Astrology of Today’s News

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Russian opposition leader Alexei Navalny was killed two years ago in a Siberian penal colony using a poison developed from a dart frog toxin, UK and European allies have said. There is no innocent explanation for the toxin, called epibatidine, being found in samples taken from Navalny’s body, the UK Foreign Office said.

  He was Putin’s most prominent political opponent convicted this final time on what are described as trumped up charges. For many years he was a lawyer and an anti-corruption activist, with six million YouTube subscribers in 2021. He described Russia’s ruling party, United Russia, as a “party of crooks and thieves.” He was poisoned a few years ago by, it is thought, Russian security agents and went to Germany for treatment. He returned against advice and was imprisoned for breaking his parole, latterly in an Arctic penal colony nicknamed “Polar Wolf”, where the temperature can drop to minus 22C.

  I have been puzzling over his motivations since his return meant almost certain death.

  Born 4 June 1976 1.30 pm Moscow, Russia, he had a 9th house (legal affairs) Gemini Sun conjunct Venus opposition Neptune and trine Pluto – a communicator and supremely ambitious. His Mars in flamboyant Leo was in an uncompromising and risk-seeking square to Uranus and in an impulsive square to an 8th house Jupiter in Taurus and South Node.

 He had one yod onto an apex Neptune from Sun Venus sextile Mars; and another wide yod onto his 8^th house Jupiter South Node from Pluto sextile Neptune.

 Neptune echoes throughout his chart – opposition his Sun, leading a yod, tied into Pluto and appearing in his midpoints especially his Neptune/Pluto midpoint. Not Neptune the timid, but Neptune the visionary, capable of ignoring physical danger and privation.  It evokes T.E.Lawrence’s memorable phrase about ‘the dreamers of the day’ being dangerous men – Lawrence was born with Neptune Pluto conjunct in Gemini.

  An 8^th house Jupiter would also be a motivator for Navalny, giving him a profound (if misplaced) sense of having the luck of the gods behind him. His Chiron in Taurus on the cusp of his 8^th and even more so his Scorpio North Node in his 2nd point to an obsessive intensity. The Scorpio North Node and the 8^th house can suggest the road to enlightenment or transformation comes through giving up everything and starting again. Though not usually in quite as dramatic or tragic a fashion as his circumstances. His Scorpio North Node was conjunct the Russia 1917 chart Sun – so he might well have seen his salvation lay through rescuing his motherland.

  And he would be keen to leave his mark on history with a strong 17th harmonic which links Saturn to Mars, Neptune and Pluto indicating extreme hardship and brutality as his way through to immortality.

 His 8^th harmonic is also notable which gives bad luck but also ‘an abundance of strength and stubbornness in the face of difficulties.’ His sacrificial victim 12^th harmonic is not marked except by Jupiter on the focal point of a yod which might suggest he did not see himself as a martyr, more a messenger with a mission.

   Navalny also had the asteroid Nessus close to his midheaven which may also be significant in its positive role of pointing out conmen and alerting his countrymen to the dangers they were facing.

 An extraordinary man.

Chariklo

Psyche

Nessus

Eris

Juno

  Cuba, already on its knees after decades of communist rule, is facing collapse as Trump has cut off vital Venezuelan oil supplies and strong-armed the Mexican government to do likewise.

  According to reports, people are starving, many living in extreme poverty without even one meal a day. Daily power cuts commonly last 20 hours a day, with disastrous results for sanitation and medical care. Rubbish is strewn on the streets. There is no petrol for cars and no aviation fuel for planes. Mosquito-borne diseases are spreading fast with many young Cubans fleeing abroad. The Cuban economy is 15 per cent smaller than it was in 2018 — and cumulative inflation has been 450 per cent since then.

  The Cuba 20 May 1902 12 am Havana chart, has its 29 degree Scorpio Midheaven and 28 degree Taurus Sun both catching the tr Uranus (and Solar Eclipse) square over coming weeks – a change of direction is inevitable. Tr Saturn is also just off the worrisome, uncertain square to their Neptune at 29 Gemini.

 Start time being accurate, the August Leo Solar Eclipse will be conjunct the Cuba Descendant hinting at a crisis in diplomatic relationships with close neighbours requiring adjustment. There could be a surge of confidence by 2028 as the Solar Arc Jupiter is conjunct the Pluto though that happens alongside a bleak SA Saturn conjunct Sun – any rebuilding will be a long, slow task.

 President Miguel-Diaz Canel, 20 April 1960, a Sun Taurus in an Earth Grand Trine to a confident Pluto trine Jupiter, formed into a Kite by Sun opposition Neptune is in a storm-tossed celestial phase. This year tr Saturn Neptune will square his Jupiter undercutting his self-assurance and luck, with a turbulent, destabilising tr Uranus square Pluto from June. And worst of all his Solar Arc Pluto is conjunct his driving planet Neptune throughout this year which usually comes along with devastation and confusion.

  Both of his term charts, 19 April 2018 and 19 April 2021 have final degree Aries Suns – with his first presidency chart having a topple-of-perch moment through this year.

  Standing on the edge of change.

For Whom the Bell Tolls By John Donne 

“No man is an island,

Entire of itself.

Each is a piece of the continent,

A part of the main.

If a clod be washed away by the sea,

Europe is the less.

As well as if a promontory were.

As well as if a manor of thine own

Or of thine friend’s were.

Each man’s death diminishes me,

For I am involved in mankind.

Therefore, send not to know

For whom the bell tolls,

It tolls for thee.”

Another Neptune in Pisces dream dies as former SNP chief executive Peter Murrell and husband of Nicola Sturgeon faces a charge of embezzling £459,000 from the party over 12 years. He is accused of illicitly purchasing items including luxury goods, jewellery, cosmetics, two cars and a motorhome. He made no plea during an initial appearance at Edinburgh Sheriff Court last year after which he was granted bail.

  The initial push for a Scottish independence referendum was made in 2012 as Neptune entered Pisces with the revolutionary, rebellious Uranus square Pluto in place. The SNP’s star rose through the decade with Alex Salmond and then Nicola Sturgeon at the helm of a resurgent Scottish National Party. And is now on the slide with question marks over their competence in government, never mind this scandal.  

 The SNP, 7 April 1934, was determined and vociferous during the years of tr Uranus in Aries square Pluto in Capricorn from 2011 onwards – since it ramped up the SNP’s pugnacious Sun Mars in Aries opposition Jupiter square Pluto. When that moved on in recent years and the financial ramifications of a split from the UK became clearer the heat went out of the fight.

With this week’s Aquarius eclipse and the August Leo eclipse both impacting on the SNP Saturn, there will be a rueful face-reality mood.

 Nicola Sturgeon, 19 July 1970 3.16pm Irvine, Scotland, now separated from her husband, stepping down as an MSP and not facing any charges, is nerve-stretched at the moment with her Solar Arc Uranus conjunct her Neptune and tr Uranus about to oppose her Neptune in March. She looks trapped and frustrated in 2027 with her Solar Arc Mars conjunct her Pluto; and discouraged by 2028. Not an easy few years ahead as she steps down from a period of glittering acclaim.

What is intriguing is the Scotland Act of Union chart with England, 1 May 1707, which has a Jupiter Pluto in Leo conjunction square a Taurus Sun which will be highlighted by the coming August solar eclipse. Interesting to see what if anything transpires.  That chart looks unsettled, uncertain and discouraged this year and for the next two.

 Both the Scotland 16 March 842 and 25 March 1005 have an Aries Sun with other Aries planets so will not find tr Neptune Saturn does much for their fighting spirit. Time to regroup and rethink.

  Indulging in schadenfreude is not a good look (= triumphing over others misfortune) but there is a hint of karma about what was once top of the heap (and contemptuous with it) coming down to ground level again. In the words of the I Ching ‘what goes up must come down.’ Is in the nature of things. In this case a Neptunian delusion – an inspirational dream lacking practicality.

Galileo Galilei, the Italian astronomer known as the “father of modern science”, stood trial for the second time on 13 February 1633 for the heresy of proclaiming that the Earth revolves around the Sun. He had revolutionized astronomy using an improved telescope to discover Jupiter’s moons, Venus’s phases, and lunar craters but his support for heliocentrism led to life imprisonment by the Catholic Church. 

  His birth date varies by a day but on 16 February 1564 JC 3.41pm in Pisa, Italy, it gives a Pisces Sun conjunct Pluto and Mercury in a rebellious, revolutionary square to Uranus square which is in an innovative (eureka moment) opposition to Neptune in Gemini. His Taurus Moon, here in the 10^th would bring him into the public eye.

 Birth time being accurate – a focal point Pluto is often ahead of its time in terms of insight and has a tendency to run into hostile resistance. In the 8^th would double up the reactions he stirred up from the authorities of the day. Pisces is also a sign not only connected to Neptune but also to explorers as well as mathematicians.

His Mars in final degree Taurus was conjunct Neptune and square his Sun – so he was a force to be reckoned with.  He had a Jupiter Saturn conjunction in Cancer (in certain cases an indication of a high flyer) trine Venus in Pisces. He was sentenced to indefinite house arrest where he remained until he died in 1642.

The 13^th February (thanks AI) does appear to be a significant date with the Lindbergh kidnapping and Dresden bombing also falling on February 13 in 1935 and 1945 respectively.

  The grip the destructive Inquisition of the Roman Catholic Church had between the 13^th Century (Pluto in Virgo?) and the 19^th Century (Pluto in Pisces?) when it was dissolved is sobering to reflect on. Western civilization has moved on apace since then but it is a damning indictment of what happens when narrow minded and arrogant religious fanaticism is allowed the upper hand.

Wuthering Heights, Emily Bronte’s classic novel has been given a ‘hyper-sexualised’ makeover in a new Jacob Elordi/Margot Robbie film. The provocative scenes in question are erotic, with much moaning and writhing though they are not explicit. One reviewer pointed out the passionate Heathcliff Cathy love affair had been interpreted in different ways at different times, which say more about the era in which they were produced — its expectations, prejudices, and neuroses — than about the work itself.

  The devoted lover. The toxic narcissist. The sex symbol. The chaste beloved. The perverted necrophile. The proto‑Marxist rebel. The idealistic lunatic. The unscrupulous psychopath. The victim of the powerful.

 The story is about Heathcliff, a street boy taken in by a rural landowner and brought into his home, where he becomes part of the family, hated by son Hindley, and adored by Cathy. He eventually leaves the family, and Cathy marries a neighbouring landowner, Edgar Linton. Heathcliffe returns as a wealthy man, consumed by resentment, determined to corrupt and destroy the family, while still trapped by his indestructible love for Cathy. She dies in childbirth and he dies much later, being buried beside her decomposing corpse in her coffin.

 Despite its reputation as a story about soaring passion, in reality as another reviewer pointed out is a novel about violence, powered by rage, alcohol and fear with much child beating, temper tantrums and blood. Undoubtedly it was a reflection of Emily Bronte’s curate father who was prone to violent rages, as was Emily. In her biography of Charlotte Brontë, the novelist Elizabeth Gaskell describes how Emily once lost her temper with her bulldog, Keeper, and repeatedly punched it in the face with her “bare clenched fist” until its eyes were swollen and “half blind”.

 Its publication in 1847 met a muted response, unlike her sister Charlotte’s Jane Eyre and only became a success well into the 20th century, thanks to champions like Virginia Woolf and to the impact it had on the Surrealists.

 Emily Bronte, born 30 July 1818 2.49pm Thornton, England, had a Leo Sun and Mercury in the 9^th house of communication and writing and a Cancer Moon deeply buried in the 8th. But what marked out her subject matter was a volatile, Mutable T square of a passionate Venus Mars conjunction in Virgo in the 9th opposition a regretful Saturn in Pisces square Uranus in Sagittarius.  Venus Mars can give an inclination to strong sexual yearnings. Mars Saturn can be cruel. Mars Venus square Uranus – a need for constant excitement without ties. It is quite a perverse chart. She had the destructive Fixed Star Algol conjunct her Descendant. A controlling Pluto in her 4^th hinted at a tricky father and dark undercurrents running through the family home.  There are some theories that she was autistic.  She died a year after publication of her novel, on her First Saturn Return, possibly from tuberculosis, never having married.

 The novel was published on 24 November 1847 with a rage-filled and frustrated Sun inconjunct Mars Pluto; and maybe on the point of a yod with Mars Pluto sextile a late Gemini/Cancer Moon which would make sense of the content.

I am eternally fascinated by what catches the mood of the moment and in some cases continues to do so over decades and centuries.

The Solar Eclipse on 17 February 2026 at 28 degrees Aquarius is square Uranus so will bring sudden surprises, perhaps opportunities but certainly a change of direction. Uranus also square Mars for an uncompromising mood and over-reactions. A positive Mercury trine Jupiter. And the exact Saturn Neptune conjunction in Aries sextile Pluto.

 The path of the eclipse is across Antarctica – Argentina, Chile and southern Africa region.

  The Eclipsed New Moon falls on the Midheaven for London which might suggest key events there.

  In Saros Series 10 North which occurred before in 2008, 1990, 1972, 1954, 1935, 1917, it brings an emphasis on communication with frustrating or inhibiting circumstances. The general mood will be tired or drained and difficulties need to be worked through one at a time (Bernadette Brady).

 The Total Lunar Eclipse of 3 March 2026 at 12 degrees Virgo/Pisces is in an upbeat sextile/trine to Jupiter though it again features the edgy, explosive Mars square Uranus. Plus Saturn Neptune in Aries sextile Pluto.

The eclipse will be completely visible over northeast Asia, northwestern North America, and the central Pacific Ocean, seen rising over much of Asia and Australia and setting over North and South America.

The Total Solar Eclipse of 12 August 2026 has the New Moon at 20 degrees Leo in a steady trine to Saturn in Aries. For the first time it has Uranus in Gemini trine Pluto sextile Neptune as the mood music of the new era. Venus in Libra opposes Neptune and squares Mars in Cancer for a go-head and (argumentative) mood.

 In Saros Series 10 South, it brings a time of breaking out of a negative, hopeless situation into positive phase with more options. A worry will disappear as solutions appear that need to be grasped. (Bernadette Brady).

Around before in this Saros Series 2008, 1990, 1972, 1954, 1936, 1918, 1900. 

    The total eclipse will pass over the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, the Atlantic Ocean, northern Spain and northeastern Portugal. The first part of the total eclipse path will pass from east to west from Russia to Greenland. A partial eclipse will cover more than 90% of the Sun in Ireland, Britain, Portugal, France, Italy, the Balkans and North Africa and to a lesser extent in most of Europe, West Africa and northern North America.

  The Lunar Eclipse of 28 August 2026 at 4 degrees Pisces/Virgo will square Uranus so will be highly strung and uncompromising, although also innovative. The Virgo Sun will be on the point of an ambitious, ego-centred yod inconjunct Neptune sextile Pluto.  With an accident-prone and aggravated Saturn square Mars, though Saturn trine Jupiter will soften the harder edges of the mood.

  The eclipse will be visible over North and South America, rising over the central Pacific Ocean and setting over Africa, Europe, and the Middle East.

See saw charts are evidently one of the rarer configurations, indicating complex, not always stable temperaments who are constantly dancing between opposing sides of themselves, trying to find a balance and a way of integrating their inner incompatibility. They are constantly pulled between alternatives and two distinct, often competing sides of their personality. Sometimes they seek out a partner to carry the ‘other half’ of themselves, making them overly dependent with their relationship needs intense.

   What it can be good for in certain individuals is an ability to solve conflicts. They can be successful negotiators between opposing parties because they want to make sure that the resolution is fair for both parties; an echo of what they want for themselves at an inner level.

 What brought this to mind was a surprisingly reverential biography of Labour politician and briefly former UK prime minister after Blair, Gordon Brown. He did admittedly prove crucial in finding a way through the financial collapse of 2008 but was a famously flawed man with a curious chart. He had a volcanic temper, a talent for grudges and a willingness to rely on “sometimes thuggish spin doctors”, expert in the blackest arts. On the other hand he is seen as highly moral with a robustly Christian approach, focusing since his retirement on global education and health financing and avoiding the standard post-political money-making mission.  

 Frank Field, a fellow politician once remarked: “It is almost like [Brown] has two brains. ”

   Born 20 February 1951 8.40am Glasgow Scotland with a Church of Scotland minister for a father, he had a precocious and outstanding intellect, gaining ultimately a PhD in the history of the Labour Party.

  He has a 12th house Pisces Sun as well as Jupiter, North Node, Venus, Mars in Pisces all in the 12^th; with his Jupiter Mars Veus inconjunct Neptune; and Mars Venus opposition Saturn with Saturn square Uranus. And his Mercury in Aquarius opposes a Leo Moon conjunct Pluto in his performing 5^th house. It is not quite a stereotypical see-saw chart but it is near enough. And his personality oddities do fit.

One other is Edward Kennedy, 22 February 1932 3.58 am Brookline, Massachusetts. At the time of his death there was a division of opinion given his callous behaviour over the death of Mary Jo Kopechne and his reputation as a serial womaniser and philanderer. But there were those who pointed to his superior political abilities in resolving cross party disputes, being able to cross the aisle and negotiate settlements with ‘the other side.’

 He had a more obviously see-saw chart with his Pisces Sun opposition Moon Neptune; his Pluto opposing Saturn and his Jupiter widely opposing Mars Mercury.  

  King George V1, 14 December 1895 3.05am Sandringham, England, was also see saw with an 8^th house Pluto Neptune opposition his Sun Mercury. Despite a flawed character and uncontainable temper, he managed against his inclinations to take over the throne and pull the UK together through the war years with the help of his redoubtable wife.

  Whitney Houston, 9 August 1963 8.55pm Newark Heights, NJ, was another, though in her case partnerships proved her downfall. A 6^th house Leo Sun Venus opposed a 12^th house Saturn; and her Moon opposed Mars.

 Configurations don’t tell the whole story but they do add another layer of insight into the shaping of a temperament and the direction a life will take.

Puerto Rican rapper Bad Bunny smashed the record for the most watched Super Bowl Halftime Show in Santa Clara, California with a historic 135.4 million views. And became the first musician to perform entirely in Spanish at a Super Bowl.

Benito Martínez Ocasio has been Spotify’s top annual streaming artist four times and has helped to turn Spanish-language rap into a global success story. Born 10 March 1994, in Bayamon, the son of a truck driver and a school-teacher, he sang in the church choir as a child and got his first record deal aged 14.

 Unlike last year, Donald Trump did not attend and poured vitriol on BB’s performance -“Absolutely terrible, one of the worst, EVER!” he declared on Truth Social presumably a reaction to Bad Bunny using his recent Grammys speech to criticise the government-sanctioned ICE raids in Minnesota.

  BB is a Sun Pisces with a Pisces/Aquarius Moon. He has an intense North Node conjunct Pluto in late Scorpio which squares Mercury giving him strong opinions. His Pluto North Node also square a hard-edged Mars Saturn (Moon) in Pisces which will give him a deep reservoir of anger about unfair treatment. His Pluto opposes Trump’s Midheaven and squares DT’s Mars for a mighty, never-give-in clash. BB’s inventive and highly-strung, generational Uranus Neptune also oppose DT’s Saturn Venus in Cancer for a clash of values. And BB’s short-fused Mars Saturn falls in DT’s 7^th house.

 Worst of all possible combinations.

  Their relationship chart has a composite Mars Venus in final degree Taurus opposition Neptune in final degree Scorpio – Mars Neptune is an ego-clash, one wins the other loses. The final degree of signs is pervasive in-the-news charts at the moment. Maybe a hint that this run-in could have potentially wider ramifications as a turning point in the culture of the times.

 Bad Bunny looks very unsettled ahead with tr Uranus square his Pluto in March and then moving in to square his Mars Saturn in June/July and on. Risky?