Astrology of Today’s News

The race for the White House in 2024 is wide open with Biden’s approval ratings plummeting and VP Kamala Harris in no better a state. The Biden Term chart is flagging up extreme distress through 2023 with the Solar Arc Saturn closing the square to the disruptive Mars Uranus to exact as well as the Solar Arc Sun conjunct the Saturn; and by 2024 the Solar Arc Saturn will conjunct the Jupiter to damp enthusiasm further.

  Below is only a sneak and rapid peak at a few possible runners, some with no birth time.

  Kamala Harris, 20 October 1964 9.28pm Oakland, CA, is in a panicky, uncertain year in 2024 with three undermining Neptune hard aspects to midpoints. Nothing to suggest she’ll come up smelling of success.

  Gavin Newsom, 10 October 1967 5.13 am on the other hand while not totally upbeat does have tr Jupiter moving across his 10^th house at the election and beyond, for a smidgeon of success and prominence. He looks hopeful but may not succeed; and will be less fortunate in 2028.

Pete Buttigieg, 19 January 1982 7am South Bend, Indiana, has the heavy pressures of tr Pluto conjunct his Capricorn Sun across the 2024 election. Tr Saturn is not quite out of his low profile 1^st Quadrant so is not at a peak which comes in later years. 2025/26 look good or him; and so does 2028 – not perfect but a definitely hopeful election.

Mitch Landieu, 16 August 1960, no time, is making a confident and successful push through 2023 to late 2024 with tr Pluto square his Jupiter/Pluto though that runs alongside muddle and mayhem Neptunian influences. But something is keeping his spirits up.

Joe Manchin, 24 August 1947, no time, who has been blocking the Biden agenda despite being a Democrat (in name at least), may be keeping his profile high for a run. He’ll have high hopes which are disappointed in 2023/2024 (and exact at the election) though he does pick up more fortunate Pluto transits to his Jupiter/Pluto midpoint in 2024/25.

On the Republican side, Mike Pence can forget it since he has troubled, aggravated influences over the next few months and disastrous, dead-halt ones in 2024. Not a chance.

Ron DeSantis, 14 September 1978, no time, has two strongly upbeat, fortunate and successful influences in 2024. Tr Uranus square his Sun/Jupiter midpoint in October 2024 and again spring 2025; with tr Pluto opposition his Jupiter in 2024/2025 including across the Inauguration. Whether he runs or not, he’ll be firing ahead on all cylinders and on a high.

Donald Trump, has more than a few sinkholes and mudslides to cope with over the next year with a scary, trapped, dead-halt Solar Arc Mars square his Pluto, exact in six months; and a discouraging also blocked Solar Arc Pluto square his Saturn, exact this time in 2023. Tr Uranus will be shaking his self-esteem through 2024 as it squares his Mars. His Solar Arc Neptune will conjunct his South Node over the election and is aiming to undermine his Moon and Sun in 2025/26. He does have Jupiter moving through his 10^th which can be successful but that won’t outweigh the minuses on his chart. He’s already starting to lose his stranglehold on the Republicans and the next year may finish the job.  

Boris Johnson having been demoted from big dog to tiny dog is huffing and puffing hints he may be back, the rumour mill being further stoked by the prime pot-stirrer Dominic Cummings. How likely is it? Contrary to the prevailing BJ fanclub yowls that it was a disloyal backstab that brought him down, in reality Westminster (and most of the country) could not cope with his lies and lack of integrity any longer.

 There might be two worries ahead for those keen to see even a smidgeon of decency and competence return to No 10. If his birthtime at 2pm is accurate then his Solar Arc Jupiter and his Progressed Mars are both poised to cross his midheaven in the next two years, which suggest a confident and successful career surge.

   However what might also be a pointer is tr  Jupiter moving through his financial 8^th house from July 2023 for a year which will bring money rolling through. His stint at No 10 curtailed his income severely and with multiple children and a new wife and two new minis he was finding the going less lucrative than his previous overpaid journalistic career.

  Theresa May has earned more than £2 million since leaving Downing Street and I might hazard a guess that once his ego recovers from the shock of being ousted after such a short stint, he’ll be eyeing more profitable prospects further afield from speaking engagements, journalism and book contracts.

  He’s downbeat at the moment till early August and again through December; with coming-down-to-earth-with-a-bump Uranus aspects returning to his Neptune and Jupiter this December effectively through till mid March.

  Into 2023 tr Saturn will oppose his Sun/Moon midpoint in early March bringing a sense of separation briefly in his marriage; but it also for a politician brings lowered popularity. Then tr Saturn in Pisces will tip cold water over his chaotic Mutable T Square starting with a square to his Mars in mid March and moving onto his Second Solar Return from late April running to January 2024. That is usually a heavy time of facing up to reality and being forced to make considered decisions for the next third of life.  

  Tr Pluto square his Moon from late March, on and off till late 2024 will be the interesting one to watch since his Moon is highly sensitive to events.

  He does pick up a lucky break, good-for-new-projects tr Uranus conjunct his Mars/Jupiter midpoint from May 2023 on and off for a year which may see gainful offers coming his way.

  Tr Neptune will square his Sun and Venus May 2024 on and off for a year to undermine his confidence/prospects which may or may not be connected to tr Uranus square his Sun/Moon midpoint, disrupting his marriage in 2025.

 His relationship chart with the Tory Party 1912 chart continue to be on a downhill slide till February 2024 with tr Neptune square the composite Mars, with other downwards blips before then. His relations with UK Inc will be high-tension, very unsettled and not improving right through till 2026.

  Carrie is not having a great 2023 with tr Neptune conjunct her Pisces Sun into 2024; and their relationship, sagging at the moment, will rock n’ roll through an exceptionally bumpy patch in 2025/26.

Nothing is set in stone but a return looks less than likely.

Joe Biden is creaking along through a bout of Covid with his approval ratings sinking to a new low over concerns about the economy; and his wife Jill’s dipping after a badly received speech to a Hispanic civil rights group. VP Kamala Harris is down in the dumps as well.  Almost two thirds of Democrats do not want him to run for the White House again in 2024 though he’s sticking firmly to his intention to do so at present.

  2024 will not be a good year for him with a disappointing tr Neptune square his Jupiter/Uranus midpoint in the months leading up to the election at the same time as a catastrophic tr Uranus square his Mars/Saturn midpoint in the October of 2024; and a disruptive tr Uranus opposition his Sun just before that.

  He’ll be increasingly confused either mentally or devastated by problems he can’t make a dent in from early 2023, on and off till late 2024 (exact at the election) with tr Pluto square his Sun/Neptune midpoint and tr Pluto square his Venus/Neptune midpoint also running early 2023 to late 2024 which Ebertin describes as a “painful renunciation.” Though that last could be due to an emotional relationship as well as a career hope.

  By the Inauguration in 2025 he has tr Pluto square his Taurus Moon on the focal point of a Yod so it will be an ultra-sensitive time for him. Though he’ll also have a confident, upbeat tr Pluto opposition his Jupiter/Pluto midpoint at the same time.

  At the moment he has tr Uranus square his Pluto/North Node midpoint for  significant disruptions which is sometimes associated with great or tragic upsets within a community. The early August Mars, Uranus, NN will catch it exactly, and Uranus continues on till mid October and returns in late April 2023. He’s got an accident-prone/setback tr Saturn square his Sun/Mars midpoint late August to mid September, and again early December this year.

  This year into early 2023 he has tr Saturn square his Mercury, Sun, Venus in Scorpio which is downbeat but probably nothing too critical.

  From June 2023 on and off till March 2024, tr Uranus opposes his Sun/Mars for periods of serious aggravation. Plus a panicky, undermining tr Neptune opposition his Mars/Pluto midpoint August 9^th to September 20^th this year again Feb/March and December 2023. 

 He does have one upbeat influence – tr Pluto trine his Sun/Jupiter midpoint this August till early this December which is only mild but better than nothing and will bring some relief.

  Much of the above, even the calamities and catastrophes, would be standard since the White House is never a walk in the park. Though the running Neptune sinkers as well as disaster-prone influences throughout suggest it might be more than ordinarily bumpy and swampy for him.

Jill Biden looks relatively upbeat over the 2024 election since tr Jupiter in Gemini picks up her Sun, Mars in Gemini but wives are not always a good judge since they are quite often relieved to be away from the goldfish bowl and risk of a White House stint.

Kurt Vonnegut, one of the kings of 1960s counter-culture, whose anti-war novel, Slaughterhouse Five, touched a chord with Vietnam demonstrators has gone on to become one of the enduring greats of American 20^th Century heritage. A new well-received bio-pic Unstuck in Time is a compilation put together by a devoted fan and friend.

  Born 11 November 1922 12.25am Indianapolis, Indiana, Vonnegut was born into a German immigrant family who fell on hard times through the depression and never recovered. Neither parent was ideal and his closest support was his African-American nanny. During World War Two he enlisted in the army, went home briefly on leave at one point to discover his mother had suicided the night before, was posted abroad, captured by the Germans and had the misfortune to be sent to work in Dresden which suffered heavy firebombing by the allies in 1945. Dresden was largely destroyed with around 25,000 civilians killed. Vonnegut survived by taking refuge in a slaughterhouse meat locker three stories underground.

  On his return he married, went to university, earned a living by writing for various outlets, adopted his sister’s children when she died, and only hit his big break with novel number six, Slaughterhouse Five.  

  He had his intense Scorpio Sun in the communicative 3^rd house squaring onto a 12^th house Neptune, hinting at his own creativity and a dreamy, impractical father who withdrew when his fortune crashed. He also had Jupiter Mercury in Scorpio in his 3^rd giving him penetrating insight as well as an ease with words and that squared onto a Leo Moon opposition Mars in Aquarius. His angry mother stifled him as a child but along the way the grit in that relationship also drove him on to express dark truths the public wanted to hear.

  His Water Grand Trine of Jupiter Mercury Sun trine Pluto trine Uranus was creative, as well as healing for others if not for himself, and would wrap him up in his own highly private bubble of reality separate from others. Uranus Pluto would be drawn to activism and rebellious causes; Jupiter Pluto gave him confidence and Jupiter Uranus luck and an adventurous streak. His Saturn squared Pluto and was trine Mars giving him a bleak view of life. His Venus in Sagittarius in his 4^th would give him solace from his home life, maybe his nanny early on, then his adult family life, later disrupted when his wife took to religion and they split.

  His Sun/Moon midpoint was conjunct his Virgo North Node – which is an intriguing coming-together of the spirit of the age with his inner essence. He became whole when he tapped into the zeitgeist.

  In February 1945 when he survived the Dresden bombing tr Pluto in Leo was opposition his Mars exactly, for great fear and entrapment; with his Solar Arc Saturn less than a degree away from a square to his Mars for a destructive event. Tr Uranus was opposition his 4^th house Venus for an emotional upheaval; and his Solar Arc Ascendant was conjunct his North Node, fittingly for an event which in later years became the inspiration for his best known novel, Slaughterhouse-Five.

  Despite the darkness of his subjects he disliked being called a “black humorist” but he did home in on bitter and hopeless truths, with a grim wit.

  His global superstar 22^nd harmonic was strong and desolate. His writers 21H and creative 5H and 7H were also marked.

  He died aged 84 in 2007.

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Brynley Fussell, a no-hoper from a poor, broken family rose above the wreckage of his childhood in the most extraordinary way through innate technical talents, luck and driving, if not focused, determination. At 10 he landed in a remand home for accidentally setting fire to a haystack, a place he said was a “sadistic hellhole”. He was then sent to an approved school, where he was systematically abused, causing him to shin down drainpipes and run away multiple times. Every time he was caught, his sentence was extended and after ten years he arrived at Bedford prison. As a serial escaper, he had 77 convictions. During his years in custody had developed a passion for flying and taught himself the basics from watching a pilot on a joy ride and reading magazines and books.

  He ran away and stole one plane which ran out of fuel so he was captured. Next time round he stole another and made it across to France, having memorised the instructions from The Aeroplane magazine.  He was arrested and imprisoned but became “the most famous pilot in the world, a man fêted on six continents for his superb flying skill and his daring”. A Conservative MP suggested he should be freed and enlisted in the RAF. The author of a book about test pilots wrote with an offer of support if he went straight.  “It was the first time in my life,” said Fussell, “that anyone had offered to help me.”

   He served another 21 months in jail, during which time he took classes in mathematics and geometry and on his release was given a job in the engine test department of an aeroplane company. He never gained any qualifications but later worked in the metallurgy department at the University of Swansea and after that ran two laboratories at Imperial College in London. Latterly he helped to establish a Swansea laboratory in mass spectrometry which became one of the world’s most influential centres.

  He was born 9 February 1931, no birth time sadly – the same year as the mad and intrepid, across-the-globe Irish cyclist Dervla Murphy (see post May 26 2022 below). She also came from difficult beginnings to carve out her own unique path with reckless courage.

 Both charts had the generational used-to-tough-conditions Saturn in Capricorn opposition Pluto and it squared onto an innovative, rebellious, trail-blazing Uranus in Aries conjunct the North Node. Such a Uranus can be lawless, overly defiant, a disrupter but is also good at pushing back boundaries and can be suited to an experimental career.  

   Fussell’s Aquarius Sun was sextile Uranus North Node and inconjunct Pluto so he would have a problem with authority figures. Jupiter conjunct Pluto would give him a wealth of self-confidence and a lucky Jupiter square Uranus would incline him towards risk-taking and adventure. His Mercury opposition Mars was argumentative and a fast thinker; and opposition his Pluto as well would give him penetrating insights – as well as a tendency to obstinacy.  His intensely secretive  Scorpio Moon was probably square his Sun and trine his Pluto. Not an easy man but what a way to rise above his beginnings. He died this May aged 91, oddly enough just ten days before Dervla Murphy.

  I just love mavericks who pull themselves up by their bootstraps and carve out a life for themselves against all the odds.   

Add On:  Geoffrey Dorman, the ex-military author of aviation books, who set him on the road to redemption and a purposeful life, was born 7 July 1894 in London. His Cancer Sun was conjunct Fussell’s Pluto and Jupiter; and his compassionate Jupiter Neptune in Gemini trine Fussell’s Sun – a supportive figure.  Both had an Aries North Node so Dorman probably recognised Fussell’s striving to be independent and stand out. Dorman’s Saturn was conjunct Fussell’s South Node.

 Their relationship chart had a powerful, influential Jupiter Pluto conjunction opposition Uranus – so there was a potential for change.    

There’s a gloomy acceptance that Liz Truss, described as “the human hand grenade” who “blows up all she touches” by an admittedly sour Dominic Cummings, will probably win the Tory leadership race. Rishi Sunak, more popular amongst MPs and indeed the media, may not cut the mustard with Tory party members. They have the deciding vote and are predominantly over 60, mainly male, live in the south of England and are self-centredly against tax rises. Sunak is also a hate target for a bileful Boris Johnson and his fanboys.

 General population polls say Sunak is best placed to tame inflation and lead the Tories to a next general election win, a slim margin ahead of Keir Starmer, with Liz Truss trailing the opposition by 12 points.

  Simon Jenkins in the Guardian is scathing about Truss. “Her limited experience of high office and the conduct of her leadership campaign are unedifying. They suggest a vain, cliched, pseudo-rightwing Tory, with no spark of charisma or originality. Her attempts to mimic Margaret Thatcher have been childishly embarrassing.”

  The result will be announced on September 5^th when there’s an argumentative Sun square Mars and Mars trine Mercury; with Uranus North Node square Saturn. Though the die is likely to be cast in the next two weeks as members return voting papers early.

  The Conservative Party 10 May 1912 chart looks less than enchanted with a high-anxiety Saturn Neptune midpoint over the result plus an aggravated Mars/Uranus which has been running since early August, no doubt through a brutal campaign. There’s also a Progressed Mars square the Pluto which has probably been in effect for several months but won’t lift immediately which is trapped and scared. The wiser heads will be looking ahead to May 2023 onwards for two years with tr Uranus conjunct first the Taurus Sun and then Saturn for a disruptive phase which will turn everything upside down.

  If Truss wins, they might all lose.

  At a quick glance it seems clear, with Truss having a successful tr Pluto conjunct her Jupiter/Uranus midpoint from August to December; and supporter Jacob Rees Mogg having tr Pluto trine his Jupiter. But nothing with election prediction is ever straightforward or marked out in neon lights. She also has a range of less favourable transits, including outright panic at the moment. She may be suffering from ‘imposter syndrome’ or the dreaded ‘be careful what you wish for’ since deep inside she isn’t convinced she’s up to the job despite all her stage strutting. Even Rees Mogg has some sinker transits alongside his successful ones.

  Her supporters are also definitely edgy. Suella Braverman is not a happy MP over the next few months, but she did lose her attempt, I suppose, and may not be handed the promotion she wants for her trouble.  Ditto Nadine Dorries. David Frost, the bullish ex-Brexit negotiator, looks to be sinking in a sea of despair with tr Neptune opposition his Mars from mid August till late September; with additional coming-down-to-earth-with-a-bump transits as well. None of them look deliriously happy over the result.

Rishi Sunak has tr Saturn square his Uranus in Scorpio opposition Sun, Mercury in Taurus throughout this month and August into September, which will be downbeat. Plus tr Pluto square his Jupiter/Neptune for dashed hopes and tr Neptune opposition Jupiter/Pluto for undermining of power/confidence. His did have a major-setback Progressed Mars conjunct his Saturn this year so not a great time. He does have a Solar Arc Pluto square his Jupiter still to come within the next few months which will put him on a high with triumph somewhere in his life. So even if he’s down, he won’t be out.

   His supporters: Dominic Raab – looks nervy but buoyed up so one way or another may be rewarded by whoever wins. Grant Shapps, less so.

  Liz Truss has her Sun conjunct the UK’s Jupiter and her Jupiter in the UK 7th both of which are supportive but her focal point Saturn is also conjunct the UK 10^th house Moon suggesting a chilly relationship with too much hectoring and nannying from her. Her relationship charts with both the UK and the Tory Party flag up irritation and impatience with strong Mars Saturn aspects; as well as a tug of war from Jupiter Pluto. The Tory Party in particular will rapidly lose respect and affection for her through the next two years.

Rishi Sunak could come across as overly controlling to the UK with his Pluto square the 10^th house Moon and his Jupiter Mars opposition the UK Pluto – so there would be a battle of wills. Pluto also figures largely with himself and the Tory Party with a separation at the moment as tr Saturn squares the composite Sun and opposes the Pluto. With both being Taurus they should suit each other, but perhaps now is not the moment.

  As the UK heads for a blocked Solar Arc Pluto square the Sun, exact in four months, at the same time as high alarm on the financial front with the 2^nd house Neptune getting poleaxed by the 1 August tr Uranus Mars NN conjunction stretching on into 2023 with more money woes thereafter, it is building up to a grim scenario. Freezing or starving may not be the pale, male, stale Tory Party members’ primary concern but it is for a goodly chunk of the population. It requires a competent hand on the tiller with no indication that is what will be chosen.

Add On: Liz Truss. For more detail see post December 20 2021.

Her chart has two T squares one a restless Cardinal and a scattered, blowing-in-the-breeze Mutable

Cardinal T Square Saturn Mercury Focal points – assertive, impatient, domineering, demands total supervision, resents interference, scattered. Tr Pluto continuing to bring pressures to bear as it squares her Uranus through 2022/2023. Since the T Square involves a Saturn square Jupiter there will be constant highs and lows, a see-saw of moods and alternating good luck/bad luck.

Mutable T Squares Neptune focal point – confused under stress, misreads cues/messages, impractical, absent minded, disorganised, lacks will power, chameleon-like.  Tr Saturn will bring a reality check through 2023 as it moves through Pisces.

Twitter has won round one of the legal battle to force Elon Musk to complete a $44bn (£36.7bn) takeover of the company. A judge has ruled that a trial will take place in October, rather than next year as Musk wanted. He walked away from his offer after claiming Twitter had failed to make appropriate disclosures about the number of fake accounts on the site, while TW lawyers accused him of “conjuring an exit ramp”. He initially offered $54.20 per share, far above its current share price of around $40. He still owns around 9pc of Twitter.

  Musk, 28 June 1971, and Twitter, 21 March 2006, in different ways will be keyed up by the early August tr Uranus, North Node, Mars conjunction. In Twitter’s case it is opposition its Jupiter and square its Neptune – evoking cheer and also over optimism?  In Musk’s case it rattles up his Mars/North Node midpoint leading to upsets and arguments.

 He’s in a mixed phase with bullishly-confident tr Pluto square his Jupiter/Pluto midpoint and sextile his Jupiter through 2022/23. Though at the moment his Solar Arc Mars opposition his Uranus will brew up a few ‘collisions’ to knock his self-esteem, derail his plans and may lead to wild reactions.

 What is also noteworthy is his Mars in Aquarius at 20 degrees (conjunct his NN).  My experience of this placing of Mars is it can be bloody minded in pursuit of its own freedom, contrary, and delights in being obstructive or causing trouble. It is being blocked this year by tr Saturn conjunct late August to mid September and in early December.

   Across the trial throughout October to mid November tr Saturn will oppose his Mars/NN midpoint for disadvantages and setbacks. Though admittedly Twitter won’t be too overjoyed either with tr Saturn conjunct their Neptune and square Jupiter.  

  Into 2023 tr Uranus is gearing up to square his Mars in Aquarius from late May onwards, having just before that being square his Mars/NN midpoint – both of which tend to bring sudden shocks, setbacks and can provoke over hasty, ill-judged responses. That influence runs on and off into early 2024.

  So he will be surfing the storm waves with great gusto in his usual brash and devil-may-care fashion but he’ll run into a minefield of potentially disruptive events. Tr Pluto into Aquarius 2023/25 will lean on his neurotic Neptune opposition Saturn which won’t help his frame of mind.

Actor Gérard Depardieu – ‘the best and worst of France’- with a cast-iron liver and one-time buddy of Putin has a new well-received film out. The miracle is he’s still alive, having reputedly once downed 14 bottles of wine in one binge and still smoking after a quadruple heart bypass some years back, plus multiple motorcycle crashes.  He exiled himself from France over high taxation rates, buddied up with Putin, who he reckoned was a hoodlum like himself, though they have recently fallen out after his direct criticism over Ukraine.  A recent allegation of sexual assault against him is still under investigation and by his own admissions there were several instances of rape early in his life.

  The star of Cyrano de Bergerac, Jean de Florette (and the immensely popular Asterix and Obelix film franchise) he is a polarising figure but still dear to the French heart. Now 73 he ‘has achieved an almost mythic quality. At his best, he’s a thrilling, disruptive and almost dangerous performer’ – “both rude and so refined, rough and full of grace, uneducated and very learned, gargantuan and ascetic.” And has been forgiven for his failings because of his disarming candour about his lifestyle and temperament.

  He was born 27 December 1948 8am Chateauroux, France  into profound poverty, with illiterate alcoholic parents. He left home to move in with a pair of streetwalkers when he was 13, flirted with petty crime, was a male prostitute and a grave robber  before stumbling into acting in his mid teens and discovering classic literature.

  What saved him would be a lucky Jupiter Sun Mercury in ambitious Capricorn in his 1^st house giving him unshakeable self-confidence and an ebullient personality. His Sun, Jupiter, Mercury also trine a hard-working Saturn in the well-informed 9^th so he would be keen to make up the educational deficits of his early life. His determined Mars in Capricorn in his 2^nd house of finances as well would give him a driving urge to get out of the pit of his childhood and with Uranus trine his Midheaven he would be blessed with an innovative spirit.  His seductive Scorpio Moon would give him a brooding sexuality when younger. Though his emotional life, not surprisingly, has been as chaotic as the rest of his life with Uranus on his Descendant and a can-be-compulsive Venus square Saturn.

  His Pluto in the 8^th is interesting since it does occur with movie stars who can project a powerful aura and image, though it isn’t an easy placing bringing a life filled with out-of-control events.

  He has several well-aspected Harmonic charts –  his get—a-life-together 5H; his pleasure-seeing 9H; wheel of fortune and self-defeating 10H; victim 12H and super-star22H.

  His story is not dissimilar to Edith Piaf, the French singer – ‘Non, Je ne regrette rien’ – who was born 19 December 1915 5am Paris, literally in the streets of Paris, the illegitimate child of a chanteuse and a street acrobat. Abandoned by her mother she spent her early years in a brothel in Normandy run by her father’s family and then in her early teens became a street singer in Paris.

   She became one of the most famous and beloved entertainers in Paris but her life was plagued by drugs, alcohol and overwork. She had several car accidents, attempted suicides, four drug cures, two episodes of delirium tremens, ulcers, jaundice, seven operations, three hepatic comas, spells of madness, two bouts with bronchial pneumonia and one with pulmonary oedema.  She died before she was 50.

  Like Depardieu, she had an 8^th house Pluto, which gives great resourcefulness though also bring situations requiring courage and endurance.  Her 2^nd house Sagittarius Sun would give her a liking for money though not always an ability to handle it well. She had an unloved Venus Saturn hard aspect like him, a testament to her unloved childhood.

  There’s something incredibly French about both of them.

“My only model for being a father was my father, an illiterate on the margin of society.” Gerard Depardieu

“I’m living in the present. I have no ambition. It’s true. But I want to live.” Gerard Depardieu“Singing is a way of escaping. It’s another world. I’m no longer on earth.” Edith Piaf

“I can die now. I’ve lived twice.” Edith Piaf

“When you reach the top, you should remember to send the elevator back down for the others.” Edith Piaf

“If God has allowed me to earn so much money, it is because He knows I give it all away.” Edith Piaf

ADD ON: Other 8^th house Plutos include:

Marlon Brando – a alcoholic mother, hostility towards his critical father and a global reputation.

Oprah Winfrey – a teenage unmarried mother, poor, messy and abusive childhood.

Elvis Presley – poor, father imprisoned at one point for check fraud. For chart see below June 23 2022.

Adolf Hitler – hostile relationship with his father.

Winston Churchill – emotionally damaged by a distant relationship with his socialite mother.

  All rose to great prominence despite or maybe because of the grit-in-the-oyster from less than perfect beginnings.

The economic hit from Russia’s invasion of Ukraine pales into insignificance compared to the potential damage from a similar standoff with China over Taiwan. Tensions have been rumbling ominously recently, with Japan last year giving notice that it would support the USA in defending Taiwan. And this week China demanded the US immediately cancels its latest arms sale to Taiwan, worth an estimated $108 million. Nancy Pelosi intends to visit Taiwan next month in a show of support, which is causing concern in the White House with her visit being described by Beijing as “malicious provocation.”

  A standoff with China would cause an “existential crisis” for the German car industry with one in three of its cars being sold on the Chinese mainland. VW makes half its profits there. Apple made 20% of its revenues in China last year with AstraZeneca, the UK drugs giant, not far behind. Apple also relies on a long list of China-based suppliers for components – as do other tech giants such as Microsoft, Google and Intel. A host of fashion retailers, including H&M, Zara, Gap and Calvin Klein, rely on a string of material suppliers in the country, which is the largest producer of cotton in the world. Nike has 102 factories in China while JCB, the British manufacturer of tractors, diggers and other machines, would also be caught in the collateral damage.

  With Germany as their “Achilles Heel” the EU would have much less room for manoeuvre; though some analysts believe Beijing would not risk a full-blown invasion given how much they could lose commercially themselves. What seems inevitable in future is a large amount of “decoupling” between the West and China.

The end/transformation of globalization – what comes next?

  Details of past Taiwan and Japanese crises/conflicts with China are in previous posts: 9 July 2021 and 1 October 2020. 28 degrees Cardinal does seem to be a sensitive spot for Chinese flare-ups and tr Pluto will be conjunct the China 1912 Uranus and square the China Aries North Node, both at 28 degrees, through this year on and off till late 2023.

  Xi Jinping’s Term chart, 24 October 2017 12.30 pm, does indicate a confident to over-confident push picking up from March 2023 on and off through 2025 with tr Pluto square the Sun Jupiter; with ruthless edge from tr Pluto trine Mars in 2023/24. It could pick up earlier since tr Pluto will conjunct the Term Uranus from this August and it will resonate up through the Term Sun Jupiter. Though he’d be unwise to chance his arm this year with an uncertain tr Neptune square the Term Saturn until February 2023.  

 The China 1912 chart is on high alert from 2021 through till late 2023 with tr Pluto pulling on the Uranus Neptune North Node T Square; but also confused and evasive through 2022/2023 with tr Neptune square the Mercury opposition Pluto; and over-reactive in 2024 with tr Uranus in a disruptive, explosive conjunction to the Mars.

  Relations with Japan are super-stressed 2022 to 2025 with tr Pluto conjunct the composite Mercury this year, then the Sun and Venus so their connection will be facing immense pressures and challenges.

  The USA and China won’t be a happy mix in 2023/24 with a discouraging and immoveable tr Pluto opposition the composite Saturn; and upheavals come 2025.  But they will be worse with Germany and the EU in 2023/24 and in the immediate years thereafter.

  The tectonic plates are shifting in unexpected ways with the celestial gear change between 2023 to 2026 and beyond – by which time Pluto will be in Aquarius, Neptune in Aries and Uranus in Gemini. Interesting times. Sigh.