Astrology of Today’s News

“I have always thought of Christmas time… as a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time.” Charles Dickens.

   Except when celebrity families fall out with new spouses opening up rifts with the previous generation, seized on with glee by the tabloid press.

 Olympian swimmer Adam Peaty today married Holly Ramsay daughter of the restaurateur Gordon Ramsay, with his family not present after a much publicised split. In attendance were David and Victoria Beckham, also estranged from their son Beckham after his marriage to Nicola Pelz, daughter of an American billionaire businessman. And, of course, out very own Prince Harry whose marriage created a Grand Canyon-sized distancing from his family.

 Today’s Peaty-Ramsay noon wedding in Bath, had a fractious and socially-conscious Sun Mars in Capricorn square an Aries Moon conjunct Neptune Scheat. One explanation for the family blow out was the suggestion that Adam Peaty had been sucked into the high-profile Ramsay family and moved away from his roots – so Capricorn fits. Also because both he and his bride are ambitious Sun Capricorns. 

  He was born 28 December 1994 and has a stellium spread out through Capricorn with Sun at one end. Mercury in the middle and highly-strung Neptune Uranus in the last decan. He also has a disciplined Mars in Virgo opposition Saturn in Pisces square a powerfully confident Jupiter in Sagittarius conjunct Pluto in final degree Scorpio –  all grist to the mill when it comes to winning two Olympic golds. Plus an intense Venus and Moon in Scorpio.

 Holly, 31 December 1999, is a Sun Capricorn with Neptune, Uranus and Mars spread out through Aquarius with a Moon in Libra/Scorpio. Her determined Mars squares his resolute Pluto which may cause a few stalemates ahead.

 Their relationship chart has a businesslike composite Sun square Saturn; with a high-vitality, passionate composite Venus Mars conjunction. Also a composite Mars Pluto conjunction with Pluto trine Saturn – power and control issues will rumble below the surface.

  Nicola Peltz, oddly enough, 9 January 1995, has a chart not unlike Adam Peaty with a tough-minded Saturn in Pisces opposition Mars in Virgo square Jupiter, Venus in Sagittarius and Pluto in final degree Scorpio. Her Sun conjunct Uranus Neptune is Capricorn and her Moon Aries/Taurus.

  The Brooklyn/Nicola relationship chart has a suppressed-anger composite Mars opposition Saturn in a Half Grand Sextile to Pluto and Uranus.  Again simmering undercurrents of aggravation and anger.

[See previous posts: Beckhams – money won’t buy family bliss. 4th May 2025.

A Beckham family tangle – down the generations. 3rd September 2022.

Brooklyn & Nicola wedding chart. 6th April 2022.]

 What has always fascinated me is the relationship chart between Prince Harry and Meghan – where the birth times are known. The composite Moon squares a Saturn Pluto conjunction pointing (amongst other things) to a family in the freezer. Meghan also has her Uranus opposition Harry’s 4^th house Moon which suggests she would pull him away from his roots.

  The point being that it is the dynamic of the relationship itself between the happy pair which ripples outwards to affect the wider family around them. Maybe in projecting difficult feelings it preserves the relationship itself for a time. But at some point chickens will inevitably come home to roost.   

ADD ON: Mother Caroline of Adam Peaty who drove him to swimming as a child was born (net sources) 18 December 1966 which would make her a Sun Sagittarius on the focal point of a Mutable T Square to Saturn opposition Uranus Pluto which is quite a turbulent powerhouse.

Her relationship with new father-in-law Gordon Ramsay, 8 November 1966, is not much different with a Mars Uranus Pluto in Virgo opposition Saturn. His relationship with Caroline (on this birth date) is extremely fractious.

Which is no excuse on either side. Family weddings are grit-your-teeth and look-civil-time no matter what goes on behind the false smiles.

ADD ON: The synastry between Brooklyn and dad David is highly competitive with B’s Mars in can-be-vengeful Scorpio opposition D’s Taurus Sun exactly; and B’s Pisces Sun conjunct D’s Mars. Plus a Pluto Neptune clash.

On the composite, there is an ego-clashing Mars Neptune square Sun; and two strained yods onto Saturn and Pluto respectively – tricky to handle that with elegance.

  In a political mire with no clear signs of winners, the UK will be praying for an intervention from fate or anywhere to find a clue for a constructive strategy ahead.

Having emerged, frayed at the edges after the jolting, jangling Uranus transit round the UK’s Fixed Grand Cross of Saturn opposition Venus square Neptune opposition Mars between 2022 and 2025 and having survived the Solar Arc Mars conjunct the 8^th house Mars through 2025, the question is where now? Tr Uranus is heading out of the financial 8^th house after mid 2026 ending a financial roller coaster which will be a relief. Though tr Pluto still bulldozing through the 4^th till late decade will continue to throw up community divisions.

Tr Saturn moves across the Descendant into the UK 7^th from mid April onwards which could suggest chilly relations with neighbours/partners or a rise in global visibility, or both. Tr Neptune won’t reach the Descendant until 2028 which may do the opposite.

  What stands out clearly is the UK yod of Uranus sextile Jupiter inconjunct Pluto which is being activated in 2026 by tr Uranus trine the UK Uranus, sextile the UK Jupiter and more significantly square the apex UK Pluto in June, December and March 2027. Yods when triggered point to a pivotal time when there is a sharp prompt to change direction. And in this case to get a grip. A Plutonic yod can give rise to extremes of attitude but used correctly can show the way ahead as a leader or innovator. Its downside is a tendency to be coercive.  That will be worth watching to see how it plays out. At best tr Uraus square Pluto brings new conditions into place.

  The Solar Arc Pluto moving through the UK 1^st will also be conjunct the UK South Node in 2026 which could have a negative effect. The hint is that its time to let go an overly independent stance (SN in 1^st) and make an effort to be more cooperative, made more difficult by the NN sitting in the 7^th house of relationships thus requiring a considerable effort.

  The Bank of England, 27 July 1694 10am JC, like the US has tr Saturn Neptune square the Venus and in the BoE’s case Mars as well through 2026 making for an apprehensive and jittery year on the financial front through there will be a robust response from tr Pluto opposition the Jupiter/Pluto midpoint from ,late March 2026 onwards and through 2027 which could produce results.

  Keir Starmer, 2 September 1962, must have the constitution of an ox to survive his astrology with a devastating Solar Arc Sun Pluto conjunct his Neptune last year and SA Mars conjunct his Sun now and Pluto in early 2026 which are shocking, shattering and dead-halt aspects.  His Progressed Mars is also square his Neptune now for failure. His yod of Sun Pluto sextile Mars inconjunct Saturn has tr Pluto conjunct the apex Saturn from late March on and off till late 2027 also which will be extremely hard going.

 His Leadership chart, 4 April 2020 10.45am, has a grind-to-a-halt tr Pluto conjunct the Mars from early January into February and and then square the Uranus in late March, which latter might be the time he exit stage left politically speaking.

 His government chart, 5 July 2024 12.19pm was a Neptune Scheat creation, so swampy from the get-go; with Saturn conjunct the duplicitous Nessus. Tr Pluto opposes the Mercury from mid February 2026 onwards for heated bitter discussions.

 The Labour Party, 12 February 1906, looks seriously stuck from months ahead with the Solar Arc Sun conjunct the Pluto; though marginally encouraged by tr Uranus conjunct the Jupiter. There will be a high tension tr Uranus square the Saturn from late June into the following year. 2027 onwards look disastrous for the Labour Party for several years.

 Nigel Farage, 3 April 1964 4.30pm Farnborough, England, sailing high in the polls but bedevilled by scandals and squabbling comrades, will be emotionally upset and on edge with tr Uranus conjunct his Venus in April; tense and rattled in the second half of May with tr Uranus conjunct his Saturn, which could also be health issues. Followed by a panicky-failure tr Neptune conjunct his Mars from late May onwards into 2027.

 His Reform Party, 23 November 2018, has an opportunistic, over-confident Sun Jupiter in Sagittarius square Mars in Pisces so will be prone to sudden surges and then reverses. Tr Uranus will oppose the Sun and Jupiter in May and June and then square the Mars in July – and on. Highs and lows. It’ll hit the skids by 2027 with SA Mars conjunct the Neptune.

 The Conservative Party, 9 May 1912, is still jangled with Solar Arc Uranus conjunct its Saturn for months ahead with hints of a determined push to make a thorough upheaval to find a new path ahead with tr Pluto conjunct the Uranus. Kemi Badenoch, 2 January 1980 also has a Uranian year with SA Uranus conjunct her Sun which sounds more like an exit than a step up.

Neither the Lib Dems nor the Greens look in prime position for a takeover or even a coalition. The Greens, 13 June 1985, have tr Neptune square their Mars and Neptune; with Zack Polanski looking no more likely.

 The LibDems, 3 March 1988, with a stellium in early Capricorn are in for a tough run of tr Neptune hard aspects till late in the decade.  

Cometh the hour cometh the ??

Seen from a considerable distance – all the present politicians are midgets. What will be – may well happen without their input.

“A walking shadow, a poor player,

That struts and frets his hour upon the stage,

And then is heard no more. It is a tale

Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,

Signifying nothing.” Shakespeare.

  The USA was always going to be undergoing a history-changing phase as two of its chart squares – Sun Saturn and Mars Neptune – collided by Solar Arc. Starting in the summer of 2024 the Solar Arc Saturn was conjunct the USA Mars for a setback and now squares the US Neptune for high uncertainty. The Solar Arc Sun will hit the square to the US Mars in 2026 for a jolting shock with accompanying aggravation and oppose the Neptune in 2027 for confusion and indecision. So this fraught period of three years has a ways to run.

 In addition tr Saturn in Aries will bring a sobering reality check this March and April as it squares the USA financial Venus and overly-optimistic Jupiter, moving on to square the US Cancer Sun in June, September 2026 and early 2027 for another come-down-to-earth moment. Tr Neptune will also square the USA financial Venus from April 2026, on and off into early 2027 which can be bubble-bursting given the proximity of the US Jupiter which tr Neptune squares in 2027 –  so there will likely be a financial and confidence slump.

 2027 may be when the chickens come home to roost with not only tr Neptune square the US Jupiter but tr Pluto also opposing the US Leo North Node which is a sensitive point, perhaps flagging up issues around America’s ‘exceptionalism’ and global leadership.

  The above may sound depressing but it is not end-of-times calamitous; more a seismic adjustment after the recent Pluto Return as the US struggles to revision its identity and set an agenda moving ahead – either a second Pluto term as global super-power or a move, as many other previous super-powers in the past, down the ladder.

[Add On: Not sure how I missed it – but the Solar Arc Pluto is square the US Jupiter now and through 2026 – which is a might-makes-right and rules-don’t-apply-to-us kind of aspect. And so it transpired.]

 The US Federal Reserve Bank, 16 November 1914 9am Washington, DC, has tr Neptune square the Saturn Pluto throughout 2026 into early 2027 which will erode even its steely nerve with panics, uncertainty and confusion. Plus a sudden-surprises-bringing-insecurity and rash decisions with tr Uranus opposition the Mars in Sagittarius from mid June 2026 into April 2027. There will be heightened arguments through 2027 with tr Pluto square the Mercury and turbulence in 2028 with tr Pluto conjunct the Uranus.

 Many of the US institutions previously regarded as sacred pillars of stability have been shaken by Trump’s hell and glory approach. The US Constitution, 17 September 1787 has an undermining, panicky tr Saturn Neptune square its Mars and North Node through 2026 into early 2027; and a blocked Solar Arc Sun square Saturn also through 2026.  Thereafter it may be less pressured though a start time is unconfirmed and an early degree Sagittarius Moon may be affected later.

 USA Congress, 4 March 1789, is at one of its most polarised levels in decades with Democrats firmly opposed and Republican legislators backing Trump this year more than any other president since the 1950s. Public approval fell to 15 per cent in October, according to Gallup.

 The Congress chart will be rattled with tr Uranus square the Mars in April 2026 as it was in November 2025 and mid June to early July 2025 so will be continuing on the same fractious path. Panic and uncertainty will settle in after spring 2026, with rising tensions in 2027.

The Supreme Court, 2 February 1790, will hit turbulence and and upheaval come 2027/28 with tr Pluto opposition the Uranus. Before then the Progressed Mars will conjunct the Scorpio North Node which looks ominous since Scorpio NN tend to be all-or-nothing in approach; and their development lies through losing everything before gaining new values. Be interesting to see how it plays out.

Obamacare, 23 March 2010 11.56am Washington, with a Cardinal Grand Cross in early degrees will suffer under tr Saturn in hard aspect to its Saturn opposition Aries Sun square Pluto opposition Moon in the early months of 2026; with tr Neptune following suit through a disappointing and dissolving 2026/27.

 The 2025 Inauguration Trump Second Term, 20 January 2025 12 pm, with its dictatorial Sun Pluto opposition Mars square Moon will reach one crunch point by mid March 2026 and just before with the Progressed Moon squaring the Sun Pluto – it may bring health and/or employment, or government workers into focus as key issues. Mid January 2026 will see a blip of uncertainty with tr Saturn conjunct the Neptune and tr Neptune will conjunct the North Node till late January – so a shaky start to the year. Transits to midpoints in 2026 hint at a mix of setbacks and failures alongside pushy confidence and some lucky breaks. 2027 will undercut optimism and self-assurance.

 Donald Trump, 14 June 1946 10.54 am New York, continues (at present) to defy gravity. But with Pluto now into his 6^th house of health and work for a long haul ahead and tr Saturn Neptune into his financial and psychological 8^th something will have to give at some point. His Solar Arc Neptune is still conjunct his Moon and moves to oppose his Sun  throughout 2026 – which for normal human beings is lacklustre, vague, discontented and indecisive. His Solar Arc Midheaven will be conjunct his 12^th house Pluto for another six months which will rev up his control-freakery and could bring dark secrets into the open. Tr Uranus will square his Ascendant in April 2026, perhaps shining light on his image and shaking up his persona. The February Solar Eclipse in Aquarius will conjunct his Descendant and oppose his Mars – for major relationship blow-outs.

 One oddity is his Progressed Moon moving into his 4^th within a month and staying there for three years ahead which is normally a time to retreat into home comforts, reflect and relax – which seems unlikely.

Two extra titbits:

Despite having been elected on a no-foreign-wars policy he has ordered the bombing of ISIS militants in Nigeria on the excuse that it is to protect Christians under threat of persecution. His chart relocated to Nigeria puts his power-hungry Pluto exactly on the Midheaven with his bombastic Mars in Leo in the 10^th. He gives the impression of needing an outlet (or several) for his reservoir of demented anger and Nigeria hits the spot. Narcissistic rage can be frighteningly powerful and toxic.

Ben Belinksy, author of Nessus, the Bad Boy Centaur writes: “In its trip through Pisces, Nessus will be making a series of squares to the sun and moon of Trump’s chart over the next couple of years. Part of the Nessus myth is that Hercules was told by an oracle that he could never be killed by a living man. In fact he was killed by a dead centaur. To make it explicit, Epstein could well bring about Trump’s downfall.”  See previous post Nessus – cons and how to spot them. 19th November 2025

Key words for Nessus: ruthless, manipulation, lying, confidence trick, double-dealing, revenge, rape, sexual abuse, poison (including emotional poison),curses /removes curses. Trump has Nessus on his birth chart square his hidden 12th house Pluto.  Nessus will square Trump’s Moon and Sun in early 2027 and his North Node in 2026.

 Out with the old and in with the new holds a special resonance this New Year with the prospect a new era unfolding. Pluto in Aquarius since 2023 will be joined by Neptune fully into Aries from late January (till 2038) and Saturn close behind in Aries in February (till 2028); and finally Uranus into Gemini in April for a seven year run. So the much vaunted, enlightened and progressive Pluto trine Uranus sextile Saturn Neptune will be in play, highlighted in the Eclipses covering the second half of the year.

  There will only be one exact Saturn Neptune conjunction in late March/early April but it will be in orb for much of the year = can be healing as well as neurotic and creative, keen on developing a better and fairer society with women’s and workers’ rights to the fore.

 Neptune moving out of swampy Pisces from January 29^th after 15 years since 2011 will be a relief as will the distance it puts with the unfortunate Fixed star Scheat as the year progresses.

 Jupiter as ever brings enthusiasm and a morale boost in Cancer until late June, then zips with exuberant confidence into sociable, flamboyant Leo to stay till 2027.

  The 17 February Solar Eclipse at 28 Aquarius has the New Moon square Uranus conjunct the destructive Fixed star Algol for a turbulent mood especially since Mars is also in an explosive square to Uranus Algol; and the exact Neptune Saturn conjunction is still conjunct the shipwrecking Scheat. This will be in effect beforehand over late January when there is a build up of tension from transiting Sun Mars in Aquarius conjunct Pluto. The Saros Series of 10 North points to communication, though with frustrations and low energy.

 The March 3 Total Lunar Eclipse at 12 degrees Virgo/Pisces is less stressed though Uranus is still conjunct Algol.

  The 12^th August Total Solar Eclipse at 20 degrees Leo will carry a powerful resonance with an Air Grand Trine of Venus trine Pluto trine Uranus formed into two Kites with Venus opposition Neptune (Saturn) and Pluto opposition Jupiter. Venus opposition Neptune will square Mars. The eclipse path will sweep across the Arctic, Greenland, Iceland, the North Atlantic, and northern Spain, ending in the Mediterranean. The Saros Series of 10 South according to Bernadette Brady points to the possibility of leaving behind a negative situation. Worries will clear.

 The 28 August 2026 Lunar Eclipse at 4 degrees Pisces/Virgo has the Full Moon square Uranus so will bring surprises and an effort to break the old mould in various situations.

 Chiron throughout the year hovers around between late Aries and Taurus.

 The North Node is in Pisces till late July then stays in activist Aquarius till early 2028.

Mars zipping ahead through three fixed signs, in hard aspect to Pluto from Aquarius in late January, Taurus in May and Leo in October will bring high risk hotspots.   

  But overall – being optimistic – it looks like an improvement as the year goes on even with the usual hitches and glitches globally and individually.

Merry crackers and festive fun to those who are celebrating en famille. For those who are not, enjoy a relaxing feet-up. In the past many of my best end-of-the-year memories are sitting peacefully in front of the TV/fire and reflecting how great it was not to be tangled up in family tensions.

  All the best for 2026 – a year when the new era finally gets together. More to follow

Marjorie

Russell Brand, broadcaster, comedian and actor, who was baptized in the River Thames last year proclaiming it was an opportunity to leave the past behind, has been charged with two further offences including one count of rape and a charge of sexual assault relating to two women. He has previously pleaded not guilty to five charges including two counts of rape, two counts of sexual assault and one count of indecent assault in relation to four women. He is due in court on 20 January 2026 in relation to the two new charges with a  trial set to start on 16 June 2026 for the five original charges.

  Born 4 June 1975, 12.07 am (from memory) Basildon, England, (same as Angelina Jolie) he had a fractured childhood with his parents separating when he was months old, his mother developing cancer, a teenage drug problem and his father taking him to visit prostitutes. He rose to fame as a stand-up comedian and became a household name as host of TV shows like Big Brother’s Big Mouth with his own radio programmes. He went on to establish a Hollywood career, starring in films like Forgetting Sarah Marshall and Get Him To The Greek.

 His conversion to Christianity follows a long spiritual trail through Buddhism, transcendental meditation, and the Hare Krishna movement. 

  He has a Gemini Sun at the end of his 4^th house/cusp of his performing 5^th opposition a 10^th house Neptune which is creative and musical but also contains the seeds of both drug addiction and a search for spiritual meaning. His Aries Moon conjunct Mars in his financial 2^nd house opposes an 8^th house Pluto which is emotionally super-intense, quite toxic, hinting, like David Walliams, at intergenerational issues around mother and women in general. His over exuberant Mars Jupiter in Aries is square an unhappy Saturn in Cancer putting his mood on a roller coaster of highs and lows.

  His Venus in Cancer on his Descendant square Uranus opposition his ‘wounded’ Chiron adds another layer of unpredictability to his emotional life.   A North Node in Sagittarius like his Neptune hints at the need to reach out for a higher purpose.

  At the moment tr Pluto is crossing his Ascendant and tr Uranus is conjunct his IC – so massive changes coming to his image and self-awareness as well as the foundations of his life. Pressured and turbulent. Tr Neptune will conjunct his Moon from July 2026 onwards for an unsettling emotional period especially where women are concerned, extending into 2027 when tr Neptune opposes his Pluto for maximum confusion.  He is at a low ebb in his life with tr Saturn moving through his 2^nd house, the nadir of his First Quadrant – so a time for inner reflection rather than outer success.

   Moon Mars and 8^th house – not a great mix.   

Chris Rea, English rock and blues singer-songwriter known for his distinctive gravelly voice and slide guitar playing and for Driving Home for Christmas has died. He preferred to see himself as “an ordinary bloke from the grass roots, with a craggy, lived-in face, singing about life”.

  He was born 4 March 1951 in Middlesborough and what leaps out of his chart is a mix of hardship with rolling crises alongside soaring confidence and good luck.  Throughout his life he had serious health problems with pancreatic cancer in his thirties leaving him with diabetes, with further bouts of cancer and a debilitating stroke ten years ago. He died within three months of two of his six siblings.

   He had a musical Pisces Sun conjunct Jupiter; and a Capricorn/Aquarius Moon. His enthusiastic, upbeat Jupiter was on the focal point of a yod inconjunct an ambitious Pluto sextile Neptune, giving him the ability to make his mark on the culture as well as attracting good fortune. But he also had Mars and Venus in Aries opposition Saturn square Uranus in Cancer. The Uranus would give him an uncompromising temperament and the ability to innovate but Mars Saturn would bring considerable setbacks along the way. Two starkly opposing energies.

Neptune, planet of bliss and brutality, creativity and duplicity, is nearing the final stretches of its fourteen year home run in its own sign Pisces. Previous such phases oversaw great epic poetry from several cultures – Persian, Tamil, Hindi, Provencal Troubadours, T’ang Dynasty, German; as well as the establishment of major hospitals.  Mathematics also figured – Fibonacci and Isaac Newton were both at their peak under a Neptune in Pisces. Exploration flourished –  Livingstone (Pisces) discovered the Victoria Falls and Richard Burton (Pisces) Lake Tanganyika under Neptune in Pisces; and the first European to explore the Atlantic coast of the USA did so under a previous Neptune in Pisces; at the same time as Peru was discovered by a Spanish explorer. The first Thomas Cook travel tour was a Neptune in Pisces occurrence.  Religion featured heavily with key events in Christian, Muslim and Buddhist history.

   Not much springs to mind that is similar in the recent past but it may need the perspective of distance to extract positive highlights.

  In mythology there are pointers to creativity, one of Neptune’s talents. Pegasus, the winged horse, symbol of the soaring imagination, was born when Medusa was beheaded and he/it was set free. Throughout Neptune’s story there is always this paradox – revelling in brutality of the bloodiest variety in order to set free the ideal. An eternal war between the physical world and the spirit.   

  Christianity, despite its love and tolerance motif, has at its heart an image of gruesome torture and the acute physical suffering of a forsaken son.  Neptune has a dissolving action so physical dismemberment is part of his lexicon. And in certain modes Neptune is anti-life. This ‘vale of tears’ was the old Christian outlook for getting through a life of suffering and mishaps, until the happy land beyond St Peter’s Gates is reached.

  Neptune, the god, ruled the watery oceans and waged war on Athena, who ruled the land. As an act of aggression he raped Medusa (then a beauty) in Athena’s temple, in revenge for which Athena turned her ugly and banished her to the far wildernesses. His domain, the sea can be cruel, cold, changeable, liable to brew up into storms and is capable of chipping away relentlessly at rocky land until it collapses.

  In astrology, religion and spirituality comes under its domain. The atrocities perpetrated in the Crusades, the Inquisition, the Protestant versus Roman Catholic battle waging for six centuries, the Islamic Shia-Sunni split, the Muslim v Jewish conflict ongoing, throws a different slant on Neptune, the spiritual dreamer. The all-encompassing other-worldly vision can obliterate everything that is human and display and insensitivity that is chilling. 

  Merged with other planets Neptune can be a powerful force and not always for the good. Neptune Pluto is scandal prone and megalomaniac, as well as innovative. Neptune Uranus can be fanatical as well as inspired. Neptune Saturn is associated with epidemics, paranoia, mental instability as well as social reform. Neptune Jupiter rules high-finance, bankers and con-men gurus.

 Neptune together with Saturn at the moment and through 2026 are polar opposites. Saturn rules the earthly material world, the body, organizations, rules and regulations, practicality, sanity. Neptune undermines our security in the real world, dissolves the boundary between what is fact and what is fiction. It also affects the body so difficult to diagnose illnesses and epidemics occur.  On a positive note it also undermines the patriarchy so women’s rights come to the fore with social reforms moving up the agenda.

 Random Neptunian oddities:

Top athletes who need exceptional physical endurance often have strong Neptune aspects to their Suns. Successful businessmen and explorers are often Pisces, which is ruled by Neptune. The Nazi doctor Josef Mengele was a Pisces Sun trine Neptune. John Gacy, who raped and killed at least 33 teenage boys, was a New Moon in Pisces opposition Neptune. Not always what is expected.

 Another intriguing astro-pattern: When Neptune changes sign (every 15 years or so) an iconic female figure dies – Princess Diana, Grace Kelly, Nathalie Wood, Sharon Tate, Judy Garland in previous transitional times of Neptune leaving a sign. 

1901: Neptune leaving Gemini – Queen Victoria dies.

1915: Neptune leaving Cancer – Mary Baker Eddy and Emily Davidson (suffragette who suicided by horse at the Derby). Florence Nightingale also died with Neptune in late Cancer (1911)

1929: Neptune leaving Leo – Emmeline Pankhurst (the great suffragette), Ellen Terry, Isadora Duncan.

1943 – Neptune leaving Virgo – aviator Amy Johnson, writer Beatrix Potter.

1957 – Neptune leaving Libra – Laura Wilder (Little House on the Prairie), scientist Irene Curie

1968 – Neptune leaving Scorpio – Helen Keller, Enid Blyton, Dorothy Parker, Vivien Leigh, Judy Garland, Little Mo, Sonja Henie, Gypsy Rose Lee, Sharon Tate.

1983 – Neptune leaving Sagittarius – Nathalie Wood, Anita Loos (Gentlemen Prefer Blondes), Anna Freud, Ingrid Bergman, Grace Kelly, Gloria Swanson, Ethel Merman, Lillian Hellman, Indira Gandhi.

1998 – Neptune leaving Capricorn – Princess Diana, Mother Theresa, Ella Fitzgerald, Ginger Rogers, Lana Turner, Evelyn Laye, Dorothy Lamour, Claudette Colbert, Marguerite Duras, Patricia Highsmith, Mary Leakey.

2011 – Liz Taylor, Amy Winehouse, Jane Russell, Whitney Houston, Lauren Bacall, Esther Williams, Zsa Zsa Gabor.

2025 Jane Goodall, Virginia Giuffre, Cecile Richards, Diane Keaton, Marianne Faithfull, June Lockhart, Roberta Flack.

Christianity is the world’s leading religion with Islam a close second. Both beliefs came into effect during the 2000- year Age of Pisces. Jesus, whom adherents see as the Son of God who rose from the dead after his crucifixion and was the messiah (Christ) prophesied in the Old Testament.  He was born supposedly around the turn of the new millenia, with the bright star guiding the wise men to his birth being taken by some as the Jupiter Saturn conjunction of 7 BC. But there are a legion of differing dates suggested for his birth.

  What is true of Jesus is not only did he become the figurehead for an enduring religion, he was also at the time a social activist which was the reason the authorities put him to death by. The 25 December 01 BC which is one suggested birth date did have a close revolutionary Pluto in Virgo opposition Uranus in Pisces square a Capricorn Sun conjunct North Node. Which makes sense of him as a rebel leader with a strong father motif in his life.

 The earlier date selected because of the Jupiter Saturn conjunction in Pisces of 7 BC in late February/early March has a Uranus in Pisces opposition Pluto as well as the Jupiter Saturn conjunction. But all is speculation since there were no written records and Jesus’s life has almost certainly been mythologised to fit in with earlier beliefs.

 Islam also rose out of Piscean times with the birth of Mohammed in 570 CE only a decade before the triple conjunction of Saturn–Uranus–Pluto in Pisces square Neptune; and declared himself the leader of Islam in 622 CE under the  Saturn–Uranus–Neptune conjunction in Virgo.

  Carl Jung was fascinated by the symbolism of Pisces, for the Age of Pisces, coinciding with Christ’s birth. He makes the point that Pisces is associated mythologically with two hostile brothers – Christ and the anti-Christ, the spirit versus the flesh – the glyph has two fishes swimming in opposite directions. The early Gnostic Christians believed that Lucifer (the anti-Christ) created the body and the material world; and God/Christ created the soul.  Life’s journey was about rescuing the soul from its leaden overcoat of the flesh.

  Pisces represents the ideal as well as the shadow, eternally at war, both inextricably linked. The central motif for Christianity is one of torture in the crucifixion  which is also part of Pisces’ story – dismemberment, mortification of the flesh. Risking all for the sake of heavenly redemption – which fits into the Muslim ideology as well.

  When it goes wrong and the Pisces/Neptune energy leans too heavily towards the shadow, inhumane cruelty surfaces.   Individuation, Jung believed, was only accomplished when you both contradictory sides are owned.    

Global demographics:

Christianity (28.8%)

Islam (25.6%)

Hinduism (14.9%)

Buddhism (4.10%)

Into the age of Aquarius: the great epochs explained

Astrology’s perspective on the universe takes into account the fact that our view of the constellations shifts as the Earth tilts backwards infinitesimally slowly in the heavens. Every 2000 years approximately, the line drawn through the centre of the Earth moves into a different sign. Hence we are moving into the much vaunted Age of Aquarius, one of the great epochs, and out of the Age of Pisces which started around the time of the birth of Christ. Each of these epochs coincides with a different stage of development of mankind. Though since the constellations have no start and finish line, no accurate date can be established, but somewhere across the next century we leave Pisces to enter Aquarius.

The age of Leo: 10,000–8000bc

Leo, symbolized by the Lion, ruled by the Sun, is courageous, artistic, family-centred, giving out warmth. This is the age of the hunter-gatherer, and the dawn of agriculture, with the cultivation of wild cereals. Animals are not yet domesticated so wild flocks are rounded up to provide sustenance and for breeding. It is also the end of the last Ice Age. Rock paintings record early man’s need to create a lasting record of his presence.

The age of Cancer: 8000–6000bc

Cancer, symbolized by the crab, ruled by the Moon, is home, family and tribe-oriented, worshipping the Great Mother and the Moon as the fertility providers. This is the age when communities started to gather into protected settlements, with defensive protection against wild animals. In Jericho the people lived in huts made of sun- dried mud, which became a widespread method of construction in the Middle East.

The age of Gemini: 6000–4000bc

Gemini, symbolized by the twins, ruled by Mercury, is the communication planet, restless, versatile, wandering. This is the age of the development of written or drawn communication, starting with cuneiform, pictographs and hieroglyphs. Initially devised for trade and barter, and derived from an earlier token system, writing was increasingly used for administration.

The age of Taurus: 4000–2000bc

Taurus, symbolized by the bull, sign of the farmer, coincided with the start of settled agricultural communities, as the nomads formed together in groups to cultivate the land. Taurus is associated with culture, comfort and security. Its Venusian aspects are seen most clearly in the Egyptian civilization, which by 3500bc was flourishing in cities along the fertile Nile Delta. The great bull sarcophaguses of ancient Egypt are testament to the reverence in which this animal was held.

The age of Aries: 2000bc–ad 0

Aries, the warrior sign, symbolized by the Ram, associated with iron, coincides in the great epochs with the development of metal, which replaced stone and wooden implements and was used for agriculture, household utensils and weapons. The first European states were settled under the flourishing Minoan culture, then the Greek. Aries’ entrepreneurial talents were put to good use: trading increased dramatically. Sporting prowess became the greatest achievement in Greek culture, reflecting Aries’ competitive streak. Bronze technology gave way to iron, with an increase in military activity, which saw the construction of Europe’s massive defensive fortresses.

The age of Pisces: ad 0–2000

An age of artistic and religious inspiration, with the great messiahs—Christ, Mohammed and Buddha—carrying the vision of mankind. Pisces is creative, spiritual, concerned with individual sacrifice for the greater good. Suffering for mankind is one of its traits, witnessed in the Christ myth. The early Jesus cults had the fish as their secret symbol, and the Christian New Testament story concerns itself with fishermen and feeding the multitude. Buddhism is the passive facet of Pisces, caring, opposed to killing, living a good life and aspiring to nirvana, a blissful state removed from earthly suffering. Pisces is connected to realms beyond, so revelations from God come directly to the prophets like Mohammed, who bring those revelations to the people. Pisces’ darker side is orgiastic, devouring, savage, impersonal, inhumane.

The age of Aquarius: 2000–4000

A high-tech, computer crazy age; the information revolution and genetic engineering are but two of the wild scientific developments that would have been unthinkable even 100 years ago. These are just the beginning, though, a pointer to what lies ahead. Aquarius is the sign of knowledge, scientific breakthroughs and discoveries. Man takes on god-like powers, manipulating the environment and our species. What he does runs against biology, so the old gender-specific categories and cultures will no longer hold. A world that George Orwell and Aldous Huxley uncannily foresaw.

  Aquarius is detached emotionally, friend rather than family oriented, so the breakdown of the old domestic structures—already in evidence — is part of the picture. Essentially tolerant, and humanitarian, Aquarius appreciates individual differences of culture, custom and creed, so some have spoken of a golden age coming. But Aquarius can be uncompromising in its demand for complete freedom without interference. The old social glue no longer works. What the Prometheus myth, often associated with Aquarius, tells us, however, is that playing with the power of the universe carries with it dangers. There will be a physical price to pay for an over emphasis on the intellect and scientific supremacy. The emotions and the body, split off from natural roots, may rebel.

David Walliams, one of the UK’s most successful children’s authors, with 40 books to his credit that have sold 60 million copies and £100m in sales, widely used in schools and translated into 55 languages has been dropped by his publisher, HarperCollins, for alleged inappropriate behaviour towards young women. He has been a successful TV personality and comedian as well, though in 2022 reports emerged that he had made derogatory remarks about contestants on Britain’s Got Talent, leading to his departure from the programme and a subsequent legal dispute that was settled in 2023.

 He was born 20 August 1971 1.45 am Wimbledon, England, and according to a mother writing in the Telegraph the attitude to women in his books “has always been suspect, even unpleasant.” He has seemed “viciously dismissive of many of his female characters, simply because they’re overweight, unattractive or have some degree of power.”

 He has a Leo Sun close to Venus and conjunct Alphard (like Bill Clinton) = successful but tripping up through self-defeating actions. His Sun (Venus)is also on the focal point of an out-of-element T square to Neptune Jupiter in his 5^th house which rules entertainment and children opposition Saturn. That is quite a statement – ego centric from a focal point Sun, scandal-prone from Jupiter Neptune and creative but neurotic from Neptune opposition Saturn.

  He also has an up-in-his-head  Air Grand Trine of a deeply-buried and angry 8^th house Mars in Aquarius conjunct North Node trine Saturn trine Uranus, formed into a Kite by Mars North Node opposition his Leo Moon. Which is also quite a statement with a fractious and uncompromising collection of Saturn, Mars, Uranus. What stands out is his 8^th house Mars in obstinate Aquarius opposition Moon which would give him deep-rooted issues with women, part of a generational pattern in his family.

  Plus he has Pluto in his 4^th tending to make him emotionally controlling.

  At the moment his Progressed Moon is exactly conjunct his Moon and just off the opposition to his 8^th house Mars, so highlighting that central not-women-friendly strand of his chart, More to the point tr Pluto is just on the cusp of his 8^th staying there for many years to come which is usually financially and emotionally stuck. Plus tr Saturn is in a stuck opposition to his Pluto in late January 2026 with tr Uranus returning to oppose his Neptune in April 2026 and continuing on to rattle up his Saturn in Gemini from July 2026 into 2027. So that driving opposition in his chart tied into a Grand Trine and a T square will be shaken every which way. A life changing phase.