Sharron Davies, former Olympic swimmer, is a woman driven by a sense of injustice. It haunted her as top level Olympic competitor when East Germany was sweeping the boards for gold medals with drug-enhanced entrants and the IOC did nothing. At the Moscow Olympics, where she won her silver, East Germany claimed 90 per cent of the women’s swimming medals. Her coach father was banned from international sport for speaking out against the doping cheats. In later years the gold medal winners offered to return their fradulent medals and the IOC refused.
Recently she has also campaigned vociferously for transgender women to be prevented from joining female competition and applauded the Fina (water sports world governing body) ban for women’s elite events for any who have undergone male puberty. There will be a separate event for transgender swimmers. Davies now wants this extended to cover all sporting categories. “I think we have got to a point now where the female athletes need to stand up together to say: ‘We want fair sport.” She said she empathised with anyone who has gender dysphoria but “we have to find better ways of being inclusive rather than throwing women’s sport under the bus.”
All of which is context for an interesting but difficult chart.
She was born 1 November 1962 in Plymouth and is a super-determined Scorpio Sun conjunct Neptune – Neptune being a surprisingly common highlight in athlete’s charts. And her Sun Neptune squares a disciplined, hard-edged Saturn in Aquarius opposition Mars North Node in Leo. There’s a wealth of description in there of leadership ability from the Leo North Node. Resentment and anger about unfair treatment from Mars Saturn, which tends to attract negative experiences of unfairness in life but would also give her the ability to withstand the punishing training required for top level sport.
Scorpio for determination beyond the norm. A showbizzy, publicity-attracting Mars Neptune for a later media career. She also has a super-confident and adventurous Jupiter opposition Pluto Uranus. And an unaspected Mercury in Libra and Venus in Scorpio which will make her single minded and obsessive.
Not an easy personality and she has been married three times. But a born fighter against injustice.
The Cancer Ingress tomorrow is one of the four marking points in the year as the Sun moves into one of the Cardinal signs – and also welcomes in the Solstice, peak summer in the northern hemisphere and winter down south.
The Cancer Sun will square an Aries Moon Jupiter and Neptune which will make for a restless and possibly overly optimistic mood with a few dreams and delusions thrown in for good measure. But it is at least a hint of cheer to balance out the Saturnine square to Venus (conjunct Algol) opposition the Scorpio North Node. Feelings will be running high especially with Venus trine Pluto though the sextile to Neptune will soften a few rough edges. Pluto square Mars will lead to frustrations and high-risk incidents; and Saturn square Uranus, as per normal for the past eighteen months, will be irritable and tension-erupting. Much of a muchness of what has been in the recent past.
If the astrocartography holds good:
UK has Uranus on the Midheaven hinting at a change of direction.
Central North America has Pluto on the Midheaven always a tricky placing, can be risky or overly intense.
Pluto on the IC and Saturn IC – in western India, Afghanistan to Bangkok look unsettled.
The law of opposites in astrology doesn’t only work with planets across the zodiac wheel from each other. It can throw an intriguing light on each Sun sign itself. The rule of thumb used to be that each sign fears the one before – e.g. Sagittarius fears Scorpio’s emotional intensity; Virgo fears Leo’s attention-seeking; Gemini fears Taurus’ fixedness.
A new book by psychological astrologer Clare Martin, Star-crossed, Personality Theory and the Meeting of Opposites suggests that there is also a complicated relationship between the Sun signs and their opposite number. E.g. Cancer/Capricorn – child/parent, home/world, the tribe/the hermit.
She sets out to show the link between psychological Personality Theory and the astrological division into signs. Personally I am not fond of trying to overlay one system on top of another. Both will have their validity within their own context but along the way of her argument she shines a light on a new facet of sign energy.
Thinking about your Sun sign or any other planet in a particular sign in terms of an instinctive defence against the opposite can be productive.
Psychologists and therapist are fascinated by the development of the infant from birth onwards and she relates each of the sign dyads to a particular phase and the reaction to damage – though not in normal order.
Cancer/Capricorn – mother/safety, terror/the hated child. The Moon versus Saturn.
Taurus/Scorpio – voracious hunger leading to over control, rage. Deprivation versus the Provider.
Gemini/Sagittarius – Fear of freedom versus fear of being trapped.
Leo/Aquarius – Subjectivity v objectivity. Grandiosity v worthlessness.
Virgo/Pisces – practical efficiency v escapism. Self-definition v undifferentiation. Perfectionist v merging. Dependent or rescuer. Host v parasite.
Aries/Libra – Autonomy v compromise. Awareness of others v competitiveness.
I’m not sure it all works and may not interest those other than the psychologically oriented but it made me stop and think about certain signs in a different way.
Clare Martin is also the author of – Alchemy: The Soul of Astrology.
The upcoming pivotal and turbulent Mars Uranus North Node conjunction in early August will be a crisis point for Narendra Modi, India’s prime minister. Both his Term charts and his personal one will be in the line of fire with planets at that degree so it will cause an upset of considerable proportions.
Although his birth date is marginally suspect, most fix him at 17 September 1950 which gives a rigid Sun Saturn in Virgo. And more significantly a ruthless Mars in vengeful Scorpio square Pluto which fits his divisive, rabble-rousing, violence-inducing rhetoric. His Pluto is catching the full brunt of the August hard aspect – for forced change under extreme pressure.
His First PM term from 2014 has Saturn in Scorpio at the same degree; and his 2nd Term 2019 chart has Venus in Taurus also in line for a severe shake up.
For more on the Mars Uranus North Node fall out see post June 17th 2022 below.
For more detail on India see post December 26 2021.
The India chart itself with Venus at 15 and Sun at 21 Leo is undergoing major changes as it is from tr Uranus in square both – and the early August combo will pick up the Sun/Venus conjunction as well as oppose the Jupiter in Scorpio. Indications are the economy is expanding though the Reserve Bank of India chart is seriously blocked for a few months.
Be interesting to see how it plays out. There’s nothing definitely indicating that Modi will be exiting stage left anytime soon. Though tr Neptune opposing his Saturn Sun this year and tr Uranus upending his Pluto and Mars from this July through to 2025 will make for an exceptionally stormy passage.
Boris Johnson’s constant support for Ukraine has according to his allies showed “extraordinary leadership”, diminishing the serial law-breaking at No 10 as “fluff” by comparison. The old saying that a man shall be judged by the consequences of his actions on this score turns the prime minister into a shining star of courage and conviction in comparison to certain other lily-livered and self-interested European countries. But still, but still — there is a lingering unease about seeing his headline-grabbing visits as purely altruistic, when they fit his sin-avoidance pattern of distract, obliterate and keep moving.
And as Matthew Syed in today Times also rightly points out it hardly fits his past actions when Foreign Secretary or later as his eager oligarch-donor bro-romances ran side by side with the London laundromat soaking in vast quantities of questionable Russian money. Syed describes Johnson’s Ukraine policy as “one of the greatest conjuring tricks in modern political history” – disappearing a decade of Tory policy cosying up to Moscow.
There’s no doubt there is genuine friendliness on his part with the Ukraine president with Zelensky’s Jupiter conjunct Boris’s Sun Venus in Gemini and Boris’s Jupiter square Zelensky’s Leo Moon. Though there are gritty edges, which is normal times might lead to arguments with Zelensky’s Mars in Leo square BJ’s Moon.
Their relationship chart has an affectionate composite Sun Venus conjunction though that does oppose a needs-space Uranus so its not a connection that would prosper if locked into the same situation 24/7. There is also, typically for BJ, two fated composite Yods = thrown together by extraordinary circumstances – of Mars sextile the Midheaven inconjunct Neptune; and Neptune sextile Pluto inconjunct Midheaven. Plenty of showbiz pzazz and grandstanding as well as smokescreens there.
What is significant is BJ’s Scorpio Moon being exactly on the Midheaven if his birth chart is relocated to Kiev – the Moon being a politician’s lifeline to his electorate. It also puts his sociable Sun Venus in the 7th and his chaotic Mars in the entertaining 5th. Full marks for a great performance.
Relocating his chart to Moscow puts his comfort-zone Jupiter firmly in the 4th; his Mars in the exuberant 5th; and an elusive Neptune in the career 10th. He’d be even happier ambling round the Kremlin.
It’s not that I remotely wish to undermine any efforts to support Ukraine but it is uncomfortable grappling with the paradox of right results from the wrong intentions.
Paul McCartney is an astonishing 80 years old, the one Beatle who has remained constantly singing, writing and playing through six decades. He is one of the most successful composers and performers of all time and his song-writing partnership with John Lennon remains the most successful in history. Reckoned one of the wealthiest musicians, he has an estimated fortune of £800 million.
He was born 18 June 1942 maybe 2pm Liverpool, England into a working class family with his father an amateur musician who encouraged his musical interests. His midwife mother died in his teens. He met John Lennon when he was 15 and their joint careers took off into the stratosphere with the Beatles when he was barely 20 as the tumult of Uranus Pluto in Virgo livened up the 1960s.
His Sun is in Gemini, a favourite sign for pop singers, and is close to lucky, confident Jupiter in Cancer. He has a showy Leo Moon square Venus in throat-ruling Taurus. His Uranus is in a creative trine to Neptune. What is eye-catching about his chart, especially for a seemingly laid-back, boy-next-door temperament is a high-octane, super-determined and can-be-ruthless Mars Pluto in Leo sextile Saturn Uranus in Gemini. That will have given him the backbone and grit to survive in a cut-throat business and weather ongoing crises. It will stem from his tough childhood and indeed is a family signature since his father had Mars Pluto in Gemini and his mother a Mars square Pluto.
His first wife Linda, 24 September 1941, like his mother and John Lennon, was a Sun Libra and Linda also had a confidence-boosting Jupiter conjunct his Sun. The relationship with John Lennon was not easy with Lennon’s overly intense Aquarius Moon opposition Pluto clashing with Paul’s Mars Pluto. But the heat certainly produced creative tension.
His disastrous second marriage to Heather Mills, occurred four years after Linda’s death when his Solar Arc Uranus Saturn had collided with his Mars Pluto – not a happy time. His present wife since 2011, Nancy Shevell, 20 November 1959, is totally different having a Sun Mars in Scorpio.
Linda was undoubtedly the love of his life with a composite Sun Venus conjunction in their relationship chart.
The present-day Gandhi dynasty in India is being hammered by corruption allegations over money laundering with Rahul Gandhi being summoned to give evidence before the Enforcement Directorate. Modi’s government has been accused of using federal law enforcement agencies against its political opponents to harass them. And a party spokesman for the Gandhis described it as “a strange case of alleged money laundering without any money”.
The Gandhi centrist Congress party ruled India for many years though right-wing, nationalist Narendra Modi has been prime minister for the past eight years. Modi has frequently attacked Nehru, the key figure in India’s fight for independence who was father of Indira and great-grandfather of Rahul, in an attempt to undermine his adversaries and their party.
Rahul, born 19 June 1970, no verified birth time, is a confident Sun Gemini trine Jupiter. He looks uncertain exactly now but will be bullishly determined from August to this December with tr Pluto square his Jupiter. Though that can result in conflicts with authorities and doesn’t always end well. Thereafter for several years he looks discouraged with blocked Solar Arcs and an undermining tr Neptune square his Sun.
His mother Sonia Gandhi, 9 December 1946 9.30pm Lusiana, Italy, who became Congress party leader in 1998 after her husband Rajiv was assassinated, and retired briefly until her son was defeated at the 2019 election when she resumed her position. She is often described as one of the most powerful women in the world – and is at present in hospital with covid.
She’s a combative Sun Mars in Sagittarius with a rock solid Venus Jupiter in Scorpio square Saturn Pluto in Leo with Mercury also in Scorpio.
She is panicky and undermined this year with tr Neptune square her Mars with plans not working to but should start to pick up again in 2024.
Priyanka Gandhi, 12 January 1972, Sonia’s daughter and Rahul’s sister, also politically active, is a Capricorn with Saturn in Taurus opposition Neptune and square Venus; with an ultra-determined Mars opposition Pluto. She isn’t singing and dancing through the next two years either though she has blips of good luck.
It has been an extraordinary family with both Jawaharal Nehru and his daughter Indira being stalwart Scorpios. He was born 14 November 1889 11.36pm Allahabad and had the signature Neptune Pluto in Gemini of his generation in his 10th, square Saturn, trine Mars and inconjunct Jupiter square Saturn, trine Mars and on the focal point of a Yod to a confident 5th house Jupiter sextile Mercury in Scorpio.
His daughter Indira, 19 November 1917 11.10 pm, had a 4th house Scorpio Sun, tying her into the family line, with a can-be-autocratic Uranus in Aquarius opposition Saturn in Leo with Saturn conjunct Neptune; and a charming though manipulative Venus opposition Pluto on her South Node.
Indira’s son Rajiv, 20 August 1944 6.34am Mumbai, was an outgoing Sun Leo with a hard-working Virgo stellium. He became prime minister after his mother was assassinated but became mired in various scandals including allegations of corruption and was himself assassinated eight years after his mother.
Modi has broken the Gandhi mould in recent years and there’s no indication they’ll piece it back together any time soon.
Julian Assange’s extradition to the US has been approved by UK Home Secretary Priti Patel. He has 14 days to appeal. The courts found extradition would not be “incompatible with his human rights” and that while in the US “he will be treated appropriately”. He is wanted by US authorities over documents leaked in 2010 and 2011 relating to the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, which the US says broke the law and endangered lives. His legal team claimed the classified documents published by Wikileaks, exposed US wrongdoing and were in the public interest, revealing how the US military had killed hundreds of civilians in unreported incidents in Afghanistan, and thousands in Iraq.
He has been serving a jail sentence in the UK for breaching bail and prior to that sought asylum in the Ecuadorean Embassy in London – so it’s been a decade long struggle to stave off extradition.
He was born 3 July 1971 3pm Townsville, Queensland with an 8th house Cancer Sun in an innovative and rebellious square to Uranus. With a wide-ish Yod of Pluto sextile Mercury inconjunct Mars in stubborn and contrary Aquarius which will make him bull-headed and wilful. He’s also got Saturn opposition Neptune Jupiter which is idealistic but unrealistic.
He has his Solar Arc Mars square his Sun in effect now and exact within four months which is a collision of sorts and upsetting. If his birth time is accurate then his Solar Arc Midheaven is also heading to conjunct his Uranus within months for a sharp change of direction.
The Eclipses are also this year tugging on his Scorpio Moon which faces him up to his past and tests the foundations on which he has built his life as well as bringing his image into the spotlight. The Lunar Eclipses last November and this May were also rattling his Jupiter in Scorpio perhaps hinting at over confidence.
But for all that he’ll remain cheerful with tr Pluto sextile his Jupiter on and off till late 2023. This July onwards looks like an upheaval and a shock; with a discouraging slog in 2023/2024. One way or another, one location or another, he won’t be singing and dancing for joy.
One mistake was to try to hide out in London – his astrocartography there is trapped, blocked, scary. New York oddly is much more comforting for him.
Locating his chart to London puts a trapped and furious Mars in the 8th; a domestically-restricted and tied down Pluto on the IC; a hidden 12th house Sun and and unstable Uranus in the 4th as well. Sweden is much the same.
Located to New York puts a more settled Sun in his 4th; fun everyday companions with Venus in the 3rd; Jupiter and Neptune in the 8th which could be lucky if unrealistic – and admittedly a not-good-for-health Pluto Uranus in the 6th.
See previous post for more detail: December 12 2021.
Thunderbolt Uranus conjunct the North Node, ruler of the spirit of the age, is a rare occurrence, only a handful last century. It returns this August in Taurus with Mars throwing an additional firecracker into the mix.
I was inclined to dismiss it as just another tempestuous few days in a stormy year until I looked back on previous instances.
In particular – the August/September 1961 conjunction in Leo oversaw the start of the construction of the Berlin Wall which symbolised the worsening Cold War, overshadowing several decades. Dag Hammarskjöld, Secretary General of the UN was killed in a plane crash and Barack Obama was born.
The July 1946 Uranus Node conjunction in Gemini square Mars was exact when the King David Hotel in Jerusalem, HQ of the British authority in Palestine, was bombed by militant Zionists with many killed. It was followed by a hasty UK withdrawal and the set-up of the state Israel two years later, sending the Middle East into turmoil for decades. There was also the last mass lynching in the USA of two Africa-American couples in Georgia.
Both these conjunctions pointed to moments which changed history.
As did the death of Mao Tse Tung, the founder of the People’s Republic of China on the exact Uranus Node conjunction in September 1976, bringing to an end a three decade long, brutal regime which killed between 40 and 80 million people.
The Aquarius Uranus North Node conjunction in November 1915 opposition Mars saw World War 1 at its height with naval losses on both side and Serbia and Bulgaria dragged into the conflict. Just before it – July to September 1915 – the ‘Great Retreat’ saw the Russian army, under-equipped and outnumbered, withdraw from the Eastern Front severely denting Russian morale. Shackleton’s ship Endurance broke up in ice, forcing the crew to disembark and after much privation they were rescued in 1916.
The most recent occurrence in 2007 in Pisces occurred close to the Virginia Tech killings and Madeline McCann’s disappearance. With all manner of bombings in Iraq and tensions elsewhere. Not quite as history-changing as the previous.
The Cancer conjunction of Uranus North Node in 1870 certainly did shift the balance of power since it saw a victory in the Franco-Prussian War which led to German unification and significantly altered the balance of power on the continent as the new German nation state supplanted France as the dominant European land power.
The August 1839 Uranus North Node conjunction in Pisces oversaw the first Anglo-Afghan War, one of the first major conflicts during the Great Game, the 19th century competition for power and influence in Central Asia between Britain and Russia. Also the First Opium War between UK and China. Twentieth century nationalists considered 1839 the start of a century of Chinese humiliation, and many historians considered it the beginning of modern Chinese history. The conflict eventually led to the Taiping Rebellion some years after, one of the bloodiest civil wars in world history, with over 20 million dead.
The last time Mars, Uranus and the North Node were together near 19 degrees Taurus, according to the Wellbeing astrological website, was in 324 BC, when Alexander the Great’s legendary victories established the Hellenistic era which lasted three centuries until the emergence of the Roman Empire.
These conjunctions do seem to be markers of some significance.
For ordinary mortals the first half of August will be uncomfortable, disruptive, accident-prone, bad-tempered as the explosive, overly-excitable, no-compromise Mars Uranus conjunction is catching the Saturn square with the Leo Sun adding its weight to the irritations until mid month.
It will catch the UK’s 2nd house Neptune in Scorpio so will have financial repercussions. And won’t be far from Russia’s 1917 Scorpio Sun either.
Two revealing examples of Sun opposition Pluto in action hit the headlines this week from two over-exposed personalities who refused to concede defeat, when a tactical withdrawal down a very deep rabbit hole might have seemed sensible. Prince Andrew and Amber Heard both declared war on common sense.
Amber Heard with her Sun Taurus opposition Pluto lost her libel suit against Johnny Depp, was absolved by him from paying the multi-million dollar damages bill and promptly leapt back out to repeat the allegations that had landed her in court in the first place. And Prince Andrew with breath-taking hubris, entitlement, delusional lack of common sense and realism – I’m not even sure how to describe it – thought he could sashay back into his princely role and the public domain, having been banished mere months ago. Never mind the sexual Epstein imbroglio, his career has been swamped by connections to dodgy billionaires and sleazy financial scandals which had him booted off the trade envoy role, with an endless stream since – all of which evoked an almost sociopathic lack of shame.
Sun Pluto hard aspects may differ slightly between the genders, since men will tend to act out the dominating side while women can in their younger adult years live out the submissive side. Though that is not a hard and fast rule. It can make individuals overbearing, with a tendency to compel others to fit into their world view; and be aggressive in the sexual sphere. There is an intense need to express and impose their will on those around and a desperation to be seen as not only in control but also appreciated as perfect. Underneath which is always a deep sense of shame stemming from a damaged sense of identity. More than anything they fear letting go which is an essential part of the transformation process. They hang on and stagnate.
Andrew appears to have had Pluto’s bullying streak from early in his life – for some it takes adulthood to become empowered, however imperfectly. He was referred to by Prince Philip as ‘the boss’, played unkind pranks on family members, was over-indulged by the Queen and developed an unbalanced sense of his own importance. His pomposity depended on him being second in line to the throne which was pricked as Charles’ children arrived and he slid down the rankings.
His insensitivity and lack of empathy is legendary to an extent where it could be seen as a symptom of a pathology. When the Queen mistakenly sent him to Lockerbie on a sympathy mission after a devastating passenger plane crash, he blithely informed the locals that it was worse for the Americans – who lost more numerically – and anyway such a crash was ‘only a matter of time.’
His Plutonic tendencies are exacerbated by his 4th house Scorpio Moon which will obdurately set his face against admitting failure or letting go.
Added to which he has a deeply secretive 8th house Mercury in Pisces. It is interesting for another reason apart from the Scorpio resonance of the 8th since it sits on one leg of a Yod sextile Saturn inconjunct Uranus in his 1st house. A focal point Uranus can be a trailblazer but it can also be willful, defiant, disruptive, intolerant and lawless. And when it is triggered it indicates a fated change of direction. Tr Uranus will move to square his Uranus from this July onwards so a strategy for burying Andrew might (maybe) appear.
Transiting Uranus opposition his Moon in 2024 is likely to be the key upheaval following since it suggests major upsets and changes at home and in the family, perhaps affecting the Queen. When she goes so does his lifeline to status.
On a quick look at his astrocartography, central Australia in the empty quarter is a possibility with his settled-at-home Sun IC line there, which also runs north through South Korea. Kazakhstan where he has had some questionable alliances in the past has his Jupiter on his IC so he would feel at home there – although his old friends appear to be in hot water so probably not too welcoming just at the moment.
I’ve always wondered whether the rumours about his parentage, being perhaps the son of Lord Porchester, the Queen’s racing manager, might have affected the way the Queen treats him and indeed his own off-balance personality. It was a well-accepted certainty in racing circles before it emerged into the mainstream and such a state of affairs is hardly pass remarkable amongst the aristocracy. The story has sunk into the background in recent years, out of respect for the Queen.
What is intriguing – though no proof of anything – is that Porchester’s Capricorn Sun, 19 January 1924, is exactly conjunct Andrew’s Venus Mars; Porchester’s Uranus is conjunct Andrew’s Mercury and his Neptune conjunct Andrew’s Uranus – so he hits all of Andrew’s key points. And Porchester’s Saturn and Mars fall in Andrew’s 4th so an awkward family/domestic connection.
It was an easier and more affectionate relationship than Andrew had with Prince Philip. Though no doubt all of this will have to wait for a respectable distance into the future to be finally nailed down. Porchester died on 9/11.
The other strongly Plutonic and can’t-let-go type is Angelina Jolie whose separation from Brad Pitt is dragging on endlessly – her Sun is trine Pluto but her Moon Mars is opposition Pluto and square Saturn which is beyond unyielding.
For Heard see 13 April 2022 and 7 July 2020.
Apologies for Royal overkill and flogging a dead horse – but I am eternally fascinated by what makes people tick. Or rather what lies behind bizarre behaviour.
