliphate’. This fits with tr Uranus opposing its Venus, due one final hit this late Feb/March, which causes financial and other upsets; and tr Uranus then continues to oppose the Sun Mars through this year for more disruption and risk.  2017 will be even more challenging for them with tr Pluto square their Venus and in 2018/19 tr Pluto square their Sun. 2020/21 should see them finally wiped out with tr Pluto square Mars, if it hasn’t happened before.

None of this looks like a sunny, peaceful end to this year. A long drawn out agony for poor Syria and Iraq.

What’s Ahead in 2016:  Below are the December posts for general, USA, EU, UK and Australia 2016. [Search will be back sometime soon.]

What’s to look forward to and guard against in the coming year.

The disruptive, chaotic Uranus square Pluto has no more exactly exact aspects, though is very close in January/February and gradually fades, though returning with a reasonably close orb late in the year. Its effect will be felt most strongly when the Sun and Mars move through Cardinal signs in January, April, July and October.

Although a lesser influence, the neurotic Saturn in Sagittarius square Neptune will also be to the forefront, increasing panic levels and inflating ill-defined fears. Typically Saturn Neptune is paranoid so magnifying small concerns and making mountains out of them. It will be around for the first ten months or so, most notably when exact in June and September, especially the latter when it is fired up by the Eclipses.

At best Saturn can give shape and structure to Neptune’s dreams.  Neptune’s creativity and ideals for a better society, help for the suffering, can be made real. Though it would have to be said a square makes that more difficult. If Neptune gets the upper hand it dissolves Saturn’s sense of reality, inducing disorientation, a difficulty in distinguishing fiction from fact.

Jupiter in Virgo is also square Saturn for the first six months which is an odd combination – expanding and shrinking at the same time, not entirely stable.

On the better news front, Jupiter trines Pluto in March, April and June – successful, positive thinking leads to positive results, morale boosting. Then in November and December, Jupiter (from September in Libra) squares Pluto and opposes Uranus – which will be confident and lucky; along with an innovative Saturn trine Uranus in December.

Mars is having a retrograde year so stays in Sagittarius from March till May and August/September – good for crusading and campaigning – and arguing.

The Eclipses which have an effect just before the due date and for some months after:

The 9^th March Solar Eclipse at 18 degrees Pisces opposes Jupiter which is great and squares Saturn, not so great. Not catastrophic but wobbly.

The 23 March Lunar Eclipse at 3 degrees Libra/Aries is sextile/trine Mars which will be lively. There is a Neptune Venus opposition Jupiter square Saturn so some discouragement and confusion.

The more difficult Eclipses come in September. The Solar Eclipse on 1^st September at 9 degrees Virgo opposes Neptune and squares a Mars Saturn conjunction which looks accident prone, rattled, maybe military ramping up and muddled.

The 16 September Lunar Eclipse at 24 degrees Pisces/Virgo squares onto Mars which looks aggravated; with the Uranus Pluto square anchored into a T Square to Venus in Libra so emotionally intense and unpredictable; and the Saturn Neptune square tied tighter together into another T square with the Virgo North Node – so Mars, Pluto, Saturn are all on focal points, accentuating their effect.

 

USA 2016

The USA will continue to trudge through tr Pluto square Saturn for a second year till October, which isn’t frivolous or indulgent, can be accompanied by some hardship and deprivation. 4 July 1776 (11 am).

There’s also a fair amount of Neptune around – tr Neptune conjunct the Solar Arc Sun; tr Neptune square Uranus; Solar Arc Mercury opposition Neptune exact in 3 months.  So muddled thinking, not ego-boosting, maybe a hint of fanaticism from Neptune Uranus. Perhaps a risk of flooding as well.

There will be high spots and confident-pushes from tr Pluto square Jupiter/Pluto from January on and off for two years, but it looks fairly foggy along the way until the September Eclipses.

Tr Uranus will square the USA Mercury from mid 2016 on and off for a year; and then in 2017 square the USA Pluto – so outbursts, over frank exchanges of dogmatic views.  Certainly quite an upheaval in 2017.

The afflicted Virgo Solar Eclipse will square the USA Uranus which suggests freedom will become a major issue – too much or too little, wither freedom of speech or of personal liberty. And the September Lunar Eclipse sits close to the USA Neptune and square the USA Mars in Gemini. Mars in hard aspect to an Eclipse is argumentative, which may be part and parcel of the run up to the election. Neptune hitting the Eclipse may bring into question whether the USA is fulfilling its ideals as a superpower or gently decaying, perhaps becoming more isolationist.

The mood around the Inauguration in January 2017 looks discouraging, bad tempered and deflated – with tr Saturn then opposition the USA Mars and square USA Neptune – so not a generally popular result. Or there are global concerns bearing down.

The 2017 Inauguration chart itself does have a Jupiter opposition Uranus square Pluto – so quite a gambler as the next President, who takes risks and exerts control. A Mars Saturn square suggests less overtly pacifist than Obama. But a Sun square Moon hints at the White House being out of step with the general mood (or not caring).

The Federal Reserve chart 16 Nov 1914 9am has both tr Saturn and tr Neptune in hard aspect to its financial Venus at 10 Sagittarius, so economic setbacks and a few sinking moments up till September. 2017 sees Solar Arc Neptune square the FedRes Jupiter which is never a good economic sign – too much over confidence, not enough common sense, inflationary.

 

EU 2016

Whither the EU? The migrants overtook the Greece economic meltdown scenario so the existential question has been rather over shadowed. Since the EU held through the tr Uranus square tr Pluto hitting on its 10 degree Capricorn Sun, it seems unlikely to keel over in the immediate future.

There will be an almighty jolt in 6 months’ time or earlier when the Solar Arc Uranus squares the EU Sun. That pulls the full strength of the EU Fixed Grand Cross to bear down on the Sun, so it will be an event (series of) of considerable magnitude, which will shake its security.

The financial conundrum hasn’t disappeared with Solar Arc Pluto moving conjunct the Jupiter/Neptune midpoint in 2016/17 and then being conjunct Neptune in 2019/20 – which is all financial bubble-bursting, overly high hopes dashed.

Tr Uranus moving into the EU’s 8^th house of finance in 2017/18 will cause some instability; more so when it starts a gruelling and unstable process of several years moving in hard aspect to the EU Grand Cross. In 2019 it opposes the EU Uranus and square the EU Moon which will give the rigidity of the EU a terrific pounding, economically as well as every other way. 2019 as well Solar Arc MC is conjunct the hidden 12^th house Pluto which will be blocked.

The Saturn Pluto in Capricorn conjunction of 2019/2020 falls in the EU’s 4^th house, so bringing deprivation internally to its citizens. 2022 and 2023 look explosive, disruptive and then undermined.

If it survives, in whatever form, it may start to emerge into easier times by 20254 when tr Pluto moves into Aquarius and its 5^th house.

The European Central Bank (ECB) 1 June 1998, is looking limp and uncertain through 2016 with tr Saturn square tr Neptune hitting on its Gemini Sun; and into 2017 tr Saturn square Jupiter. 2018/19 sees tr Uranus conjunct its Saturn Venus which looks like another rough patch.

 

UK 2016

The UK looks confident at the moment with Solar Arc Jupiter conjunct Pluto in the 1801 chart, as Christmas sales break all records (and household/credit card debt soars back up). To some extent that exuberance will continue through 2016/17 with tr Pluto trine Jupiter/Pluto on and off.

Tr Uranus will make one more square to the UK 10^th house Cancer Moon in March.  I can’t say I noticed much of its impact in 2015, except there were massive anti-austerity marches and demos over the first hit. HM Queen became the longest reigning monarch and Jeremy Corbyn was surprisingly elected during the second hit. The 10^th house is the country’s rulership and the Moon does represent the people. It may become more obvious as time goes on and will certainly be forefront in 2017/2018 when tr Pluto opposes the UK Moon.

There will be some moments of panicky failure with tr Neptune conjunct the Sun/Mars midpoint in March and more obviously September when tr Saturn squares Sun/Mars for a more major setback. That will coincide with a major shock from Solar Arc Sun square the 8^th house Mars exact in nine months from now, though perhaps triggering earlier. The 8^th house Mars can be economic but it tends also in the UK to accompany major disasters, man-made or natural with loss of life.

The only eclipse to make much of an impact will be the late March Lunar which is conjunct/opposition the UK Uranus – so jolting and unsettled.

The UK’s 7^th house Aries North Node is under pressure from a tr Pluto square which is subtle but could be about whether to continue co-operating with the EU or to Brexit. Co-operation not being a strong point either for an Aries Node or a Node in the 7^th.  I’ve always thought if the UK was going to exit it would have done so long since.

The Bank of England chart, 27 July 1694 10 am London, will have a lucky break over the first six months, so presumably better economic news. But it then goes into a tail spin with the September Lunar Eclipse in hard aspect to its Mutable Grand Square; with tr Saturn following on to produce discouragement in December 2016, and worse in January 2017.

AUSTRALIA 2016

The Australia 1901 chart has Sun and Saturn in Capricorn which have survived the pounding of the past few years of tr Uranus square tr Pluto.

However with seven planets in Mutable signs – 4 Sag, 2 Gem, 1 Virgo – the year ahead will hold problems of a different sort with tr Neptune square the financial 8^th house Venus and opposition the 5^th house (speculation) Mars. Plus tr Saturn conjunct Venus, Uranus, square Mars and opposition Pluto in 2016; dragging into 2017 with the conjunction to the AU Jupiter, Mercury and by opposing Neptune.

The Eclipses are also targeting those Mutable planets with the September Virgo Eclipse the trickiest as it is conjunct the AU Mars.

So worrisome, deflating, enthusiasm-denting, with perhaps more aggravating factors than usual with the Eclipse on Mars which is angry and can also be disasters of one sort or another. There’ll be a considerable jolt from Solar Arc Uranus square Sun, exact in six months time. Following that there’s an accident-prone/military? Solar Arc Mars conjunct Saturn, exact in late 2016, which will produce heated outbursts.

There will be some moments of sunshine with tr Uranus conjunct the Solar Arc Jupiter from late April 2016, again in November and early 2017; with better news as tr Uranus trines the AU Jupiter in 2017.

So a definite dip with several reality checks, but light at the end of the tunnel.

The Bank of Australia, 14 Jan 1960, has three planets in Sagittarius so it will feel the discouraging effects of tr Saturn conjunctions in 2016/2017; with an upheaval or two from tr Uranus squares the BoA Capricorn Sun in 2016. But again better luck coming by 2018.

 

 

Vladimir Putin ‘probably’ approved the murder of ex-Russian spy Alexander Litvinenko by polonium-210 poisoning in 2006 in London, due in part to personal “antagonism” between the pair. A UK judge put in to lead an inquiry, which No 10 no doubt hoped would sweep the affair under the carpet, has instead come out with startling conclusions. The Russians are fulminating and David Cameron is weaselling around trying to sound disapproving while doing nothing.

According to the Independent (uk) Litvinenko just before his death had published allegations that Putin was a paedophile, for which he said there was video evidence.

Putin, 7 Oct 1952 9.30am? St Petersburg, may regard this as a flea bite of an irritation but he is undoubtedly in a high-stress phase of his life with tr Pluto square his Sun/Saturn midpoint at the moment, repeating through 2016. Tr Uranus is moving to oppose his Saturn from later this month for four weeks; followed by tr Pluto square Saturn and square his Sun/Neptune midpoint from early March till late 2017. Tr Uranus opposition Neptune and then Mercury from late April onwards. So all in all his nerves will be shredded and he’ll be confused, uncertain, discouraged, pushing boulders uphill. It’ll test even his formidable stamina and self-belief.

His relationship with David Cameron isn’t showing a flicker of discomfort at the moment, no matter what public shows of defensive outrage are coming out of the Kremlin. Where it does start to show strain is towards mid year when Putin’s own chart is looking on edge and at risk.

The Russia 1917/UK relationship chart also hints at higher tensions from mid year.

The International Tennis Federation is now facing allegations of match fixing, following on from Fifa’s corruption and Athletics doping cover-up scandals.

Where did all the old sporting spirit go? Nothing seems clean. Where competition brings a mass audience, cash registers are guaranteed to follow.

The International Tennis Federation (ITF) was founded on 1 March 1913 in Paris with a Pisces Sun sextile Jupiter in Capricorn. The tr Saturn square tr Neptune this year is catching the ITF Pisces Sun. It will induce disappointment and damage reputations, more so from mid March onwards. Tr Neptune is also opposition the Solar Arc Saturn which is slowly approaching an opposition to the ITF Sun by late 2017. So a clean-up may take some time.

The IAAF (Athletics), 17 July 1912, has a similarly sinking year with the tr Saturn square tr Neptune bouncing off the Solar Arc Mars and Solar Arc Saturn; with tr Uranus square the Cancer Neptune Sun mid-year onwards. They’ll take even longer to get their house in order since their really testing time comes in 2020 after a major meltdown as tr Pluto opposes their Neptune Sun.

FIFA (football) 21 May 1904, is gridlocked this year with Solar Arc Mars square Pluto; and backed into a corner in 2018/19 with Solar Arc Sun square Pluto.

Maybe all this has something to do with the Uranus Pluto square upending the corrupt old structures and attempting along with Pluto in Capricorn to do a long term spring clean.

Pluto in Capricorn was historically associated with times of justice and culture. Not much of that on the horizon yet, but I travel hopefully..

PS. I  looked up a treatise on the original Olympic Games which suggests they weren’t much different. “Greek Olympics were fierce contests between bitter rivals, in which victors won kudos and rewards, and losers faced scorn and even assault. Victory was almost worth dying for and a number of athletes did just that. Many more resorted to cheating and bribery. Contested always bitterly and often bloodily, the ancient Olympics were not an idealistic celebration of unity, but a clash of military powers in an arena not far removed from the battlefield.” Ah well, another illusion shattered.

The Oscar nominations are coming in for heavy criticism because of the lack of black or minority actors, with talk of a boycott.

The first Oscars ever was held 16 May 1929 with a confident and stubborn Sun Jupiter in Taurus square Neptune in Leo – well suited to the indulgent feste and high finance of the premier film award jamboree. There’s also an inspirational, entrepreneurial Fire Grand Trine of Neptune trine Saturn in self-righteous Sagittarius trine Venus in Aries. Grand Trines tend to get stuck in a comfortable rut, unless focused into a Kite with an opposition to one leg. It’s a chart with huge energy but lacking the capacity for radical change.

Until now. There’s a double whammy of collapse-and-rebuild influences. The Solar Arc Pluto is opposing the Oscars Uranus this year; and tr Uranus is square the O’s Pluto exactly now, followed by tr Pluto opposition Pluto. There may be a major tug of war between the old guard and the agents for change, but with all that force being generated something will have to give. Expect next year to be different.

Please post here.

No one has yet come up with a snappy epithet for the duo of Palin and Trump, as she throws her hat into his ring. He normally dislikes sharing the limelight but for now is happy to give her a platform, while she no doubt relishes the prospect of getting back into the headlines.

The scene is set for some challenging interchanges.  Her ratchety, outspoken Sun Mars Saturn in Aquarius oppose his flamboyant Mars in Leo and Ascendant which is likely to prove argumentative. Her chaotic Uranus Pluto in Virgo falls in his 1^st house so she’ll certainly rock his boat where his image is concerned.

Their relationship chart is incredibly intense and controlling with a composite Venus opposition Mars square Pluto – and she’s not a lady who likes being dominated.

There’s also a dynamic composite Cardinal Grand Cross so together they could start up a whirlwind.  Though there’ll be jolts, jangles and some outbursts when tr Uranus is conjunct the composite Sun in May and October. Before then from early March tr Pluto is conjunct the composite Jupiter which could go two ways. Either they charge ahead with high confidence in co-operation. Or they start to point-score against each other, trying to gain the upper hand. Maybe both.

Each of them has Jupiter in their natal chart in mid Cardinal, Palin at 16 Aries and Trump at 17 Libra – so from now onwards they’ll be on a high, pushing hard – probably too hard. Pluto Jupiter can be hugely successful but it can also go over the score, assuming rules don’t apply. Then it bites back. But they do extraordinarily (and tragically) have the most hopeful charts of any candidates for this year.

Donald Trump, 14 June 1946 10.54am New York; Sarah Palin 11 Feb 1964 9.44pm Sandpoint, ID.

Bernie Sanders is beginning to eat into Hillary Clinton’s once invincible lead, with his poll numbers up and a good showing in the last television debate.

Born 8 September 1941 New York 12.27pm (ADB) he’s got some mixed blessings ahead. Tr Uranus sextile his Jupiter will definitely help from mid March for two weeks.

But that apart he’s got tr Saturn square his Sun mid Feb to early March which is discouraging; loss-making and disappointing Neptune transits to midpoints from mid Feb to mid April. May and June looks high stress and insecure with tr Uranus square Sun/Saturn, Sun/Uranus and then conjunct his Mars.  The last of those might even bring up health issues.

Hillary Clinton’s chart (without a verified birth time) has nothing too great. She looks uncertain and downbeat late Jan to early March with tr Pluto trine her Saturn/Neptune midpoint; with additional stresses in February from tr Uranus trine Mars/Saturn. April is overwrought with tr Uranus square her Uranus/Pluto; and May more so with tr Uranus opposition her Solar Arc Mars Pluto.

On an 8am birth time tr Jupiter is going through her 10^th which has to help. But that’s not certain.

Her bid chart of 12 April 2015 3.05pm New York, is getting rocked on its axis at the moment and more so in May.

The drinking water in Flint, Michigan is so polluted by lead and other contaminants that it is causing irreversible damage to the population’s health. In 2014 the supply was switched away from Detroit in a financial crisis to a cheaper local supply into which car factories used to pour waste. The corrosive Flint River water, which could have been sorted with a simple phosphate additive, started dissolving at the city’s lead-based pipes. There has been a spike in Legionnaire’s Disease as well with deaths.

Flint, the birthplace of activist Michael Moore, has 40% under the poverty level, 30% are illiterate, and violent crime levels are among the highest in the USA. It is nearly two thirds black.

President Obama has declared it a disaster zone. People from all over the US are sending in bottled water and donations. It has now been reconnected to the Detroit supply, but it may be a year before the water is safe to drink again. There have been class action lawsuits filed against the state Governor Rick Snyder amongst others.

The first city charter for Flint was agreed on 3 February 1855 when Uranus Pluto were in Taurus, Neptune in Pisces was square Saturn in Gemini; and Jupiter, Sun, Mercury, Venus, Mars were spread out through Aquarius.

In the past two years tr Pluto was trine Uranus creating disruptions; with tr Saturn squaring the Aquarius planets. At the moment the Solar Arc Neptune is opposing the Sun/Mars midpoint which is undermining and panicky. The tr Saturn square tr Neptune is also in hard aspect to the Flint Saturn Neptune square – so high levels of worry.

Governor Rick Snyder, a Republican and venture capitalist, was born 19 August 1958 in Michigan, and is a Sun Leo conjunct Pluto; with Sun sextile Jupiter in Libra, trine Saturn in Sagittarius, and widely square Mars in determined Taurus. He’s got a tough, scary struggle through 2016/17 with tr Pluto trine his Mars.

His Mars incidentally falls exactly conjunct the Flint North Node so quite a karmic cross-over. His Sun Pluto are probably conjunct the Flint Virgo Moon (midday start). And his Neptune opposes the Flint Pluto. So no surprises he arouses local anger and is made to feel responsible for undermining the city’s potency.

The relationship chart between Snyder and Flint is apt with a composite Pluto opposition Neptune square Mars – Neptune Pluto is associated with scandal and unseen poisons by water; and Mars with hasty decisions that lead to fights.

Snyder took up his Governorship on January 1 2011 which has a fearsome chart with Pluto Sun Mars in Capricorn and the Sun sitting midway between the two powerful and ruthless planets. The Saturn in Libra also squares Sun Mars – so compassion and sentiment not exactly on the agenda. That chart is pressured this year, more so in 2017 when it grinds to a halt with tr Pluto conjunct Mars.

Michael Moore, the documentary filmmaker and writer – Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11, Sicko – was born 23 April 1954 12.46pm Flint, MI. He’s a tough-minded and angry Taurus Sun opposition Saturn, and trine Moon Mars in Capricorn.

His determined Pluto, on the focal point of a mini-Grand Trine of Jupiter in Gemini trine Neptune, is conjunct Snyder’s Sun and square his Mars – so it’ll be a gladiatorial battle. Their relationship chart has a power-struggling composite Jupiter Pluto on the point of a composite mini-Grand Trine of Sun Venus trine Neptune; and square Saturn. So there’ll be no quarter given.

Singer Celine Dion has suffered a double tragedy with one of her older brothers dying two days after her husband, both from cancer. She retired from her career for a year from mid 2014 to be with her husband Rene Angelil as his condition worsened. He found her as a 12 year old and nurtured her career, marrying when she was 26 and he was 52.

Born 30 March 1968 12.15pm Charlemagne, Canada, she has a hard-working, self-reliant Sun Saturn in Aries straddling her Midheaven, with Moon in late Aries conjunct Mars in Taurus also in her 10^th. So very ambitious, a good organiser as well as suited to a public career; and with a Leo Ascendant has a flamboyant persona.  Her Venus Mercury in musical Pisces opposes Pluto Uranus in Virgo so an emotional and creative life filled with constant change.

She’s been through tough times recently with tr Uranus conjunct her Sun MC Saturn and then following that tr Pluto in the 6^th square all three. So huge pressures and discouragement.

At the moment her Solar Arc Sun which is coincidentally conjunct Algol, the destructive Fixed star, is opposition her 4^th house Neptune – so undermining family circumstances.

Her Progressed Moon is just into her 7^th house of close relationships, staying for just under two years – a time when she’ll miss the support of a partner greatly.

Tr Pluto sextile her Venus Mercury and tr Uranus trine her 2^nd house Jupiter may give her an emotional and financial boost by 2018. Though she’s also got her Solar Arc Neptune square her Saturn MC then as well – so confusion over work, health and career directions.