Mahmood Mamdani, the anthropologist father of Zohran, the newly elected Democratic Mayor of New York, has written a weirdly revisionist history of the brutal dictator Idi Amin. The Mamdani family were Ugandan Asians, ejected by Amin in his purge in the 1970s, though Mahmood had been previously educated in the US and involved in the civil rights movement.
Amin was an admirer of Adolf Hitler and considered one of the most brutal despots in modern world history responsible for hundreds of thousands of deaths. He expropriated businesses and properties belonging to the Asians and the Europeans and handed them over to his supporters. At the time, Asians accounted for 90% of the country’s tax revenue; with their removal, the economy all but collapsed.
Mahmood, professor of government and anthropology at Columbia University, has long styled himself as the left’s answer to VS Naipaul. He writes that the expulsions were aimed at the British, not Indians. He urges the reader to discard “media-driven preconceptions” of the gothic tales of Amin’s killings and cannibalism – and presents Amin as an anti-colonial moderniser. He destroyed landlord power, made black rule “meaningful” which evidently earned him aa place in Mamdani’s pantheon of liberation heroes.
Amin, 30 May 1928, was a Sun Gemini opposition Saturn with an aggressive Mars in Aries conjunct Uranus, trine Saturn and in a brutal square to Pluto.
What intrigues me is Mahmood Mamdani’s chart, 23 April 1946, Mumbai, India, which has a Taurus Sun square Mars Pluto conjunct in Leo – so he has the same Mars Pluto resonance as Amin. Though that can cut two ways and could have made him more sensitive to Amin’s rampant savagery. But clearly not.
It may not be exactly helpful for his son’s political position having his father act as an apologist for such a verifiably vicious dictator as Amin.
Mahmood’s Taurus Sun falls on his Zohran’s Midheaven with his Mars Pluto on Z’s Ascendant – so father pushes son hard but there will be a strong streak of competitiveness in there. Zohran, 18 October 1991 1.15am Kampala, Uganda, does have a Libra Sun conjunct Mars in Scorpio square Saturn with a 4th house Pluto – so relations with his father will have been fraught.
None of this may add up to much but it is astrologically interesting – and one to watch out for ahead.
The Kennedy clan wars are likely to heat up ahead as Jack Schlossberg, only grandson of JFK and Jackie, aims to throw down his hat for a try at a New York Congressional seat in the 2026 Mid Terms and voices trenchant criticism of his cousin the anti-vaxxer health secretary Robert F Kennedy Jnr, describing him as a “loser” and a “dangerous person”.
His sister Tatiana, tragically diagnosed with a rare form of terminal acute myeloid leukaemia after the birth of a baby last year is continuing to speak out. At the time of RFK Jnr’s confirmation she wrote: “I watched from my hospital bed as Bobby, in the face of logic and common sense, was confirmed for the position, despite never having worked in medicine, public health or the government.”
Robert F Kennedy Jnr has been spotlighted from another angle recently with hints of an affair with Olivia Nuzzi, a political journalist, from her forthcoming memoir. She previously claimed it was a “non-physical” but romantic affair though when details were leaked she left her job and her fiancé broke off their engagement.
RFK Jnr, 17 January 1954 born maybe 5.32pm, was nine when JFK was assassinated and fourteen when his father, Robert F Kennedy, was also assassinated . By his teens, he had developed cocaine and heroin problems, and gained a reputation for leading other family members astray. He started his career as an environmental lawyer and activist, and became an anti-vaxxer and a conspiracy theorist who has denied the link between HIV and Aids, pushed the idea that Covid spared Jewish and Chinese people, and claimed the CIA killed his uncle. He has been married three times and has six children. His second wife, Mary Richardson, died by suicide in 2012, two years after the couple separated, and after she had found one of his journals detailing sexual encounters with 37 different women. He developed “brain fog” and memory issues in 2010 which he put down to a brain worm as well as mercury poisoning from eating too much tuna.
With Sun, Venus, North Node and Mercury in Capricorn opposition Uranus (and Moon in Cancer) square Neptune he is a curious mix of earthy with so much Capricorn but also with a tendency to become detached from reality with a focal point Neptune – and worse, resistant to taking on evidence which contradicts his sometimes-fanatical beliefs (Uranus Neptune).
He also has a destructive Mars Saturn in Scorpio – a hint of his childhood experience of death and danger – but which has continued through his life to have a damaging effect on his behaviour and lifestyle.
His Solar Arc Pluto will conjunct his Saturn by 2027 which will grind certain aspects of his life to a halt. He’ll be blocked and discouraged.
His relationship chart with Donald Trump has a ‘power-couple’ Jupiter Pluto conjunction though also an explosive composite Mars square Uranus which will be buffeted and undermined by tr Neptune square Uranus from June 2026 onwards and opposition the composite Mars through 2027. Their togetherness will be sagging badly by then. [There is an odd repetition in many of the DT relationship charts with the period when tr Neptune hits 4 degrees in June 2026 onwards).
Jack Schlossberg, 19 January 1993 6am New York, is also a Sun Capricorn conjunct Mercury; with Uranus, Neptune in Capricorn opposition Mars in Cancer square Jupiter in Libra – so in an odd way not unlike his cousin though houses will make a difference. He evidently has an abrasive social media presence presumably from his Mars. That will be balanced to a degree by his 12th house Sagittarius Moon square a charming Venus in Pisces in his communicative 3rd.
At the 2026 Mid Terms he has tr Jupiter square his Pluto which will give him a confidence boost. But he’ll be in better shape by the 2028 election since tr Saturn by that time will be crossing his IC raising his visibility thereafter; and on his Jupiter Return with tr Jupiter heading for his Midheaven after the 2029 Inauguration.
Tatiana Schlossberg, 5 May 1990 10.10 pm, New York, facing a tragic diagnosis with courage, has a 5th house Taurus Sun and Mercury opposition Pluto. With a healing, creative Water Grand Trine of Pluto trine Mars in Pisces trine Jupiter. Her Sun Mercury and Uranus Neptune (opposition Jupiter) are her driving planets.
Such a tragedy. She has two children, born 2022 and 2024.
ADD ON: Caroline Kennedy, daughter of JFK and Jackie, lost her father and uncle Robert Kennedy to assassinations, her brother John Jnr to a plane crash and now one of her daughters to cancer in her thirties.
She was born 27 November 1957 8.15 am New York. She has a 12th house Sagittarius Sun square Pluto which can suggest a father outwith her control , a frequent occurrence for those with an absent father.
She also has her Aquarius Moon conjunct Chiron opposition an 8th house Uranus square Mars North Node in Scorpio which is fairly heavy duty – and the Moon Chiron does suggest wounding in relation to mother and family. Plus a violent/vengeful Mars in Scorpio next to the North Node could tie her into tragic events in the culture.
What may be the most significant of all – her Venus is conjunct Chariklo. Living with never-ending suffering is the myth of Chariklo, wife of Chiron, who was unable to heal himself from a poisoned arrow. Her task as caregiver was to create a sacred inner space more powerful than the endless challenge she faced – to transform the tragedy of her situation into a spiritual connection
See previous post: Chariklo – wait without hope. 10th October 2025 .
Hong Kong is in shock after a huge fire engulfing a high-rise public housing complex killed at least 55 people with nearly 300 missing.
Natural and man-made catastrophes happen all the time but they can on occasion (always?) be the forerunner to approaching times of radical change for the country involved. In this instance it could be a broader indicator of the overlord China’s fortunes ahead.
The recent Lunar Eclipse located to Hong Kong had Pluto conjunct the Descendant and the Solar Eclipse the New Moon on the Descendant. Planets on the axis point to significant events being likely.
The Hong Kong 1 July 1997 12am chart is hinting at rising tensions through 2026 with tr Pluto conjunct the Uranus/Neptune midpoint and further upheavals and turbulence with tr Uranus opposition the Pluto after June 2026 into 2027. There will be panicky moments with tr Neptune opposition the Mars from mid 2026 into 2027 – and yet more radical changes in 2027/28 as tr Pluto is conjunct the Uranus. Any major rebellions are likely to be met with oppression. But the China 1912/Hong Kong 1997 relationship chart will be under considerable strain throughout 2026 with the possibility of explosive incidents.
Given that the HK Chief Executive John Lee is an anti-democracy hardliner and the sole candidate approved by China, his position may be a barometer for any winds of change blowing in Beijing. His own chart has an all-systems-change tr Uranus square his Pluto through mid 2026 onwards with considerable confusion and concern throughout.
It reminded me of the Grenfell Tower fire in London on 14 June 2017 in which 72 people died which was the deadliest structural fire in the UK since the 1988 Piper Alpha oil-platform disaster and the worst UK residential fire since the Blitz of World War II. It was admittedly a calamity-filled year, post-Brexit, with the Ariane Grande Manchester bombing and London Bridge terrorist attacks. And that all coincided with on the UK chart the Solar Arc Uranus poised to move into the 8th house of deep-seated transformations followed in 2021 by tr Uranus into the 8th.
So the Grenfell Fire was, along with other disasters, arguably pointing to the political and financial muddle and guddle that transpired afterwards and is still ongoing. This is a bit of a stretch but these major events do carry a resonance.
Jimmy Cliff, Jamaican singer whose mellifluous voice helped to turn reggae into a global phenomenon, has died aged 81. Best known among mainstream listeners for songs such as “Many Rivers to Cross”, “If I Follow My Mind”, “You Can Get It If You Really Want”, and Johnny Nash’s “I Can See Clearly Now” from the Jamaican bobsled drama film Cool Runnings. He also starred in the film The Harder They Come, which was the first major commercial film from Jamaica and helped popularise reggae around the world. He was one of only two Jamaicans in the Hall of Fame, the other being Bob Marley.
Born 30 July 1944 in Jamaica, he had a determined Sun Pluto conjunction in entertaining Leo with his Pluto close to charming and flamboyant Venus. His Sun Pluto fell midway between a creative, inventive Uranus trine Neptune; and his Uranus was in a rebellious square to Mars in Virgo. His Moon in ever-optimistic Sagittarius was further boosted by a square to an enthusiastic Jupiter Mercury conjunction in Virgo
His creative, the eternal-seeker 7th harmonic was strong.
The year 2028 is causing a few flutters of concern with challenging influences coming together though this happens every so often and does not mean the end of times.
By mid 2028 Saturn is edging its way into Taurus to square Pluto – Saturn Pluto is associated with hardship and deprivation, often war. The recent conjunction oversaw the pandemic. WW11 started with Saturn in Taurus square Pluto in Leo. WW1 started on Pluto in Cancer with Saturn in late Gemini approaching the conjunction. It does have ominous overtones but the Falkland War started on a Saturn Pluto conjunction which was UK v Argentina so does not necessarily pull in multiple players.
The January 2028 Solar Eclipse has an Aquarius New Moon conjunct Pluto trine Uranus; with Mars in Aquarius having moved on from the conjunction to Pluto in the Lunar Eclipse two weeks earlier. Mars Pluto is usually associated with ruthlessness and violence – was there for the Ukraine Invasion and various Gaza wars as well.
Charts with concentration of Fixed planets around this mark – are the UK with its 8th house Mars; the EU with its Taurus Moon and Uranus in Leo; and the Maastricht Treaty with its Scorpio Sun. All will feel the effects.
China hay be late to the party’ with a marginally later degree Saturn in Taurus.
The USA chart is on a Uranus Return as it was for the start of the US Civil War though it has had another Uranus Return in 1945.
What may also be significant are the Lunar Eclipses of 2028 at 21 Cancer and 15 Capricorn which will trigger the UK 10th house Cancer Moon and the July one the USA Sun – eclipses are challenges to change. So it will not be a year to stand still.
[Andre I would be grateful if you did not go off on one of your apocalyptic musings – it’ll be tough but that does not mean the world blows up.]
Desperate for a win, Trump has thrown a spanner in the works of the Ukraine situation by trying to force through a Putin-friendly deal with no room for manoeuvre.
The Invasion Declaration chart, 23 February 2022 at 9pm Moscow, had a ruthless Mars Pluto conjunction which won’t close by Solar Arc for another twenty months; though there will be significant movement from August 2026 onwards as tr Uranus squares the Declaration Sun.
Zelensky’s Term chart, 20 May 2019 10am Kiev, which started with a late Taurus Sun Mercury conjunct Algol, will be seriously rattled this December as tr Uranus is conjunct the Sun, returning mid March to early April 2026. He is already sagging not only with exhaustion but corruption scandals within his government and also manpower and equipment shortages. This could topple his administration. Another bout of turbulence which could also upset the applecart will come from tr Pluto square the Uranus picking up from mid February 2026 and running till late 2027. If he stays in situ then tr Neptune square the Mars from late March to late April 2026 and again in October will be sinking-failure phases.
His own personal chart, 25 January 1978 2pm Krivoj Rog, Ukraine, does hint he is running out of steam never mind road. Solar Arc Neptune is conjunct his Sun Neptune conjunction in Aquarius now (and over past few months) for low motivation and indecision. With tr Pluto moving to conjunct his Sun Venus from late March 2026 on and off till late 2027 which will be life-changing. What also flags up is this December with tr Uranus square his Saturn at 28 Leo for a sizeable jolt.
Fixed sign planets at 28 degrees which tr Uranus will trigger does show up in both the Ukraine 1918 and Ukraine 1991 chart – so this December does look like a critical point of upset.
Whether an unfair deal is pushed through or not, the ill-feeling between Ukraine and Russia will roll on for years to come – which shows clearly on both country’s relationship charts.
Vladimir Putin’s 5th term, 7 May 2024, got under way with Neptune and the unlucky Scheat in place, which will be keyed up over coming months into spring 2026. He’ll also feel the ill winds of tr Neptune undermining his Mars/Neptune midpoint from March 2026 onwards though what will really bite, bringing failure and low morale will be 2027 when tr Neptune is conjunct the term Mars.
The crucial question is whether the transiting Saturn Neptune conjunction of 2026 will repeat the earlier experiences of accompanying radical changes in Russia – 1917 Bolshevik Revolution and 1953 Stalin’s death.
The Russia 8 December 1991 chart will be pressured through 2026 though the explosive moments will come late 2026 into 2027, worsening dramatically through into 2028 (which could also include a natural disaster).
The Russia 8 November 1917 chart will be on red alert and insecure from June 2026 onwards with tr Uranus square the Mars – with again 2027 looking like a time of maximum chaos.
Add On: Matthew Syed, as ever a sane voice, in today’s Sunday Times:
“Don’t blame Trump. We’re the ones who falsely raised Ukraine’s hopes
The US president’s cynicism was never in doubt, but why did Europe promise the world and then withhold it?”
Imposing a deal that will dismember Ukraine, annex its territory and permanently thwart its membership of Nato. “Trump’s upside? A 50 per cent share of profits in Ukraine-based investment as a route to further deals with Putin on minerals.”
Why did we dither on weaponry and allow laundered Russian oil to keep finding its way into global markets.
The “West” will have lost a war to “a kleptocratic, failing nation with an economy smaller than Italy’s. This should have been the greatest mismatch since Soviet tanks rolled into Finland in 1939 but we stand on the sidelines while Putin and Trump plot to carve up a sovereign ally in our back yard.”
Charles Rennie Mackintosh and his wife Margaret MacDonald were later inspirations for Klimt. He was a Scottish architect, designer, water colourist and artist influential on Art Nouveau and Secessionism. She was an artist and designer working with embroidery, gesso panels, leaded glass and repoussé metalwork, her innovative work inspired by Celtic imagery, literature, symbolism, and folklore. Both were important figures of the Modern Style though she has been marginalised in comparison to him despite his claim that she was the greater genius.
Klimt’s Lederer masterpiece (sold recently) was inspired by Margaret Macdonald’s large gresso panel, The May Queen (a middle section above).
Rennie McIntosh, 7 June 1868 11.15 am Glasgow, Scotland, had a 10th house Gemini Sun with an inventive Uranus also in his 10th opposition a Capricorn on square Neptune Jupiter in Aries in his 8th . He drew his inspiration from deep places within him with such a focus on his 8th and that plus a ‘leadership’ Leo North Node marked him out as a trailblazer. He’d be emotionally intense with his Moon trine Mars Pluto in Taurus and his Saturn on his IC hinted at a domestic life focused on work.
Latterly the couple lived in Port Vendres in Catalan France and then in Hampstead and he died of cancer aged 60.
Margaret Macdonald, born 5 November 1864, Staffordshire, England, met him at Glasgow Art School after her family moved north. She was a Sun Mercury in Scorpio opposition Pluto so every bit as intense and enduring (stubborn) as he was. Her Mars in Gemini was in a hard-working trine to Saturn and inspirational trine to Uranus, with her Saturn probably square her Capricorn Moon.
Neither were easy temperaments and with her Mars conjunct his Sun they would argue though she would also fuel his ambitions.
Their relationship chart was complicated with a competitive composite Sun square Mars; a chained-together Saturn Pluto pacified by a connected Jupiter; an upbeat and affectionate Jupiter, Venus, North Node, Mars imprinting their togetherness on the cultural mood of the time; and most significantly two yods bringing them together in a way that affected the destiny of both.
One of their most famous creations was Miss Cranston’s Tea Room in Glasgow. Catherine Cranston, 27 May 1848, was a leading figure in the development of tea rooms (as an alternative to pubs) and was a major patron of Charles Rennie Mackintosh and Margaret MacDonald, for his work on her home Househill and the tea room. She had a Gemini Sun like Rennie McIntosh which in her case was square Neptune and sextile a tough-minded Mars Saturn in Aries. She had a revolutionary Uranus Pluto in Aries so would be on the leading edge of new developments. Her Jupiter in enthusiastic, showy Leo was square Rennie Mcintosh’s Mars Pluto and Margaret’s Scorpio Sun and Pluto as she gave them an outlet for their intense visions.
Pity poor Karoline Leavitt, the highly articulate, polished blonde spokesperson for Trump as she is forced to defend his ever more outrageous comments. Describing his ‘Quiet Piggy’ retort to a female journalist asking about Epstein as “frank and honest”, she is rapidly moving into Comical Ali territory. He was Saddam Hussein’s mouthpiece who caused worldwide amusement before the 2003 Iraq invasion with his wildly-at-odds-with-reality television statements.
I haven’t caught up with her responses yet to his tantrum over Democrats telling military personnel to refuse illegal orders. On his Truth Social he posted “SEDITIOUS BEHAVIOR, punishable by DEATH”. Even by his standards he appears to be heading down a slippery slope.
Never mind his delusional ravings about the economy. “This is the golden age of America, because we are doing better than we’ve ever done as a country. Prices are coming down and all of that stuff.” The reality is that beef is up 14 percent since January, coffee 19 percent from last September, and a loaf of bread often closer to $4 than $3. Health insurance costs rose this year by six percent on average and likely to rise even more in 2026 as subsidies are phased out.
There are also major cracks within the MAGA tribe on a variety of issues.
Political appointees come and go in any administration but Leavitt might be a useful barometer for what is to come as she is increasingly being forced to defend the indefensible.
Her Virgo Sun sits exactly on his Ascendant, as befits his communication channel.
Her relationship chart with Trump which has been more fraught than surface appearances suggest will move back into high-stress territory from March 2026 onwards with an undermining tr Neptune opposition the composite Mars. That is at the same time as his 2025 Inauguration chart has its bully-boy Sun Pluto opposition Mars square Moon closing to exact by Progression. Extreme anxiety is hinted at from mid May 2026 onwards when tr Uranus opposes the composite Neptune, followed by a potentially separating tr Uranus square the composite Venus into 2027.
Not forgetting the swamps and storm winds to come over this winter with tr Neptune on Scheat which will be buffeting the 2025 Inauguration chart as well. Interestingly his Inauguration chart has (lying) Nessus conjunct Venus Saturn in mid Pisces, rattled up the the recent September Lunar Eclipse.
Leavitt’s personal chart is showing jolting changes with tr Uranus square her Virgo Sun in May 2026 and will continue to rock n’ roll thereafter with tr Uranus opposition her Pluto on and off into 2027. If she sticks around it won’t get easier.
Likewise Susie Wiles, Chief of Staff, 14 May 1957, in her relationship with Trump is frustrated and trapped now till early December; with late April through to late September 2026 sagging badly because of circumstances or cracks in their togetherness. One way or another confidence-undermining influences run on through 2027 to early 2028. Plus major disruptions also through 2027.
All of the above are running alongside two conspicuous and troubling influences on the USA chart. One is the Solar Arc Sun square the Mars within a few months for an upsetting, collision-type event, followed by an undermining, directionless SA Sun opposition the USA Neptune around spring 2027. At the same time as tr Neptune (Saturn) squares the USA Venus and then the USA Jupiter in a confidence-eroding run from late March 2026 on throughout 2027 to spring 2028 – all of which look financially stressed and bubble-bursting.
Past experience has indicated that twisting the astrology to get overly hopeful about the fall of dictators and the like is usually unwise. But all the signs are there of the USA finally falling out of love with Trump. His relationship chart with the USA is sending up distress signals with tr Neptune square the composite Sun from late April 2026 onwards with more high-tension eruptions from July 2026 as tr Uranus squares the composite Saturn – both running through 2027. Not all coming up roses despite the brag and bombast which can only get more desperate as even he (maybe) is forced to face reality.
[Andrew Neil, the journalist, who is sensible, reckons there’ll be nothing much to emerge about Trump from the Epstein files since it would have come out before now. But his defeat at the hands of his own in backing down and agreeing to publish is indicative of a weakening of his power platform.]
See previous post on Leavitt and Wiles: White House – two women at the top. 1st May 2025
PS: Someone should point out to Trump that pigs are amongst the most intelligent of animals.
A Gustav Klimt painting, nearly destroyed in a fire in WW11 when looted by the Nazis, has sold for a record-breaking $236.4m. Latterly it had been owned by the Estee Lauder heir.
Klimt born 14 July 1862, Vienna, Austria, after a conventional start painting murals, became famous as a “painter of women”. ‘Eros, sexuality and femininity were variously interpreted by him as alluring danger. Life, love, and death can be determined as the important themes of his work.’ His work helped define the Art Nouveau style in Europe.
In real life he had many relationships with women and fathered at least fourteen children.
He grew up in poverty with a gold engraver father, one of seven children. One sister died young, another became mentally disturbed leaving their mother depressed and three brothers had artistic talents though, Ernst, the closest to Gustav, died in his late twenties.
Gustav Klimt was a creative Sun Cancer with an Aquarius/Pisces Moon. He had two conjunctions forming a Mutable T square with Uranus Venus in Gemini opposition a Sagittarius North Node square Saturn Jupiter in Virgo – light-hearted, lucky, hard-working, tuned into the cultural mood of the moment. Plus a publicity-attracting Neptune Mars conjunction in Aries. His Pluto was sparsely aspected being only sextile Mercury and maybe conjunct his Sun/Moon midpoint. An unaspected Pluto can be intense, fuelled by compulsive urges of great power but over time does need to be held in check.
The most expensive artwork ever sold at auction was Salvator Mundi by Leonardo da Vinci, which sold in 2017 for US$450.3m.
There is little that connects the two painters, one born 400 years after the other, apart from talent and luck – talent on its own not always being enough to bring success in life or the hereafter.
Leonardo da Vinci, 23 April 1452 (Gregorian Calendar) 9.40 pm Vinci, Italy, was a Sun Taurus in his creative and audience-attracting 5th house in a determined square to Pluto. His Moon conjunct Jupiter in Pisces was on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Pluto sextile Neptune on his Midheaven. With a second yod from his Jupiter Moon sextile Sun inconjunct his 10th house Neptune. Neptune, the dream-weaver and image-creator was highlighted as was confident, expansive, fortunate Jupiter. In some ways a more obvious super-star artist chart.
Dick van Dyke, the legendary entertainer and comedian, will be 100 years old in less than a month. His performances on screen and stage over seven decades won him numerous awards and made him a household name with the Dick Van Dyke Show, Mary Poppins and Diagnosis Murder. He has been married twice, with a long affair in between and most recently at 86 married a make-up artist 46 years his junior.
He has an upbeat Sagittarius Sun conjunct Mercury sitting in his performing 5th house. But there are stand out features in his chart. One is a heavily aspected Neptune in Leo on his Ascendant which is trine his Sun and on the focal point of a yod inconjunct Uranus sextile Jupiter. His Neptune is also square Mars Saturn and Moon in Scorpio in his 4th hinting at a turbulent childhood. His Mars Saturn are also in a creative though stressed Water Grand Trine to Pluto trine Uranus. His spaced-out Neptune probably protected him from the difficulties of his childhood and his ever-optimistic Sagittarius Sun would also help.
Comedians often come out of difficult backgrounds which are at odds with their light hearted banter.
