Astrology of Today’s News

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Ranulph Fiennes, the transglobe explorer accomplished superhuman feats in the coldest and highest regions of the earth; and after a heart attack in his late fifties ran seven marathons on seven continents in seven days. He’s a fascinating example of magical Neptune at work, not normally a planet associated with extreme endurance, but it is frequently highlighted in the charts of top level athletes who can cope with punishing training schedules.

  In a new film on his life Explorer, he talks of ‘inviting the ghosts’ of his father and grandfather into his head whenever he’s at a difficult spot. ‘Those times that I really wanted to give up, I [chose not to] because of the thought of shaming my father and grandfather. I would imagine them walking beside me, particularly when I had bad frostbite and was on my own.’

  What is extraordinary (or maybe not) is he never knew his father who died four months before he was born, from wounds inflicted by a mine when fighting in Italy during World War 11; or his grandfather who died in the Battle of Arras in 1917. Yet the image of them lives in his head as his guiding star.

  He was born 7 March 1944 12.30pm Windsor, and has a 10^th house Pisces Sun like other explorers, Sir Richard Burton, David Livingstone and Amerigo Vespucci. His Sun is square a 12^th house Mars Saturn in Gemini which would help with grit, courage, military discipline and the ability to withstand deprivation. He has a confident Jupiter Moon in Leo in his 3^rd which would also help in keeping his enthusiasm up; and his Pluto is exactly conjunct a ‘leadership’ North Node.  

  But what has always intrigued me is his 4^th house Neptune which is sextile Pluto North Node and trine Uranus. Many years ago I interviewed him for a media piece and explained the standard meanings of Neptune in the 4^th to which he took great exception. As he showed me out he said it was the one thing that was absolutely wrong so it always stuck in my head. A friend who had served with him in the army later told me Ranulph could never cope with the thought of his father dying in hospital from wounds. He wanted a father who had a glorious battlefield death.

  His father the war hero, was based on fact but in his absence became embellished with Neptune’s striving for the divine ideal into a mythical almost supernatural presence in his life.  

  I connected this to a story about Black Elk, the Lakota medicine man, who fought at Little Bighorn and survived the Wounded Knee Massacre, who was a Sun Sagittarius trine Neptune, 1 Dec 1863. During an illness aged nine he had a vision in which he was visited by Thunder Beings, figures like wise grandfathers, which marked him out as a shaman and healer. He said when he rode into battle in later years he kept his vision in his mind and emerged unscathed. The one time he let his vision slip a bullet got him in the shoulder.

For both Ranulph Fiennes and Black Elk their Neptunian fantasy/image appeared to act as a protective shield.

  Neptune, when it isn’t dissolving into a puddle of indecision, drowning its sorrows in the bottom of a bottle or running a con, can create a fantasy of such potency it makes the impossible possible (sometimes).

  “All men dream: but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds wake up in the day to find it was vanity, but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act their dreams with open eyes, to make it possible.”  T.E. Lawrence – had Neptune Pluto in the 10^th.

  Dreamers of the day like Barack Obama have Neptune on the point of a T Square and look at what he accomplished in terms of making it to the White House for two terms.

  Major film stars often have marked Neptune – both Anthony Hopkins and Sean Connery have/had it in the 8^th. Projecting a powerful aura.

  Neptune is more kaleidoscopic and multi-faceted than most planets in its range of outcomes reflecting its dream spinner, shape-shifter energy. And what is intriguing is how it can impact on reality if channelled in the right way.

Shinzo Abe, former prime minister of Japan has died after being shot while giving a campaign speech, which has shocked a country where gun and political violence are rare. He stepped down in 2020 after eight years at the helm for health reasons – ulcerative colitis – an intestinal disorder fittingly for a Virgo Sun. He was known for his hawkish policies on defence and foreign policy, wanted to amend Japan’s pacifist post-war constitution; and pushed for an economic policy built on fiscal stimulus and structural reforms.

  He was born 21 September 1954 Tokyo, Japan and was a late Sun Virgo with the lucky Jupiter Uranus in Cancer of that year which produced many notable successes. His Jupiter squared Neptune which often occurs in the charts of economists. He also had a quietly determined Venus Saturn in Scorpio sextile Mars North Node in Capricorn.

 Tr Pluto was in the final stages of the opposition to his Uranus this year bringing significant change to his life. But more pointedly his Secondary Progressed Mars was exactly opposition his Pluto at the moment. And tr Saturn had just finished a few days back the exact conjunction to his Progressed Mars and opposition his Pluto – which does suggest a high-risk incident.

 Progressed Mars is often prominent for grave accidents when it meets natal Saturn or Pluto in particular; and even natal Sun aspects can feel like a car-crash (metaphorically speaking).

  The Japan chart, 11 February 1889 10.44am Tokyo, indicates panic and shock with tr Neptune conjunct the Mars in Pisces exactly now. In general it is not in a great year with a downbeat tr Saturn conjunct the Aquarius Sun and a high-tension tr Uranus square the Saturn – both jolting on and off into 2023. If the start time of 10.44am is sound then Japan will undergo even greater challenges than most when tr Pluto enters Aquarius next March and it is conjunct the Midheaven, on and off till late 2023. That can accompany a slow, grinding change of direction, loss of reputation and a degree of meltdown where old ambitions and old status are concerned.

Add On: Mits kindly emailed to say Japanese astrologers use 2.35 am as a birth time for Shinzo Abe. Though no verification of source. Have added the chart.

Actor James Caan, the memorable Godfather star who had a steady 60 year Hollywood career with several award nominations has died at 82.

 He was born on 26 March 1940 at 10.31pm (astrotheme) New York, son of a Bronx butcher from a Jewish-German immigrant family; and met the Godfather director Francis Ford Coppola while at university. He started in off Broadway plays, graduated to television, performed in a string of reputable but not successful movies, and had his big break as the short-tempered Sonny Corleone when he had just turned 30.

  As with so many actors his chart fitted his on-screen persona He was a pro-active Sun Aries in a determined trine to Pluto, with his Pluto square Saturn and sextile Mars. His bull-headed Mars in Taurus conjunct Algol was opposition a Scorpio Moon; with his Mars conjunct Venus Uranus as well. A heavyweight temperament and then some.

  His Mars on his Descendant opposition Moon and his Sun/Moon midpoint square Saturn may explain his four marriages. 

  What would help was a creative Neptune in his 10^th trine his Mars, Venus, Uranus giving him an outlet for all that steam-roller energy along with a confident Jupiter in his performing 5^th house.   

Sri Lanka has collapsed into the worst economic crisis it has experienced since independence in 1948. Inflation is at a record 54.6 percent; and food inflation 80.1 percent causing a “dire humanitarian crisis”. The treasury is dry and the country unable to import fuel, food and medicine. The autocratic Rajapaksa family dynasty, which ran the country as a family business for two decades is to blame and most have now resigned leaving economic devastation behind.

The disruptions to food and energy prices provoked by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine have piled misery on top of woe with the public debt crisis reeling from mismanagement and the pandemic hit in no state to handle more pressure. Other countries like drought-ravaged Kenya, Ethiopia and Somalia are in a similar situation with  food “unattainable for millions”. Several Asian leaders are campaigning to end the Ukraine conflict.

  A caretaker government in Sri Lanka is attempting to solicit aid from India and China; and is persuading government employees to grow crops in their backyards and offering public sector workers five years unpaid leave to find employment abroad, emigrate and send remittances home.

   Sri Lanka became independent with dominion status as Ceylon on 4 February 1948 at 12 am which gives a rigid Saturn Pluto in Leo opposition an Aquarius Sun which was under pressure from the transiting Saturn square tr Uranus in 2021 with tr Uranus continuing on to rattle the Uranus in 2023 as well. There’s a loss-making, disappointing tr Neptune square the Uranus opposition Jupiter this year. In late 2021/early 2022 the Progressed Mars was conjunct the Saturn for a car-crash setback. With more disaster to follow as the Solar Arc Mars is square the Saturn by 2024.

  The 22 May 1972 12.43pm Republic chart, is showing more visible strain from tr Pluto conjunct the Solar Arc Midheaven and Saturn and opposition the North Node this year. With tr Saturn dampening enthusiasm as it hard aspects the Solar Arc Venus Mars and Jupiter this year. The Solar Arc Saturn will oppose the North Node next year as well – suggesting a major existential crisis and turning point.

   The Bank of Sri Lanka, 28 August 1950, is heading for an August 1st Mars, Uranus, North Node disruption as the three jointly square the Bank Pluto which may well bring down more of the house of cards.  The Bank has a Venus Pluto square Mars in Scorpio so doesn’t shift easily but there will be no option and the warning signs have been there for the past eighteen months.

There should be a special circle of hell reserved for lousy leaders.

The runaway train that is Boris Johnson’s premiership may or may not run out of rail with the resignation of his Chancellor and Health Secretary. Past experience of his track record through the decades of lies, irresponsibility, negligence, unprincipled and dishonourable behaviour, all blithely swept aside as trifles, suggests he may try to brass-neck it out for a while yet.

  His timeline has been chewed over endlessly astro-wise, see previous posts dates noted below.   

  But what caught my eye recently was his Scorpio Moon at zero degrees Scorpio which does seem to play an unusually significant role in his life. His chaotic, do-or-die determined Mutable T Square of Pluto Uranus opposition Saturn square Mars has moved by Solar Arc in recent years to trigger his Moon – starting with the Brexit campaign in 2025/16 when his Solar Arc Pluto was conjunct his Moon. Now his Solar Arc Saturn is within weeks of the exact opposition to his Moon as his government threatens to collapse around his ears.

   By next March tr Pluto starts a two year square to his Moon which may well have the final say on his crazed career.  Last time tr Pluto was in hard aspect to his Moon was in 1983/84 when in Scorpio conjunct his Moon – and he entered the hallowed halls of Oxford University to join political thrusters like David Cameron, Michael Gove, William Hague and Jeremy Hunt.  It would be fitting if his Moon which propelled him upwards also signalled the final chapter for his overwheening ambition.

  Why his Moon particularly raised interest was in relation to Lord Brownlow, the entrepreneur, financier, Tory Party donor and life peer who was the source of the financing for the No 10 redecorating scandal which raised eyebrows. Brownlow, 16 September 1963, a Sun, Venus in Virgo with Uranus Pluto Moon also in Virgo – and more notably has his Mars in intensely-driven Scorpio conjunct BJ’s Moon.  

  Brownlow’s Mars is also opposition Prince Charles’ Taurus Moon on whom he has similarly bestowed bountiful largesse in vast sums of money for the Royal eco-village and gained a peerage and other honours as a result. [This is a tangential ramble – but it would have to be said that Prince Charles is looking less and less competent when it comes to filling the Queen’s shoes. Woefully bad judgement.]

  Brownlow’s North Node in Cancer is incidentally conjunct the UK’s 10^th house Cancer Moon, symbol of the ruling classes.

ADD ON: BJ’s Turkish great-grandfather, Ali Kemal Bey, a journalist/politician who was murdered (hanged and stoned) during the war of independence in 1922, 7 September 1869, was a Sun Virgo (conjunct BJ’s Pluto) with his Mars in Scorpio conjunct BJ’s Moon (like Brownlow). Kemal also had a super-confident Jupiter Pluto in Taurus.

 His son, Osman Wilfred Johnson ( BJ’s paternal grandfather), who became a naturalised Brit, 4 September 1909, also had his Virgo Sun conjunct BJ’s Pluto and a hyper-active Cardinal Grand Square. BJ’s father Stanley, 18 August 1940, is a beyond-stubborn Sun Mars in Leo square Uranus in Taurus with Mercury Pluto in Leo and Jupiter Saturn in Taurus. Utterly immoveable. Whereas his mother Charlotte, the painter, 29 May 1942 had her Sun and four other planets in Gemini and Neptune in Virgo – incredibly mutable, changeable.

  BJ’s antecedents on his father’s side also trace back through Bavarian aristocracy to a illegitimate child of the 18^th Century Prince Paul of Prince Paul of Württemberg, of whom his stepmother wrote: He has done nothing but offend his father with the improprieties of his conduct.” He had multiple mistresses and several other bastard offspring.

  Maybe that’s where BJ gets his sense of divine right. A previous mistress Petronella Wyatt said of him: “he thinks he has a God-given right to rule forever’.

  Back to BJ’s government. Rishi Sunak may have been too wealthy personally but he felt like a steady hand on the economic tiller. Given the dire state of the global economy added to the UK’s post-Brexit Boris-shambles damage, there is understandable alarm about how many will cope with inflation/soaring energy and food costs. The August 1^st Uranus North Node Mars conjunction will oppose the UK’s 2^nd house Neptune in Scorpio exactly. The effect is likely to mark a turning point and not just for a week or month or so but a financial fallout of considerable proportions.

  The UK chart is looking alarmingly unsettled and stuck, even more so than most other countries over the next three years. Exact in four months there is a blocked, Solar Arc Pluto square the Sun which will bring a slow-down to a halt as well as denting the UK’s image. In 18 months from now there are also two Solar Arcs – Sun square Neptune and Saturn opposition Uranus – for losses, disappointment and tensions erupting. With the economically explosive Solar Arc Uranus conjunct the 8^th house Mars by late 2024/25 – the sick man of Europe may be back.   

  Nadhim Zawahi, 2 June 1967, in as Chancellor, is another Gemini jitterbug with Uranus Pluto in Virgo. His relationship with BJ is sagging badly through the next two years; and his public popularity will not stand up to the pressure.

  Steve Barclay in as Health Secretary, 3 May 1972, a Taurus trine Jupiter in Capricorn, is having a confidence meltdown this year and on till 2025 with tr Neptune square his Mars Venus and opposition his Pluto; and his relationship with BJ will be high-anxiety and disappointing.

  The odious and oleaginous Jacob Rees Mogg,  24 May 1969, a Sun, Mercury in Gemini with a super-successful (hedge-funder) Pluto, Jupiter, Uranus in Virgo, is facing mixed fortunes ahead with dashed-hopes as well as bullish confidence.  Though his private fortune will no doubt keep him happy even if he trips into a few political sink holes.  His popular reputation, such as it is, will take a hit over the next three years.

“Do not swear by the moon, for she changes constantly.” William Shakespeare

“Runaway train never going back

Wrong way on a one way track

Seems like I should be getting somewhere

Somehow I’m neither here nor there

Bought a ticket for a runaway train

Like a madman laughin’ at the rain

A little out of touch, little insane

It’s just easier than dealing with the pain.” (Song)

Previous Posts:

Boris timeline: May 20 2022, 17 June 2022 and 24 June 2022.

Uranus North Node – 17 June 2022.    

Maggie Thatcher/T Blair exits: January 13 2022.

Nick Kyrgios, the mercurial bad-boy Australian tennis player ruffled the Wimbledon calm in an early match with outbursts in his standard hot-tempered way but seems to have bitten his lip for his last outing. Then  his court appearance was announced for early August on an assault charge of a former girlfriend. The authorities were careful to say nothing is proved.

   He was born 27 April 1995 in Canberra, with his mother coming from the Malay Royal Family. He is a stalwart Sun Taurus conjunct the South Node in an uncompromising square to Uranus with a – not surprisingly – over active Mars. His Mars in flamboyant, attention seeking Leo is in an argumentative square to Mercury in stubborn Taurus with a wide aspect also to Pluto – and his Mars is conjunct his Sun/Pluto midpoint. His Mars is also on the focal point of a wide-ish Yod inconjunct Saturn sextile Neptune. Learning to modulate his ‘assertiveness’ and impatience won’t be easy for him.

   His Mars is due to be severely rattled from this weekend right through till mid August across the court case. Tr Uranus will square his Mars which is always a shock that dents self-esteem and often leads to over-reactions of machismo to prop up pride. And he has a downbeat tr Saturn square his Mercury from late August for a few weeks, then repeating that into early 2023 at which point tr Saturn is square his Pluto.  Not his best time.

Pic: si robi.

‘Legendary’, ‘visionary’, ‘the enfant terrible of British theatre’ – the tributes to Peter Brook, who has just died, aged 97, give testament to his standalone status as a theatrical genius. His love for drama developed early with his rendition of Hamlet being delivered for his family aged 7. After Oxford, aged 20 he was  appointed director of Birmingham Repertory Theatre.; thence onto the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC), the Royal Opera House and subsequently director at the Metropolitan Opera House in New York.

 He worked with all the great actors directing Laurence Olivier, John Gielgud, Diana Rigg and Paul Scofield, constantly experimenting, putting Shakespeare on trapezes and staging a nine-hour Mahabharata.

 He was a stickler for intensive rehearsals which were time-consuming and cost money. This sent him eventually to Paris where he was given a well subsidised company and he never returned.

  He was born 21 March 1925 6.20 pm London, the son of Lithuanian Jewish parents from Latvia, both gifted scientists who later set up a pharmaceutical company. His brother became a psychiatrist and a cousin ran a Moscow Satire Theatre. A talented family.

  Brook had a go-ahead Ares Sun on his Descendant so he was a people-person though with Pluto in his 10^th he’d like to be in control. Pluto in the 10^th has a reputation for producing (in some cases) legends in their community which he certainly was. His Pluto opposed a 4^th house Jupiter, doubling up on his confidence and giving him a disregard for rules and regulations.

  His innovative Uranus in his working 6^th house was conjunct a creative Venus in Pisces. He also had his Aquarius Moon in his performing 5^th house opposition Neptune in Leo (and close to a leadership Leo North Node)squaring onto a formidably stubborn, bulldozer Mars in Taurus. His Mercury in Aries was in an intense, dogmatic square to Pluto and inconjunct Saturn.

  He wouldn’t be the easiest man to get along with.

  His leaving-a-legacy-for-history 17^th Harmonic chart was strong; as was his creative 7H.

An unwelcome blast from the past hove into view this week with Tony Blair winding up a head of steam to step back into the UK political arena. Probably not to become a party leader or candidate but to play puppet-master and king maker for a centre-left and centre amalgam to replace the shambles of Johnson, given that Keir Starmer is unlikely to win a majority for Labour.

  The scars of Iraq are too deep to allow for his personal re-entry, never mind his government’s woefully misconceived deregulation of EU immigration after 2004, which set the stage for voter resentment and thence for Brexit. But according to Andrew Neil, Blair was anchored at home during the lockdown and turned his messianic gaze on home politics, clearly reckoning he was the one chosen to bring about a transformation.

  Born 6 May 1953 6.10 am Edinburgh, Scotland, Blair has a politician’s 10^th house Moon, in his case in Aquarius conjunct a wedded-to-a-cause North Node also in Aquarius. He has an enduring Taurus Sun in his 12^th square Pluto, so he will be controlling, dogged, stubborn and not good at letting go or owning up to mistakes – see Prince Andrew and Amber Heard with Sun opposition Pluto (below).

   His Sun is also square his Moon opposition Pluto, thus sitting on the focal point of a Fixed T Square – giving him strong willpower which can be overpowering and making him arrogant, ego-centric and self-seeking, wilfully resistant to outside influences.  He sees himself as a natural born leader.

  He also has a hopes-for-a-better-society Saturn Neptune in Libra opposition Mercury Venus in Aries squaring onto an innovative, rebellious and obsessively-status-quo-upsetting Uranus. It can be a disruptive placing, even lawless; but if handled correctly can also be a catalyst for change and a trailblazer.

  Finally he has a high-octane, exuberantly enthusiastic Jupiter in indulgent Taurus conjunct Mars, which can turn him at times into a ‘holy warrior’, justifying his anger/ambitions with a moralising veneer.

   Saturn has moved an entire cycle since his rise to prominence as Opposition Leader in 1994; and he has just finished several years of pressure and confusion with his Solar Arc Pluto in hard aspect to his Neptune Saturn and Mercury T Square. Though his Solar Arc Sun has still to square his Saturn which will throw a few setbacks across 2023.

  He also has tr Pluto crossing his Midheaven this year which usually begins a longish career-phase of many years, searching for renewed purpose and can coincide with an upsurge in ruthless ambition. Tr Pluto will trine his Jupiter in 2023/24 which will boost his confidence and probably bring success. And by 2025 tr Uranus will conjunct his Jupiter for lucky breaks. His Solar Return from birthday May 2024 for a year thereafter is certainly super-busy on the career front with Moon, Mars and Venus and Sun, Uranus, Jupiter in the 10^th.

  But he’ll have a few lurches before then from tr Uranus conjunct his Sun and square his Pluto over the next eighteen months and disappointments from Neptune transits to midpoints. Plus some upbeat good luck. His Sun/Moon midpoint the indicator not only of his marriage but also political popularity will be undermined in 2024/25.  

 His relationship chart with the UK which was always hair-raisingly bad, making his initial success mystifying has a T Square of Mercury opposition Uranus square Mars, Algol and Pluto. Certainly an agent of change through destruction who aroused intense reactions of extreme dislike. Tr Saturn will square those planets now into early 2023; and tr Uranus will upend them in 2023/24. What happens is anyone’s guess but he’ll be on the move, for sure, rocking a few boats.   

President Meg Mountbatten-Windsor is being punted as a future prospect if the Duchess of Sussex heads for Washington as she has hinted she’d like. The Royal title would have to be ditched or would be swiftly withdrawn, which may happen in any event, depending on behaviour ahead.

 She’s undoubtedly in a more ambitious phase of her life than Prince Harry with tr Saturn moving upwards towards her midheaven at the moment, hitting her high-visibility peak phase from 2026 till 2034. Not that it means a political career is guaranteed to happen but she does have a lucky, successful 22^nd Harmonic which will bring her a global reputation – though it sits side by side with a strong, self-defeating 10^th harmonic which can bring low what it initially boosted.

   Her chart is lower hemisphere with the exception of Mars in the 12^th so she will tend to be subjective in her interests which might well count against an ‘outer’ political career working for the good of society.

  But her Jupiter Saturn conjunction does have the potential to amplify her ambitions and as a Leo Sun she’ll delight in being on a public stage.

  I’d have been inclined to dismiss it as a grandiose delusion on the part of a personality who loves to leap onto any liberal bandwagon going – a ‘rent-an-opinion’ to use a DM term. But her 22H is an eye-opener and she does have a ‘leadership; Leo North Node. And in the USA anything is possible.

  She will be pushing confidently ahead in 2027/2028 when tr Pluto is trine her Jupiter. Though tr Neptune in Aries is being less helpful in opposing her Saturn Jupiter conjunction and moving on to square her Mars and conjunct her Midheaven by 2030 which will undercut her forward gear.  

  As an avid Royal watcher I’ve been pondering on the bullying investigation triggered by staff complaints about her behaviour when in situ in the UK, which is now to be buried. All allegations were hotly denied by the Sussexes as smears or a misunderstanding about the American work ethic.

    One probable explanation came recently from a psychologist. “One of the great mysteries about dominating people is how big an asymmetry there is between how they experience themselves and how everyone around them does.”

  Too true. I once knew someone who was a control-freak and a bully as far as others were concerned, while she insisted on seeing herself as this poor downtrodden little worm inside. It was bizarre and she was utterly astonished to hear that others perceived her as a strong pushy personality. The inner and the outer – a gulf apart.

  Meghan does have Pluto in the 4^th which will make her insecure and grab for control as a defence, a legacy from a high-tension childhood. She also has a volatile Mars in emotional Cancer square Saturn and Moon which will make her ratchety and inclined to snap.

 The media is up in arms about the independent bullying investigation not being published but I wonder if there isn’t an ulterior motive – apart from not wishing to inflame an already aggravated family situation. The Sussexes’ Jubilee visit which in advance I thought would be a mistake turned out to have been cleverly handled. There were no photo ops for later use by Netflix etc which I half suspected was the only reason they turned up. And as far as reports suggest they had limited contact with the wider family including William and Kate who were busy glad-handing round the country.

  The bullying investigation now hangs like a Sword of Damocles over the Sussexes’ heads. Harry’s shock-horror, no doubt ghost-written, memoirs and further Oprah type grievance-airing may well risk it being published. There may be an attempt at a – “we’ll shut up if you shut up” – deal.

 Relations between Meghan and the Royal are not improving. It’s tricky with the Queen’s chart since she is the age she is, but assuming she stays as bright as she is, then their relationship is deteriorating over this year and the next two. Will is aggravated with her and vice versa right through till 2024/25. Prince Charles, never happy with confrontations, will have glimmers of hope this July but 2023/24/25 look tense and frustrated between them. Princess Anne is not amused also over the next three years.

  This psycho-family drama will run and run and the mystery is how a Netflix et al funded career will survive if the Royal connection is is muted down to a faint whisper. Royal courtiers have centuries of experience at putting parvenus in their place. You cross or try to upstage the monarch at your peril.

See previous post for detail on Prince Harry – April 15 2022.